ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Richard Ragle looked at the island as the boat pulled up. He’d studied historical photographs of Great Sitkin Island for years, but it wasn’t exactly what he expected — some things were bigger and others were smaller than he had imagined.

The island, nestled into the Aleutians, has grasses that grow so tall they’re...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Offshore oil derricks dotting the California coastline continue pumping despite a history of catastrophic spills and vows from generations of politicians to send them to the scrapheap. They've even survived a modest attempt by state officials more than a decade ago to offer incentives to oil companies that chose to abandon...Read more

CHICAGO — The victims met their fates over two decades in every corner of the city: informants shot execution-style, rivals gunned down in barbershops and restaurants, a rapper targeted after online taunts, an innocent bystander felled by bullets sprayed at a pickup basketball game.

At least 54 people slain and dozens more wounded in ...Read more

BALTIMORE — When state lawmakers return to Annapolis for a special legislative session next month, they’ll face a question that has vexed some of them: Should they decriminalize needles, syringes and other supplies used by people who use drugs?

A majority of lawmakers approved a bill last spring that removes certain supplies from the list ...Read more

When Dina Neal, the first African American woman elected to the Nevada Assembly, came to the state Capitol in 2011, she wore her hair in braids. Her hairstyle was a practical choice.

Carson City was snowy and cold, “and I did not want to wear my wet hair out every day in 25-degree weather,” she said.

In 2013, a white staffer told Neal her ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Tami Roman swore she was done with reality TV.

In 1993, the 22-year-old aspiring singer was cast in the second season of "The Real World" and was central to its most memorable moments — including an abortion documented by MTV cameras and a physical altercation with her roommate, David Edwards, that led to his departure from ...Read more

Though Californians voted to legalize adult use marijuana in 2016, it remains largely unavailable in some of the biggest cities in the state.

Out of the 482 cities in California, 174 of them allow some form of licensed cannabis business, says Hirsh Jain of Ananda Strategy.

Many of those cities allow only non-retail cannabis operations, such as...Read more

When Greta Christina fell into a deep depression five years ago, she called up her therapist in San Francisco. She’d had a great connection with the provider when she needed therapy in the past. She was delighted to learn that he was now “in network” with her insurance company, meaning she wouldn’t have to pay out-of-pocket anymore to ...Read more

NEW YORK — COVID-19 is apparently no match for an ex-cop.

Mayor-elect Eric Adams confirmed Monday that he’s bound for Africa — and declared that his time as a police officer has rendered him unafraid of traveling to the continent despite international concern over a new coronavirus variant first detected there.

“I’m not afraid of ...Read more

BOISE, Idaho — An Idaho death row inmate nearing his end from cancer will soon learn whether he will be killed by lethal injection, which would mark the state’s first execution in nearly a decade.

Idaho’s pardons and parole board on Tuesday will consider whether to amend the sentence of Gerald Pizzuto, convicted of murdering two people in...Read more

CHICAGO — After years of controversy and roller-coaster twists and turns, the trial of Jussie Smollett began Monday with prosecutors alleging the actor faked a hate crime that grabbed the nation’s attention and the defense calling that a “fantasy.”

In his opening statement, special prosecutor Dan Webb said that Smollett’s fakery was ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — Thousands of active-duty Marines remain unvaccinated against COVID-19 as of Monday, one day after the service's Nov. 28 deadline, the Corps said in a statement. Most of them will find themselves booted from the military if the service follows-through with its current vaccine policy.

The service did not specify how many Marines ...Read more

As the great Yogi Berra would say, it’s like déjà vu all over again.

New York finds itself in a wait-and-see scenario, as health officials now face the almost certain possibility that the heavily mutated coronavirus variant called omicron will arrive within days.

From Dr. Anthony Fauci, the chief medical adviser to President Biden, to Dr. ...Read more

NEW YORK — The much-anticipated trial of accused sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell began Monday as federal prosecutors in New York laid out their case against the British socialite charged with recruiting girls and young women and trafficking them to have sex with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Epstein and Maxwell were “partners in ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The U.S. will proceed with its plan to release 50 million barrels of oil from its strategic reserves despite a new coronavirus variant triggering a sharp drop in crude prices.

“We are not reconsidering,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Monday at a briefing.

The Biden administration announced a release ...Read more

NEW YORK — Blood, apparently, is thicker than water.

Newly released testimony from CNN anchor Chris Cuomo reveals he shared information from “sources” with a top aide to his brother, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, as part of their effort to perform damage control in response to sexual harassment allegations.

In sworn testimony, Chris Cuomo ...Read more

Botswana’s highest court ruled to legalize homosexuality, ending a years-long court dispute and making the southern African nation one of the few on the continent to end discrimination against same-sex relationships.

The Court of Appeal on Monday threw out a challenge by the government against a 2019 high court ruling to strike down sections ...Read more

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday strengthened its recommendations on who should get boosters.

In a statement, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said that all vaccinated adults should get a booster as long as they received their second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna shot at least six months ago or they received their...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, a Republican who has used his pulpit to make numerous anti-LGBTQ comments, confronted a Democratic lawmaker Monday night after she gave a speech responding to Robinson’s remarks.

Robinson “berated” state Sen. Julie Mayfield, a Democrat from Asheville, after her speech and wagged his...Read more