LOS ANGELES — John Morris was eager to mark the 250th anniversary of America with his annual fireworks show at Alamitos Bay.

Then, he discovered the California Coastal Commission would only approve a show using lighted drones, not real fireworks. He couldn’t believe it.

“Of course it’s going to be about fireworks,” Morris told the ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A line stretched around the downtown Los Angeles immigration courthouse before doors even opened. Immigrants crowded waiting rooms and spilled into hallways as clerks raced to process around 100 people scheduled for an administrative hearing that morning.

In the last two months, these master calendar hearings have been coined "...Read more

GRANBY, Colo. — High in the Rocky Mountains, spring-fed streams and ponds have vanished, leaving patches of cracked mud in what were once spongy meadows.

This year has been so extremely warm and arid that the mountains have remained largely snowless. The water-generating source of the Colorado River, its headwaters, is drying up.

“I grew ...Read more

MIAMI — When people in Cuba describe the state of their healthcare system they don’t use phrases like “on the brink” or “serious shortages.” Health care on the island, which was already noticeably deteriorating before the current energy crisis, has now completely collapsed.

Most pharmacies are out of medications and people in need ...Read more

WASHINGTON — A decade after Congress first allowed federal funding to support clean needle programs, the Trump administration is backing off that policy, potentially risking progress made against hepatitis C, a deadly but curable virus mostly spread by people who inject drugs.

The administration now says funding can no longer support the ...Read more

Hundreds of people fill a downtown street for a protest, waving signs and chanting as they march past businesses and government buildings. Overhead, a police drone records video of the crowd. Nearby traffic cameras and license plate readers capture faces, vehicles and movements along the route.

With artificial intelligence, experts say, hours ...Read more

In the Supreme Court term that began in October 2025, the justices delivered major decisions in cases ranging from voting rights to citizenship to presidential power. The Conversation’s Politics and Legal Affairs Editor, Naomi Schalit, spoke with Dickinson College President John Jones, a former federal judge, about the court’s session....Read more

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission plans to scrap guidance on radiation exposure for power plant workers that’s been in place since the mid-1970s.

The NRC has proposed replacing the “as low as reasonably achievable” standard, abbreviated as Alara, with regulations the agency considers more cost effective and less complex. The new ...Read more

DETROIT — Dotted and undotted i's, and loops in r's are among the evidence to be scrutinized by jurors who will decide whether a Hamtramck City Council member forged a signature on a woman's absentee ballot in 2023.

The Wayne County Circuit Court jury began deliberations Wednesday following three days of testimony, in which they heard from ...Read more

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump said negotiators had made progress in indirect talks with Iran, as the two countries seek to move past last week’s tit-for-tat strikes and convert their interim truce into a lasting peace.

Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and envoy Steve Witkoff visited Qatar on Tuesday for technical discussions on...Read more

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis fired two members of his clemency advisory board Wednesday for publicly speaking against his decision to free Tina Peters after she was convicted of election-related crimes, his office confirmed to The Denver Post.

Polis removed Hannah Seigel Proff and Azra Taslimi from the advisory board because they “breached the ...Read more

BALTIMORE — Maryland disability advocates and caregivers braced for sweeping cuts to Developmental Disabilities Administration services Wednesday — then learned the night before that the state was delaying key changes, leaving families scrambling to understand what the postponements mean and whether the relief will last.

The delays offer ...Read more

LANSING, Mich. — Michigan lawmakers failed Wednesday to meet their self-imposed deadline for approving a new budget, but their work on a funding plan for schools, universities and state government was expected to continue Thursday.

Under a state law designed to help school districts with fiscal years that begin on July 1, the Legislature is ...Read more

Apple Inc. is in negotiations to purchase chips from two Chinese semiconductor makers on a Pentagon blacklist to help reduce the impact of a global memory shortage that’s forced the company to raise prices across its product line.

The iPhone maker is seeking to buy memory components from ChangXin Memory Technologies Inc. and Yangtze Memory ...Read more

Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch on Wednesday called on a Democratic lawmaker from Plainfield accused of improper conduct to resign from the General Assembly after an internal investigation revealed what Welch said were “clear patterns” of behavior that are “outrageous, unethical, and unbecoming of a member of the Illinois ...Read more

Ethics experts sounded the alarm Wednesday after new financial disclosure reports revealed that President Donald Trump’s income ballooned to $2.2 billion in 2025, with $1.4 billion coming from various new cryptocurrency-related businesses.

“It’s bribery. It’s graft. It’s exploitation of public power for private financial gain,” said...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — A group of Twin Cities protesters accused of conspiring to impede immigration enforcement efforts in Minnesota pleaded not guilty to their charges during a hearing that drew several dozen demonstrators to the federal courthouse.

Appearing in a packed courtroom in downtown Minneapolis, 14 people recently indicted with conspiring ...Read more

California Democratic senators failed to advance a proposal Tuesday that would have barred registered sex offenders from running for office.

State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, voted against Assembly Bill 2753, while fellow Sens. Tom Umberg, D-Santa Ana, and Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica, abstained from a vote that ultimately failed 2-1-2 in ...Read more

BOSTON — A judge called in all the attorneys involved in the wrongful death suit against Karen Read to scold them over leaked impounded information on former State Police Trooper Michael Proctor.

Plymouth County Superior Court Judge Mark Gildea held a hearing Wednesday afternoon and ordered all the lawyers involved to submit certifications ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The United States won’t renew its trade deal with Canada and Mexico, choosing instead to conduct annual reviews of the pact in a decision that risks adding uncertainty for companies producing goods across North America.

The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, will remain in force for another decade provided no one country ...Read more