A highly mutated COVID-19 strain is circulating in California — raising concerns that disease activity could rise heading into the summer.

The emergence of the BA.3.2 strain, nicknamed "cicada," comes amid broader uneasiness about COVID vaccination rates among seniors — who are especially susceptible to the virus — and whether complacency...Read more

The U.S. Forest Service’s plan to close scores of research stations could threaten the nation’s wildfire readiness, many foresters fear, and erode decades of work to understand timber production, soil health, pests and diseases, watersheds and wildlife.

Late last month, the Forest Service announced plans to close 57 of its 77 research ...Read more

Congress’ move to allow mining in a national forest near a wilderness area may have broad ramifications across the country.

The U.S. Senate voted April 16 to overturn a mining ban in Minnesota’s Superior National Forest, the headwaters of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

By using an obscure tool known as the Congressional Review...Read more

In three conservative states — Missouri, Oklahoma and South Dakota — residents in recent years voted to amend their state constitutions to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.

Now Republican lawmakers in all three states want voters to alter or scrap those amendments in upcoming elections, setting the stage for legislators to roll...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Sharon Zavaleta Chuquipa struggles to sleep in the room she shared with her younger sister. Every corner, decoration and toy holds devastating little reminders of the 12-year-old whose life was abruptly cut short.

The grief lies heavy — as does the guilt. At times, she says, it's almost too much to bear.

"I blame myself," she...Read more

This story was originally published by The Trace, a nonprofit newsroom covering gun violence in America.

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On May 18, 2018, a teenager at Santa Fe High School in Texas walked into the school armed with his father’s guns and opened fire, killing eight students and two teachers. Evidence later showed the teen had been experiencing a severe ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Veteran advocates who welcomed President Donald Trump's May executive order calling for a new National Center for Warrior Independence in West Los Angeles now say they are mystified and disappointed by the budget produced by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to implement it.

Trump's executive order said the VA's West Los ...Read more

UNITED NATIONS — The race to become the next leader of the United Nations moved into a higher gear with the four declared candidates facing hours of questions over two days. Top among them: Can the U.N. be made effective again?

Rafael Mariano Grossi, an Argentine diplomat who heads the International Atomic Energy Agency, struck a downbeat ...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. — One of the biggest questions swirling around a bourbon tour in Kentucky that a nonprofit offered to North Carolina lawmakers two years ago was: Who paid?

On Tuesday, a Wake County grand jury indicted four Raleigh lobbyists, saying they violated the state’s gift ban in getting their clients to put up the money for the trip.

...Read more

MEXICO CITY — The death of U.S. officials following an operation to dismantle a drug lab in northern Mexico is escalating tensions with Washington, as President Claudia Sheinbaum insists her government was unaware of their involvement.

At a news conference, Sheinbaum said Mexican security officials involved in the operation were never told ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Navy Secretary John Phelan was fired after clashing with top leaders at the Pentagon, including over administration efforts to revive U.S. shipbuilding, according to people familiar with the matter, making him the latest high-profile Pentagon departure amid the war in Iran.

Phelan was pushed out after butting heads with Defense ...Read more

Boston city councilors and transit advocates hammered the Wu administration for delaying transportation projects, saying that its inaction has cost the city millions in federal grant funding and put cyclists and pedestrians at risk.

Councilor Sharon Durkan chaired a Council committee hearing Wednesday that focused on three orders that were ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Two years and two weeks have passed since Gov. Gavin Newsom issued his first return-to-office order, which directed state employees to begin working from government offices two days a week. Newsom upped the in-office requirement to four days last year, but subsequently postponed that mandate after facing steep pushback ...Read more

NORFOLK, Va. — A Virginia judge issued an order Wednesday that blocks the certification of Tuesday’s special election on congressional redistricting, where voters narrowly approved the redrawing of maps to give Democrats the advantage in the midterm elections.

Tazewell County Circuit Judge Jack Hurley ruled in favor of Republicans who ...Read more

The U.S. and Iran are locked in a battle for control of the Strait of Hormuz after failing to meet for a fresh round of peace talks, with both sides blocking the waterway to gain leverage during an extended ceasefire.

President Donald Trump said the truce agreed April 7 would stay in place indefinitely while Washington waits for Iran to submit ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The bust of John F. Kennedy will remain in the Grand Foyer and the opera house seats will still be red. But officials involved in plans to renovate the Kennedy Center say big changes are coming to the venue.

Matt Floca, the center’s new executive director and chief operating officer, led reporters on a tour Wednesday to ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A Yolo Superior Court judge on Wednesday denied a request to allow the families of seven workers killed in the Esparto fireworks warehouse explosion to wear clothing or have other visual displays of the victims inside the courtroom.

The seven workers killed in the powerful blast in Yolo County were Jesús Ramos, 18; Jhony...Read more

The Trump administration is nearing a rescue package for Spirit Airlines that could give the U.S. government the option to own as much as 90% of the carrier once it emerges from bankruptcy, according to people familiar with the matter.

The agreement, which has not yet been finalized, would offer as much as $500 million in financing in exchange...Read more

BALTIMORE — Three more Baltimore City police officers currently employed with the department have been added to the state’s attorney’s “Do Not Call” list, which identifies officers as having misconduct allegations, or character or credibility issues that could cast doubt on their ability to be truthful on the stand.

The Baltimore Sun ...Read more

WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Wednesday admonished a defense attorney for a man accused of planting pipe bombs in Washington the night before the 2021 attack on the Capitol, telling the attorney he did not follow a protective order and warning him to be “more careful.”

At issue in the back-and-forth were accusations from the Justice ...Read more