People’s knee-jerk reaction to seeing death in nature is often not positive. The burn scar left by wildfire on a once-forested hillside, or a ghostly white coral reef, may evoke tragedy and despair. But in nature, most plants and animals are recycled back into new life.

The fallen branches and leaves that crunch under your boots as ...Read more

BOSTON — The Committee for Public Counsel Services is asking Mass State Police to turn over information for all cases, open or closed, that former State Trooper Michael Proctor investigated, citing shocking texts revealed in a lawsuit filed by Karen Read.

The request from CPCS, which oversees the process of representing the state’s indigent...Read more

WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Washington agreed with the Trump administration that a legal fight over a controversial $1.8 billion fund for alleged political “weaponization” victims was likely obsolete in light of U.S. assurances that the plan won’t go forward.

However, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon asked probing questions of a ...Read more

California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and Santa Clara County officials announced a new lawsuit against the Trump administration that aims to block a planned immigration facility near Gilroy.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in San José, alleges that the leased land is zoned exclusively for agricultural use and that the federal ...Read more

CHICAGO —Hours before the release of stunning grand jury transcripts in the “Broadview Six” case Tuesday, the fallout from the now-dismissed prosecutorial debacle was front-and-center in a hearing on an unrelated fraud case that everyone thought was over.

Instead, lawyers for Yale Schiff, who pleaded guilty to bank fraud and is serving a ...Read more

BALTIMORE — A federal judge on Wednesday repeatedly pressed U.S. Department of Justice attorneys to explain why they want access to sensitive personal information from more than 4 million Maryland voters, questioning how the federal government would use the data if the state is forced to turn it over.

The hearing in Baltimore’s U.S. ...Read more

President Donald Trump on Wednesday shrugged off punishing price hikes faced by ordinary Americans, saying “I love the inflation” as the closely watched economic gauge soared over 4% amid the Iran war.

Asked about a new report showing consumer prices rose by 4.2% compared to 12 months ago, Trump told reporters that the report was music to ...Read more

BOISE, Idaho — A trial whose outcome could impact Idaho’s abortion laws is underway in federal court in Boise, and the first two days have included expert witness testimony from the high-risk pregnancy specialist suing government officials and from several other specialists who detailed myriad potential pregnancy complications they said ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Treasury refunded nearly $22 billion in tariff revenue collected from importers in May, the first swath of such repayments since the Supreme Court struck down a major component of President Donald Trump’s trade policy.

The amount was roughly equal to tariffs taken in during the month, according to a Treasury ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Federal law enforcement agents conducted a search warrant Wednesday morning at the GKN Aerospace facility in Garden Grove where a failed chemical tank over the Memorial Day weekend prompted mass evacuations over fears of a toxic spill or massive explosion.

The FBI and the Environmental Protection Agency were carrying out the ...Read more

DETROIT — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday that the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge across the Detroit River could be delayed, but maintained that "there's no big drama."

"Everyone is working hard to make sure the bridge is open as soon as possible," Carney told reporters in Ottawa on Wednesday, according to...Read more

LOS ANGELES — In his opening statement, a prosecutor told a federal jury on Wednesday that Jonathan Rinderknecht, driven by a desire for revenge against society, used a lighter to intentionally set what would eventually become the most destructive wildfire in Los Angeles history.

Rinderknecht's defense attorney countered that his client, a 29...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The lawyer representing the ICE agent accused of assault for allegedly pointing his gun at two motorists during Operation Metro Surge has asked to move the criminal proceedings from Hennepin County District Court into a federal courtroom.

In a notice filed Tuesday, attorney Ryan Pacyga asked the U.S. District Court for the ...Read more

BOISE, Idaho — Trained members of Idaho law enforcement with demonstrated firearms proficiency are expected to fill slots for carrying out the death penalty by firing squad as the state prison system transitions to the controversial execution method next month.

Six volunteers certified for no less than three years apiece through Peace Officer...Read more

WASHINGTON — Antonio Pozos, a Philadelphia lawyer nominated by President Donald Trump to become a federal judge in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, told a Senate panel on Wednesday that former President Joe Biden won the most Electoral College votes in 2020 — though he declined to say whether Biden won the popular vote or if the Capitol...Read more

Bay State Sen. Ed Markey has officially endorsed controversial Maine U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner following the oyster farmer’s victory in his state’s primary election Tuesday, as prominent Massachusetts politicians throw their support behind the Democratic challenger to GOP U.S. Sen. Susan Collins.

Markey’s support is matched by ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS – Two Minnesotans are among the latest foreign-born residents whose citizenship has been targeted by the Justice Department as the Trump administration seeks to increase denaturalization cases.

Historically a rare process, denaturalization has been ordered a priority by President Donald Trump, with civil cases being filed across ...Read more

Donald Trump’s adored, 19-year-old granddaughter Kai Trump was front and center with him as he faced loud, “thunderous” boos from the thousands in the crowd at Madison Square Garden, as she, the president and their entourage attended Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Monday night.

People on social media wondered if Kai Trump was taken aback by ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Rebecca Grossman should pay $21 million and her former lover Scott Erickson $1.17 million in punitive damages to the family of two young brothers who were killed by Grossman when she and the former Dodgers pitcher raced their SUVs through a Westlake Village crosswalk, a jury decided Wednesday.

The decision ends a nine-week trial...Read more

WASHINGTON — U.S. retaliatory strikes against Iran will continue after its forces shot down an American helicopter, President Donald Trump said Wednesday, accusing the Islamic Republic of stringing him along over months of negotiations to end the war.

The prospect of a renewed U.S. air campaign cast fresh doubt on the viability of a ...Read more