CHICAGO — A parasite causing “explosive diarrhea” has caused widespread panic across the country, adding new complexities to safe food handling at home and worrying diners about ordering the wrong leafy green at a restaurant. Health experts in Chicago say caution is warranted either way, but suggest considering several key factors before ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — The National Hurricane Center on Wednesday began forecasting the potential of a tropical depression or storm forming from a system targeting Florida.

In its 8 a.m. tropical outlook, the NHC said an area of low pressure is expected to form during the weekend over the northeastern Gulf.

“Subsequent slow development of this ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS – A fifth day of dangerous heat comes with a new hazard: poor air quality.

Smoke from several wildfires burning in northern Minnesota and Ontario will continue sliding south Wednesday, bringing another reason to limit time outdoors, the National Weather Service said.

On Tuesday, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency issued a ...Read more

The U.S. launched more airstrikes on Iran on Wednesday, with President Donald Trump pledging to intensify the bombardment until Tehran stops attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz and agrees to open the waterway.

The American military hit missile storage and launch sites on Greater Tunb Island, situated in the Persian Gulf near the strait, in ...Read more

DENVER — Mandatory evacuations were lifted Tuesday as crews gained containment on the Green Ridge fire burning near Steamboat Springs, according to Routt County officials.

The nearby Fishhook fire continued to burn on more than 200 acres with no containment, joining four other wildfires active across Colorado. Together, the Fishhook, Green ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — With a heat wave expected to peak in Southern California on Wednesday, forecasters are warning of elevated fire risk.

Temperatures are forecast to be 10 to 17 degrees above normal, prompting heat advisories for most of the Los Angeles area, outside of coastal areas, said Mike Wofford, meteorologist with the National Weather ...Read more

There are few greater feelings than the sense of heartfelt gratitude to another human being who has done you a solid. Sincere thanks and reciprocation are part of the glue that binds us in human relationships.

But sometimes you’re just not feeling it. You know that you have benefited from what someone has done for you, but you don�...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday for Todd Blanche, President Donald Trump's pick for attorney general, will be a referendum on far more than his individual merits.

Blanche, the acting attorney general, served as Trump's defense attorney before taking office and has been closely linked to many of the most consequential �...Read more

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva widened his lead ahead of Brazil’s October election as challenger Flávio Bolsonaro struggled to overcome tensions within his powerful conservative family, according to a new poll.

Lula leads Bolsonaro by 8 points, 45% to 37%, in a runoff scenario, according to the Genial/Quaest survey published Wednesday....Read more

Gadi Eisenkot, a former head of Israel’s armed forces, has emerged as the main challenger to Benjamin Netanyahu in upcoming elections that could end the premiership of the country’s longest-serving leader.

Polls indicate that Eisenkot’s new party Yashar — Hebrew for straightforward or honest — will get slightly more seats than ...Read more

The U.S. launched more airstrikes on Iran on Wednesday, with President Donald Trump pledging to intensify his bombardment until Tehran stops attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz and agrees to open the waterway.

The American military said it started striking again early afternoon Iran time in an attempt to further degrade the Islamic Republic...Read more

Seasonal work. Inconsistent hours. Frequent moves. Cash payments and informal jobs. For farmworkers who rely on Medicaid, these common employment patterns could put their health coverage at risk.

It’s a heightened concern for the estimated million-plus farmworkers who are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents, as new work requirements ...Read more

Chicago police Superintendent Larry Snelling is still finalizing his Wednesday dinner plans.

He hasn’t thought about it much yet. There’s still much to do, but there will be reason to celebrate. He won’t join in a Champagne toast — Snelling doesn’t drink alcohol — but he may allow himself one indulgence: a banana milkshake, his ...Read more

CHICAGO — Before she went into surgery, Elizabeth Wehrle knew that doctors wanted to transplant four new organs into her body.

She didn’t know, at the time, that the operation at Northwestern Memorial Hospital was potentially the first of its kind in the country — a quadruple-organ transplant performed on a person who had already had a ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana is taking aim at California’s Medicaid program for providing housing assistance, food, and other social services to high-need, low-income patients who tend to rack up big healthcare costs and, he argued, strain taxpayer funds.

The Republican blasted California during back-to-back political...Read more

Fresno immigrant activists said that ICE being ordered to temporarily suspend vehicle stops after two deadly shootings by its agents in Texas and Maine provides a “small breath” of relief. But it’s no reason to stop being vigilant of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in the Valley, they say.

Alfred Aldrete of Fresno ...Read more

On the second day of a civil jury trial in Tallahassee in which state Rep. Fabián Basabe is facing allegations of sexual harassment by a former legislative aide and an intern, the Miami Beach Republican on Tuesday denied the allegations and testified that the ex-aide “was always a loser.”

The former aide, Nicolas Frevola, has claimed that ...Read more

People who were wrongfully imprisoned in Illinois could see larger payouts after Gov. JB Pritzker announced Tuesday he had signed a law raising the compensation cap.

Illinois has had the most exonerations of any state for six of the past seven years, according to the National Registry of Exonerations. But until now, compensation for exonerees ...Read more