SEATTLE — U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. declared a public health emergency for Washington after dozens of communities across the western side of the state were pummeled by flooding.

The declaration, issued Christmas Eve, is meant to address ensuing health impacts caused by the flooding, back-to-...Read more

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy appointed two Mat-Su Republicans to fill vacant seats in the state House on Wednesday.

Dunleavy chose Garret Nelson, an online salesman and father of nine who lives in Sutton, to fill a seat previously held by George Rauscher. The governor selected Stephan St. Clair, a veteran and former legislative staffer from ...Read more

BRISTOL, Pa. — As first responders arrived at the Bristol Health & Rehab Center on Tuesday afternoon, they were faced with a nightmarish scene: A nursing facility that housed 120 people had exploded, and dozens were trapped.

Shards of wood, glass, and paneling littered the lawn. The smell of gas hung thick in the air — and flames were ...Read more

Federal employees were given two additional days off this week after President Donald Trump designated Christmas Eve and the day after Christmas federal holidays.

This week, Gov. Brad Little followed suit for Idaho state workers.

But not everyone has the rest of the week off. Many local governments, including Ada County and the city of Boise, ...Read more

Russia may be getting help from Chinese satellite imaging data to carry out strikes on energy targets in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

“There have been correlations between Chinese satellite imaging of Ukrainian territory and Russian strikes on the corresponding energy infrastructure facilities,” Zelenskyy said Wednesday in a...Read more

As one of his final acts in office, Mayor Eric Adams late on Christmas Eve vetoed a City Council bill that would temporarily allow victims of gender-based violence to sue their perpetrators even if the statute of limitations for their claim has lapsed.

The veto, which Adams issued just a week before he leaves office on Dec. 31, came even though...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City Fire Department captain has filed a lawsuit alleging he was retaliated against after raising concerns about racist hiring and promotion practices, including claims that department leadership destroyed evidence and blamed Black firefighters’ test performance on a lack of education.

The complaint, filed on ...Read more

WASHINGTON — A sanctioned oil tanker pursued by U.S. forces turned away from Venezuela and retreated out into the Atlantic Ocean, according to people familiar with the matter, as the Trump administration continues a blockade piling pressure on Caracas.

The U.S. Coast Guard encountered the ship, Bella 1, amid bad weather near Barbados on ...Read more

In a scene reminiscent of the 1990 Christmas classic “Home Alone,” a quick-thinking Long Island boy foiled a robbery by leaping out of his bedroom window and calling police as he hid in the backyard of his Medford home.

The incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon when the 12-year-old child heard glass breaking in the kitchen and someone ...Read more

Federal prosecutors in New York and the FBI have “uncovered” over 1 million additional documents related to investigations into Jeffrey Epstein, the Department of Justice announced Wednesday, five days after last Friday’s deadline to turn over all of its Epstein-related files.

The announcement portends a long, drawn-out process as the ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The most powerful Christmas storm in years slammed into Southern California on Wednesday, closing roads, flooding streets and drenching last-minute holiday shoppers.

The region’s wet Christmas is expected to continue through the weekend, though forecasters said Wednesday was expected to be the more intense day of rain. ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Twenty-four hours after two gas explosions ripped through a Bucks County nursing home, the dead and injured had been identified, survivors were accounted for, and the cleanup was underway. But unanswered questions about the blast’s cause mounted.

On Wednesday morning, PECO provided a drastically different account of when its ...Read more

Jeffrey Epstein’s team of high-powered lawyers famously negotiated a lenient 2007 deal on his behalf with federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida that allowed the financier to avoid a lengthy prison sentence and plead guilty to only two state charges to settle allegations that he had abused dozens of teenage girls.

Never-...Read more

Dominion Energy is suing the Trump administration following its decision Monday to suspend the federal lease for the wind-power project off the coast of Virginia Beach just months before it was slated to start producing energy after more than 10 years of work.

The Interior Department paused the leases for five offshore wind projects, citing ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — A man stalked federal agents in his pickup truck for miles in West St. Paul and aimed a gun at them in an effort to chase them off, according to a criminal complaint filed on Dec. 24.

Thomas Edwin Edwards, 63, was charged in Dakota County District Court with obstructing the legal process with force, a gross misdemeanor, and four...Read more

CHICAGO — Chicago faith leaders were once again denied entry to pray inside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in suburban Broadview. This time, on Christmas Eve.

A handful of faith leaders and other community members walked up to the facility doors at 1930 Beach St. on Wednesday morning to pray with detainees inside the ...Read more

BOISE, Idaho — One Treasure Valley doctor is putting off his retirement and doing something “profound” with his last year in the emergency room.

Stuart Clive, who was a longtime St. Luke’s Medical Center emergency room physician, is donating an entire year’s salary in an effort to cure blindness for thousands of people.

Clive works ...Read more

A TikToker accused of mowing down a pedestrian in suburban Chicago while livestreaming on the platform has been arrested in Illinois.

Social media star Tea Tyme, whose real name is Tynesha McCarty-Wroten, was taken into custody on Tuesday and booked on two felonies, reckless homicide and aggravated use of communications resulting in death, ...Read more