Ever since operetta composer Victor Herbert sued Shanley’s restaurant in New York in 1917 to force it to pay for playing his song on a player-piano, songwriters and music publishers have depended on Performing Rights Organizations to make sure they get compensated.

For much of the last century, three organizations dominated the industry, a ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The Minneapolis City Council on Thursday approved a $12 million contract for NovoaGlobal to set up a camera system to ticket speeders, and it could be expanded in future years to tag drivers who run red lights.

The action appears to be the last step needed to launch a pilot after Minneapolis won legislative approval to bring ...Read more

CHICAGO — Chicago’s record spending on police misconduct settlements is likely to climb higher this month with another $35.2 million in proposed deals, most tied to decades-old wrongful conviction cases featuring disgraced detectives.

City attorneys are recommending aldermen settle up to avoid even larger court payouts in five cases. if ...Read more

A former U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer convicted of smuggling 16 “bricks” of cocaine inside his carry-on bags has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison, prosecutors said.

Ivan Van Beverhoudt was traveling in his official capacity when he boarded an Atlanta-bound flight in St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands with ...Read more

President Donald Trump late Wednesday announced he was putting Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in charge of NASA as its new interim chief.

“Sean is doing a TREMENDOUS job in handling our Country’s Transportation Affairs, including creating a state-of-the-art Air Traffic Control systems, while at the same time rebuilding our roads and ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — Orange County jail staff could be directed — at county expense — to haul immigration detainees to “Alligator Alcatraz” or other detention facilities used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement if county commissioners approve an amended pact with the agency.

“I’m gonna fight it,” said commissioner Nicole Wilson, ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — An overwhelming number of California voters think American democracy is being threatened or, at the very least, tested, according to a new poll released Thursday by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies.

The poll, conducted for the nonprofit Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund, found that concerns cut across the ...Read more

The Secret Service has suspended six agents tasked with securing the Pennsylvania rally where Donald Trump was shot last year.

Matt Quinn, Secret Service deputy director, told CBS News that their punishments range from 10 to 42 days of leave without pay or benefits. They include several agents at the service’s Pittsburgh field office, along ...Read more

Brazil spent months flying under the radar as Donald Trump upended global trade. Now that it’s in the spotlight, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva may stand to benefit from the attention.

Hours after the U.S. president threatened to hit Brazil with 50% tariffs, the leader known universally as Lula announced that, rather than rush to appease...Read more

The U.K. and France will agree to strengthen their cooperation on nuclear deterrence, formally declaring a willingness to coordinate any response to an extreme security threat in Europe.

The two nuclear-armed members of the U.N. Security Council will highlight deeper defense ties during meetings between U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and ...Read more

The vast tract of land off Route 85 was meant to be a symbol of Made-in-America manufacturing. A billion-dollar battery factory was going to rise, bringing thousands of new jobs. The business announced, “Get Ready Arizona,” the governor said the state was thrilled and even the U.S. president gave the project a shoutout.

But here, in the ...Read more