IRVINE, Calif. — Police began making arrests Wednesday evening on the campus of UC Irvine several hours into a pro-Palestinian demonstration in which protesters occupied and barricaded a university building.

A Times reporter witnessed officers taking a protester away in plastic zip ties who identified themselves as a global studies professor ...Read more

The risk of power failures this summer remains elevated for many parts of North America amid soaring demand and generator shutdowns.

The main Texas grid is especially vulnerable at sunset when solar generation plunges and demand remains high, with the riskiest hour from 8 to 9 p.m. in August, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. said ...Read more

CHICAGO — Gerald Reed, who has long alleged he was a victim of police torture, was acquitted Wednesday after a retrial of his double-murder case, killings for which he had spent some three decades in prison.

In a meticulous ruling from the bench, Circuit Judge Steven Watkins said over and over that there was no forensic evidence, no ...Read more

Thousands of unionized graduate student workers at University of California campuses across the state are poised to walk off the job after members voted to authorize leadership to call a strike, escalating tensions stemming from the university’s response to pro-Palestinian protests on campus.

The university confirmed the strike authorization ...Read more

Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara on Wednesday defended his department’s efforts to roll out a series of rule changes this year to try and stabilize California’s insurance market as he faced pointed questions and calls for greater urgency from lawmakers.

Lara said the department was still on track to complete the revisions by the end of ...Read more

If the British royal family was looking for a public relations win after Princess Catherine's Photoshop fails, the unveiling of King Charles' newest royal portrait was not it.

"I'm sorry, but this portrait looks like he's in hell," one person posted in comments under artist Jonathan Yeo's and the royal family's joint Instagram post revealing ...Read more

A Muslim prayer leader who made inflammatory comments about Jews and Israel is facing intense backlash from Jewish lawmakers who want the state of Florida to revoke his dental license and strip public funding for a school owned and operated by his mosque in North Miami.

The comments made last month by Dr. Fadi Kablawi — an imam at Masjid As ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Republican Joe Fraser of Minnetrista has never run for political office, yet the retired Naval intelligence officer and business executive is vying to oust Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a popular incumbent seeking a fourth-term.

It's Klobuchar's first race since her unsuccessful presidential bid in 2020 and Fraser sees an opening for a ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration is asking the Legislature to give it more control over when Californians pay their state taxes, an issue that stems from tax return delays due to severe weather.

Atmospheric rivers in early 2023 brought rain and floods to California. That prompted the federal and state governments to ...Read more

University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce called for a cease-fire in the war in Gaza in a public statement Wednesday while also criticizing the encampment protest at the school, saying the language used by some has been “vile and antisemitic.”

Tensions have risen recently between protesters at the encampment, which was set up about ...Read more

ST. PAUL, Minn. — A state paid family and medical leave program created by the Minnesota Legislature last year is expected to cost more than originally expected under a bill scheduled for a vote Wednesday in the House.

Changes — such as retroactive payments for people making medical claims and immediate payment for new mothers — would ...Read more

Scores of police officers converged on UC Irvine on Wednesday as a pro-Palestinian demonstration escalated, with protesters occupying and barricading the Physical Sciences Lecture Hall, which is near their encampment.

The escalation of the protest began about 2:30 p.m., according to a university spokesperson. School officials have sent out two ...Read more

Nearly 23 years after 9/11, the feds are finally expected to make all commercial planes have secondary cockpit barriers to prevent planes from being hijacked.

Congress on Wednesday passed a bill that would require secondary cockpit barriers on all commercial aircraft. The installation of secondary cockpit barriers on all commercial passenger ...Read more

Aspiring cannabis entrepreneurs who meet social equity criteria could begin growing marijuana later this year — ahead of everyone else — under a bill finalized by Minnesota lawmakers on Wednesday.

The state is also poised to change how it will award cannabis business licenses, shifting from a points-based scoring system for applications to ...Read more

NEW YORK — Gold bars and $480,000 cash found in U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez’s house isn’t evidence of bribes — and the alleged quid pro quo the veteran lawmaker is accused of was actually proper and legal constituent services, his defense lawyer said Wednesday during opening arguments at Menendez’s corruption trial.

The gold seized by the ...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. — The North Carolina Senate voted to repeal a health and safety exception to the state’s longstanding ban on wearing masks in public, and enhance penalties for wearing a mask while committing another crime.

Senators approved the bill, which was introduced as a substitute to existing legislation last week and cleared two ...Read more

House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday appointed former Rep. Vicky Hartzler — a conservative Christian who was once brought to tears speaking out against a bill to provide federal protections to same-sex marriages — to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

Her appointment to the commission, a bipartisan federal agency ...Read more