LOS ANGELES — Residents of Monterey Park voted overwhelmingly to ban data centers on election day, making the San Gabriel Valley city the first in the nation to do so by public vote.

As of Wednesday, 86% of votes were in favor of Measure NDC, the city ban, according to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk.

Other cities and ...Read more

SEATTLE — Three years before a deadly tank rupture at a Longview pulp and paper mill, a fire lasting several days raised concerns that the owner had scaled back maintenance at the decades-old facility.

Crews battled the flames for three days as the fire burned through wood chips — pulp’s core ingredient — and spread from a conveyor belt...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — The iron-clad red front door. A golden chandelier that once hung over the dance floor. A decorated bar top encrusted with small pebbles. They are what remains of Pulse nightclub, the once-lively spot which closed forever following the shooting death of 49 people 10 years ago.

For the first time, the city of Orlando has ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — A Minneapolis City Council committee voted Tuesday against the selection of a violence prevention group to redevelop a former gas station across the street from where George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police.

Their decision means the process of deciding what to do with the former Speedway gas station, which was destroyed ...Read more

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida voters will decide on Nov. 3 whether to approve a constitutional amendment pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis that creates property tax relief for homeowners while upending the way local governments pay for services.

The controversial measure, which would require 60% of voters to approve it, creates a lot of questions ...Read more

A convicted Jan. 6 rioter from South Carolina has been hired by the Trump administration to work in a Pentagon office “that manages highly classified military operations,” according to a report in The Washington Post.

The report about convicted Jan. 6 defendant Elias Irizarry now working in the Pentagon was based on four unnamed sources. It...Read more

LANSING, Mich. — An effort to change the way university boards are selected failed in the Michigan House even after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer earlier Wednesday endorsed changes to the way the governing panels are selected at the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Wayne State University.

The resolution, which needed two-thirds ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — Six hundred firefighters, aided by helicopters and air tankers, were battling a stubborn brush fire along the U.S.-Mexico border Wednesday that so far has charred more than 2,600 acres of vegetation on both sides of the border.

The blaze, which sparked Monday afternoon in Mexico before crossing into the U.S., south of Dulzura, ...Read more

HARTFORD, Conn. — Two state agencies disclosed Wednesday they are investigating a charity operated by former New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart, who has been criticized recently for benefiting personally from spending decisions she made while in office.

Consumer Protection Commissioner Bryan Cafferelli and Attorney General William Tong said they...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security secretary confirmed this week that Customs & Border Protection staff are "good to go" to facilitate trade and travel across the newly built Gordie Howe International Bridge, once negotiations between Canada and the United States are resolved.

"We have the personnel dedicated, ready to move," ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — With many races still very tight and millions of ballots yet to be counted, political experts said Democrats are likely to hold — or even gain — the edge as results of the primary election come into focus.

Republicans appear to have over-performed in early vote counts, but for a variety of reasons, experts believe the ...Read more

NEW YORK — A New York University student has been arrested for raising a flag with swastikas and a Star of David atop a school building during a graduation week event, police said Wednesday.

Alexander Stepnowsky, 23, is charged with criminal trespass as a hate crime, as well as aggravated harassment and burglary charges. He is accused of ...Read more

Space Florida continues to hold things close to the vest with several ongoing projects as it tries to attract aerospace business to the state — but did reveal the company behind what they had dubbed “Project Manta” to be Seagate Space, for which the state agency will help fund an offshore launch platform.

The state’s aerospace finance ...Read more

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis built his political brand by railing against illegal immigration, “woke” ideology and progressive tax reforms. Now, as he campaigns to slash property taxes, the term-limited Republican is selling a new message more commonly associated with the political left: Let the rich pay more.

DeSantis has ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County prosecutors are reviewing two separate sex assault cases against Sean “Diddy” Combs, officials confirmed Wednesday.

Investigators from the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department presented two separate cases, both related to the same victim, to prosecutors in ...Read more

NEW YORK — Luigi Mangione, the accused killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, appeared for a virtual hearing in his homicide case in Manhattan state court Tuesday, with the proceeding sealed from the public at the request of his defense.

State Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro did not acknowledge letters from the press objecting to ...Read more

NEW YORK — Disgraced ex-Rep. George Santos is facing a federal probe of insider trading over successful bets on a prediction market that he would not attend President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address.

The convicted fraudster, who was pardoned by Trump and freed from prison, allegedly used the Kalshi prediction site to bet against ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Sen. John Cornyn’s loss to Trump-backed Ken Paxton in a primary last week means the Senate Judiciary Committee will have two Republican members who may feel less obligated to stick with President Donald Trump.

Cornyn, R-Texas, joins Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., as Judiciary Committee members no longer facing reelection. Tillis ...Read more

DENVER — The U.S. Department of Justice wants to join a local lawsuit challenging a 2021 Colorado law that sought to streamline the process for crime victims who are not U.S. citizens to apply for legal status within the country.

Attorneys with the Office of the Attorney General filed a motion Tuesday to join with Douglas County Sheriff ...Read more