A San Bernardino, California, pastor and one-time city council candidate was arrested this week on suspicion that he swindled longtime friends and a nonprofit corporation tied to another church out of more than $230,000, according to federal authorities.

Terrance Owens Elliott, who was arrested Thursday, has been charged with 11 counts of wire ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota’s budget outlook has flipped from a record surplus to a projected $6 billion deficit down the line.

The shortfall projected for the state’s 2028-2029 budget cycle will almost certainly influence spending decisions at the Capitol this year. Legislators have a small projected surplus of $456 million for the coming ...Read more

Betsy Arakawa appeared to go about her normal routine in early February.

She ran errands around Santa Fe while wearing a face mask. She visited a Sprouts grocery store, CVS pharmacy and a pet store while emailing her massage therapist, officials said.

Investigators now believe she died two days later on Feb. 11. Her body was later found in the...Read more

NEW YORK — The NYPD Special Victims detective whose racy music video of her gyrating and twerking on a stripper pole went viral never told anyone she was a cop — and may have a future in modeling, the director said.

“She was one of the stars,” director Pitch Perfect said about Bronx detective Melissa Mercado, who set hearts racing as ...Read more

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has extended the deadline for Los Angeles wildfire victims to apply for federal aid to March 31.

So far, FEMA has distributed more than $84.2 million to 30,468 people impacted by what officials warn could be the costliest disaster in modern history. FEMA grants do not need to be repaid and can be used to ...Read more

Dawn Pedersen on Saturday stood at the corner of L and 10th streets in downtown Sacramento near the California Capitol building holding a “Protect Trans Rights” sign.

“I’m seeing our rights being whittled away every day,” said Pedersen, of West Sacramento. “It’s chaos in the federal government.”

She joined more than 100 people ...Read more

NEW YORK — Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency Saturday as dozens of fire departments and the National Guard worked to extinguish multiple wildfires that broke out on the South Shore of Long Island, scorching the Pine Barrens and spreading for miles along the Sunrise Highway.

The governor announced shortly before 5:30 p.m. that ...Read more

The Boston City Council is set to audit the “implementation and effectiveness” of the Trust Act, a 2014 law that has led to Mayor Michelle Wu facing potential criminal prosecution due to the city’s sanctuary status.

A hearing is scheduled for Monday as the Committee on Public Safety and Criminal Justice is set to “audit the ...Read more

NEW YORK — Dozens of fire departments and the National Guard were working on Saturday to extinguish multiple wildfires the broke out on the South Shore of Long Island, scorching the Pine Barrens and spreading for miles along the Sunrise Highway.

“New York State agencies are responding to a brush fire in the Pine Barrens,” Gov. Kathy ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Two men have been arrested in connection with the death of a man who was fatally shot while trying to stop a catalytic converter theft in Inglewood, authorities said.

Homicide detectives with the Inglewood Police Department arrested Wilver Alberto Rabanales, 40, and Jose Christian Saravia Sanchez on Thursday evening after ...Read more

The gunmen were methodical, beginning their rampage from the start of a street in the Qusoor neighborhood in the Syrian coastal city of Baniyas and working their way down the block, building by building, home by home, before they got to Abu Ali's apartment.

The first ones to die were Abu Ali's neighbors, a contractor named Ibrahim Al-Iss and ...Read more

DETROIT – Hundreds of people marched in Detroit Saturday, expressing all manner of grievances against the Trump administration, from immigration to the climate to reproductive rights.

The protesters, bundled against the morning cold, carried American and Ukrainian flags as they walked the 1.7 mile route along Woodward Avenue.

They chanted, ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Members of a left-leaning group tried to get Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer, the No. 3 Republican in the U.S. House, to hold a town hall to talk about President Donald Trump’s sweeping changes to Washington.

Receiving no response, Wright County Indivisible and Indivisible North Metro chose to hold one without him. At least 300 people...Read more

About two dozen election bills have been introduced in Idaho this legislative session, a total that signals fewer questions around voting across the state compared to past years.

Since the 2020 election, far more election bills have typically been introduced, according to Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane and legislative archives. Right out...Read more

Proud bald eagle parents Jackie and Shadow welcomed a third chick to their feathered family Saturday morning, days after two hatchlings made their debut.

Movement was spotted in the third egg via livestream on Thursday as the days-old hatchlings nestled in their snowy Big Bear nest. The triplet poked through its shell and was mostly visible ...Read more

VIRGINIA BEACH — A crowd of roughly 100 people holding politically charged signs and shaking tambourines showed up for an International Women’s Day protest Saturday at Town Center.

The rally was one of thousands of events held around the world focused on women’s rights, equality and empowerment. Attended by mostly women of all ages from ...Read more

Mike Protas, owner of One Acre Farm, installed a $100,000 solar panel project on his property last year, expecting half of it to be paid for through a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant. Now, with federal funds frozen via recent Department of Government Efficiency actions, Protas doesn’t know if or when he will get the promised grant money. ...Read more

Kremlin forces are racing to drive back and cut off Ukraine’s troops in Russia’s Kursk region in a bid to undermine a bargaining chip in possible peace talks after the U.S. suspended new military aid to Kyiv.

“All units across the entire Kursk front have gone on the attack,” Apti Alaudinov, a Russian military commander, was cited as ...Read more