SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- A ferocious Hurricane Maria slammed Puerto Rico just before dawn Wednesday as some 3.5 million people girded for a day of vicious winds and drenching rain expected to devastate the American territory.

The eye of the storm made official landfall at 6:15 a.m. near Yabucoa, about 45 miles southeast of the densely populated...Read more

WASHINGTON -- When it comes to undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children, there is little daylight among most Hispanic members of Congress, regardless of party affiliation.

President Donald Trump has said he will phase out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, but gave Congress a six-month ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- The National Association of Home Builders has already created ads to either support or oppose a U.S. tax-code overhaul, depending on how Congress and President Donald Trump propose to treat its favorite tax breaks.

"We're at DEFCON One," said Jerry Howard, president of the trade group that represents 140,000 builders. "But we're ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- In the video, Jamel Dunn can be seen flailing in the middle of a Florida pond, his head sinking deeper in the water with every gasping breath. In the background, teenagers are laughing and mocking him.

"Ain't nobody's gonna help you," one yells. Seconds later, Dunn, 31, drowns.

Months after the July episode, which was posted ...Read more

MILWAUKEE -- The Waukesha County District Attorney's Office is investigating whether a Facebook commenter on the Slender Man jury deliberations had inside information about the process.

District Attorney Sue Opper confirmed Tuesday that an investigator in her office is trying to run down whether the comments were bluffs, innocent predictions or...Read more

ATLANTA -- One was just making his way in the world, 23 years old, fresh out of college. The other, two years younger, was only a few months shy of graduating and was already taking courses for a post-graduate degree.

Both were raised in Gwinnett County and chose careers aimed at helping others -- one in law enforcement, the other designing ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- The board of the Westlands Water District on Tuesday dealt a potentially fatal blow to the most ambitious California water project planned in decades.

By a 7-1 vote, the board of the state's largest irrigation district decided not to join the California WaterFix, a $17 billion project that would re-engineer the way Northern ...Read more

NEW YORK -- In his first speech to the world's leaders, President Donald Trump delivered the message of the voters who elected him.

"The United States will forever be a great friend to the world, and especially to its allies," Trump said Tuesday. "But we can no longer be taken advantage of or enter into a one-sided deal where the United States ...Read more

JUCHITAN, Mexico -- When the tremor struck Tuesday, the people of this earthquake-battered city feared the worst: a repeat of the Sept. 7 earthquake that tumbled buildings and left thousands homeless here.

"We were afraid it was happening all over again," said Yasmin Talavera, 57, who was sitting in a chair Tuesday in an outdoor shelter here, ...Read more

NEWARK, N.J. -- Paul Manafort, the former campaign chairman for President Donald Trump, called on the Justice Department's inspector general to investigate leaks after CNN reported that the FBI conducted separate wiretap investigations of him before and after the election last year.

The network said Monday that a secret court order authorized a...Read more

WASHINGTON -- In another shot in an ongoing battle over so-called sanctuary city polices, Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Tuesday attacked California's new bill that affords some protections to undocumented immigrants across the state, calling it "unconscionable" and a threat to public safety.

Sessions, speaking in Portland, Ore., to federal ...Read more

Tubman still part of $20 bill redesign as Mnuchin focuses elsewhere

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. government agency that prints currency notes hasn't been instructed to take Harriet Tubman's picture off the $20 note redesign project and is proceeding with the Obama administration's plan.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said last month he would ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. government agency that prints currency notes hasn't been instructed to take Harriet Tubman's picture off the $20 note redesign project and is proceeding with the Obama administration's plan.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said last month he would review the Obama-era initiative, adding that it's not a high priority ...Read more

MIAMI -- Last month, Manuel Mendieta and Carolyn Eatherly celebrated their final birthdays while living at the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills.

They were in the nursing home for different reasons. Mendieta, 96, had multiple health conditions, but was alert and spoke in Spanish with his family when they visited, which was often, ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- The Senate Intelligence Committee expects representatives of Facebook Inc. to testify at a public hearing examining Russia's use of social media to influence last year's U.S. presidential election.

The panel hasn't yet determined all of the issues that will be covered or invited company representatives, Chairman Richard Burr, R-N....Read more