From a ban on cat declawing procedures to an attempt to protect children from harmful artificial intelligence “companion” chatbots, the California Legislature was busy in its final days of session this year, moving bills along to the governor.

Of the nearly 2,400 bills introduced this session, only about a third of them were passed on to ...Read more

At the end of 2007, the country, and eventually the world, fell into what would later be called the Great Recession.

The economically and socially turbulent time in the United States saw the American Dream changing as the housing market crashed and unemployment hit its highest rate in decades in 2009.

Before this point, as women reached the ...Read more

The House on Tuesday advanced a pair of bills that would override local D.C. criminal justice law and make it easier to impose strict penalties on young offenders.

A number of Democrats crossed the aisle to vote in favor of the legislation, which many in their party said was patronizing to D.C. and would infringe on the District’s right to ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Nearly five months after an arson attack on his home, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro addressed the fifth annual Eradicate Hate Global Summit, urging unity and moral clarity amid a rise in political and hate-driven violence nationwide.

Shapiro, a Democrat, gave a keynote speech at the Eradicate Hate Global Summit on Tuesday ...Read more

TROY, Mich. — Immediately before fire erupted in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber where 5-year-old Thomas Cooper was receiving treatment in late January, the boy's knee may have touched the mattress, possibly causing static electricity to build up and lead to the spark that started the blaze, according to an expert on hyperbaric chambers.

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LOS ANGELES — A group of 21 unions and faculty associations representing more than 100,000 University of California employees sued President Donald Trump on Tuesday, alleging he is illegally forcing "ideological dominance" over a UC education, has violated the constitution and endangered jobs by suspending research grants and seeking a $1.2-...Read more

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Just days after Missouri Republicans passed a gerrymandered congressional map that carves up Kansas City, a new campaign is charging forward with a plan asking voters to repeal it.

The campaign, called People Not Politicians, began collecting signatures on Monday to force a statewide referendum vote. The group plans to ...Read more

The Kansas school board member who commented online that the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk was “well-deserved” is no longer an employee of the Kansas State Department of Education.

Katie Allen, previously a KSDE research analyst, has parted ways with the agency, as The Mercury in Manhattan first reported on Monday.

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In the moments before Charlie Kirk was fatally shot at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, he fielded a question about mass shooters from mathematics student Hunter Kozak.

“It’s a tragedy and it’s hard to grapple with, and I’m part of a community that’s struggling to grapple with it right now,” Kozak said of the shooting in a video...Read more

Imprisoned former Congressman George Santos says he’s been placed into solitary confinement following an unspecific death threat at FCI Fairton in New Jersey.

The 37-year-old Republican is once again very unhappy about his living arrangements.

“I have been forced into solitary confinement while behind bars as the @FBI investigates a threat...Read more

Prosecutors will seek the death penalty for Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old man accused of killing political activist Charlie Kirk with a single shot at Utah Valley University, officials announced Tuesday.

“I do not take this decision lightly,” said Utah County Attorney Jeffrey Gray during a news conference. “It’s a decision I made ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Recreational marijuana is taking a major leap this week as more than a dozen dispensaries start selling for adult use across Minnesota.

On Monday, the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) approved RISE and Green Goods, the state’s only licensed medical cannabis providers, to also sell recreational cannabis products at their ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — After months of uncertainty, President Donald Trump’s administration plans to make changes to Philadelphia’s President’s House Site, which memorializes the nine people George Washington enslaved during the founding of the United States.

The New York Times reported Tuesday that “officials plan to substantially alter” ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — New College of Florida plans to build a statue of Charlie Kirk, the right-wing activist killed in Utah last week, to display on its Sarasota campus, according to a Tuesday social media post from the school.

New College, Florida’s smallest public university, announced the statue with a post on X along with an AI-generated ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump will be praised and feted by the British royal family this week during a rare state visit as his presidency enters a new phase following the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk: “Dismantling” left-leaning organizations, creating new heartburn for Democrats.

Top White House officials on Monday ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Two things changed Lupita Nyong’o’s life in 2014. She won an Academy Award and she was diagnosed with uterine fibroids.

“What should have been a milestone of joy was overshadowed by confusion, pain and fear,” the actress said at a bipartisan roundtable at the Capitol on Tuesday. “I was told I had nearly 30 fibroids and ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A judge has rejected Erik and Lyle Menendez’s petition for a new trial, ruling that evidence showing they suffered sexual abuse at their father’s hands would not have changed the outcome of the murder trial that has put them in prison for more than 35 years for gunning down their parents.

The ruling, handed down by Los ...Read more

Israel started a long-threatened push into the heart of Gaza City after U.S. President Donald Trump’s top diplomat warned Hamas there’s a “very short window” for negotiations to end the war.

The Israel Defense Forces said Tuesday its troops have begun an “expanded” ground operation in the de facto capital of the Palestinian ...Read more