WASHINGTON — The White House insisted that peace talks with Iran are ongoing, even as Tehran publicly rejected U.S. overtures and issued fresh conditions of its own to end the conflict that has wreaked havoc across the Middle East and global markets.

“The United States has been engaged over the last three days in productive conversations,�...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will hold their highly anticipated summit in Beijing on May 14-15, following a delay that brought fresh uncertainty to relations between the world’s largest economies.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced the rescheduled dates on Wednesday and said that Xi ...Read more

Sen. Cory Booker writes in his new book "Stand" that he experimented with caffeine pills a couple of days prior to his 25-hour record-breaking Senate floor speech before deciding to rely on his adrenaline instead.

The New Jersey Democrat and potential 2028 presidential contender, an avid coffee drinker, decided to forgo all beverages before and...Read more

WASHINGTON — The EPA announced Wednesday it will issue an emergency waiver allowing the nationwide sale of gasoline containing a higher percentage of ethanol as legislation that would allow the same remains stalled in Congress.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin issued the waiver that will allow sales of gasoline containing up to 15 percent ethanol...Read more

A Kentucky bill to criminalize harassing or obstructing the work of a first responder, including police, EMTs, federal immigration agents and firefighters, took another step toward becoming law Wednesday.

Senate Bill 104, known as the Halo Act, passed the state House of Representatives 79-16 March 25, with three Democrats joining Republicans in...Read more

For the first time in its history, the Minnesota Senate will allow senators and staff to bring their children on the floor following calls from women on both sides of the aisle to make the chamber more welcoming to parents.

Senators voted 41-25 on Wednesday to make the change after Sen. Clare Oumou Verbeten, DFL-St. Paul, was escorted off the ...Read more

The Maryland House Government, Labor and Elections Committee quietly, and unanimously, approved an amendment adding redistricting language to a Senate elections bill — a move Republicans warned could provoke pushback on the House floor and also drew concern from voting rights advocates.

The amendment, introduced by Frederick County Del. Kris ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday made it harder for music and movie makers to sue for online piracy, ruling that internet providers are usually not liable for copyright infringement even if they know their users are downloading copyrighted works.

In a 9-0 decision, the justices threw out Sony's lawsuit and a $1-billion jury verdict...Read more

SAN DIEGO — San Diego Unified School District is starting the process to rename Cesar Chavez Elementary following allegations that the late labor leader sexually abused young girls decades ago.

The board voted Tuesday evening to create a naming committee — the first step in a process the district overhauled just last year.

The 10-person ...Read more

BALTIMORE — Nearly two years after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, businesses and communities across the Baltimore region are still dealing with the fallout, as longer commutes and traffic diversions have led to lasting changes with a new bridge still years away from opening.

Since the March 26, 2024, collapse, as many as 33,000...Read more

WASHINGTON — Even as U.S. President Donald Trump pushes for talks to end the war against Iran, the U.S. has ordered thousands of troops to the region, fueling fears that the president is gearing up for exactly the sort of risky ground invasion that he once campaigned against.

Iran has publicly rejected Trump’s diplomatic outreach and ...Read more

DALLAS — As the U.S. Department of Homeland Security shutdown reaches its 40th day, air travelers across the country are seeing record-high wait times.

Passengers at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport waited several hours in security lines earlier this week, some missing flights entirely. Around 36% of Transportation Security ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — City crews were on the verge of welding a manhole cover shut in South Los Angeles on Wednesday morning when a surprise discovery stopped them in their tracks.

“Hey, there’s someone down there,” one of the workers wearing an orange vest said, pointing into the storm drain at West 88th Street and South Grand Avenue.

Seconds...Read more

A federal appeals court has sided with the Trump administration’s stance that immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally are ineligible for bond hearings.

In a 2-1 ruling, the panel of judges in the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday determined the U.S. government correctly interpreted federal law in arguing immigration officers ...Read more

BALTIMORE — Dozens of survivors of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, including several who grew up in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, are splitting from a national support network to form a coalition that prioritizes access to mental health resources.

“The bottom line is that we want to heal the wounded and protect the vulnerable,”...Read more

WASHINGTON — Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, is set to replace newly confirmed Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Husted confirmed Tuesday.

Husted, who had been his state’s lieutenant governor, was appointed to the Senate in January 2025 to replace Vice President JD Vance. He’s now locked in a ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans immediately rejected a new offer Wednesday from Democrats to reopen the Department of Homeland Security, in a troubling sign for negotiations as lawmakers scramble to reach a deal before a scheduled two-week recess begins Friday.

The stalemate is throwing the upcoming recess into question, with Senate Majority ...Read more

Driving in Ellicott City on Saturday, Gwen Everett almost couldn’t believe the amount of trash she saw on the side of the northbound ramp from Route 103 to U.S. Route 29 — an upside-down wooden side table sat next to stacks of 32 used tires, in eight piles of four on the shoulder.

Everett, of Ellicott City, has been appalled by the growing ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Kentucky House of Representatives voted Friday to impeach Fayette Circuit Judge Julie Muth Goodman in a rare move, sending articles of impeachment to the state Senate for trial.

Such proceedings seldom occur in the U.S.

Over a recent 25-year period, only two state judges were impeached, and only one of those was removed,...Read more