SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Xavier Becerra, who grew up in a 685-square-foot house with his parents and three sisters in working-class Sacramento before ascending to Stanford University, Congress and the White House Cabinet, will become California’s first directly elected Latino governor.

The historic victory thrusts the unassuming Democrat into ...Read more

BOISE, Idaho — Idaho Republican Gov. Brad Little was leading in his race for reelection in early returns Tuesday night, with 47.3% as of 9:35 p.m.

Democrat Terri Pickens was second at 42.1%.

Much of the early return was from Ada County.

The race wasn’t expected to be competitive. The Cook Political Report rated the Idaho governor’s race...Read more

ST.PAUL, Minn. — Democratic U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar won the election for Minnesota governor on Tuesday, defeating Republican state House Speaker Lisa Demuth. Klobuchar will be the first woman to hold the office in Minnesota’s history.

Unofficial results as of 11 p.m. Thursday showed Klobuchar held a decisive lead, with 56% of the vote to ...Read more

From Washington, D.C. to Anchorage, Alaska, federal courts have been busy with cases related to the Trump administration’s attempts to assert control over state elections. In almost every case, rulings have gone against the administration. But despite the fears of many Democrats, there was no mayhem launched by the Trump administration on ...Read more

Oversight is coming for the Trump administration.

That’s been the message of congressional Democrats throughout the closing days of the 2026 midterm campaign. Now that the party’s candidates have reportedly won control of the House of Representatives, that campaign promise is likely to be carried out. Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin ...Read more

Democratic challenger Gina Hinojosa has pulled off an upset in the Texas governor’s race, unseating three-term Republican incumbent Greg Abbott.

Abbott conceded defeat just after 10 p.m.

“There are still votes to be counted, but mathematically we’re not going to be able to win this election,” Abbott told supporters at his election ...Read more

DENVER — Two Colorado ballot issues related to transgender youth were passing with slim majorities as vote counting continued Tuesday night.

About 52% of voters supported Proposition 134, which would ban transgender people from school sports teams that match their gender identities, as of 9:20 p.m. About 48% opposed the measure.

Similarly, ...Read more

Keisha Lance Bottoms is projected to win the Georgia governor’s race, becoming the first Black woman to lead a U.S. state and wresting control of the governor’s mansion from Republicans after more than two decades.

Bottoms, the former Atlanta mayor, led Republican billionaire Rick Jackson by 55.3% to 44.7% with 75.3% of the votes counted, ...Read more

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — In a year where cost of living is front of mind for voters, Floridians approved a constitutional amendment that would significantly cut property taxes for people who own the homes they live in.

Amendment 3, which is expected to save Florida homeowners thousands and cost local governments billions, passed with about 62% of ...Read more

NORFOLK, Va. — Virginians voted to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution Tuesday evening.

Virginians voted in favor of a constitutional amendment protecting abortion rights 62%-38% with 127 of 133 localities reporting unofficial results. The Associated Press called the race at 9:01 p.m. EST.

Voters took to the polls Tuesday to ...Read more

Weeks after Sean "Diddy" Combs was hospitalized for a head injury suffered while serving time in federal prison, his release date has moved up.

The disgraced music and alcohol mogul is now set to be released on Feb. 6, 2028, nearly a month sooner than his projected release date last month, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — West Hollywood has become the latest city to create a domestic partnership registry for polyamorous relationships, with the city's five-person City Council unanimously approving the legal protections for alternative family structures.

The ordinance, approved Tuesday and introduced by Mayor John Heilman, allows people to register...Read more

Amid record ocean temperatures, a third olive ridley sea turtle has laid its eggs in Southern California — this time on San Buenaventura State Beach in Ventura.

The rare event occurred on Sunday, according to witnesses and officials, and marks the third naturally-occurring sea turtle nest ever found on the U.S. West Coast.

Ventura resident ...Read more

After more than a year of electoral contention and court challenges, Muhith Mahmood will be sworn in as the mayor of Hamtramck, Michigan, on Nov. 8.

The former council member, who appeared to have lost a tight race in the November 2025 general election only to come out on top after 37 disputed ballots were tabulated late last month, said he ...Read more

BOSTON — Mayor Michelle Wu’s office said overtime spending is putting a strain on Boston’s $4.9 billion budget, which is something the city is keeping an eye on following the $70 million shortfall it had to plug with reserves last year.

Wu’s office on Monday released its first quarterly budget report, representing the first three months...Read more

MIAMI — A cruise ship scheduled to depart from PortMiami on Sunday was detained by the U.S. Coast Guard for an “expanded examination,” officials said, causing the cruise line to cancel the voyage, a spokesperson told the Miami Herald on Tuesday.

“We recognize how disappointing and frustrating this news is for our guests, and we ...Read more

DENVER — The two college students who died during a backcountry trip in the Colorado mountains fell to their deaths while rappelling, Chaffee County authorities said Tuesday.

Search teams found Kaden Matsuda, 19, and Jackson Donlon, 20, dead in a basin of West Apostle Mountain on Oct. 28, two days after they were reported missing when they ...Read more

CHICAGO — Less than a month after a fourth beluga whale transferred from a defunct Canadian marine park died at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium, officials this week revealed that examinations found no singular cause of death in the final two deceased whales.

Each of the rescued whales, Caspian, Osiris, Peekachu and Rain, suffered chronic ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump, while watching Fox News’ election night coverage from the White House, lashed out at a poll showing voters were unhappy with his handling of the economy and the direction of the country.

In a post on social media, Trump called the Fox News poll “so insulting with the questions they ask.” He added: �...Read more