MEXICO CITY — Hugo Chávez called the United States “the empire,” and President George W. Bush “the devil.” Denouncing capitalism as “the road to hell,” he pushed an alternative economic model that nationalized key industries and redistributed wealth.

During his 14-year presidency of Venezuela, Chávez warned of a CIA plot to ...Read more

DETROIT — An 18-year-old who allegedly threatened to shoot people as classes were letting out last week at Ann Arbor's Haisley Elementary School faces up to 20 years in prison after he was charged with making terroristic threats, authorities said.

The incident happened at about 4 p.m. Friday, Ann Arbor police said in a statement.

"Officers ...Read more

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Weeks after the administration of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis steered $10 million from a legal Medicaid settlement to a charity spearheaded by the state's first lady, the Hope Florida Foundation gave $5 million apiece to two separate organizations that gave millions to a political committee waging an anti-marijuana campaign ...Read more

NEW YORK — The owner of one of the vehicles involved in the fatal Brooklyn hit-and-run of former child actor Kianna Underwood has been located, police sources said Monday.

The owner told police he was getting a lawyer and would not answer any questions, sources said.

Police seized his vehicle, a black 2021 Ford Explorer, and are examining ...Read more

BOSTON — Teamsters President Sean O’Brien kicked off a 2026 reelection bid in Charlestown on Sunday — defending his record, speaking to the future and warning his opponent that Teamsters politics are a “full contact sport.”

“We need a full court press going into Las Vegas in June,” said O’Brien to a lively packed crowd of ...Read more

MARTINEZ, Calif. — An inmate at the Martinez Detention Facility died in custody Sunday, authorities said.

A Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office deputy found 62-year-old Victor Jose Faria unresponsive in his cell in the B module of the facility about 5:10 p.m., the agency said in a statement. According to the sheriff’s office, the deputy ...Read more

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi officially called an early election next month and promised a temporary sales tax cut on food if she wins a fresh mandate for her new coalition.

The premier, who took power in October, is betting that her ruling Liberal Democratic Party can strengthen its slim majority in parliament in a Feb. 8 election. ...Read more

Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said she will campaign on a temporary sales tax cut on food in a snap election next month as she seeks a national mandate for her new coalition and her vision of expansionary fiscal policy that remains responsible while boosting economic growth.

The premier confirmed during a press conference on Monday ...Read more

MEXICO CITY — Hugo Chávez called the United States “the empire,” and President George W. Bush “the devil.” Denouncing capitalism as “the road to hell,” he pushed an alternative economic model that nationalized key industries and redistributed wealth.

During his 14-year presidency of Venezuela, Chávez warned of a CIA plot to ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Alarmed by a growing shortage of nurses, Florida lawmakers in 2009 eased regulations on the schools tasked with training them, inviting new institutions to enter the market.

The results were swift: Within five years, the number of Florida nursing programs more than doubled. But many were for-profit institutions that churned out...Read more

The long-term health of the ocean off the coast of Southern California, and the health of the region’s freshwater streams and rivers and lakes, soon could hinge on the Trump administration’s definition of a single word: ditch.

The Environmental Protection Agency is in the midst of sorting out which of the “waters of the United States,” ...Read more

Tents are still set up inside the Juventud 2000 shelter in Tijuana, ready to provide migrants with a place to stay. But on a recent Wednesday, the once-busy refuge was quiet. Unlike this time last year, nearly all of the tents are empty.

“The difference is clear from the moment you get here,” noted José María García, the shelter’s ...Read more

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — It was a scene that left residents of this pricey, palm-lined Santa Monica neighborhood flabbergasted.

Without warning, some 50 strangers had suddenly arrived in vans and were occupying a vacant building on Ocean Avenue the night before Thanksgiving.

Some of them smoked cigarettes, others had dogs running around ...Read more

Imagine starting the new year with the promise of at least a $147 million payout from the federal government.

But there are strings attached.

In late December, President Donald Trump’s administration announced how much all 50 states would get under its new Rural Health Transformation Program, assigning them to use the money to fix systemic ...Read more

New Zealand Finance Minister Nicola Willis said she would have preferred Reserve Bank Governor Anna Breman spoke with her before signing a statement in support of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

“She should have let me know that that statement was her intention and she should have taken advice from across government” including the ...Read more

Airports across Michigan were awarded state grants to help cover the costs of responding to PFAS, a class of man-made pollutants common in fire suppression foam used at airports, the state's environmental department announced Friday.

Airport officials can use the money to test for PFAS, monitor the pollution, control the pollution, clean ...Read more

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Greenland’s future is for Denmark and Greenland to decide, and that he’ll reiterate that message to President Donald Trump if they speak about it.

“It’s a serious situation,” Carney said Sunday at a news conference in Qatar, where he traveled after concluding a 3-day visit to China. “We’re...Read more

The U.S. Department of Justice is not investigating ICE agent Jonathan Ross for the fatal shooting of Renee Good, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Sunday.

But the top DOJ official confirmed that an investigation is underway into Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for “actively encouraging” protesters “to go out ...Read more