SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Illinois Senate on Wednesday advanced a measure without opposition that would establish a regulatory framework for electric bicycles, motorcycles and scooters, responding to the growing popularity of the devices and the safety concerns they have raised.

The bill passed 54-0 and now moves to the House. It was initiated ...Read more

Pakistan stepped up efforts to ensure the U.S. and Iran prolong a ceasefire beyond its official expiry date next week, though several barriers remain in place including Israel’s ongoing war in Lebanon.

Pakistan’s army chief, Asim Munir, traveled to Iran this week as part of the nation’s role as mediator between the warring sides, after ...Read more

Justin Fairfax, a former Virginia lieutenant governor, fatally shot his wife, Cerina, inside their Annandale home before dying by suicide amid a “messy” divorce, police said.

The deadly violence unfolded early Thursday morning at the Fairfaxes’ residence on the 8100 block of Guinevere Drive, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis told ...Read more

Former Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax shot and killed his wife, Cerina Fairfax, before killing himself inside their home in Annandale, according to Fairfax County police.

Police went to the 8100 block of Guinevere Drive after midnight Thursday morning and found a man and woman dead inside of a home. A preliminary investigation found that Fairfax shot ...Read more

Former Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax shot and killed his wife, Cerina Fairfax, before killing himself inside their home in Annandale, according to Fairfax County police.

Police went to the 8100 block of Guinevere Drive after midnight Thursday and found a man and woman dead inside of a home. A preliminary investigation found that Justin shot his wife ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — California in 2026 has already seen its highest number of annual measles cases in seven years, health officials said, amid an ongoing resurgence of a notoriously infectious disease once considered effectively eliminated in the United States.

The looming new domestic beachhead for the disease comes as vaccination rates have ...Read more

Pakistan stepped up efforts to ensure the U.S. and Iran prolong a ceasefire beyond its official expiry date next week, to allow more time to negotiate a lasting peace deal.

Market expectations that the warring sides are approaching a formal end the conflict have risen in the past two days, with many stock exchanges reversing their wartime ...Read more

When 240 million gallons of raw sewage spilled into the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., starting in mid-January 2026 and running though mid-March, it was estimated to be the largest sewage spill in U.S. history. But it wasn’t the first, nor will it be the last.

In fact, around the nation, sewage spills are contaminating waterways...Read more

When the United States and Israel began striking Iran on Feb. 28, 2026, images of smoke billowing over Iranian cities began to dominate the news. But another feature of those skylines has remained constant: the thousands of satellite dishes that dot Tehran’s rooftops, picking up signals that originate far beyond Iran’s borders – despite...Read more

CHICAGO — Chicago would seem to be a no-brainer to host International Jazz Day, a joint initiative of UNESCO and the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz. The city is not only a global jazz capital but the hometown of Hancock himself, who spearheads the effort as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.

In truth, it took — and will continue to take — a ...Read more

New Orleans plans to revamp the commission that oversees city parks and playgrounds and is seeking $5 million in federal aid after an investigation published by Verite News and KFF Health News found high levels of lead contamination in playgrounds throughout the city.

Mayor Helena Moreno signed an executive order on April 7 that creates a task ...Read more

For months, a cloud of fear has hovered over the immigrant community in San Bernardino, California, making it hard for María González to do her job as a community health worker in this city where almost a quarter of residents are foreign-born.

It started building over the summer, fed by news of immigration raids across Southern California, ...Read more

North America’s largest coke plant hugs the west bank of Pennsylvania’s Monongahela River, belching out emissions from turning superheated coal into a carbon-rich fuel.

Researchers say the children at Clairton Elementary School about a mile away pay the price. They discovered the students there and at other elementary schools near major ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — As spring slowly creeps in across Minnesota, Sophie Hortman is thinking about trips to the garden center with her mother, Melissa Hortman.

It’s the first legislative session without the former Minnesota House DFL leader, who was shot killed in her home with her husband, Mark Hortman, last June. For Sophie and her brother, ...Read more

DENVER — Manuel’s months in a federal detention center began when his brother’s dog got loose.

Manuel went after the dog in their Colorado Springs neighborhood. A stranger ran with him, trying to help, and when they reached the startled animal, the dog bit the stranger.

Law enforcement showed up. Manuel was given a court hearing for the ...Read more

Some anti-abortion state lawmakers are pushing to revise the definition of “abortion” so abortion bans don’t apply to cases in which the death of an “unborn child” is the result of medical care provided to the pregnant woman.

In the four years since the U.S. Supreme Court allowed states to ban abortion, stories continue to emerge of...Read more