TAMPA, Fla. — Florida lawmakers reached a rare consensus after the deadly Parkland school shooting: More money was needed for mental health counseling at schools.

“We haven’t put enough resources into mental health issues,” said then-Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples. “And look what happens.”

Two years later, lawmakers passed a ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — When Los Angeles police arrested Jose Juarez-Basilio in March on suspicion of threatening his ex-wife’s new romantic partner, he was released after spending less than 24 hours in jail.

The short stay behind bars was all it took to trigger his deportation roughly three months later.

Even though no charges were filed against ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has increasingly gone around the Senate to extend the tenures of temporary federal prosecutors — a trend indicative of the tensions over the Senate’s role in confirming officials in the second Trump administration.

U.S. attorney nominees are frequently noncontroversial and are often voice-voted ...Read more

This summer, millions of people from around the world will visit America’s national parks, eager to marvel at iconic landscapes such as the Grand Canyon, Yosemite Valley and Old Faithful. These places aren’t just national treasures — they’re global ones. But the growing crowds and aging infrastructure in many parks tell a difficult story...Read more

OLYMPIC VALLEY, Calif. —“Keep Tahoe Blue” may not be the most common bumper sticker in California, but it’s certainly one of them.

And for good reason. Californians treasure the giant lake for its clarity, its spectacular vistas and the countless memories made here.

But an onslaught of invading species threatens the plants and ...Read more

A few days after a harrowing cosmetic surgery procedure, Erin Schaeffer said, she woke up with fluid leaking from an open wound in her stomach.

Schaeffer went on to spend a week in a Florida hospital battling a severe infection after a type of tummy tuck and liposuction at the Jacksonville branch of Sono Bello, a national cosmetic surgery chain...Read more

For two decades, Washington, D.C., pediatrician Lanre Falusi has counseled parents about vaccine safety, side effects, and timing. But this year, she said, the conversations have changed.

“For the first time, I’m having parents of newborns ask me if their baby will still be able to get vaccines,” Falusi said.

Throughout the country, ...Read more

If you want to create a perfect storm at Covered California and other Affordable Care Act marketplaces, all you have to do is make enrollment more time-consuming, ratchet up the toll on consumers’ pocketbooks, and terminate financial aid for some of the youngest and healthiest enrollees.

And presto: You’ve got people dropping coverage; ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Democratic candidates for California governor likely breathed sighs of relief Wednesday when former vice president Kamala Harris announced she would not enter the race next year.

After weighing the decision for much of the year, Harris said she plans to focus on “listening to the American people (and) helping elect ...Read more

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, the Braddock Democrat whose independent streak and grapples with health issues have made headlines since before he came to Washington, will release a memoir in November.

The "candid" memoir, titled "Unfettered," will share the story of Mr. Fetterman's rise from AmeriCorps and business into politics, ...Read more

SEATTLE — The earthquake Tuesday off Russia’s far eastern coast was one of the strongest in recorded history. People across the Pacific Ocean braced for a potentially devastating tsunami to follow.

Some damage and flooding were seen in the nearby and sparsely populated areas. But across much of the ocean, including along the Washington ...Read more

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the U.S. had reached trade agreements with Cambodia and Thailand, days after the Southeast Asian neighbors agreed to a ceasefire at President Donald Trump’s urging after deadly clashes along their disputed border.

“And you know what we did today? We made trade deals with Cambodia and Thailand,” ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and his Mexican counterpart Claudia Sheinbaum plan to speak by phone on Thursday morning, according to people familiar with the plans, as a Friday deadline to avoid a 30% tariff nears with no agreement between the U.S. and its largest trade partner.

Talks between the governments, which saw Mexican Economy ...Read more

As costs ballooned and political backlash mounted, the California High-Speed Rail Authority pivoted years ago to building its 400-mile bullet train between San Francisco and Los Angeles in segments — starting with a 171-mile stretch connecting the agricultural cities of Merced and Bakersfield.

Connections to the major population centers in ...Read more

A New Mexico judge has dismissed Alec Baldwin’s lawsuit alleging that he was maliciously prosecuted — one year after the actor-producer was cleared of a criminal charge in the “Rust” shooting death of the film’s cinematographer.

Baldwin alleged in a January lawsuit that he was the victim of overzealous New Mexico prosecutors and law ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is revoking approval for millions of acres of ocean to be set aside for offshore wind development amid an escalating attack on the renewable power source.

The Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced Wednesday it was rescinding huge swaths of ocean in the U.S. Outer Continental ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — It was one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded, a magnitude 8.8 monster off the eastern coast of Russia.

Despite its remote location, the size of the quake immediately brought potential danger of tsunami to a significant swath of the globe, including Japan, Canada and the United States. Tsunami alerts immediately went ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — As rebuilding ramps up in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles leaders are restricting the building of duplexes on single-family-home lots.

The move follows an executive order issued Wednesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom that allows exemptions for the Palisades and other areas devastated by January’s Palisades and Eaton fires from Senate ...Read more

A new $1 billion financial hit, spurred by a tax law signed by President Donald Trump, is poised to complicate Michigan lawmakers' mission of crafting a state budget and avoiding a government shutdown, suggests a new report from a nonpartisan research group.

The 13-page analysis from the Citizens Research Council of Michigan, released Wednesday...Read more