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

A federal judge in Miami has awarded more than $314 million in damages to three American citizens who said they were imprisoned and brutally tortured by the Venezuelan regime headed by Nicolás Maduro before they were freed in a 2023 prisoner exchange that secured the release of Maduro ally Alex Saab from U.S custody.

U.S. District Judge Darrin...Read more

Gov. Bob Ferguson kicked off a campaign to preserve the state's new high-earners income tax on Tuesday, arguing an initiative to kill the tax would have disastrous consequences for schools, small businesses and families.

Ferguson joined other foes of Initiative 645, including Democratic allies and education advocates and union activists, ...Read more

Northwest tribal nations and conservation groups sued the Trump administration Tuesday, challenging a new rule that aims to eliminate habitat protections for imperiled species.

For more than 50 years, degradation or destruction of habitat that impairs, kills or injures threatened species has been prohibited or regulated by the Endangered ...Read more

President Donald Trump backed away from his plan to impose a 20% charge on cargo shipments through the Strait of Hormuz after U.S. allies in the Gulf urged him to drop it.

Trump announced the decision on Tuesday, just one day after rolling out the fee, saying that the expected revenue would be replaced by forthcoming direct investments in the U...Read more

Gov. Gavin Newsom just announced a $20 million boost to the California Civic Media Program, which is designed to fund the state’s local news ecosystem. Individual newsrooms are eligible for up to $250,000 and applications for the grant are open until noon on Aug. 21.

“Every Californian deserves access to accurate, trusted information. By ...Read more

An intestinal parasite that causes “explosive” diarrhea is sickening people across 34 states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday.

Despite outbreaks affecting two states bordering Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia region so far shows no signs of widespread illness from Cyclospora cayetanensis.

Speaking to reporters, ...Read more