LOS ANGELES — The hooded man darted past shattered glass, his headlamp illuminating the rare collectibles housed in display cases that lined the walls of Bricks & Minifigs in Whittier.

“Ninjago” Ultra Violet (Oni Mask of Hatred). Percival Graves (“Harry Potter” Series 1). Velociraptor with Sand Green Back (“Jurassic World” Blue). ...Read more

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(Editor’s note: This story contains profanities and racist slurs.)

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DOUGLASVILLE, Ga. — When Milton Kidd leaves work at the end of the day, he slips out the back door of the domed Douglas County Courthouse, avoiding the public entrance where people might berate him or demand his home address.

He never takes the same route home ...Read more

If you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental health crisis, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing “988,” or the Crisis Text Line by texting “HOME” to 741741.

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GRINNELL, Iowa — The farmers’ co-op here is a center of hope every spring. It’s where farmers buy seed and fertilizer for the summer’s ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento was a lot different for LGBTQ+ communities 50 years ago.

Openly gay bars weren’t allowed in the city, and for years, many of those establishments hid in parts of West Sacramento. During the time of the Stonewall riots in 1979, the bar Upstairs/Downstairs was raided by police on 1225 K Street, destroying the ...Read more

The largest freshwater fish in North America, which was once abundant in California’s major rivers and San Francisco Bay, has declined in numbers to a point that state officials will consider whether to protect the fish as a threatened species under the state’s Endangered Species Act.

White sturgeon can grow to more than 10 feet long and ...Read more

For three decades, Mike Madrid has been tracking the seismic shifts in the Latino electorate.

In that time, the Republican political consultant has noticed a population becoming predominantly U.S.-born and increasingly English-speaking. It’s a change in the electorate the Democratic Party is ignoring, he says.

Democrats’ “whole strategy ...Read more

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Four months after seeking asylum in the U.S., Fernando Hermida began coughing and feeling tired. He thought it was a cold. Then sores appeared in his groin and he would soak his bed with sweat. He took a test.

On New Year’s Day 2022, at age 31, Hermida learned he had HIV.

“I thought I was going to die,” he said, ...Read more

Gov. Gavin Newsom, state lawmakers, and health industry leaders have a small window to reach an agreement on billions of new dollars for Medi-Cal before it’s put to voters in November.

An initiative, supported by virtually every sector of the state’s health care industry as well as the local Republican and Democratic parties, would lock in ...Read more

TOPEKA, Kan. — Of the more than 600 laws introduced by the Kansas Legislature during this year’s legislative session, more than 100 will become law.

Many of the new laws will take effect on July 1, or the beginning of the state’s fiscal year. Some controversial measures include one requiring Internet users to verify their age before ...Read more

Fort Lauderdale was in the bull’s eye of an intense “1,000-year” rainstorm that swamped homes, streets and neighborhoods last year.

Residents of Broward County’s largest city didn’t have to wait long for the next deluge to hit.

In June, a storm dumped up to 20 inches of rain in 48 hours in parts of southern Broward, overwhelming ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- As diplomats from around the world convene in Jamaica next month to discuss international guidelines on deep sea mining, environmental activists are urging nations to consider a California law they say could mitigate the need to destroy fragile ocean ecosystems.

“Mining the deep sea will destroy one of the most mysterious and ...Read more

NEW YORK — As temperatures soared into the 90s, the heat and humidity hit the concrete in Astoria, Queens, and bounced into the air. People moved along the scorched sidewalk slowly, their clothes drenched with sweat.

Elianne Alvarado, 44, who was raised in New York City and has lived here for most of her life, ascended the steps to the ...Read more

Deloitte, a global consultancy that reported revenue last year of $65 billion, pulls in billions of dollars from states and the federal government for supplying technology it says will modernize Medicaid.

The company promotes itself as the industry leader in building sophisticated and efficient systems for states that, among other things, ...Read more

Angela Farwig, a longtime advocate for early childhood education who leads Illinois Action for Children, believes the creation of the new Department of Early Childhood – signed into law Tuesday by Gov. J.B. Pritzker – will finally transform a system that has been historically undersupported.

The new agency represents a major step forward in...Read more

Bolivia President Luis Arce late Wednesday swore in a new army commander general after troops led by his predecessor stormed the presidential palace Wednesday in an attempted coup.

Arce installed commander general Jose Wilson Sanchez to take over as the country’s new military chief, who promptly ordered the military to retreat and the troops ...Read more

NEW YORK — Felix Sater, the Moscow-born deal maker who was once part of Donald Trump’s inner circle, lost a civil trial in which he was accused of helping a wealthy Kazakh man launder millions of dollars through U.S. real estate including condos at the Trump SoHo tower.

A federal jury in Manhattan issued the verdict Wednesday in favor of ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — For Doug Emhoff, the second gentleman of the United States, gender inequity isn't complicated. It's simply wrong.

"It's not right. It's not fair," he said Wednesday during a brief visit to the practice facility for Angel City FC, the NWSL team that trains at Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks.

"It's actually ...Read more

DENVER — The lightning-sparked Oak Ridge fire burning in Pueblo County grew to 1,008 acres Wednesday and is still uncontained, fire officials said in an update.

The fire, which sparked Saturday morning in southwest Pueblo County, has forced the closure of part of the Pike-San Isabel National Forest and has caused an air quality health ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — The brush fire in a natural preserve overlooking the ocean near Del Mar on Tuesday drew a fast and aggressive response — two planes, five helicopters and about 150 firefighters — and prompted residents to scramble out of their homes as the flames raced up hill.

The fire in Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve was one of the ...Read more

LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Senate voted Wednesday to subject the Legislature and the governor's office to the state's public records law, a significant vote for the upper chamber, where similar proposals have been repeatedly blocked for years.

The bills, if passed through the House and signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, would end Michigan's ...Read more