California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency Wednesday as the H5N1 bird flu virus moved from the Central Valley to Southern California dairy herds, while federal officials confirmed the first U.S. case of severe illness in a hospitalized Louisiana patient — a concerning development as the virus continues to spread throughout the ...Read more

SEATTLE — It was not a smoking gun that brought down former Seattle police Chief Adrian Diaz but a steamy letter.

“You woke me up,” it read. “Like a prince in one of your Disney movies. I hope I always know your kiss. I hope I always feel your influence. I hope to always know you and me. I love you.”

Addressed to AZD, Diaz’s ...Read more

One of the critically endangered North Atlantic right whales is expected to die after becoming entangled in fishing gear near Nantucket along with a second whale, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.

“North Atlantic right whales continue to be entangled at levels that could push this critically endangered species to ...Read more

CHICAGO — After nine weeks of prosecution witnesses, defense attorneys in the blockbuster corruption trial of ex-House Speaker Michael Madigan and his longtime confidante Michael McClain began presenting their case to jurors Wednesday by calling someone who, until quite recently, was expected to testify for the government.

That witness was ...Read more

NEW YORK — Ingrid Lewis-Martin, who resigned abruptly as Mayor Eric Adams’ chief adviser last weekend, is expected to face criminal charges alleging she used her government influence to help two businessmen who in turn gave her son a loan for a luxury car, according to sources familiar with the matter and published reports.

Lewis-Martin, ...Read more

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr., “with a heart full of gratitude,” said goodbye on Wednesday to the Senate after 18 years representing Pennsylvania.

Casey, 64, lost to Republican Sen.-elect Dave McCormick in a historically close election that triggered an automatic recount. He did not concede until two weeks after the Associated Press called the ...Read more

BOSTON — Federal prosecutors in the kickback case of Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson say they have so much evidence to process — including a database of more than a million files — that they are seeking an “alternative schedule” to release it to the defense.

“The government has started preparing to produce discovery ...Read more

The U.S. Senate has unanimously passed the Chesapeake National Recreation Area Act, a bill to give parts of the Chesapeake Bay over to the National Park Service to form a federally recognized recreation area.

Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Rep. John Sarbanes, both Democrats, announced the bill’s passage in a news release Wednesday.

“...Read more

NEW YORK — Mayor Eric Adams’ legal team has requested that his federal corruption case be put on ice until Jan. 20, the day Donald Trump is set to be inaugurated as the nation’s next president.

The request, filed in Manhattan Federal Court on Tuesday night, comes after Trump said earlier this week he’s considering pardoning Adams as the...Read more

CVS is being sued by the Department of Justice for allegedly filling prescriptions in violation of the Controlled Substances Act, then billing federal health care programs for reimbursement.

“Among the large number of unlawful prescriptions that CVS allegedly filled were prescriptions for dangerous and excessive quantities of opioids, early ...Read more

BALTIMORE — Maryland officials have filed suit against W.L. Gore & Associates, the manufacturer of Gore-Tex, alleging that at least 13 of the company’s 14 facilities in Cecil County have contaminated the environment, including soil, air and groundwater, with “forever chemicals” for some 50 years.

Maryland’s lawsuit, filed Wednesday in...Read more

President-elect Donald Trump wants University of Georgia football legend and former U.S. Senate candidate Herschel Walker to serve as his ambassador to the Bahamas.

Trump announced his nomination via a post on his Truth Social site late Monday night where he mentioned Walker’s Heisman Award and NFL accomplishments, as well as his work with ...Read more

DENVER — Sixteen suspected Tren de Aragua gang members remained in federal custody Wednesday on immigration holds after a violent home invasion and kidnapping at Aurora’s Edge of Lowry apartments.

All 16 suspects in custody are undocumented Venezuelan immigrants and are suspected of being members or associates of the Venezuelan prison gang,...Read more

With stay-at-home orders in place and students learning from home, school shootings dropped in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, when children went back to school, the rate of school shootings were not consistent with pre-pandemic levels, data show.

Instead, school shootings more than doubled, data from the K-12 School Shooting ...Read more

Alleged Wisconsin school shooter Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow reportedly had a rocky home life, according to court records, which show she was raised by parents who divorced one another three times before she was 12.

Her mother, Mellissa Rupnow, was divorced from another man when she first married the alleged killer’s father in 2011, ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — A small group of families, lawyers and others met Tuesday evening in Lexington to share their complaints about abuses in Kentucky’s state-run juvenile detention centers with a team visiting from the U.S. Department of Justice.

The meeting came after the Justice Department announced in May that it’s conducting a civil ...Read more

Space Florida approved up to $65 million of state funds Wednesday to help stimulate a $1.8 billion launch site project in Cape Canaveral known as “Project Hinton.”

In a vote held by the state’s aerospace finance and development authority during a special project board of directors meeting, members approved matching grant funds sought by ...Read more

A controversial Satan-themed holiday display inside the Minnesota State Capitol was restored to its spot Wednesday after it was apparently knocked over the night before.

The display of the mythical phoenix freshly emerging from its ashes sits near a Christmas tree and a nativity scene just off the building’s rotunda. Over its head is an ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — FBI agents searched the home of a Los Angeles deputy mayor as part of an investigation into a bomb threat made against City Hall, officials said Wednesday.

The agents searched the home of Brian Williams, who is deputy mayor for public safety, on Tuesday while looking into a bomb threat Williams “allegedly made against City ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The U.S. Forest Service will buy more than 6,200 acres of land in St. Louis County, in a deal aimed at expanding the Superior National Forest and improving the management of wildlife habitat, officials announced Wednesday.

It’s likely the first of several moves after long discussions over ownership of significant parcels ...Read more