RALEIGH, N.C. — As the year wraps up, taking with it the GOP’s legislative supermajority, Republican lawmakers in the North Carolina House passed a bill Wednesday to revise the state constitution’s language regarding voter identification.

The bill is not subject to the governor’s veto, so now that it has received a three-fifths majority...Read more

BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey’s administration spent less on the emergency shelter system in fiscal year 2024 than originally anticipated, an outcome state officials attributed to cost-cutting and capacity-constraining measures implemented over the past year.

Multiple reports over the last several months that detail the cost of the emergency ...Read more

NEW YORK — New York City has paid the federal monitor in charge of tracking violence and use of force in the city’s jails more than $22.4 million through the end of this October, figures obtained by the New York Daily News show.

The total taxpayer bill for eight years of oversight is $22,496,096 starting in fiscal 2016 and extending through...Read more

CHICAGO — Chicago City Hall and the County Building were evacuated Wednesday after a fire broke out in the records storage area.

The contents of the fire were quickly extinguished and smoke conditions are being treated with fans and window ventilation, officials said.

Paramedics were on site at 118 N. Clark St. to evaluate a few people, ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Cole County judge on Wednesday dismissed a whistleblower lawsuit filed against the Missouri House speaker that alleged he used his power to retaliate against a top employee of the House.

Cole County Associate Circuit Judge Brian Stumpe, in a one page order, rejected the lawsuit, which Dana Miller, chief clerk of the House...Read more

A New Jersey congressman posited on Fox News Wednesday that the mysterious packs of drones buzzing over the Garden State are being launched by an Iranian “mothership” anchored off the East Coast, though the Pentagon quickly shot down the theory.

Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew told Fox News’ Harris Faulkner that he has spoken about the ...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. — The State Board of Elections on Wednesday voted mostly along party lines to dismiss Republican Jefferson Griffin’s challenge of over 60,000 ballots cast in the North Carolina Supreme Court election.

Griffin, who trails his Democratic opponent, Allison Riggs, by over 700 votes, made a variety of legal arguments claiming that ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Kristi Noem visited key senators Wednesday in her bid to become secretary of Homeland Security in the upcoming Trump administration, stressing her support for President-elect Donald Trump’s tough-on-immigration stances.

Noem had visited incoming Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky., on ...Read more

DETROIT — A group of Black women Democrats and their supporters have launched a campaign to demand more support and representation from the state Democratic Party.

The effort is called "Our Own Backbone" and it has the support of some of the Democrats who will choose the next state leaders for the Michigan Democratic Party early next year.

...Read more

Shaquille O’Neal walked off the set of “Inside the NBA” on Tuesday after sportscaster Kenny Smith mentioned Jay-Z just two days after the rapper was named in a lawsuit accusing him of raping a child with Sean “Diddy” Combs.

The commentators, along with Charles Barkley and Ernie Johnson Jr., were discussing a free throw showdown with ...Read more

You’re not the only one who might be embarrassed of your Spotify Wrapped results. This U.S. representative admitted to faking his.

U.S. Rep Josh Gottheimer (D., N.J.) joined the tried and true tradition of sharing his Spotify Wrapped results — the music streaming platform’s annual deep dive into users’ listening habits — on social ...Read more

NEW YORK — Lawyers for former senior mayoral adviser Tim Pearson are repeatedly claiming “law enforcement privilege” in refusing to turn over a wide array of documents sought by a former NYPD sergeant suing Pearson for sexual harassment and retaliation, court papers filed Wednesday say.

“The NYPD and defendant Pearson are the targets ...Read more

Hannah Kobayashi, a Hawaii woman police believe “voluntarily” went missing while traveling from California to New York, has reportedly been located by her family roughly a month after her disappearance.

Kobayashi, who was first reported missing in mid-November, has been in contact with her family and assured them she’s safe, Hawaii News ...Read more

LANSING, Mich. — A Michigan House panel on Wednesday advanced legislation that would remove liability protections for gun manufacturers and create a new pathway to bring litigation against the industry.

The legislation moved out of the Democratic-controlled House Judiciary Committee along party lines and is headed next to the House floor for ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Democratic lawmakers including California Sen. Alex Padilla are urging President Joe Biden to take action now to protect immigrants with temporary legal statuses and work authorizations.

President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to move quickly to crack down on immigrants once he takes office, including mass deportations.

The ...Read more

A California child who became seriously ill after drinking raw milk tested negative for bird flu, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control said.

Health officials in Marin County warned against consuming raw milk products on Tuesday after the child experienced vomiting and high fever after drinking unpasteurized milk and required hospitalization in ...Read more

NEW YORK — Cops released photos and a video of the three males that allegedly fatally stabbed a migrant teen last week near City Hall Park and believe the incident may have stemmed from a gang beef.

Yeremi Colino, who was traveling with a group, was stabbed to death Dec. 5 after a brawl outside 17 John St. Cops deemed the incident a dispute ...Read more

The fall of President Bashar Assad will not only affect the 24 million Syrians who lived – and largely suffered – under his brutal rule. Over the border in Lebanon, the impact will be felt, too.

The collapse of Assad’s government provides another blow to its Lebanese ally, Hezbollah, which was already reeling from an Israel ...Read more

U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace says she was attacked by an advocate for transgender rights who “accosted” her at a congressional office building.

The South Carolina Republican, who has been crusading to bar transgender women from Capitol Hill ladies rooms, told cops that the “pro-trans man” grabbed her, hurting her wrist and arm.

“One new ...Read more