CHICAGO — Nearly five years after her death, body camera footage that captured the last moments of Chicago police Officer Ella French’s life was released to the public Wednesday.

The harrowing footage had not been publicly viewed outside of the 2024 criminal trial of the man later convicted in French’s killing. French’s partner, Carlos ...Read more

To labor leaders and advocates behind a campaign to align California Democrats behind increasing what corporations pay in state taxes, the Legislature’s budget agreement — though not yet ratified by the governor — includes what they see as a hard-fought win.

The deal the Assembly and Senate coalesced behind includes a step toward a ...Read more

Organized labor, one of the Democratic Party’s most politically active and reliable constituencies, issued a stinging rebuke to the state’s one-party Democratic rule on Wednesday when the Illinois AFL-CIO deferred making any candidate endorsements for the Nov. 3 general election due to the Illinois General Assembly’s lack of action on ...Read more

DENVER — U.S. Forest Service crews on Sunday found multiple trees that someone doused with accelerant and set on fire near the Pike-San Isabel National Forest in an attempt to start a wildfire in the central Colorado mountains, law enforcement officials said.

Fire crews were on a routine patrol when they found multiple burned trees on ...Read more

NEW YORK — A family of tourists’ picturesque outing in a Central Park carriage turned into a nightmare Wednesday when an 18-year-old from India died after an out-of-control horse pulling the carriage he was riding in suddenly bolted, sending the carriage careening onto its side as onlookers watched in horror.

The precise circumstances of ...Read more

Massachusetts state officials released the final framework for statewide graduation requirements on Wednesday after voters overturned the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System standardized testing standard.

The grad requirements closely follow previous proposals, including MassCore curriculum and a controversial testing component.

“...Read more

MIAMI — Doral real estate broker George Pino declined to testify Wednesday afternoon during his trial, where he is facing two felony charges over a Biscayne Bay boat crash that killed a 17-year-old girl.

“I do not wish to testify,” Pino told Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez.

Shortly after Pino turned down the chance ...Read more

President Donald Trump signed an interim deal to end the war with Iran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, speeding up the timeline for the agreement to go into effect despite blowback from Republicans who said it amounted to a victory for Tehran.

U.S. and Iranian officials signed an interim peace deal electronically on Wednesday evening, ...Read more

CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. — U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced over $700 million in new funds for programs tackling substance abuse, mental health challenges and homelessness during an event in Clinton Township on Monday.

Kennedy visited the nonprofit Easterseals MORC's certified community behavioral health...Read more

WASHINGTON — Georgia Republicans pulled back on plans to redraw the state’s congressional map during a special legislative session that began Wednesday, the day after primary runoffs set up high-stakes fall races for Senate, governor and other statewide offices.

Republican Gov. Brian Kemp last month called a special session to address the ...Read more

Former Rep. Michelle Steel was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Wednesday to serve as the country’s new ambassador to South Korea.

Steel, 70, was nominated by President Donald Trump for the post in April. The two-term House member was born in South Korea to parents who fled North Korea and was raised in Japan, immigrating to the U.S. when she ...Read more

Military officials have identified the eight crew members killed Monday when a B-52 Stratofortress crashed at Edwards Air Force Base during what officials said was a routine test mission.

The victims were identified as: Col. Gregory Watson, 53; Lt. Col. Gabriel Estrella, 40; Retired Lt. Col. Miles Middleton, 50; Maj. Alexander Davis, 34; Maj. ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Two men from Southern California's Inland Empire region have been arrested and charged in what federal officials described as a plot to kill government officials and others at the UFC cage-fighting show staged at the White House last weekend.

The two Californians are among five co-conspirators arrested across the country in the ...Read more

BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey and public safety leaders announced the statewide implementation of new technology on Massachusetts streets and highways in an effort to prevent wrong-way driving accidents following a flurry of recent crashes.

This new tech follows the wrong-way driving death of State Trooper Kevin Trainor, who died in May after ...Read more

WASHINGTON — An empty Senate Intelligence Committee room summed up the mood Wednesday afternoon during what was supposed to be an easy step in Majority Leader John Thune’s plan to revive a lapsed surveillance authority.

Instead, the key spy powers tool, the committee room and senators themselves were left in the dark after President Donald ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky’s attorney general filed three lawsuits against prediction market and gambling companies he said are operating unlicensed sports betting platforms illegally across the state.

Lawsuits filed June 17 in Franklin Circuit Court by Attorney General Russell Coleman against Kalshi, Polymarket and VGW allege the companies ...Read more

NEW YORK — An 18-year-old was in critical condition Wednesday after a horse-drawn carriage he was riding in overturned in Central Park.

The incident happened around 2:47 p.m. Wednesday near 71st Street and Center Drive.

A video making the rounds on social media shows a white carriage moving quickly. The carriage is seen from behind. Shortly ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — In yet another blow to the beleaguered offshore wind industry, the Trump administration said Wednesday it will pay developer Invenergy $765 million to walk away from four U.S. wind leases, including one off the coast of California, and invest instead in geothermal and fossil fuel projects.

Under the agreement, Chicago-based ...Read more