Every year, billions of migratory birds connect the world’s continents, oceans and ecosystems as they undertake epic journeys between their foraging habitats and their breeding grounds.

A bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) leaves its breeding grasslands of North America for the Pampas of South America. A Newell’s shearwater (...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The California State University system will pay $343,920 in compensation to the outgoing president of Cal State San Bernardino — who was named in a discrimination and harassment civil suit that CSU settled for $12 million — as part of his one-year "transition" assignment, Chancellor Mildred Garcia announced Wednesday.

Garcia...Read more

Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday called on Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch to come clean to the public about his office’s handling of sexual harassment allegations made three years ago against now-former state Rep. Harry Benton, as the House Democratic Women’s Caucus criticized Welch’s handling of the case as “insufficient....Read more

California Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Scott Galloway, a liberal media personality and New York University marketing professor who has appeared on the governor’s podcast, to the UC Board of Regents on Wednesday.

Newsom said Wednesday that Galloway, who lives in Gulf Stream, Florida, and London, would join the UC system’s 26-voting-member ...Read more

A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. gave Haitians a temporary reprieve Wednesday from losing their protection from deportation, which had been scheduled to end Friday.

In an order, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied a Trump administration request that would have ended Temporary Protected Status ...Read more

When former U.S. Rep. David Jolly last year launched his bid for the Democratic nomination for Florida governor, he bet that the race’s defining issue would be the rising costs of homeowners’ insurance.

But with less than a month to go before the Aug. 18 primary, Jolly said Tuesday he got it wrong. The statewide backlash against artificial ...Read more

SEATTLE — Washington state's ballooning lawsuit payouts and legal costs have set another dubious record, reaching nearly $614 million in the past fiscal year.

The state forked over more than $537 million to settle lawsuits and tort claims alleging government misdeeds in the 2026 fiscal year, which ended June 30, according to new figures ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway filed a lawsuit against Kansas City, alleging programs that help businesses owned by women and racial minorities are discriminatory toward white people and men.

The federal lawsuit alleges that the city’s Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise program runs afoul of equal ...Read more

Two federal agencies are again threatening to sue Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools over its policies involving students’ gender identities.

The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Education on Tuesday issued a joint statement calling on KCKPS to revoke any internal guidelines that allow staff or administrators to use ...Read more

Fire crews increased their containment early Wednesday of a wildfire that burned more than 1,000 acres south of Pleasanton, California, after breaking out Tuesday and forcing evacuations for hundreds of residents.

Firefighters had reached 40% containment on the Little fire by 8 a.m. Crews were strengthening their containment lines Wednesday ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — A program that distributes air purifiers to residents of San Diego's South Bay region who are affected by the Tijuana River sewage crisis is accepting applications again after a two-month suspension due to a lack of funding, county Supervisor Paloma Aguirre said Wednesday.

Bethany Case, a 17-year resident of Imperial Beach, is one...Read more

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it’s investigating yet another outbreak of the diarrhea-causing cyclospora parasite, with 72 cases tied to an unknown source.

The latest infections disclosed by the agency on Wednesday add to the surge of cases centered in the Midwest. Those were linked to Taylor Farms lettuce, and the company has ...Read more

SEATTLE — Washington's proposed overhaul of high school graduation requirements is coming into focus as state education leaders refine a proposal they say provides more academic rigor and time to map postsecondary plans.

The latest draft prioritizes math courses and scraps the requirement that students demonstrate their readiness through one ...Read more

Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked Democrats’ attempt to extend temporary protected status for Haitians, rejecting legislation that would have allowed hundreds of thousands of Haitians to remain in the United States without fear of deportation until at least the next U.S. presidential election.

In April, House Democrats, with the support...Read more

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has formally reversed its plans to establish two ICE detention centers in Pennsylvania that were intended to hold up to 9,000 immigrants, Gov. Josh Shapiro said Wednesday.

The decision, which comes amid opposition from the state and from local communities, marks the end of efforts to convert warehouses ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Houthis, a militant group in Yemen who have been threatening to open another front in the Iran war, said they had targeted two oil tankers in the Red Sea.

Minutes before the Houthi statement on Wednesday, the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations Center said the master of a tanker has reported that the ship had been struck southwest...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Senate is on track to vote next week on President Donald Trump’s pick for director of national intelligence, Jay Clayton, after he cleared a key committee hurdle.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., filed cloture on the nomination Wednesday, a day after the Senate Intelligence Committee advanced it 9-8 along party ...Read more

CHICAGO — Northwestern University and University of Chicago alumni involved in a class-action antitrust lawsuit regarding the schools’ tuition practices could soon see settlement payouts, according to a recent court order.

The payments result from a combined $284 million settlement that several elite universities reached after they were ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento religious leaders can no longer hold pro-immigrant monthly prayer vigils outside the John Moss Federal Building downtown.

A security guard at the building delivered the news last week to Sacramento Area Congregations Together, a coalition of faith-based community organizations. The group began organizing the ...Read more