The Trump administration announced Wednesday it plans to halt $259 million in Medicaid payments to Minnesota over concerns about fraud in the state’s social services programs, the latest chapter in the federal government’s crackdown on the state.

The announcement comes one day after President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — President Donald Trump re-aired an allegation in his State of the Union address that $19 billion has been stolen from Minnesota programs, a demonstration of what he called “the corruption that is plundering” the nation’s tax dollars.

Trump has on several earlier occasions presented the eye-popping number to the public ...Read more

California’s marquee climate policy — rebranded last year from “cap-and-trade” to “cap-and-invest” — was back in the Capitol this week as lawmakers scrutinized proposed changes to the program.

The policy, which lets companies and investors buy and trade allowances to emit carbon dioxide, was the central point of last-minute, ...Read more

HARTFORD, Conn. — Senate Republicans and Democrats clashed Wednesday at the state Capitol before passing emergency legislation on a wide variety of subjects, including warehouse workers, voter data, and funding for nonprofits.

After a brief debate on a separate bill, the state Senate voted 35-1 to increase the penalties against the violators ...Read more

A day after President Donald Trump demanded Congress impose new rules governing elections, Republicans in the Florida House of Representatives passed a state-level measure Wednesday that mirrors much of what Trump wants on the national level.

The legislation would make multiple changes in Florida election law. The provisions with the biggest ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Purple and green tutus, boas and sparkles sprinkled the atrium of the Hart Building on Wednesday for what has become one of the most popular events on Capitol Hill: a bipartisan costume dog “pawrade.”

While this year’s celebrated Mardi Gras, the event is typically Halloween-themed — but last fall’s was canceled due to ...Read more

A northern Minnesota man is accused of calling Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office and threatening to execute everyone at the State Capitol the day after he posted threats online about killing a Republican state senator.

John Tobias, 58, of Park Rapids, was arrested Tuesday, Feb. 24, and appeared in court Wednesday on two felony charges ...Read more

SEOUL, South Korea — Kim Jong Un pledged to build more nuclear weapons and upgrade his missile programs but said it could also be possible to improve relations with the U.S. if Washington recognizes North Korea as a nuclear power.

Speaking at the country’s first ruling party congress in five years, Kim laid out plans for weapons development...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Federal authorities raided the home and office of Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho on Wednesday morning in what appears to be a probe related to a company that developed an AI chatbot for the nation’s second-largest school system.

Authorities have not provided any details about the ...Read more

BALTIMORE — Maryland lawmakers are attempting to regulate and restrict incoming immigration detention facilities, as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and other private owners try to add more centers in the state.

The Maryland House of Delegates is set to vote on two bills later this week, one to attempt to restrict the opening ...Read more

LANSING, Mich. — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer focused her final State of the State speech Wednesday on ways to improve education and make housing and health care more affordable in an address to a joint session of the Michigan Legislature.

The governor, at the start of her address, called Michigan's ranking as 44th in the nation for 4th grade ...Read more

President Trump on Wednesday dubbed Robert De Niro a “criminal” and suggested he leave the U.S. after the Oscar-winning actor headlined a “State of the Swamp” campaign that aired live on YouTube at the same time as Tuesday night’s State of the Union address.

De Niro joined actor and activist Mark Ruffalo, many Democratic politicians ...Read more

President Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at U.S. Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, saying the two Muslim members of Congress should be sent "back from where they came — as fast as possible."

Trump's comments, posted on his Truth Social platform, came after the two Democratic lawmakers could be seen shouting at him during Tuesday's State ...Read more

In their latest version of the state executive branch budget bill, House Republicans put more money into education and fixed an issue that could have hurt state employees’ health insurance, according to a copy reviewed by the Herald-Leader.

House Appropriations and Revenue Chair Jason Petrie, R-Elkton, unveiled a committee substitute on House...Read more

Denver — Gov. Jared Polis has moved to drop his nine-month effort to comply with a federal immigration subpoena, arguing that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials apparently no longer need the employment records the governor had sought to turn over.

Attorneys representing Polis informed a Denver judge Friday that the governor ...Read more

Kentucky House Republicans are fast-tracking a bill that would incentivize donations to school scholarship programs in exchange for tax credits.

House Bill 1, which would allow the state to enroll in the federal Education Freedom Tax Credit Scholarship program, passed the House on a 79-17-1 vote. All 17 “no” votes were from Democrats, and ...Read more

Since mid-February, the planes Nick Benson watches on the frosty tarmac of the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport are mostly empty, with federal agents on average loading less than a dozen immigration detainees on board. It’s a far cry from last month, where he looked on, stunned, as they boarded as many as 127 detainees — the ...Read more

A rare and threatened species of red fox has been spotted in the Tahoe Basin for the first time since the mid-1900s, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced.

The Sierra Nevada red fox strolled through the Blackwood Canyon area in Placer County, sniffing at some downed tree branches before heading off into the night — his ...Read more

WASHINGTON — A handful of House Republicans have flooded social media and brought a MAGA influencer to Capitol Hill in a pressure campaign for Senate Majority Leader John Thune to move forward on passing their voter ID bill with a simple majority.

President Donald Trump even pressed Thune specifically to get the bill passed during the State ...Read more

BOSTON — A Taunton mother and her toddler suffered life-threatening burns during a house explosion, as the woman went inside the engulfed structure to rescue her 2-year-old child, according to authorities.

The mother and child were being treated at local hospitals for burn injuries that Taunton Fire Chief Steven Lavigne described at the scene...Read more