Gov. Maura Healey is responding to a federal probe into Medicaid fraud in Massachusetts as Tuesday marks the deadline for her to turn over information requested by the House Energy & Commerce Committee, claiming MassHealth has “strong program integrity,” while also dismissing Vice President JD Vance’s new role as chief of the newly-created...Read more

CHICAGO — Mayor Brandon Johnson on Tuesday commended the safety of Chicago’s St. Patrick’s Day festivities, but declined to endorse the proliferation of BORGs in citywide revelries this past weekend.

A BORG, or “blackout rage gallon,” is an alcoholic concoction typically contained in a plastic gallon jug. And in the nation’s third-...Read more

MIAMI — Despite receiving bomb threats that triggered evacuations, police sweeps and financial losses during the past week, Zoo Miami is “the safest it’s ever been,” longtime spokesperson and wildlife expert Ron Magill said Tuesday.

From Friday through Monday, Zoo Miami received at least four bomb threats. None were found to be credible...Read more

A federal judge in New Jersey this week declined to hold a routine sentencing hearing because of what he said were unresolved questions about who is leading that state’s U.S. Attorney’s Office — a decision the judge made during a contentious proceeding in which he also kicked a prosecutor out of his courtroom.

The ruling from U.S. ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Gov. Tim Walz is proposing to trim the statewide sales tax rate, expand a child care tax credit for families and boost programs meant to help Minnesotans recover from the federal government’s immigration crackdown in the state.

The proposals are part of an amended budget plan that would make several other significant changes, ...Read more

Senate Democrats, led by California Sen. Alex Padilla, reiterated their opposition to a voter ID bill Tuesday ahead of what is expected to be a prolonged and contentious debate.

The legislation, known as the SAVE America Act, would require proof of citizenship when registering to vote, a photo ID to cast a ballot and provide the Department of ...Read more

Afghanistan’s Taliban government said at least 400 people were killed by Pakistani airstrikes on a drug treatment hospital in Kabul, marking a dramatic escalation in the conflict between the neighbors.

The strikes destroyed large sections of the 2,000-bed rehabilitation facility, the Taliban government said. Media organizations like Agence ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The United Farm Workers union said it will not participate in celebrations of its founder Cesar Chavez amid what the union described as “troubling allegations” against the iconic Chicano figure.

The union, in a statement released Tuesday, did not detail the accusations against Chavez but said they were concerning enough for ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California legislators on Tuesday voiced their support for Senate Bill 872 — a bill aimed at reinforcing Delta levees and the State Water Project by directing $300 million annually to the state’s water infrastructure upgrades and repairs.

The news conference followed the introduction of the bill in January month by ...Read more

Martha Gellhorn stowed away on a hospital ship to become the only woman journalist to land on Normandy Beach on D-Day. She carried stretchers before writing her harrowing account of the invasion.

The New Yorker’s famously epicurean writer A.J. Liebling subsisted on military rations and came under fire during World War II to describe...Read more

WASHINGTON — Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, abruptly resigned Tuesday, becoming the most senior national security official to break publicly with the Trump administration over its military campaign against Iran.

In a statement posted on social media, Kent said he “cannot in good conscience” continue ...Read more

DENVER — Colorado voters this November will be asked to weigh a proposed ban on transgender youth and adults from competing on interscholastic or intramural sports teams that don’t align with their sex assigned at birth.

Protect Kids Colorado, the advocacy group backing the initiative, submitted nearly 169,000 signatures to petition the ...Read more

President Donald Trump Tuesday slammed European allies for refusing to help the U.S. re-open the strategic Straits of Hormuz that Iran has effectively closed to oil tanker traffic since the war erupted last month.

After days of browbeating NATO to assist, Trump reversed course and said the U.S. doesn’t need any help dealing with the effective...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — An architect of Gov. Tim Walz’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic will return to public service and advise the governor on the future stability of Minnesota’s hospitals and health systems.

Jan Malcolm has agreed to join Walz’s Cabinet as a senior adviser on hospitals and health systems, three years after she retired as ...Read more

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier on Tuesday rejected a striking effort among some of the state’s top sheriffs to soften immigration enforcement, saying he would not support their plan to formally urge Congress to scale back federal deportation policy.

At a press conference in Orlando, Uthmeier drew a firm line ...Read more

The United Nations’ leading Haiti human rights observer says he remains alarmed by the daily reality Haitians face even as a recent visit to the volatile country revealed some “glimmers of hope” in its gang-ridden capital.

During his recent 10-day trip, William O’Neill said he saw signs of territory being “liberated” from gang ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin nodded along Tuesday in the Oval Office as President Donald Trump compared Iran’s hard-line government to Nazi Germany, but he later nudged his host to start wrapping up the war with Tehran.

“These are horrendous people. These are the worst people, going back to Hitler, right?” the wartime ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — California unveiled a plan Tuesday to bring at least 7.5 million acres of land and coastal waters under the care of Indigenous tribes.

That number represents roughly 7% of the state’s land and waters. It also corresponds with the amount of land the federal government promised it would hold as reservations for Indigenous tribes...Read more