A few months after a vague new rule allowed the state to remove books with descriptions of sexual conduct from its public schools regardless of grade level, the South Carolina Board of Education has banned its first seven.

The board decided unanimously Tuesday — without being required to read them — that the books Elana K. Arnold’s “...Read more

FRESNO, Calif. — Workplace bullying, religious trauma, complicated relationships with their own communities.

These are some of the challenges that LGBTQ+ farmworkers face, said Rev. Nelson Serrano Poveda, the Latino/Hispanic missioner at Fresno’s St. James Episcopal Cathedral. Many come from small, socially conservative towns in Latin ...Read more

If President-elect Donald Trump and a Republican Senate try to roll back reproductive health rights or pursue a widely prophesied national abortion ban, California Attorney General Rob Bonta is poised to challenge him.

Two years ago, Bonta, a Democrat who heads the state justice department, directed his staff to draft legal analyses against a ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — Southwestern College students Alejandro Banda and Deante Bailey know the drill by now — wake up early, check border crossing wait times and stand in line in hopes of being on time for school. But for the first time, at least for one class, they get to skip the tedious routine.

The Chula Vista-based college recently began ...Read more

In his first term as president, Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris climate deal, weakened decades-old environmental protections and rolled back many regulations on polluting industries installed by his predecessor, former President Barack Obama.

Now, with Trump set to return to the White House, a similar fate may await many of ...Read more

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Before the election results began rolling in, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly took the stage, confident that Democrats could break the long-held Republican supermajority that has thwarted many of her legislative priorities.

“If we do that, you will not only make my life better, you will make the life of every Kansan better,”...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California hasn’t executed a condemned prisoner in nearly 20 years, but prosecutors continue to seek the death penalty, leading to court costs of more than $300 million in the last five years alone, an analysis by The Sacramento Bee shows.

A case in point is the prosecution of Adel Ramos. Prosecutors this week wrapped ...Read more

Black students in several states reported receiving a racist text message from an anonymous number the day after the election.

The Southern Poverty Law Center is investigating the message received by students in Alabama and Georgia, it said Thursday in a news release.

The text message said the recipient has been selected to pick cotton at the ...Read more

BALTIMORE — Baltimore City election director Armstead Jones said Thursday he does not think the Board of Elections will meet the state’s mandatory deadline to certify the 2024 Presidential Election.

All local election boards are required to certify results of the general election to the State Board of Elections by Nov. 15, which is the ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Camarillo Heights resident Maurice Kerr stood inside the shell of his burned-out home Thursday morning.

With the surrounding rubble still smoldering and smoke choking the air, the 68-year-old said he did his best to fight the wind-driven Mountain fire, which started raining embers on his home soon after it started Wednesday ...Read more

This year could shape up to be the worst year for whooping cough Washington has seen in over a decade.

State health officials counted 1,193 cases of whooping cough, or pertussis, across 31 counties as of Nov. 2, according to the Department of Health's most recent update. This time last year, the state had reported 51 cases.

Washington is not ...Read more

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell made clear he’s ready to defend the U.S. central bank from political pressure following the re-election of Donald Trump, saying he wouldn’t resign if asked and insisting the incoming president doesn’t have the power to fire him or other senior Fed leaders.

“No,” Powell said firmly on Thursday, when ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Camarillo Heights resident Maurice Kerr stood inside the shell of his burned-out home Thursday morning.

With the surrounding rubble still smoldering and smoke choking the air, the 68-year-old said he did his best to fight the wind-driven Mountain fire, which started raining embers on his home soon after it started Wednesday ...Read more

DENVER — One of Colorado’s reintroduced wolves likely died of wounds it suffered during a fight with another wolf, federal officials announced Thursday.

The wolf also had a healed gunshot wound on one of its hind legs, according to a statement from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife confirmed the wolf’s death...Read more

BOSTON — Two Boston city councilors are pressing Secretary of State William Galvin to follow through on his threat to place the Boston Election Department into receivership for its Election Day missteps that left polling places short on ballots.

Councilors Ed Flynn and Erin Murphy penned a letter to Secretary Galvin on Thursday, to formally ...Read more

For some Washington business leaders, Donald Trump’s return to the White House revives hopes of fresh cuts to corporate taxes and a host of regulations.

Tech company leaders hoping to gain Trump’s good graces congratulated him on his win. Wall Street analysts expressed optimism that his administration won’t put guardrails on the tech ...Read more

Prince William got candid this week about the “brutal” and heartbreaking year 2024 has been, as wife Kate Middleton and father King Charles have navigated their respective cancer journeys.

“It’s been dreadful,” he told People from South Africa, where he was presiding over the Earthshot Prize Awards ceremony for climate change ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s team is forming a new administration and the president-elect is expected to draw top advisers and cabinet secretaries from a pool of Wall Street and business executives including officials from his first term — at least the ones who stuck by him.

Republicans are on track to win total control of government, ...Read more

President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday named Susie Wiles, the co-manager of his presidential campaign, as his White House chief of staff, elevating a longtime Florida political hand who has helped orchestrate some of the most crucial Republican wins in the state.

Wiles, who has worked for Republican politicians ranging from Jacksonville ...Read more