The Australian government won’t proceed with legislation that would have forced social media sites to crack down on misinformation on their platforms after failing to win enough cross-party support.

“Based on public statements and engagements with Senators, it is clear that there is no pathway to legislate this proposal through the Senate,�...Read more

CHICAGO — During her arrest earlier this month for driving under the influence of alcohol after crashing a car in Uptown, Cook County Board of Review Commissioner Samantha Steele repeatedly told police officers she was an elected official, made crude comments about one of the arresting officers and refused to cooperate with officer requests, ...Read more

BOSTON — Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley says a bill that would eliminate federal DEI programs is an “utter disgrace,” demanding Republicans who back the legislation not to quote Martin Luther King, Jr.

If approved, the “Dismantle DEI Act of 2024” would ban diversity, equity and inclusion programs within the federal government and ...Read more

Nearly 200 countries agreed to triple the amount of money available to help developing countries confront rapidly warming temperatures.

But the deal reached at the close of the two-week COP29 summit in Azerbaijan resulted from fractious and at times openly hostile negotiations, producing an agreement that even its supporters may see as ...Read more

Donald Trump is returning to the White House after one of the most remarkable political comebacks in U.S. history. His side hustle as the frontman for a fledgling high-end watch brand, however, is less of a success so far.

The majority of the $100,000 wristwatches endorsed by and featuring the name of the U.S. president-elect have yet to be ...Read more

SEATTLE — More than 95,000 customers in the region remained without power Saturday, four days after a deadly bomb cyclone battered Western Washington.

Deadly, easterly winds of up to 74 mph hit Tuesday, leaving more than half a million customers without power, injuring dozens and killing two people.

The storm’s aftermath has left ...Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Sunny skies on Saturday morning gave Bay Area residents a break from the two days of heavy rains that pounded the region, breaking daily rainfall records in cities from Santa Rosa to San Jose.

“We still are going to have rain these next few days, but it’s nothing like what we went through,” said meteorologist Dylan ...Read more

Poland’s ruling party chose Warsaw’s mayor as its candidate in next year’s presidential election, as Prime Minister Donald Tusk seeks an ally to help deliver on his legislative agenda.

Rafal Trzaskowski won the primaries among Civic Platform party members with 75% of votes against 25% for his opponent, Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, ...Read more

NEW YORK — The look of the city is about to change dramatically: Under new city regulations, the outdoor dining sheds that have become a distinctive part of the post-COVID landscape must come down by the end of the week.

Restaurants willing to meet new, tougher rules for the setups can put them back up in the spring — but many have chosen ...Read more

ATLANTA — Two corporate landlords with portfolios of Georgia rental homes are accused of violating fair housing laws through a “blanket ban” on people with criminal histories, according to an Indiana-based housing group.

Federal class action lawsuits filed Wednesday against Progress Residential and Tricon Residential allege the companies ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump picked Brooke Rollins as U.S. secretary of agriculture, tapping a member of his first-term White House team and elevating another loyalist to his incoming administration.

Rollins’ commitment to supporting farmers, food self-sufficiency and the restoration of agriculture-dependent American small ...Read more

Nearly 200 countries agreed to triple the amount of money available to help developing countries confront rapidly warming temperatures.

But the deal reached at the close of the two-week COP29 summit in Azerbaijan resulted from fractious and at times openly hostile negotiations, producing an agreement that even its supporters may see as ...Read more

COP29 host Azerbaijan released a final draft of a climate finance deal, calling on rich nations to commit at least $300 billion a year in climate financing to the developing world.

The draft, which came early Sunday morning in Baku, set the stage for a hard-won financing agreement after two weeks of fraught negotiations.

The final funding ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — For more than 15 years, one of the world's most famous gemstones — the 180,000-carat Bahia Emerald — has been held in Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department custody, its ultimate fate uncertain amid more than a decade of discord, disagreement and courtroom wrangling.

Now, a federal judge has ruled that the smuggled stone ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump selected Brooke Rollins, who heads a policy institute created to promote his agenda, as his nominee for U.S. secretary of agriculture.

Rollins’ commitment to supporting farmers, food self-sufficiency and the restoration of agriculture-dependent American small towns “is second to none,” Trump ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — In an effort to fight the sexual exploitation of children, federal authorities will teach Los Angeles Unified School District students, staff and parents how to stay safe online.

A memorandum of understanding between the nation's second-largest school district, the U.S. Attorney's Office and Homeland Security Investigations was ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — The deployment of military troops to the southwestern border is nothing new.

Presidents both Republican and Democrat have called on military support in San Diego and elsewhere many times over the years to assist with border security tasks, from surveillance to reinforcing barriers.

But President-elect Donald Trump’s hint this ...Read more

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling alliance won an election in Maharashtra by a wide margin, signaling policy continuity in a state which houses most of India’s billionaires and is home to some of the country’s biggest investments.

The Mahayuti coalition, led by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, is ahead with 228 seats of the 288-...Read more

Cameron James Pettit, one of three men charged in Mac Miller’s 2018 overdose death, has been released from federal lockup.

Pettit, 33, who allegedly sold the fentanyl-laced drugs to the rapper two days before his death, was released from California’s Federal Correctional Institution Mendota on Oct. 11, according to online inmate records. A ...Read more