Jason Farned and his team at the San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District had spent years preparing for the likely arrival of dengue, a dangerous virus typically found in tropical climates outside the mainland United States.

They’d watched nervously as invasive Aedes mosquito species that can carry the virus appeared in Los ...Read more

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, McLean County, Illinois, was known mostly as the home of State Farm Insurance in Bloomington and Illinois State University in Normal.

Now, the area illustrates a trend that’s bringing more factories to small cities with lower costs of living: It has thousands of new jobs manufacturing Rivian electric vehicles and...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The well-run 1984 Olympics transformed Los Angeles. Not through the Games, which thrillingly came and went, but through the Olympic Arts Festival, which taught us to dream and inspired us to do. Forty year later, we have added Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles Opera, the Getty Center, the Soraya, the Geffen Playhouse, the ...Read more

Before Missouri voted to overturn the state’s abortion ban, House Majority Leader Jonathan Patterson said lawmakers should respect the will of voters. And when voters also approved raising the state’s minimum wage, the Lee’s Summit Republican ruled out an effort to repeal that decision.

Patterson’s simple promise to abide by the results...Read more

California voters this month trounced a proposal to lift statewide restrictions on local rent control, signaling to other left-leaning states that similar caps on skyrocketing rents might be an uphill climb.

It was, in fact, the third time Californians have said no.

The measure’s defeat disappointed tenant advocates who argue that rent ...Read more

MOUNTVILLE, S.C. -- Through a tangle of trees separating his land from a neighbor’s, Charles Blackmon stared glumly at the cluster of chicken barns where mountains of putrid waste are generated every year.

It’s a scene he’s gotten used to, but not one he’s happy about.

On summer days, the smell of chickens and manure often drifts ...Read more

CHICAGO — At least 87 people drowned in the Great Lakes this year, and more than half of the deaths happened in Lake Michigan, according to the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project.

“Drowning is way up there in fatality rates … but it doesn’t get treated like a public health issue — which it is,” said Dave Benjamin, co-founder and ...Read more

ATLANTA — Many educators and analysts expect Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January will significantly change how schools and colleges operate and are funded.

Here’s a look at how Trump could reshape education in five areas.

Abolishing the U.S. Department of Education

The potential change that has sparked the most ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- Since the "mansion tax" took effect last April, a bevy of groups have aired their grievances.

Developers claim the tax eats into their profit margins, stifling new housing projects. Commercial property owners say their sales of warehouses and retail spaces shouldn't be subject to something that was billed as a "mansion tax."

Now...Read more

The popularity of weight loss drugs such as Ozempic and Mounjaro continue to reflect Americans’ desire to slim down. While these new drugs have offered a solution for people struggling with obesity, many eligible patients – especially Black adults – cannot afford the high price.

These drugs are also not a one-stop solution for ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy predicted that President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Matt Gaetz to be attorney general would be rejected by the Republican Senate next year.

“Gaetz won’t get confirmed, everybody knows that,” McCarthy said in an interview with Bloomberg Television at the Barclays Asia Forum in ...Read more

MEXICO CITY — Car bombs. Massacres. The slaying of a Roman Catholic priest.

A cartel war that has engulfed a major city. A mayor of another large city beheaded after he dared to call for peace.

Six weeks after taking office, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is contending with a nationwide wave of violence, and is facing increasingly ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Congress’ most influential health panels will see dramatic changes next year, with several advocates on specific issues like mental health, Medicare and drug pricing retiring or losing their reelection bids.

The biggest changes will be in store at the House Energy and Commerce Committee, whose wide-ranging jurisdiction includes...Read more

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida to serve as U.S. attorney general, a surprising and highly controversial pick that could set up a confirmation battle in the Senate.

At a Wednesday evening press conference, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters that Gaetz had resigned from Congress �...Read more

One person died after a blast Wednesday night in front of Brazil’s Supreme Court in the capital Brasilia, forcing officials and staff to evacuate the building.

A man tried to enter the Supreme Court building with explosives strapped to his body, preliminary investigations show. The spokesman for the Federal District military police, Major ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump returned to the nation’s capital Wednesday for the first time since winning election, meeting with congressional leaders, sitting in the Oval Office with President Joe Biden and announcing a flurry of high-profile nominations for his Cabinet.

The visit to the White House and Capitol Hill offered a ...Read more

The water systems of three Nevada tribes are getting a $5 million upgrade, the state’s two U.S. senators announced on Wednesday.

“Access to clean, safe drinking water is essential for every community, and that’s no different for Tribes across Nevada,” Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., said in a statement. “I’m proud to have ...Read more

The Justice Department has opened a disability rights investigation into whether Michigan unnecessarily keeps adults with serious mental illness in state psychiatric hospitals in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the department announced Wednesday.

The department said it will investigate whether Michigan provides adequate ...Read more