MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota state Senate has approved a sweeping violence prevention bill taken up after a violent year that saw the shooting deaths of two Minneapolis schoolchildren and the assassination of House DFL Leader Melissa Hortman and her husband.

The wide-ranging bill includes a ban on assault-style weapons and high-capacity ...Read more

Cuban leader Miguel Diaz-Canel ramped up his rhetoric this weekend, calling the current U.S. administration “fascist,” after President Donald Trump suggested, apparently in jest, that he could send a U.S. aircraft carrier “on its way back from Iran” and easily take the island.

While recognizing attendees at an event in Palm Beach Friday...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — When President Donald Trump returned to the White House, he began canceling federal grants that helped fund research across University of California campuses. The university system estimates that over 1,600 grants awarded to the research powerhouse have been impacted by those cuts, resulting in a potential loss of over $1 ...Read more

Hantavirus is suspected of spreading aboard a luxury cruise ship, killing three passengers and sparking new concerns as a once obscure disease, with an extraordinarily high death rate, rises amid changing climate conditions.

Officials are still trying to determine what happened aboard the ship, which commands fares of up to $28,845 for a 46-day...Read more

Miami Herald investigative reporter Julie K. Brown on Monday was honored by the Pulitzer Prize Board for her groundbreaking and impactful investigation into sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and the people and institutions that enabled him to abuse girls for decades.

The 2026 Pulitzer Prizes also recognized the Miami Herald and WLRN journalists as...Read more

The U.S. Department of Justice is suing Minnesota over the state’s lawsuit that aims to hold fossil fuel companies liable for climate change.

It’s the latest legal challenge to the state’s case, which alleges that Exxon Mobil, Koch Industries and the American Petroleum Institute misled the public by hiding and downplaying evidence that ...Read more

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Democratic-Farmer-Labor majority in the Minnesota Senate passed a gun control package Monday that includes a ban on so-called assault weapons and limits on magazine capacities.

Its passage comes after years of debate at the state Capitol and two high-profile tragedies last summer: the August shooting that left two dead ...Read more

DENVER — Coloradans will no longer be able to make 3D-printed guns and agricultural workers will have to work 56 hours in a week before they qualify for overtime under a pair of bills signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis on Monday.

House Bill 1144, the ban on 3D-printed guns, goes into effect July 1. The law expands on Colorado’s prior ban ...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. — Former North Carolina state Rep. Cecil Brockman won $2 million in state funding for a nonprofit in High Point that provides services for people with autism and other disabilities in 2023. Since then, nearly a fifth of that money went to his predecessor and former boss, Marcus Brandon.

Now the state is investigating whether ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — A Polk County man who told deputies he was trying to “beat the gay out of” a 5-year-old boy has been charged with aggravated child abuse for hurting that child, who suffered a fractured wrist and other injuries, and two others.

Andre Brown Jr., 33, of Davenport, was arrested Sunday and will face enhanced penalties because ...Read more

NEW YORK — NYC public schools suffer from glaring omissions in student data privacy policies, a new audit by State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli found, raising fresh concerns about the embrace of artificial intelligence in the classroom.

For example, auditors found the city’s school system doesn’t have written policies on risk assessment and ...Read more

Gov. Wes Moore on Monday pitched Maryland as a “natural home” for foreign investment during a panel at an international business conference, as his administration announced a series of new partnerships aimed at boosting global relations in the state.

For Maryland residents, the push for foreign investment is directly tied to jobs, wages and...Read more

CALGARY, Canada — Alberta, the major oil-producing province of Canada, is one step closer to a referendum on independence after leaders of a separatist group said they’ve gathered more than enough signatures to force a vote.

The group, Stay Free Alberta, had until May 2 to collect roughly 178,000 signatures on their petition for a ...Read more

JUNEAU, Alaska — The Alaska Legislature narrowly voted to sustain Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of a sweeping elections reform bill Monday.

In a 38-22 vote, lawmakers fell two votes shy of the 40 votes needed to override the veto. Sen. Bert Stedman, a Sitka Republican, and Rep. Jeremy Bynum, a Ketchikan Republican, backed off their previous ...Read more

CHICAGO — The Chicago Tribune won the Pulitzer Prize for local reporting Monday for its coverage of Operation Midway Blitz, the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement mission in the Chicago area last fall.

Awarded by Columbia University, the prize — the country’s top journalism honor — recognizes exceptional coverage of ...Read more

HARTFORD, Conn. — Standing on the steps of the Connecticut Supreme Court, top state leaders sent a clear message Monday to President Donald Trump’s administration that they will not back down in the face of federal power.

Dozens of leaders and advocates gathered around Gov. Ned Lamont for a ceremonial bill signing of Senate Bill 397, which ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The man who started the Palisades fire, one of the costliest disasters in U.S. history, was motivated by a resentment for the rich and viewed accused United Healthcare CEO killer Luigi Mangione as a Robin Hood-like figure, according to court documents detailing evidence gathered by federal prosecutors.

In a court brief filed ...Read more

FORT WORTH, Texas — Tanner Horner’s defense attorneys called their final witness Monday in the trial of the former FedEx driver who has pleaded guilty to killing 7-year-old Athena Strand. The state presented rebuttal witnesses today in response to the defense case, including a surprise witness who alleges Horner sexually assaulted him and a ...Read more

NEW YORK — The Washington Post won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service journalism for its reporting on the Trump administration’s overhaul of federal agencies that resulted in massive job cuts. The New York Times took home three awards, while Bloomberg News captured its third Pulitzer, winning the Illustrated Reporting and Commentary ...Read more