Ex-Rep. John M. Spratt Jr., the former House Budget Committee chairman who was defeated for reelection after his role in enacting the 2010 health care law, died Saturday at the age of 82.

The South Carolina Democrat died from complications from Parkinson’s disease, which he had been battling for a decade, according to a Facebook post from ...Read more

An updated report by the California Department of Public Health found that the number of people infected with salmonella during a 2023-2024 outbreak in raw milk from a Fresno County dairy was much higher than initially reported.

The outbreak originated in San Diego County on Oct. 18, 2023, with eight cases of salmonellosis from people who drank...Read more

The Palestinian government has been carrying out a rare and lethal sweep against militants in a flashpoint West Bank city, saying it was needed to foil an imminent car-bombing and other attacks.

The operation by the Palestinian Authority, targeting Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants in the city of Jenin, was launched on Dec. 5 but only ...Read more

A 16-year-old New Mexico boy killed his family in a quadruple homicide, then turned himself in to police early Saturday, authorities said.

Diego Leyva was booked at the traumatic scene in Belen, New Mexico, state police said in a Facebook post. The four victims were not publicly identified.

All four family members were fatally shot, and a ...Read more

For 10 years, part of Brian Schmitz's job at Anchorage's Asplund Wastewater Treatment Facility was "de-ragging" equipment.

That is, manually removing masses of fouled wipes flushed down people's toilets that eventually congeal throughout the sewage system and gunk up equipment.

"Rags" are what people in the water treatment business call the ...Read more

John Spratt, a longtime member of the U.S. Congress from South Carolina, died Saturday night, his daughter said.

“I am heartbroken to announce that my father passed away last night,” Catherine Spratt said on Facebook. He “passed away peacefully at home surrounded by family … due to complications from Parkinson’s disease.”

Spratt, ...Read more

Life seemed grim for Liliana Bernal in March 2020 as the pandemic spread across the country. One month earlier, Bernal had founded her small business Balanced Diversity — a Sacramento-based recruiting and workforce consulting company.

“The first couple of months were a struggle,” Bernal said.

But while waves of small businesses ...Read more

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment after his short-lived martial law decree is being met with celebration among many in metro Atlanta’s Korean community.

Dozens of Korean community members gathered Saturday afternoon at Shorty Howell Park in Duluth to celebrate the National Assembly’s vote to impeach Yoon, carrying posters...Read more

Syrian rebel leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa and United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen discussed reconsidering a 2015 U.N. Security Council resolution outlining a road map for the country’s political transition, a body representing Syria’s de facto rulers said.

On its Telegram account, the so-called Syrian general command said on ...Read more

Rachel Bilson says her travel philosophy is to just say yes. The O.C. actor and co-host of the Broad Ideas podcast says she’s a person who will travel anywhere, carry-on in hand, if invited to see a new destination.

In October she said yes to a trip to Marrakech with her stylist, Nicole Chavez. They went to an event hosted by Fashion Trust ...Read more

Two of New York City’s highest profile criminal defendants have one thing in common: Their lawyers are married.

Karen Friedman Agnifilo, who was retained Saturday by accused CEO killer Luigi Mangione, is married to Marc Agnifilo, who is representing Sean “Diddy” Combs in his case for sex trafficking and racketeering.

Friedman Agnifilo ...Read more

When Dr. Robert Lefkowitz received the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2012, he used part of his acceptance speech to denounce the “clear anti-science bias” of some candidates who had sought the presidential nomination that year.

“This was manifest as a refusal to accept, for example, the theory of evolution, the existence of global warming, ...Read more

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s latest plan to try to get aldermen to pass his budget for 2025 contains no increase in property taxes thanks to a combination of cuts and a controversial idea to extend the deadline to pay back $40 million in debt, according to aldermen briefed on the proposal Sunday.

Three sources present at the meetings with Johnson�...Read more

President-elect Donald Trump has tapped several Californians — including former San Joaquin Valley congressman Devin Nunes — for posts in his next administration.

Nunes, a Republican and former dairy farmer from Tulare, resigned his House seat after nearly two decades in 2022 to become chief executive of Trump Media & Technology Group, ...Read more

University of Michigan administrators have fired a top diversity, equity and inclusion officer for actions that represented "extremely poor" judgment, a UM representative confirmed.

Rachel Dawson was the director of the university's Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives.

"Ms. Dawson was fired by the Provost because her behavior as a ...Read more

For nine straight months, overdose deaths in California have been on a rapid decline, a remarkable reversal following an explosion of drug fatalities during the pandemic.

Experts speculate the drop, which mirrors the nationwide trend, could be due to a combination of factors: expanded treatment and intervention efforts, recent crackdowns on the...Read more

The mystery surrounding at least one of the unexplained drones causing Americans to look toward the night sky in recent days was solved late Saturday evening, when Boston police arrested two men for flying their unmanned aerial device too close to Logan Airport.

According to police, 42-year-old Robert Duffy of Charlestown and 32-year-old Jeremy...Read more

Sen. Chuck Schumer wants expanded surveillance and drone detection systems for the tristate area following numerous reports of the unmanned flying vehicles disturbing residents.

Schumer, D-N.Y., said federal authorities should hand more power to state and local law enforcement to deal with the drones.

“Locals should not have to shake an ...Read more

Ingrid Lewis-Martin, Mayor Eric Adams’ top adviser and confidante, has resigned from City Hall.

Her last day is Sunday, Fabian Levy, Deputy Mayor for Communications, said.

“Ingrid has not been just a friend, a confidant, and trusted advisor, but also a sister,” Adams said in a statement. “We’ve always talked about when this day would...Read more

A late-night 5.2 magnitude earthquake shook the Pacific Ocean off the Northern California coastline, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

The 6-mile-deep quake hit about 50 miles west of Petrolia at 11:22 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 14, according to the USGS.

The tremor triggered a ShakeAlert but no tsunami warning, the USGS said.

Nearly 500 ...Read more