LOS ANGELES — Patricia Reber walked out of the vaccine clinic at L.A.'s Lincoln Park pumping her arms overhead like a champion. A friend told the 80-year-old she had waited four hours for a shot at Dodger Stadium, but Reber was in and out within 30 minutes.

"This was wonderful," Reber said from beneath a Kobe Bryant face mask. "I think ...Read more

WASHINGTON — A myriad of conservative voices are warning Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell against doing anything to facilitate a conviction of former President Donald Trump in an impeachment trial that he’s proposing begin next month.

“He has to keep the Republican caucus in line and make sure as few Republicans vote for impeachment...Read more

AUSTIN, Texas — Following through on his promise to sue the Biden administration early and often, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Friday asked a federal judge to block a new policy that pauses most deportations for the next 100 days.

The policy, which went into effect Friday, was announced by acting Department of Homeland Security ...Read more

WASHINGTON — A lawyer for the U.S. House of Representatives signaled that congressional Democrats will move aggressively during the Biden administration to obtain former President Donald Trump’s tax returns, telling a judge “enough is enough.”

“The House has been stymied for a long time,” the lawyer, Douglas Letter, said Friday at a...Read more

President Joe Biden took executive action Friday to expand access to unemployment and food aid while Congress begins considering his proposal for a sweeping $1.9 trillion stimulus package amid continued economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

One executive order signed by Biden directs the Agriculture Department to provide 15% more in ...Read more

CHICAGO — A man who was discovered living at O’Hare International Airport for at least three months has left Cook County Jail after posting bail.

Aditya Singh, 36, was aided by the Chicago Bail Project, which came up with the $1,000 he needed to go free until his next court date after a $10,000 D-bond was set earlier, according to Cook ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Three unnamed grand jurors and “other concerned citizens” have filed an impeachment petition against Attorney General Daniel Cameron, the latest petition to be filed after the Kentucky House of Representatives created an impeachment committee.

The petition accuses Cameron of misrepresenting the findings of the grand jury ...Read more

LONDON —The coronavirus pandemic may no longer be spreading exponentially in the U.K., according to government data suggesting the country’s third lockdown is working.

The official estimate of the “R rate” -- which measures how many people each infected person passes the virus on to -- fell to between 0.8 and 1, the results released on ...Read more

WASHINGTON — A female Capitol Police officer who alleges she was discriminated against by the department because of her gender and endured retaliation for sharing with the media a photo of a Capitol Police officer’s unattended gun is appealing U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly’s decision against her.

Lawyers for Officer Jodi Breiterman...Read more

AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Supreme Court on Friday rejected, without comment, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' attempt to toss out four defamation lawsuits by parents of children killed at Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012.

The parents sued in Travis County, where Jones and his Infowars website are based, arguing that they were defamed and suffered...Read more

WASHINGTON — A QAnon adherent who was under investigation by the FBI sent messages last month saying that “World War 3” would occur on Jan. 6, court records show, the latest indication that federal agents knew about the potential for violence in the days leading to the storming of the U.S. Capitol.

Kevin Strong, an employee of the Federal...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden capped his first three days in the White House by signing executive actions aimed at addressing economic distress amid the coronavirus outbreak, but he has done little so far to appeal to Republicans, who are balking at his proposals for broader relief.

Biden on Friday signed orders that beef up worker rights,...Read more

ST. LOUIS – A lawyer for one of the men charged with participating in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol said that former President Donald Trump's refusal to pardon Jacob Chansley and other Trump followers was a "betrayal."

Clayton lawyer Albert Watkins said in a statement Wednesday that he'd approached Trump's chief of staff, Mark Meadows ...Read more

Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE will supply as many as 40 million doses of their COVID-19 vaccine to Covax, a global alliance many poorer countries are relying on to protect their populations.

Shipments will start in the first quarter and continue throughout 2021, the companies said in a statement. The agreement follows pacts with AstraZeneca Plc, ...Read more

Tesla Inc. has taken a misguided approach to developing fully autonomous cars and its “full self-driving” system will fail to live up to its billing, the head of Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo told a German business magazine.

“It is a misconception that you can simply develop a driver-assistance system further until one day you can magically ...Read more

WASHINGTON — A leading authority on federal budget law and Senate rules is making the case that raising the federal minimum wage can be done through budget reconciliation, which would allow the legislation to pass on a simple majority vote rather than requiring the support of 60 senators as is typical.

Bill Dauster, who served as deputy chief...Read more

WASHINGTON — Democrats’ relentless but unsuccessful fight for witnesses during President Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial could come to haunt them as they prepare for his second.

Many in the party are pushing for a speedy Senate trial so the chamber is not distracted for long from other Democratic priorities: confirming President ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California law banning the sale of flavored tobacco products was placed on hold Friday after state officials said a referendum by the tobacco industry qualified for the November 2022 ballot.

The announcement means the law approved last year by the Legislature and signed by the governor is suspended until California ...Read more

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York was slated to completely run out of vaccines on Friday as Gov. Cuomo warned of highly contagious new strains hampering efforts to stem the spread of COVID.

Only 28,246 doses provided to the state over the past five weeks remained as the governor addressed the shortfall around noon, just a fraction of the 80,000 shots ...Read more

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Florida’s daily COVID-19 death toll hit 277 Friday, tying the state record for resident and non-resident deaths from the disease.

Florida reported 13,719 new coronavirus cases on Friday and another 272 new resident deaths linked to COVID-19. The state has now reported 1,627,603 cases since the pandemic began.

The ...Read more