President Donald Trump is wielding power in unprecedented ways to bring states to heel, marking a dark new chapter in the relationship between the federal government and the states.

Since taking office last year, Trump has punished Democratic-led states that anger him by withholding federal funding and slow-walking assistance. His ...Read more

ABOARD THE MOLLY B, on the Salish Sea — They are big. They are beautiful. And they are back.

The return of the humpback whale to greater numbers than observed in decades is part of a larger revival of marine mammals in the Salish Sea. It is an astonishing sight of life rebounding, with exception of the endangered southern residents orcas.

On...Read more

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The last known act of Ana Knezevich’s life was to finalize the sale of a house in Oakland Park.

Within hours of signing the deal, the 40-year-old Fort Lauderdale woman disappeared from her apartment in Madrid, murdered by her husband, David, according to federal officials. Now, a civil complaint filed May 1 by her ...Read more

ST. CLOUD, Minn. — Cori Roberts was living in a rented basement four years ago when she was diagnosed with early stage cervical cancer.

Recently divorced, the former stay-at-home mother had started working again in her mid-40s, taking a human resources job that paid $41,000 a year. Then, despite having insurance, she was hit with more than $8...Read more

MENAHGA, Minn. — The culture in this north central Minnesota city is defined by faith, farming and Finnish heritage.

A statue of St. Urho, the fictional patron saint of Finland, stands 12 feet tall in the middle of Menahga. Pews in the Lutheran churches, which outnumber bars and restaurants in this community of 1,400, fill each Sunday with ...Read more

HORNBROOK, Calif. — The expeditionary force, a squad of officers from the Los Angeles Police Department, deployed to this rugged little mountain town near the Oregon border with a singular mission.

Stationing themselves along the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks, the officers eyeballed passengers on California-bound trains, looking for hints...Read more

WASHINGTON — As she prepares to return home after four terms in the House and one in the Senate, Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis is optimistic her home state of Wyoming is in a strong position to take advantage of growing interest in nuclear energy.

Lummis represented the state with the nation’s largest uranium deposits during her time in ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida is launching its own college-level U.S. history course for high school students, trying to teach “the full scope” of America’s story, but some experts say the proposed lesson plans present sanitized views of topics such as slavery, and some college counselors say high-achieving pupils should stay away.

The new ...Read more

A man accused of repeatedly ramming his car into Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters in Brooklyn pleaded guilty to damaging religious property in federal court on Wednesday, officials said.

Dan Sohail, 36, faces a maximum of three years in prison after admitting to the bizarre Jan. 28 Crown Heights attack, but is expected to receive less than ...Read more

President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing for the first state visit to China by a U.S. leader in nine years, as the world’s two largest economies look to stabilize ties with a summit playing out against the backdrop of the Iran war.

Air Force One touched down at the Beijing Capital International Airport slightly before 8 p.m. on Wednesday, ...Read more

The United Arab Emirates denied that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had visited the Gulf country, shortly after Israel said he made a “secret visit” to the UAE.

“The UAE reaffirms that its relations with Israel are public and conducted within the framework of the well-known and officially declared Abraham Accords, and are not ...Read more

LONDON — The United Kingdom’s governing Labour Party was headed for a divisive battle over the country’s top political office, as a leading Cabinet member prepared to challenge Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Allies of Wes Streeting, who hails from the right wing of the party, said on Wednesday that the health secretary was likely to quit ...Read more

Roads lined with looted and charred buildings, gun smoke hanging in the air and the presence of heavily armed men and boys are stark reminders of the relentless violence consuming Haiti’s volatile capital.

For humanitarian workers and medical providers inside Cité Soleil, the sprawling seaside slum long synonymous with poverty and gang ...Read more

Rainfall across much of California and the West has become more clustered in heavier storms, with longer dry spells in between.

The net effect is a drying out, researchers found in a new study. It isn’t just the western United States; the same is true in much of the rest of the world.

The research is the first to reveal how this ...Read more

DENVER — The end of the Colorado legislative session often is raucous and tense. But on Wednesday, the 2026 session’s conclusion was more muted — with no major last-minute deals and no major standoffs on pivotal policies as Gov. Jared Polis’ time in his position atop the Legislature nears an end.

Instead, there was cake.

Lawmakers in ...Read more

MIAMI — Marly Metayer, the mother of slain Coral Springs Vice Mayor Nancy Metayer Bowen, has filed to run for her daughter’s city commission seat, records show.

Her campaign manager David Metellus said she filed to run for seat 3 on Tuesday. Marly Metayer’s name appears on the Coral Springs campaign finance portal along with four other �...Read more

NEW YORK — The NYPD crushed 200 dirt bikes, mopeds and scooters beneath the treads of two bulldozers outside a Sanitation Department garage on Staten Island Wednesday.

The demolished motorbikes were among more than 5,700 seized by police in New York City this year. The vehicles were snatched for being unregistered, uninsured, or having fake ...Read more

TORONTO — The western Canadian province of Alberta will appeal a court ruling that blocks a potential vote on separation from the country, after a judge found the government failed to meet its obligation to consult with Indigenous peoples.

The decision from the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta on Wednesday is a major setback for the ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — In the days after she killed two boys in a Westlake Village crosswalk with her SUV, Rebecca Grossman never admitted culpability in the crash to her lover Scott Erickson, despite testimony from another witness saying she did, the ex-Dodgers pitcher testified from the stand Wednesday.

Erickson, who was driving his AMG Mercedes in ...Read more