SAN FRANCISCO — At the start of the pandemic, when live entertainment was shut down across California, Gregg Perloff — chief executive of Another Planet Entertainment— told his team to use the downtime to find a new project that excited them.

They quickly set about identifying a versatile venue somewhere in San Francisco, and began ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — On a normal Sunday, the aisles of Mexican grocery store Bymore Supermercado in St. Paul are crowded. Families shop together with parents calling out dinner ideas and kids tossing snacks into the cart.

“In our culture, it’s like family bonding time. Mom goes with all the kids,” said bookkeeper Vanessa Machuca.

But last ...Read more

CHICAGO — Roughly 2,400 miles from where her nephew faced an hourslong standoff with ICE agents in Elgin last Saturday, Genesis Adriana Gutierrez Morales’ voice shook in Maracaibo, Venezuela, with sadness and rage at the words from authorities she said tarnished her nephew’s name.

“I don’t have the words to describe the frustration ...Read more

Earlier this year, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pledged that the search for autism's cause — a question that has kept researchers busy for the better part of six decades — would be over in just five months.

"By September, we will know what has caused the autism epidemic, and we'll be able to eliminate those ...Read more

California environmental regulators on Thursday struck a landmark deal with Pacific Gas & Electric to extend the life of the state’s last remaining nuclear power plant in exchange for thousands of acres of new land conservation in San Luis Obispo County.

PG&E’s agreement with the California Coastal Commission is a key hurdle for the Diablo ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced charges against five unlicensed contractors following an undercover operation in Altadena’s Eaton fire zone.

“Unlicensed contractors … are essentially trying to take advantage of people at some of their lowest moments and trying to profit off their tragedy,” ...Read more

With the region in the grips of bitter cold, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Thursday declared a state of emergency due to "anticipated impacts on the delivery of propane" for homes and businesses because of a service disruption at a Delaware County distribution facility.

The declaration allows operators of commercial vehicles transporting ...Read more

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday evening that seeks to challenge state laws on artificial intelligence and withhold certain grant funds for states with AI laws the administration dislikes.

The effort could be a significant victory for major technology companies but is almost certain to be challenged in court.

“We ...Read more

CHICAGO — A federal appeals court in Chicago issued a mixed opinion Thursday in a high-profile immigration case, blocking the immediate release of hundreds of people detained during Operation Midway Blitz, but allowing the extension of a consent decree governing so-called warrantless arrests.

The 2-1 split opinion from the 7th U.S. Circuit ...Read more

President Donald Trump is expected to direct his administration to move to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, according to people familiar with the matter, a move that could represent one of the biggest shifts in U.S. policy toward cannabis in decades.

Trump has discussed the idea with marijuana industry executives, Health and Human...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department failed again to secure a grand jury indictment against New York State Attorney General Letitia James over mortgage fraud claims.

Prosecutors have been seeking to renew charges against James after a federal judge dismissed a case against her last month, saying that the prosecutor, Lindsey Halligan, the U.S....Read more

WASHINGTON — Democratic senators are demanding more details on the drug pricing deals that Pfizer Inc., Eli Lilly & Co. and others have struck with the Trump administration in an effort to understand whether they’re actually saving the government any money.

In letters sent to chief executives of Pfizer, Lilly, Novo Nordisk A/S and ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed an order aimed at thwarting state-level regulation of artificial intelligence, handing a policy win to tech industry leaders who have pressed for preemption of local rules.

Trump said the measure was necessary to bolster the emerging technology and counter a patchwork of state-level regulation the ...Read more

A month and a half after Hurricane Melissa killed dozens of people in Haiti, the country is still struggling with its aftermath.

Haitians, who were already going hungry because gang violence has blocked highways and cut off commerce, are grappling with even more shortages and the loss of crops, the regional director of the United Nations’ ...Read more

President Donald Trump claimed to grant former Colorado county clerk Tina Peters a “full pardon” Thursday night — a power that constitutional law experts say he cannot wield for a person convicted of state-level crimes.

Peters, 70, is serving a nine-year sentence in state prison in Pueblo for felonies related to providing unauthorized ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — SpaceX and United Launch Alliance are combining for a busy week of rocket launches on the Space Coast.

First up Thursday evening was SpaceX’s planned Starlink 6-90 mission with 29 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 5:01 p.m. Eastern time.

This was the 16th flight of ...Read more

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida has cut more environmental protection jobs than any other state in the past 15 years, despite the challenges posed by increasingly intense hurricanes and sea level rise, according to a newly released national report.

The state cut 394 jobs, or 19% of full-time positions, at the Florida Department of Environmental ...Read more

Gov. Wes Moore on Thursday announced his administration will invest $19 million into programs to end child poverty across the state.

The investment will go to the Engaging Neighborhoods, Organizations, Unions, Governments, and Households (ENOUGH) initiative, now in its second year. Moore added that the initiative’s philanthropic partners, ...Read more

The Trump administration announced Wednesday that it plans to create a militarized zone along the U.S.-Mexico border in California to support border security operations for three years, the latest in a controversial series of moves aimed at securing the border amid the government’s immigration crackdown.

Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum ...Read more