KANSAS CITY, Mo. — U.S. Rep. Sam Graves has asked the Department of Health and Human Services to help investigate cancer cases at a Missouri elementary school where, in recent years, multiple teachers have faced cancer diagnoses.

In a letter this week to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Graves said that parents, teachers and staff at ...Read more

The Supreme Court Thursday heard arguments on President Donald Trump’s landmark effort to end birthright citizenship, which has been considered settled law for more than 150 years after being enshrined in the Constitution’s 14th Amendment.

A majority of judges on the conservative-dominated court sounded skeptical about Trump’s effort to ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — The Church of Scientology has withdrawn its request to purchase a downtown Clearwater strip of public land on the eve of a vote by the City Council. The item was removed from Thursday’s agenda.

“Based upon the discussions to date surrounding the application, the Church has determined to supplement its application with ...Read more

NEW YORK — Cassie Ventura, who dated Sean “Diddy” Combs for over a decade until 2018, appeared in court as the star witness during his high-profile sex trafficking trial.

The pregnant R&B singer took the stand this week to testify against the disgraced music mogul. Her harrowing testimony revealed graphic details on everything from freak-...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California’s high-speed rail project could see a major infusion in funding over the next 20 years of at least $1 billion annually from the state’s cap-and-trade program.

The greenhouse gas-reduction program is the sole source of ongoing funds for the bullet train project, generating $6.4 billion for high-speed rail ...Read more

BOISE, Idaho — The defense team for the man accused in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students plans to argue the possibility of alternative perpetrators at his upcoming murder trial, the judge confirmed during the last scheduled pretrial conference Thursday.

Judge Steven Hippler, of Idaho’s 4th Judicial District, said ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A group of environmental researchers is calling on the Newsom administration to step in and pay for soil testing at thousands of homes destroyed in the Eaton and Palisades wildfires.

Nearly a dozen university professors wrote a letter Wednesday to Gov. Gavin Newsom and California Environmental Protection Agency Secretary Yana ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Gov. Tim Walz and legislative leaders struck a budget deal Thursday that rolls back health care coverage for undocumented immigrant adults, closes the Stillwater prison and makes other notable spending cuts.

After about two weeks of closed-door negotiations, Walz and leaders of the tied House and DFL-controlled Senate will ...Read more

Rep. Mike Lawler traded insults with fellow Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in a nasty online spat over his push for a higher cap on deducting state and local taxes, or SALT.

Calling MTG “the Jewish space laser lady,” Lawler said hardline right-wing Republicans should pay more attention to winning swing seats like his Westchester ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — In the wake of a Los Angeles County judge resentencing Erik and Lyle Menendez to terms of 50 years to life, Gov. Gavin Newsom has withdrawn his request for a clemency investigation, turning a hearing scheduled in June before the parole board into an opportunity for the brothers to be granted early release.

The move streamlines ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles construction worker from Vietnam was among 13 immigrants roused by guards in full combat gear around 2:30 a.m. one day last week in a Texas detention facility, shackled, forced onto a bus and told they would be deported to Libya, two of the detainees' lawyers said.

"It was very aggressive. They weren't allowed to ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday proposed that California roll back health care for immigrants without legal status, saying the state needed to cut benefits for some to maintain core services across the board.

It’s a striking reversal for the Democrat, who had promised universal health care and called health coverage for ...Read more

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Federal prosecutors sought a maximum prison sentence of nearly 20 years for the CEO of Pain MD, a company found to have given hundreds of thousands of questionable injections to patients, many reliant on opioids. It would have been among the longest sentences for a health care executive convicted of fraud in recent years.

...Read more

NEW YORK — Cassie Ventura, who dated Sean “Diddy” Combs for over a decade until 2018, appeared in court as the star witness during his high-profile sex trafficking trial.

The pregnant R&B singer took the stand this week to testify against the disgraced music mogul. Her harrowing testimony revealed graphic details on everything from freak-...Read more

The Fulton County judge who took over the sweeping racketeering case against more than 60 protesters who opposed the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center said he’s trying to plow through some of the issues that have delayed the case from reaching trial for more than two years.

The training center itself has already opened, but none of the ...Read more

U.S. President Donald Trump said there’ll be no resolution of Russia’s war in Ukraine until he meets with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, as a delegation from Kyiv set off to Istanbul for potential ceasefire talks with Moscow counterparts.

“Nothing’s going to happen until Putin and I get together,” Trump told reporters Thursday on ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Missouri lawmakers passed a bill earlier this week requiring public schools to ban cellphone use during the school day.

When the bill was first filed, it called for a cellphone ban in schools during instructional time.

However, state lawmakers took a more restrictive approach, with a complete ban on cellphones during the ...Read more