The war with Iran is not just a geopolitical conflict. We see religious rhetoric used to cast strategic interests as a moral or sacred matter.

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson described Iran’s majority faith tradition, Shiite Islam, as a “misguided religion” while discussing the ongoing U.S. strikes against Iran on March 4, 2026....Read more

At least six gray whales have died in San Francisco Bay from mid-March to early April 2026. These deaths follow a pattern over the past few years, and they are raising concerns among marine biologists like us that 2026 is becoming another dangerous year for a struggling population.

The majority of eastern North Pacific gray whales ...Read more

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of people covered by Medicaid rose month after month – an unusual pattern for the government’s insurance program for people with low incomes and disabilities.

Why? A policy of continuous coverage during the pandemic essentially halted Medicaid disenrollment to make it easier for people to ...Read more

When Maria looked at herself in the mirror for the first time after her mastectomy, she stood very still.

One hand rested on the bathroom counter. The other hovered near the flat space where her breast had been. The scar was raw and angry. The loss was quiet but enormous. Her body felt foreign.

In moments like these, people ...Read more

Florida added nearly 3 million residents from 2010-2020, making it the fastest-growing state in the United States during that time.

On any given day, a Florida county commission or municipality may approve a new subdivision, a transportation agency may select the route of a highway expansion, or a rancher may decide whether to sell ...Read more

Pope Leo XIV vowed to keep criticizing the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, hours after President Donald Trump blasted the pontiff and opened up a fresh political rift with his Italian political allies.

“I will continue to speak out loudly against war, looking to promote peace, promoting dialog and multilateral relationships among the ​states to ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — Local hospitals are treating significantly more U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees under the Trump administration, federal data show.

At least 59 ICE detainees received care at San Diego County hospitals from January to mid-October of last year, up from 29 during the entire prior year, according to ICE agency data ...Read more

Hungary’s next leader will lay out his plans on Monday to shore up the economy and dismantle Prime Minister Viktor Orban self-styled illiberal system, a day after a landslide election win over the nationalist premier who had been backed by Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Peter Magyar campaigned on a promise to improve the ...Read more

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s wife has been charged with influence peddling and bribery.

Judge Juan Carlos Peinado charged Begoña Gómez following a yearslong criminal investigation that has rocked Spanish politics, according to a ruling published Monday. She will now stand trial.

The government has repeatedly denied any ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Paul Cook wasn't about to fold — not with Mohandas Gandhi's words ringing in his ears.

Never mind that the issue at the center of the David-versus-Goliath fight was a parking ticket that he could afford to pay. Never mind that if he was the David, then the Goliath was the Los Angeles Department of Transportation's parking ...Read more

MARQUETTE, Mich. — Providing abortions was the last thing Shawn Brown thought she’d be doing when she opened an urgent care clinic in this remote town in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

But she also wasn’t expecting the Planned Parenthood in Marquette to shut down last spring. Roughly 1,100 patients relied on that clinic each year for ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — “You don’t see a pig on a leash every day with a hat on,” Mina Alali said as her potbelly pig wearing a colorful propeller hat tugged at her skirt, hoping to receive a handful of oats.

The propeller hat has become a signature look for the pig — a 4-year-old Vietnamese potbelly named Merlin — who has more than 1 ...Read more

NEW YORK — After Mayor Mamdani passed over their top choice to lead the city’s child welfare system, New York parents whose lives were upended by foster care want answers on how he plans to help keep Black families together.

For decades, Black parents have accused the Administration for Children’s Services of being biased against them, ...Read more

LAME DEER, Mont. — Misty Pipe had about an hour before her shift began at the post office. She used that time to check in on a new mom who lives a few miles outside this town at the heart of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation.

A mom of seven, Pipe is a doula on the reservation who supports new and expectant parents. She does that work ...Read more

President Donald Trump attacked Pope Leo XIV for his criticisms of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, calling the leader of the Catholic Church “WEAK on crime.”

The American-born pope has issued a series of rebukes to his leadership, most recently challenging the administration’s argument that God is on the side of the U.S. in the conflict ...Read more

NASA's 10-day Artemis II mission to fly around the moon safely splashed down off the San Diego coast Friday, marking the end of humanity's first flight to the moon in over 50 years.

The new NASA administrator, born over a decade after the last Apollo mission, immediately made it clear he intends the gap between Artemis II and the agency's next ...Read more

Democratic candidate Eric Swalwell dropped out of the governor’s race Sunday afternoon after a former staffer accused the East Bay congressman of sexual assault and three others accused him of sexual misconduct, prompting key allies to withdraw endorsements and pressure him to withdraw from the race.

“I am suspending my campaign for ...Read more

Mayor Zohran Mamdani touted his administration’s early wins at a campaign style rally Sunday to mark his first 100 days in office, presenting a rebrand of sorts from more lofty campaign promises to “pothole politics” — what he has defined as a focus on tangible results for everyday New Yorkers.

He also unveiled three new priorities, ...Read more