ANAHEIM, Calif. — A year and a half ago, two power brokers in Anaheim discussed a critical question on the phone: Who should they invite to a secretive gathering of Anaheim business leaders, consultants and politicians?

It would be a “retreat” at a local hotel, and one of them described their small group as a “cabal.” Attendance would...Read more

ST. PAUL, Minn. — A man was killed on a downtown St. Paul light-rail platform early Friday, the third homicide in the city in a six-hour span.

The homicides were unrelated — a man was found dead in the street in the North End on Thursday night and another man died early Friday after he was shot during a domestic dispute in Frogtown.

The ...Read more

PONTIAC, Mich. — The pending trial for parents of the accused Oxford High shooter is five months away but their attorneys are compiling lists of objectionable evidence they want excluded from the trial they say will taint jurors' views and violate their clients' constitutional rights.

In the filing, it was revealed that accused shooter Ethan ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The day the plane fell from the sky, Eva Avalos was sipping coffee under her Mulberry tree.

Metal flashed in the corner of her eye as the Cessna 182 hit the ground in front of her house and exploded. The tree went up in flames and the heat singed her hair. Her two dogs vanished. She ran to the back of the house with her grandson...Read more

EAGLE PASS, Texas — The armed militia arrived at the Rio Grande after dark and headed toward a group of 29 migrants who had illegally crossed the river.

The migrants had already been stopped by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, constables and National Guard troops. Under a spotlight, they huddled against a security fence, awaiting a Border ...Read more

VISALIA, Calif. — Bryan Ruiz moved his family into a newly built home in this Central Valley farming center seven months ago and almost immediately found they were under assault.

Mosquitoes bit and harassed them in broad daylight. He looked around, trying to find a water source where they were breeding, and noticed a freshly dug pipe, meant ...Read more

CHICAGO — Every now and then the Illinois Department of Natural Resources puts out a public request for sightings of armadillos, anywhere in the state: Folks, if you see something, say something. And periodically, yes, they do get a handful of reports of armadillos, scattered here and there. But when they asked again in February, they received...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — Before she sued the Church of Scientology last month for allegedly trafficking her as a child, Valeska Paris, 44, tried to pursue criminal charges.

She filed a 32-page affidavit in September 2019 with the Clearwater Police Department alleging forced labor and sexual abuse as a child in England, a teenager in Clearwater and as a ...Read more

In a stopgap measure to help struggling spring- and winter-run Chinook salmon spawn in the face of rising water temperatures and lower water levels due to climate change, state and federal wildlife officials in Northern California have begun trucking adult fish to cooler waters.

The spring- and winter-run salmon are genetically different, with ...Read more

LONDON — Prime Minister Boris Johnson won’t be fined again for breaking coronavirus regulations after UK police concluded a probe into rule-breaking gatherings during lockdown, a major boost for the prime minister after months of turmoil.

London’s Metropolitan Police said Thursday it has made a total of 126 referrals for fines as part of ...Read more

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government joined Canada’s closest intelligence allies in banning Huawei Technologies Co. from fifth-generation wireless networks.

The Chinese state-championed telecommunications firm poses a threat to Canada’s national security, Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said Thursday, confirming an ...Read more

ST. LOUIS — Months after causing a national uproar with its first book ban, the Wentzville School Board voted Thursday to yank another acclaimed book from school libraries.

The board agreed with a review committee's recommendation to pull the comic memoir "Fun Home" by Alison Bechdel, citing graphic illustrations of sexual activity. The vote ...Read more

Billionaire Ken Griffin is reaching a tipping point with Chicago, the home to his market maker and hedge fund business, as the city wrestles with rising crime.

“We’re getting to the point that if things don’t change, we’re gone,” Griffin, who founded both the hedge fund Citadel and the market-making business Citadel Securities, said ...Read more

LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan House on Thursday passed a $6.8 million supplemental spending bill that attempts to resolve lingering questions over Oxford Community Schools' ability to end the school year June 10 without fear of reprisal for not meeting state school day requirements.

The bill, which passed on a unanimous vote, encourages the ...Read more

Two bills on gun safety on film sets in California in the wake of the deadly shooting on the set of "Rust" last year failed to meet a key deadline in the state Senate on Thursday and were blocked from moving forward.

Both Sen. Dave Cortese's, D-San Jose, Senate Bill 831 and another, more narrowly focused SB 829 backed by state Sen. Anthony ...Read more