North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein visited Congress to ask for billions more in Helene relief funding on Wednesday.

The storm, which caused $60 billion in damage in 2024, has left the state to slowly pick up the pieces as federal and state funding has come in waves.

Stein is requesting about $10.15 billion from Congress, $3 billion less than his ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military said it had launched strikes against “multiple” targets in Iran for the second day in a row after President Donald Trump accused the country of dragging out talks on an interim peace deal.

U.S. Central Command said it began what it called the “additional self-defense strikes” at 5:15 p.m. New York time ...Read more

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis just gave the month of June — which is widely recognized as Pride Month — a conservative rebrand.

On Monday, DeSantis announced June 2026 as “Faith and Family Month” in Florida — a largely symbolic gesture that emphasizes the importance of a “Biblical family unit” and the role that fathers play in the...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Federal authorities arrested a Minneapolis grocer who recently landed on the FBI’s Most Wanted Fraudsters list for allegations that he bilked a federally funded meals program.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota on Wednesday announced the surrender of Said Ereg, 47, on charges alleging his participation in the sprawling ...Read more

Disneyland fans have spoken, and their overwhelming love for the Happiest Place on Earth has prompted California state officials to move forward with plans for a specialized license plate that pays tribute to the Anaheim theme park.

The California State Treasurer’s Office has received “tremendous interest” from more than the minimum ...Read more

People’s knee-jerk reaction to seeing death in nature is often not positive. The burn scar left by wildfire on a once-forested hillside, or a ghostly white coral reef, may evoke tragedy and despair. But in nature, most plants and animals are recycled back into new life.

The fallen branches and leaves that crunch under your boots as ...Read more

BOSTON — The Committee for Public Counsel Services is asking Mass State Police to turn over information for all cases, open or closed, that former State Trooper Michael Proctor investigated, citing shocking texts revealed in a lawsuit filed by Karen Read.

The request from CPCS, which oversees the process of representing the state’s indigent...Read more

WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Washington agreed with the Trump administration that a legal fight over a controversial $1.8 billion fund for alleged political “weaponization” victims was likely obsolete in light of U.S. assurances that the plan won’t go forward.

However, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon asked probing questions of a ...Read more

California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and Santa Clara County officials announced a new lawsuit against the Trump administration that aims to block a planned immigration facility near Gilroy.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in San José, alleges that the leased land is zoned exclusively for agricultural use and that the federal ...Read more

CHICAGO —Hours before the release of stunning grand jury transcripts in the “Broadview Six” case Tuesday, the fallout from the now-dismissed prosecutorial debacle was front-and-center in a hearing on an unrelated fraud case that everyone thought was over.

Instead, lawyers for Yale Schiff, who pleaded guilty to bank fraud and is serving a ...Read more

BALTIMORE — A federal judge on Wednesday repeatedly pressed U.S. Department of Justice attorneys to explain why they want access to sensitive personal information from more than 4 million Maryland voters, questioning how the federal government would use the data if the state is forced to turn it over.

The hearing in Baltimore’s U.S. ...Read more

President Donald Trump on Wednesday shrugged off punishing price hikes faced by ordinary Americans, saying “I love the inflation” as the closely watched economic gauge soared over 4% amid the Iran war.

Asked about a new report showing consumer prices rose by 4.2% compared to 12 months ago, Trump told reporters that the report was music to ...Read more

BOISE, Idaho — A trial whose outcome could impact Idaho’s abortion laws is underway in federal court in Boise, and the first two days have included expert witness testimony from the high-risk pregnancy specialist suing government officials and from several other specialists who detailed myriad potential pregnancy complications they said ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Treasury refunded nearly $22 billion in tariff revenue collected from importers in May, the first swath of such repayments since the Supreme Court struck down a major component of President Donald Trump’s trade policy.

The amount was roughly equal to tariffs taken in during the month, according to a Treasury ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Federal law enforcement agents conducted a search warrant Wednesday morning at the GKN Aerospace facility in Garden Grove where a failed chemical tank over the Memorial Day weekend prompted mass evacuations over fears of a toxic spill or massive explosion.

The FBI and the Environmental Protection Agency were carrying out the ...Read more

DETROIT — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday that the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge across the Detroit River could be delayed, but maintained that "there's no big drama."

"Everyone is working hard to make sure the bridge is open as soon as possible," Carney told reporters in Ottawa on Wednesday, according to...Read more

LOS ANGELES — In his opening statement, a prosecutor told a federal jury on Wednesday that Jonathan Rinderknecht, driven by a desire for revenge against society, used a lighter to intentionally set what would eventually become the most destructive wildfire in Los Angeles history.

Rinderknecht's defense attorney countered that his client, a 29...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The lawyer representing the ICE agent accused of assault for allegedly pointing his gun at two motorists during Operation Metro Surge has asked to move the criminal proceedings from Hennepin County District Court into a federal courtroom.

In a notice filed Tuesday, attorney Ryan Pacyga asked the U.S. District Court for the ...Read more

BOISE, Idaho — Trained members of Idaho law enforcement with demonstrated firearms proficiency are expected to fill slots for carrying out the death penalty by firing squad as the state prison system transitions to the controversial execution method next month.

Six volunteers certified for no less than three years apiece through Peace Officer...Read more

WASHINGTON — Antonio Pozos, a Philadelphia lawyer nominated by President Donald Trump to become a federal judge in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, told a Senate panel on Wednesday that former President Joe Biden won the most Electoral College votes in 2020 — though he declined to say whether Biden won the popular vote or if the Capitol...Read more