ST. PAUL, Minn. — Gov. Tim Walz is pitching his first budget under the new Trump era as a counterweight to the incoming president’s threats to impose tariffs, which he says will raise costs on everyday Minnesotans.

His plan would lower Minnesota’s sales tax rate for the first time in state history by 0.075% across the board while ...Read more

NEW YORK — Mayor Eric Adams is traveling to Florida on Friday to meet with President-elect Donald Trump amid concern the incoming president’s immigration and fiscal policies could have a major impact on New Yorkers.

The meeting also comes as Trump has openly entertained pardoning Adams as he faces federal corruption charges.

In a statement...Read more

A commercial flock of broiler chickens on the Eastern Shore has tested positive for H5N1, or bird flu.

According to an announcement from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the entire operation in Accomack County had been quarantined with a 10-kilometer (6 mile) perimeter. The positive flock was depopulated Thursday, ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The United States imposed sanctions Thursday against Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, leader of the Sudanese Armed Forces, on the grounds that he has destabilized the country and undermined moves toward democracy.

Under the penalties announced by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, any property or interests owned...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The California Public Utilities Commission approved Southern California Edison’s wildfire mitigation plan Thursday, rejecting calls to delay action until more is known about what ignited the devastating Eaton fire.

Investigators are now looking into whether Edison’s equipment sparked the Eaton fire, which has killed at least...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom rebuked Donald Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and tech mogul Elon Musk for spreading misinformation about officials’ response to the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires and for suggesting that federal disaster relief aid should come with conditions.

“Speaker Johnson and Mr. President Elect, ...Read more

BOSTON — Massachusetts Republicans painted a dire picture Thursday night of a state crippled by overspending on the state-run shelter system, a lack of transparency on Beacon Hill, and widespread mismanagement of state finances.

Rep. Marcus Vaughn, a Republican, laid out the grim outline in response to Gov. Maura Healey’s second State of ...Read more

Sylvester Stallone, best known for his Philly-based "Rocky" franchise, is slated to save Hollywood from “foreign countries” taking away movie business and usher in a new “Golden Age of Hollywood.” Jon Voight and Mel Gibson are expected to take part in this endeavor, too.

No, this is not the plot of a new "Expendables" flick. It’s the ...Read more

NEW YORK — Mayor Eric Adams unveiled a $114.5 billion city budget proposal Thursday that largely averts spending cuts and provides several new funding streams, including for expanding the homeless shelter system.

Besides shelters, the preliminary budget bid, which marks the start of Adams’ spending negotiations with the City Council, ...Read more

OCKLAWAHA, Fla. — At 10:30 a.m. Thursday in Ocklawaha, retired FBI agent Doug Jones stood before a small crowd in front of the Bradford-Ma Barker House and spoke softly beneath a gloomy sky.

Around the same time 90 years ago — when the house sat on the other side of Lake Weir — the last echoes of automatic gunfire crackled through the air...Read more

A ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas is expected to take effect on Jan. 19, 2025, according to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Even as Israel’s cabinet delayed until Jan. 17 its vote to ratify the complex deal, Blinken said he is “very confident this is moving forward.”

The U.S., Qatar and Egypt helped broker the ...Read more

California’s court system faces an ongoing budget crunch that has contributed to a shortage of judges and slowed the progress of cases, the chief justice of the California Supreme Court said Wednesday.

The state judiciary’s budget of about $5 billion was cut by $97 million amid belt-tightening last year, and while Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ...Read more

The Illinois State Board of Education approved a nearly $11.4 billion budget request this week for the upcoming fiscal year, amounting to a 4.6% increase from this year, as the state prepares to face a substantial budget deficit.

While the proposal includes a $350 million increase in “Evidence-Based Funding” — designed to deliver ...Read more

WASHINGTON — U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s computer was infiltrated and unclassified files were accessed as part of a broader breach of the agency by Chinese state-sponsored hackers, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The attackers also hacked the computers of two of Yellen’s lieutenants, Deputy Secretary Wally ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — As wildfire tore through the canyons of Pacific Palisades, firefighters waged a desperate battle to save homes and lives.

Seventeen miles east in downtown L.A., dozens of officials huddled around computers over a long conference room table in the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s emergency operations center. Screens ...Read more

BOSTON — Progressives are demanding Beacon Hill lawmakers reject Gov. Maura Healey’s proposed changes to state-run emergency shelters as other critics welcome the governor’s requests, some of which raise questions, they say.

Housing and immigration advocates gathered outside the State House hours before Healey delivered her State of the ...Read more

BALTIMORE — Gov. Wes Moore is entering the two-year period leading up to his reelection bid with nearly $5 million in campaign cash after stepping up his fundraising efforts in 2024, which also included raising millions for other Democratic candidates, according to newly filed finance reports and the governor’s campaign team.

Moore saw his ...Read more