BALTIMORE — Fifty years ago, the handful of women lawmakers in Maryland didn’t even have easy access to a bathroom during voting sessions. And when they asked for one, the speaker of the House of Delegates called a delegate up to the rostrum, presented her with a fur-covered toilet seat and appointed her chair of the “Ladies Restroom ...Read more

For two decades, amid the rise of women to governor’s mansions, military leadership and even the vice presidency, the percentage of women among the ranks of state police officers has hardly budged: A Stateline analysis finds that nationally, just 7% of sworn state troopers are female.

That’s a tiny gain from 2000, when the average female ...Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif. — For months, they thought Shannon O’Connor was the adult in the room. As far as they knew, their 14- and 15-year-old kids were hanging out with the Los Gatos mom’s charismatic freshman quarterback son, playing ping pong and swimming at the family’s $4.7 million French Colonial-style home in the hills.

Little by little,...Read more

Dessalines Day is a point of pride in Haiti, a time to commemorate the revolutionary hero who defeated Napoleon’s troops, abolished slavery and in 1804 established the first free Black republic.

But this year the Oct. 17 holiday played out like political theater of all the woes afflicting the nation.

The acting prime minister was headed to ...Read more

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The Parkland gunman’s guilty plea this week brought a swift end to the most predictable part of the legal drama surrounding the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, but it left far more business unfinished.

There are still legal arguments and hearings and a trial to determine whether Nikolas Cruz ...Read more

Manuel Caban is a lifelong Camden, New Jersey, resident who was arrested twice for marijuana offenses and a decade ago spent 30 days and then a year in prison for dealing.

That, he figures, makes him an ideal candidate for a license to sell cannabis now that New Jersey has legalized it with a focus on giving individuals who suffered under ...Read more

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — “This moment has shaken all of us to the very core,” IATSE Local 480 President Liz Pecos said, holding a lit candle in front of the pink-streaked New Mexico sky.

Hundreds of people stood in front of her, holding their own candles aloft as they gathered to mourn cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Many of those crowded ...Read more

Weeks after departing “The View” where she made a point of being the firebrand conservative debating anyone who stood in her way, Meghan McCain is now not ruling out a potential run for office.

Speaking to People magazine, McCain set realistic expectations for how her political life may go.

“I feel like I’ve done it all,” McCain said...Read more

Lake Michigan is experiencing record-breaking high temperatures for late October.

According to a tweet from the National Weather Service in Chicago, these temperatures remain higher because of October's weather being warmer than in previous years.

"In fact, as of this morning the average surface water temperature on the lake is around 2 ...Read more

In February 2019, Facebook Inc. set up a test account in India to determine how its own algorithms affect what people see in one of its fastest growing and most important overseas markets. The results stunned the company’s own staff.

Within three weeks, the new user’s feed turned into a maelstrom of fake news and incendiary images. There ...Read more

From Pasadena to Palo Alto, callers in nine California area codes will be required to use 10-digit dialing when making phone calls beginning Sunday.

The changes, which will affect thousands of California residents, stem from federal rules that will make it easier for callers to reach crisis resources.

Callers who have a 988 exchange or “...Read more

Prince Charles is warning the world that it could soon be too late to tackle climate change, and countries must act decisively.

Charles, the heir apparent to the British throne, said Saturday that “we now have a dangerously narrow window of opportunity in which to accelerate a green recovery, while laying the foundations for a sustainable ...Read more

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — As Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis calls legislators into special session next month, the quiet pushback of the powerful business industry is already being felt.

Although the governor may have declared war on employer vaccine mandates, he has also carefully steered clear of any talk that he will ask legislators to outlaw the ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Candlelight vigils are planned this weekend for Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer who was shot and killed Thursday by a prop gun fired by actor Alec Baldwin on a New Mexico movie set.

“Let’s gather together to honor Halyna and her accomplishments, and grieve together as one,” the Local 600 International Cinematographers...Read more

“Rust” director Joel Souza has broken his silence after the cinematographer on his film was shot and killed Thursday by a prop gun fired by actor and producer Alec Baldwin.

“I am gutted by the loss of my friend and colleague, Halyna,” Souza said in statement Saturday to Deadline. “She was kind, vibrant, incredibly talented, fought for...Read more

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — About 10,000 Energy United customers in the Lake Norman area lost power on Saturday morning, and officials quickly identified the perpetrator.

Crews with the power company reported finding a squirrel in the Northcross electrical substation in Huntersville that caused the outage, Energy United said on Twitter.

The company ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Faced with growing furor over reports of sexual assault and druggings at a University of Southern California fraternity chapter, President Carol Folt said late Friday that the university has suspended an individual in connection with some of the allegations and apologized for the pain roiling campus.

“Such behaviors are deeply...Read more

Nations are edging toward a deal that could create a global carbon market when they meet in Scotland for COP26 climate talks in about a week, after Brazil signaled it’s willing to compromise.

Brazil softened its stance on Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which aims to create a framework for countries and companies to meet their climate goals...Read more

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A plan to pull Puerto Rico out of the bankruptcy that has strangled its economy for years appears in serious jeopardy, facing opposition from politicians and other critics who contend that it doesn’t go far enough to protect government pensions and services and could put the island deeper in debt.

Puerto Rico’s ...Read more