BRASILIA, Brazil — After three months of vacation in Florida, Jair Bolsonaro is finally returning to Brazil on Thursday to assume the role of opposition leader and challenge the leftist government of his foe Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The right-wing movements Bolsonaro inspired have eagerly awaited his return, and some of his backers were ...Read more

A Biden administration rule barring states from discriminating against poor LGBTQ people in the distribution of food stamps and other nutrition assistance programs survived a legal challenge by almost two dozen Republican-led states.

The lawsuit filed in July exaggerated the impact that the federal regulation would have on religious freedom, ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will travel to Rolling Fork, Mississippi, on Friday to tour storm damage and meet with those affected by the deadly tornadoes that killed more than two dozen people last week.

“The president and the first lady will visit with first responders, state and local officials, and communities,” the White House ...Read more

First lady Jill Biden attended Wednesday night’s candlelight vigil in Nashville, Tennessee, to honor and mourn the six victims killed in the Covenant School shooting.

“Honored that FLOTUS will attend this evening’s vigil as Nashville mourns and remembers the lives tragically taken from us,” Nashville Mayor John Cooper tweeted earlier in...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Contraceptive access throughout California high schools was on the docket for Wednesday’s Senate Education Committee meeting, where people in support and opposition took the stand.

If it the bill progresses — and eventually passes in the Senate — free condoms would be available to all students starting next school ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — The Berks County Coroner's Office on Wednesday released the names of the remaining victims of the explosion at the R.M. Palmer chocolate factory in West Reading that killed seven people.

The remaining five were identified as: Xiorky D. Nunez, 30, of Reading; Susan H. Halvonik, 63, of Upper Providence Township; Michael D. Breedy...Read more

NEW YORK — Rupert Murdoch’s disdain for former President Donald Trump’s actions after the 2020 election came out again in evidence presented in the $1.6 billion defamation suit against Fox News.

“Trump insisting on the election being stolen and convincing 25% of Americans was a huge disservice to the country,” Murdoch wrote to Fox ...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina Republican House leaders are reviving efforts to require teachers to post lesson plans online. They want to make it easier for parents to challenge school materials they consider to be unfit too.

The House budget proposal released on Wednesday included elements from “academic transparency” legislation that ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump is appealing an order rejecting his efforts to block grand jury testimony from several former White House advisers in an investigation into efforts to undermine the 2020 presidential election.

A federal judge in Washington rebuffed Trump’s challenge earlier in March to efforts by Special Counsel ...Read more

New Mexico’s district attorney overseeing the “Rust” shooting criminal prosecution of Alec Baldwin has stepped down, dealing another blow to the state’s efforts to hold the actor and armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed accountable for the fatal shooting on the western movie set.

On Wednesday, 1st Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Senate voted Wednesday to terminate a COVID-19 pandemic ​national emergency order implemented by former President Donald Trump in 2020 that was due to be terminated in May anyway.

The 68-23 vote on the measure came after the House voted 229-197 in February, with 11 Democrats joining 218 Republicans in support.

A statement ...Read more

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., introduced legislation Wednesday aimed at curbing gun violence a month and a half after a mass shooting at Michigan State University left three students dead and five injured.

One bill would bar the transfer of a gun for three years to someone who has been convicted of a misdemeanor if they used...Read more

KEY LARGO, Fla. — Scientists at SeaWorld rehabilitate so many injured manatees, many from the Florida Keys, that they have trouble coming up with creative names for the aquatic mammals.

Last year, “we had a bread theme,” said Lorri Braso, a supervisory animal rescuer at the Orlando theme park and aquarium.

Introducing Garlic Knot, a 965-...Read more

LAS VEGAS — An alleged cult leader accused of sexually assaulting two women in Clark County appeared in court on Wednesday morning.

Nathan Chasing Horse, 46, was indicted in February and has pleaded not guilty to 19 felony charges, including sexual assault of a minor under 16, sexual assault, kidnapping, open and gross lewdness and drug ...Read more

It wasn’t exactly a Nigerian prince scam.

Florida charter school Principal Jan McGee resigned this week after sending $100,000 to a scammer pretending to be South African entrepreneur Elon Musk, who’s worth an estimated $192 billion.

According to Orlando, Fla., station WESH, McGee was repeatedly warned that the grifter, who promised to ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — In a state Capitol dominated by Democrats, where expanding LGBTQ rights is a pillar of the agenda, an announcement Wednesday from one of the most powerful lawmakers came as something of a shock:

Senate leader Toni Atkins — a San Diego Democrat who has blazed trails as a lesbian lawmaker and the first woman to lead both ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Sen. John Fetterman will return to the Senate the week of April 17.

The update, first reported by Politico, comes six weeks after Fetterman started inpatient treatment for depression at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Fetterman spokesperson Joe Calvello confirmed the return date to The Inquirer.

Calvello told The...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Seven California Highway Patrol officers and a nurse were charged with manslaughter Wednesday in connection with the death of a man who screamed, “I can’t breathe!,” as they tried to draw blood from him, prosecutors said.

Edward Bronstein was suspected of driving while intoxicated in 2020 when he was apprehended and later ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — The winter killing season for manatees along Central Florida’s Atlantic coast is winding down with an astounding turn of events — a tiny fraction of the animals died compared to during the last two years.

From January through March in Brevard County waters, authorities collected 275 dead manatees in 2021 and 281 last year....Read more