SACRAMENTO — The big-money backers and Democratic heavyweights who tried to crown Rep. Eric Swalwell as California’s next governor before his scandal-plagued exit from the political arena are now scrambling to find a new favorite among the candidates they either spurned or actively tried to undercut.

Swalwell announced Monday he would ...Read more

While Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro was showing the Dutch royal couple around Independence Mall, his general counsel was taking steps to quell a dispute that hit Pennsylvania’s first couple close to home.

Shapiro asked a U.S. District judge to dismiss a federal lawsuit filed by his Abington neighbors over a parcel of land between their ...Read more

A judge threw out Donald Trump’s $10 billion libel suit against the Wall Street Journal and parent company News Corp., dealing a blow to the president’s ongoing campaign of litigation against the media.

The decision Monday in federal court in Miami largely vindicates a 2025 story that suggested Trump sent a lewd birthday note to Jeffrey ...Read more

CHICAGO — Aldermen advanced an ordinance Monday aimed at forcing officers with ties to extremist groups out of the Chicago Police Department.

The ordinance would prohibit police from participating in radical extremist and hate groups like the Three Percenters or Proud Boys and create new investigative powers to vet alleged ties.

It drew ...Read more

A watchdog group has filed a federal complaint alleging that the Johns Hopkins University repeatedly violated animal welfare protocols in its research studies, according to USDA inspection records and internal documents cited in a filing to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The complaint, filed by Ohio-based Stop Animal Exploitation Now (SAEN...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The Ramsey County Attorney and sheriff announced Monday that they are investigating federal agents for possible criminal charges, including kidnapping, after they pulled a St. Paul man out of his home in January into below-zero windchill wearing nothing but boxers and Crocs.

On Jan. 18, agents broke open the door for the home of...Read more

The State and federal governments said Monday that they are working to comply with a judge’s order that expanded access to lawyers for people being held at Alligator Alcatraz.

In a federal court hearing, lawyers for the Florida Division of Emergency Management said the state was in the process of purchasing approximately 80 to 100 cell phones...Read more

In a 105–27 vote, the Maryland House of Delegates on Monday approved a sweeping energy package aimed at rising utility costs and surging electricity demand, marking lawmakers’ most comprehensive response this session.

The bill now moves to the Senate, where lawmakers face a tight deadline — just hours before the General Assembly’s 11:59...Read more

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Monday that they will accelerate the plan for completing the reservoir known as the “crown jewel” of Everglades restoration.

The new plan moves the projected completion of the Everglades Agricultural Area Reservoir up by five years, from 2034 to 2029.

“We’ve taken on one of the most ambitious ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday defended his now deleted social media post that appeared to depict himself as Jesus Christ, contending that it was meant to portray him as “a doctor” after right-wing figures continued a recent trend of pushing back on the president’s recent comments.

“Well, it wasn’t a depiction. It was...Read more

BALTIMORE — Jet fuel leaks at Joint Base Andrews have spilled an estimated 32,000 gallons since the start of the year — enough to fuel a Boeing 787 — contaminating a tributary of the Potomac River and prompting a state investigation, state officials said Monday.

Potomac Riverkeepers called for the state to investigate potential criminal ...Read more

In his 22 years as a Hillsborough County firefighter, Rob Herrin says he’s never been this busy.

One Sunday earlier this year offers a glimpse: Herrin and his team responded to a 300-acre brush fire, then another fire, and another. All told, they extinguished 22 brush fires in 24 hours.

And it was only February, months from peak fire season....Read more

President Donald Trump has nominated former Rep. Michelle Steel of California to serve as ambassador to South Korea.

Steel, a Republican who represented an Orange County congressional district for two terms, was on a list of nominations and appointments the White House announced Monday that was sent to the U.S. Senate.

“Michelle Steel, of ...Read more

Pope Leo hit back at President Donald Trump’s attack on him over the war in Iran as Trump deleted a social media post depicting himself as a Christ-like figure that many found offensive.

“I have no fear of the Trump administration, or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel,” the pope said Monday. “(That) is what I believe I am...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles County Public Health Department is warning beachgoers to avoid all contact with the water due to the potential of bacteria from street runoff from recent rains.

The advisory is in place until 8 a.m. Tuesday and may be extended if it rains more, the health department said in a news release.

Such warnings are ...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. — The former Fort Bragg employee charged with releasing classified information on social media and to a reporter could face up to 40 years in prison, according to statements made in federal court Monday.

Courtney Williams was arrested April 7 and incarcerated until her detention hearing Monday, when a judge agreed to let her ...Read more

“Orange is the New Black” alum Ruby Rose has accused Katy Perry of sexual assault, which the pop star’s team staunchly denies and has decried as “dangerous reckless lies.”

The 40-year-old model alleged on Threads Sunday: “Katy Perry sexual assaulted me at spice market nightclub in Melbourne. Who gives a s--t what she thinks.”

...Read more

Pop star Katy Perry denies sexually assaulting "Orange Is the New Black" actor Ruby Rose in Australia nearly 20 years ago.

In a statement shared with the Los Angeles Times on Monday, a representative for the "I Kissed A Girl" and "Teenage Dream" singer, 41, said the allegations Rose publicized on social media "are not only categorically false, ...Read more