LOS ANGELES — More than a quarter of federal immigration judges in California have been fired, retired or quit since the start of the Trump administration.

The reduction follows a trend in immigration courts nationwide and constitutes, critics say, an attack on the rule of law that will lead to yet more delays in an overburdened court system....Read more

CHICAGO — When it comes to Chicago and crime, perception isn’t always reality.

At times, 2025 brought deadly chaos to Chicago’s shimmering downtown: An 18-victim mass shooting in River North, the worst the city’s seen in years. The annual Christmas tree lighting marred by two more shootings, including the murder of a teen boy. A young ...Read more

President Donald Trump downplayed China’s latest maneuvers around Taiwan, while the People’s Liberation Army started a second day of drills that included live-fire practice in response to a major American weapons sale.

The PLA conducted live-fire exercises north of Taiwan, China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday. Beijing has ...Read more

President Donald Trump said Monday that the United States has destroyed a docking area used by suspected drug traffickers in Venezuela, marking what would be the first publicly acknowledged U.S. ground strike inside the country amid escalating tensions with the Nicolás Maduro regime.

Speaking to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida...Read more

A Chicago nonprofit, in conjunction with the American Federation of Teachers, is suing the U.S. Department of Education over funding cuts to a program that has long provided wraparound services to students in high-poverty and rural areas.

The Brighton Park Neighborhood Council and AFT, in a complaint filed Monday, allege the department broke ...Read more

She went by Dr. Mary, and her promise was a tantalizing medical breakthrough.

At clinics operated in Arizona and several other states, Mary Blakley and her husband, Fred, told patients that for just $300, they could provide a full-body scan that utilized a proprietary "smart chip" to detect a variety of potential illnesses, including cancer.

...Read more

State Attorney General Aaron Ford announced a court order Monday that blocks the Trump administration from imposing unlawful conditions on two federal emergency grants following a lawsuit filed by Nevada and 11 other states.

“The Trump administration’s attempt to undermine Nevada’s readiness for emergency situations and security threats ...Read more

North Carolina Education Lottery ticket sales surged to a record $6.6 billion last year, but the percentage of revenue transferred to public schools continued to decline, according to a new state audit released Monday.

“North Carolinians have a reasonable expectation that if the Education Lottery’s ticket sales go up, money going toward our...Read more

A North Carolina house fire reportedly killed the father of NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin and critically injured his mother.

The Gaston County Office of Emergency Management and Fire Services said on Facebook that multiple fire departments were dispatched to a possible house fire “with entrapment” Sunday night.

The victims were identified ...Read more

More than a decade after a jailhouse snitch scandal rocked the Orange County district attorney's office and nearly upended the prosecution of the deadliest mass shooting in county history, federal officials announced they have ceased overseeing the department's informant program, citing recent reforms.

The decision, announced Dec. 23, ends a ...Read more

California civil liberties groups cheered a decision by the state Supreme Court that wipes out hundreds of dollars in fines for a reputed Mexican Mafia member — a move advocates say strengthens protections for indigent defendants in other cases.

"This holding is a meaningful step toward a justice system that does not punish people for ...Read more

A man was arrested for sending police on a wild goose chase by claiming he was shot inside a Manhattan subway station — only for investigators to determine his wound was self-inflicted, cops said Monday.

The suspect ventured into an off-limits section of the 57th St. station near Sixth Ave. in Midtown, where he shot himself in the chest ...Read more

Proponents can now begin collecting signatures for a measure that would prohibit children from using smartphones in schools and clamp down on artificial intelligence products, like certain chatbots, that could harm kids.

The initiative, sponsored by Common Sense Media CEO Jim Steyer, was given the official title “Child Safety Requirements for...Read more

President Donald Trump said the U.S. struck a facility inside Venezuela, in what would be a significant escalation in its campaign against alleged drug trafficking operations there.

“There was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs,” Trump told reporters Monday, confirming comments from last week.

Trump...Read more

As climate change continues to threaten California in 2025 — from devastating wildfires, declining kelp forests and struggling salmon runs to shrinking snowpack in the Sierra Nevada — the state has rolled out a range of measures to confront the crisis. These efforts come at a time when the federal government has prioritized fossil fuels and ...Read more

Kentucky will receive $212.9 million from President Donald Trump’s administration over the next five years to improve rural health care, state officials said Monday.

The money will be used to address stubborn, long-term rural health care problems including maternity care deserts, limited access to mental health professionals and gaps in oral ...Read more

Venezuela started shutting wells in a region that holds the world’s largest deposits of oil in the face of a blockade by the Trump administration meant to financially squeeze the nation.

Petroleos de Venezuela SA began shuttering wells in the Orinoco Belt on Dec. 28 as the state-run refiner ran out of storage space and inventory swelled, ...Read more

The Trump administration is announcing awards to states from a rural healthcare fund, with the threat that some of that money can be clawed back if jurisdictions fail to embrace policy initiatives backed by the president.

The discretionary grants for 2026 range from $145 million to $281 million for states, according to Mehmet Oz, the head of ...Read more

The chillier-than-usual temperatures that brought a cold-weather advisory early Monday won’t stay that way for much longer, according to the National Weather Service. The source for their eventual warmup: Yet another atmospheric river rain system.

“It’s gonna start to get a bit warmer Tuesday night into Wednesday morning,” NWS ...Read more

All they were trying to do was stay warm, friends and family said of the two unhoused individuals found dead in their tent in Fresno.

Fresno police responded to a call from an unhoused individual Friday afternoon at an encampment along the Highway 180 interchange at Abby Street, officials said. When they arrived, they found Denise Celis, 52, ...Read more