WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Wednesday offered House Republicans a window into what’s on his mind just days before they return from an August break, painting an overly rosy picture of the economy and taking a new interest in federal beef regulations.

Speaking to conservative commentator Glenn Beck, Trump repeated his message on ...Read more

BALTIMORE — Months after Maryland abandoned its original contracting plan for rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge, the project remains on the same multibillion-dollar budget and late-2030 timeline — even as the state is still months away from hiring the contractor that will build the bridge’s centerpiece.

The Maryland Transportation ...Read more

MIAMI — Nathan Thomas remembers his first day of college as being a normal day.

When the 10-year-old walked into his algebra class at Miami Dade College, he drew a few curious looks from his older classmates. But once class began, Thomas quickly settled in — and excelled.

He had a similar experience when he taught his first course at Miami...Read more

A violent flash flood at the Nepal-China border tore through a checkpoint and engulfed surrounding villages on Wednesday, leaving at least 100 people dead and hundreds missing.

Videos posted online show roads and bridges in northern Nepal’s mountainous Rasuwa district being washed away from sudden flooding that struck around 8:30 a.m. local ...Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Jury selection is underway for the second murder trial for Antolin Garcia Torres in the notorious 2012 disappearance and presumed death of Sierra LaMar, and a newly unsealed court filing reveals that prosecutors are alleging publicly for the first time that he tried to kidnap a woman in San Jose a week after Sierra vanished ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is preparing to activate a long-dormant maritime war court to streamline military capture of Iranian oil tankers as U.S. prizes, according to three people familiar with the plans.

Reviving prize courts, which is expected to face legal challenges, is intended to strengthen the blockade of Iran and offset the...Read more

Days after the top elections official in Shasta County, California, announced that he planned to hire an election denier who served prison time for tampering with voting machines, county leaders there made an extraordinary plea to state and federal authorities: Please come investigate.

A statement released by the county Tuesday afternoon said ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — In the last few years, multiple studies have shown that global warming is intensifying drought and worsening water scarcity in California and the western United States.

Now, scientists have found that a group of polluters is responsible for a large share of this drying.

In their study, published this week in the journal ...Read more

Do you feel like the same person in February as in June? For most people, the answer is a resounding no.

During winter, your energy tends to dip, your immune system takes a hit and you may feel less social. Research finds that people are less inclined to stick to a workout routine in winter.

In contrast, spring’s longer days...Read more

The Paris Grand Mosque, an iconic cultural landmark located in the heart of the city, is celebrating its centenary. Built as a war memorial to honor Muslim soldiers killed during World War I, it was the first permanent mosque in the French capital and remains its only mosque built with a minaret and a dome. The story behind its construction ...Read more

The “bible” of clinical psychiatry – the DSM, short for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – is one of the most popular psychiatry reference books around the world. Clinicians use it to diagnose patients and scientists use it to guide research.

Despite its wide impact, the DSM has never integrated ...Read more

Over 368,000 miles of roads wind through U.S. national forests, eight times more than the entire interstate highway system. Many are heavily eroded and prone to landslides, and driving vehicles on them can spread invasive species. They need billions of dollars in repairs.

Yet the Trump administration wants to build more roads in ...Read more

Florida gets a lot of attention for its sinkholes, especially when they swallow cars and entire houses. But its sinkhole risk has nothing on Alaska’s.

Much of Alaska’s soil is permafrost – ground that remains below 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius) for at least two consecutive years. It is often rich with ice, but when ...Read more

For a long time, the likelihood of surviving pancreatic cancer has been extremely low. For patients who were diagnosed with metastatic pancreatic cancer between 2015 and 2021, about 97% died within five years of their diagnosis.

Pancreatic cancer is so deadly in part because there are no effective screening tests, and it rarely causes...Read more

Sen. Mitch McConnell on Wednesday commended the federal government for giving $26.7 million to help the University of Kentucky complete its agricultural research center, making a statement focused on government business rather than his health, which has been a focal point in recent months.

While recovering from a fall since June, McConnell has ...Read more

MINNESOTA — A federal grand jury has indicted a 46-year-old Minneapolis man for allegedly using his job at a Minnesota money services business to launder funds for a Mexican drug cartel.

According to the indictment, Christopher Bravo Marin helped launder at least $750,000 in drug proceeds on behalf of the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación ...Read more

Mike McHaney adopted a 73-pound American bulldog named Houdini from the city shelter, and learned he’d have to pay $250 for a special permit due to his felony conviction.

That’s because a Minneapolis ordinance since 2008 requires people convicted of certain felonies — including drug charges, murder, assault, burglary and domestic assault ...Read more

BOSTON — State Rep. Francisco Paulino was arrested by federal agents on pandemic benefit fraud charges Wednesday morning, less than two weeks after another Massachusetts politician – Lawrence Mayor Brian DePena – was arrested by the feds on pandemic loan fraud charges.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office says Paulino, a Democrat representing the...Read more

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers are decrying the Trump administration’s threat to demolish the Kennedy Center if a federal judge doesn’t rule in favor of adding the president’s name and closing the building for two years for major renovations.

It sets the stage for a high-stakes court hearing on Thursday as President Donald Trump continues his ...Read more

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday became the latest politician in a swelling bipartisan movement to demand an overhaul of how and where AI-powered Flock cameras can be used, calling on Floridians to pressure lawmakers to regulate the tools.

“I don’t want to have this become a surveillance state,” he told attendees at an unrelated event in ...Read more