The California Legislature on Monday passed the first draft of a budget for the upcoming fiscal year, but the debate over what the state’s final spending plan will look like is unresolved.

The almost $356 billion deal was driven by Democrats who showed broad support for the placeholder agreement, which was struck by leaders in both the ...Read more

A man who kidnapped his 5-year-old daughter and killed her mother then fled to Mexico has been arrested and will be extradited back to the United States, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Ruben Fregoso, 40, was apprehended in Mexico over the weekend, the LAPD said in a news release. Last month, according to police, Fregoso killed ...Read more

The U.S. and Iran are preparing to formally sign their interim peace deal in Switzerland on Friday, with both sides claiming victory and oil traders and shippers unsure over how quickly the Strait of Hormuz will be reopened.

The text of the so-called memorandum of understanding — a 14-point document that should lead to a two-month ceasefire ...Read more

MIAMI — A tour company’s helicopter that crashed at North Perry Airport with four people aboard doesn’t appear to be categorized for carrying passengers.

The preliminary accident investigation report posted Monday to the FAA website says one person suffered serious injuries and three people suffered minor injuries when a helicopter ...Read more

U.S. President Donald Trump vented his frustration with Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon, going as far to suggest that Syria would do a better job fighting Hezbollah there.

During a meeting at the Group of Seven summit with Qatar’s leader, Trump said Israel’s campaign against the Iran-backed militant group had nearly derailed peace ...Read more

Arrests for betting on the U.S. military operation that removed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. Death threats from gamblers to a journalist reporting on an Iranian missile attack on Israel. Fears of government officials manipulating world events – including the Iran war – to make a quick buck.

These are some of many concerns ...Read more

A corporate merger that would form the largest electric utility in the United States is underway. It’s just one of many recent utility mergers and acquisitions as electric utilities enter a period of rapid growth.

On May 18, 2026, NextEra Energy announced it would buy Dominion Energy for US$66.8 billion.

What’s driving ...Read more

Researchers have long known that plastic pollution reaches the ocean. But how much plastic is trapped, and where, before it reaches the ocean is far less understood.

As professors of environmental engineering, geography and environmental studies, and oceanography at Penn State, we recently led studies mapping how microplastics move ...Read more

SALT LAKE CITY — Ben Dowse hadn't expected to treat measles when he became a doctor, but there he was, examining a newborn exposed to the virus in the womb. The infected mother had given birth just hours earlier. The hospital had alerted Dowse to the case before delivery, and he'd braced himself for the worst.

Dowse wore a full-body ...Read more

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — As the last of the sunset’s pink hues disappeared from the sky, the Fort Collins field came to life. One flash appeared. Then another. Suddenly, the entire nature preserve seemed to sparkle with the glow of fireflies.

“I grew up in Colorado, and I didn’t even know we had fireflies here until I started working at ...Read more

With many students and educators already using widely available artificial intelligence tools, state lawmakers and school districts are playing catch-up on AI policies.

In Maryland, for example, AI usage policies for K-12 schools are “all over the map,” Democratic state Sen. Katie Fry Hester said.

In some school districts, she said, AI use...Read more

As the U.S. Supreme Court pulls back from the landmark federal law designed to safeguard the voting rights of minorities, more states are stepping in to prohibit discrimination in state and local elections.

State versions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act include some of the federal law’s approaches to fighting discrimination, including ...Read more

The ocean is home to some of the richest biodiversity on Earth. From coral reefs and mangrove forests to the deep sea, marine ecosystems sustain countless species, support coastal communities, regulate the climate and underpin global food security.

But these systems face growing pressure from overfishing, habitat loss, pollution and ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Newsoms described the U.S. Department of Justice’s investigation into first partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s finances as an attack on a “public servant” who had “dedicated her life to supporting women and girls.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday the U.S. attorney’s office, at President Donald Trump’s ...Read more

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is stepping up its surveillance of New World screwworm, seeking to work with the Department of Homeland Security to contain a growing outbreak threatening the nation’s cattle herd.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a Monday press conference that the two agencies were planning to enter into an ...Read more