WASHINGTON — Avril Haines, chosen by President-elect Joe Biden to become the next director of national intelligence, will face the tough job of restoring Americans' trust in U.S. intelligence agencies, which in the past four years have faced a barrage of false accusations from illegal domestic spying to cooking up intelligence and have seen ...Read more

A key committee that will advise the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on who should get the first doses of COVID-19 vaccine agreed Monday on initial priorities and an ethical framework. But the hourslong meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) demonstrated just how complicated it will be to get the...Read more

CHICAGO — Illinois senior Sen. Dick Durbin said Monday he'll seek the position of top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee — a spot that could become the chairmanship following two Georgia contests early next year that will decide party control of the chamber.

Durbin, who won a fifth term in the Senate on Nov. 3 and turned 76 on ...Read more

ATLANTA — After a virtual meeting on Monday, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said that President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris have pledged more support to the nation's cities as they grapple with the damage caused by the coronavirus.

That support would come after the new president took office, no matter the party ...Read more

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The Secret Service is planning for a stepped-up presence in Palm Beach County starting on Jan. 20 — when President Donald Trump adds "former" to his title and begins spending much more time at his Mar-a-Lago Club.

Former presidents and former first ladies get Secret Service protection for life (although security ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Champion Ken Jennings is going to succeed the late Alex Trebek as "Jeopardy!" host — at least in the short term.

Jennings will be the first in a series of "interim guest hosts" of the classic game show when it resumes production Nov. 30, the show announced Monday. Those episodes will air the week of Jan. 11.

"Alex believed in...Read more

NEW YORK — New York City's iconic Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade has been scaled back once again over coronavirus concerns.

The parade will still be broadcast to millions of Americans on television this Thursday, but New Yorkers hoping to catch a glimpse in person, for the most part, will be out of luck.

Earlier this month, Macy's announced ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia mob has limped along on life support for the past decade, its former leaders, Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi and Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino, out of the picture after high-profile federal prosecutions.

But reports of La Cosa Nostra's demise have been greatly exaggerated, according to a federal grand jury ...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announced a new set of mask requirements Monday, calling them the state's "best weapon" against a "dire" spread of COVID-19.

He said the state now has 20 counties considered "red" under the state's coronavirus alert system — double what it was when the color-coded alerts were introduced last ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Sen. Dianne Feinstein will not pursue leadership of the high-profile Senate Judiciary Committee or any other committee next year, taking a dramatic step back following pressure from progressives who questioned her willingness to use tough, partisan politics to confirm Biden administration Supreme Court picks and other judicial ...Read more

Although health officials and agencies have urged Americans to limit Thanksgiving gatherings to household members only, one in three parents say the benefits of holiday celebrations outweigh the risks of spreading or getting the coronavirus, one poll found.

University of Michigan researchers behind the survey said families should consider safer...Read more

Could anyone have doubted that Donald Trump would go out like this?

Having lost the election decisively — by 74 votes in the Electoral College, and by 6 million and counting overall — he has availed himself of every imaginable scheme to undermine the vote's legitimacy and obscure what was plainly a fair and square victory for his opponent, ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration yielded to the reality Monday that the presidential election will not be overturned, finally authorizing the start of formal transition proceedings as President-elect Joe Biden moved to make good his vow to appoint a historically diverse Cabinet.

Soon after Michigan certified its vote for Biden, a major ...Read more

SEATTLE — Customs and Border Protection officials have never fully explained what happened on a January weekend when hundreds of people born in Iran were held for as long as nine hours at the Blaine border.

An apparent memo leaked later that month appeared to show Seattle Field Office leadership directed officers to send individuals born in ...Read more

Gov. Gavin Newsom and his family are under quarantine after learning that three of his children were exposed to a California Highway Patrol officer who tested positive for the coronavirus, the governor's office said late Sunday.

The governor's office said Newsom and his family learned about the potential exposure Friday evening and were tested ...Read more

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — Jamarion Delancy was blind, developmentally disabled and needed braces to walk. Last week, the 5-year-old boy was beaten to death while his mother was away giving birth to her third child.

Detectives were so shaken by the crime that they've taken the unusual step to raise money for his funeral.

The St. Louis County ...Read more