SANTA ANA, Calif. — An Orange County Superior Court judge who was convicted of shooting his wife to death during an argument is set to be sentenced Wednesday, according to prosecutors.

Jeffrey Ferguson, 74, was convicted in April of fatally shooting his 65-year-old wife, Sheryl, during a drunken argument over money at their Anaheim Hills home...Read more

WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans took a final procedural step Wednesday to speed up consideration of President Donald Trump’s lower-level nominees, setting up the confirmation of dozens of appointees as early as this week.

The chamber voted 47-52 on a procedural question over the votes needed to invoke cloture on an executive resolution to ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans split on Wednesday over whether the Trump administration was justified in pressuring former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez to adhere strictly to its agenda. Several GOP lawmakers questioned Monarez’s loyalty to the president while moderates openly worried the Trump ...Read more

WASHINGTON – Rep. Ilhan Omar has found herself at the center of a effort by congressional Republicans to punish those who celebrated the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk or spoke ill of him after his death.

Rep. Nancy Mace, a Republican who’s running for governor in her home state of South Carolina, brought a resolution ...Read more

MIAMI — Veteran Miami Herald investigative reporter Julie K. Brown was given a lifetime achievement award Monday night by IRE, Investigative Reporters and Editors, for her work exposing the sex crimes of Jeffrey Epstein, alongside a selection of the best investigative reporters in the nation, including Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein.

Brown ...Read more

ATLANTA — Now that the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office has been disqualified, the head of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia will decide who inherits the election interference case involving President Donald Trump and 14 of his supporters.

Pete Skandalakis could pick a sitting DA from anywhere in Georgia, a staff ...Read more

MIAMI — Members of the Venezuelan exile community in South Florida are applauding the growing international consensus to label the Cartel of the Suns, which the Trump administration says is run by high-level officials of the Venezuelan government, as a terrorist organization, following the example set by the United States.

“This measure is ...Read more

Upon Donald Trump’s arrival in the U.K. on Wednesday, the president was heard making a comment about Kate Middleton’s appearance.

The President and first lady Melania Trump were greeted by the Prince and Princess of Wales moments after stepping off Marine One to the grounds of Windsor Castle.

As the couples shook hands, Trump told Princess...Read more

ATLANTA — The Georgia election interference case against President Donald Trump and more than a dozen of his allies is technically still alive — but on life support.

Its future rests with a Republican former prosecutor at an obscure state agency already familiar with a portion of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ racketeering ...Read more

WASHINGTON — House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan kept the war between Sen. Adam Schiff and FBI Director Kash Patel going strong Wednesday, bringing up a long-simmering allegation that Schiff leaked classified information that could hurt President Donald Trump.

Schiff emphatically denied the claim.

Jordan, R-Ohio, opened a hearing ...Read more

New Jersey has become the latest state to legalize human composting as an environmentally-friendly alternative to burials and cremations.

The legislation, signed into law last week by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, will soon allow for funeral homes and other end-of-life facilities to offer the new service — formally known as natural organic ...Read more

BOSTON — A former City Hall employee is suing the City of Boston, Mayor Michelle Wu and a Boston police officer, saying the city “destroyed” her life by unfairly firing her to protect a top Wu administration official she had accused of sexual misconduct.

Marwa Khudaynazar, the city’s ex-chief of staff for the Office of Police ...Read more

A Wake Forest athletic trainer has been fired after celebrating the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

Bridget Sullivan, a former assistant with the women’s soccer team, posted an Instagram story on her account showing lyrics “he had it coming, he had it coming” followed by text: “This audio is all I have to say about that.”

That ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — U.S. Border Patrol Sector Chief Gregory Bovino — the brash agent who led a phalanx of military personnel into MacArthur Park this summer — was called as a witness Wednesday in a misdemeanor assault case against a protester, who allegedly struck a federal agent.

Bovino, one of the faces of President Donald Trump’s ...Read more

BEIRUT — Cascades of condemnation from friend and foe alike. An array of international organizations and rights groups leveling accusations of genocide and war crimes. Boycotts across a range of sectors and fields.

As Israel begins its ground offensive to occupy Gaza City, defying international and domestic pressure to negotiate a ceasefire ...Read more

The spouses of 38 United States governors are calling for Americans to refrain from any hateful political rhetoric and instead seek to build peace.

The first spouses made their plea in a statement published by the National Governors Association this week following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

“As First Spouses of ...Read more

NEW YORK — Dueling big-name proposals to develop casinos in Times Square and Hudson Yards were voted down on Wednesday, narrowing the field in the high-stakes contest to secure a lucrative state license to bring a casino to the New York City area to half a dozen contenders.

A pair of local panels consisting of elected officials and appointees...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is discussing options to ease health insurance sign-ups if Congress doesn’t soon reach an agreement on extending health care premium tax credits, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz said Tuesday.

If Congress extends the credits after the Nov. 1 start of open enrollment, ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law giving California the power to set its own immunization schedules based on state health experts and independent medical groups — a sharp break from decades of reliance on guidance from the federal government.

The move came the same day California and its West Coast allies issued joint ...Read more

WASHINGTON — During a Senate hearing Wednesday morning, two former leaders of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention contested Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s version of why they departed the agency in August.

“Since my removal, several explanations have been offered: that I told the secretary I would ...Read more