LOS ANGELES — A decade ago, Los Angeles County was facing serious economic and social challenges, but residents felt "generally lukewarm" about their quality of life.

But lukewarm turned out to be L.A.'s high point.

As the years went on, Angelenos have continued to report falling satisfaction across key indicators — in particular, cost of ...Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A statewide ban on students using cellphones in school could come as early as next summer under newly proposed legislation.

The bipartisan bill, AB 1644, introduced this week, would require all TK-12 public schools and charter schools to adopt “bell-to-bell” policies prohibiting student smartphone use from the first ...Read more

NEW YORK — New York parents and advocates descended on City Hall Thursday to plead with Mayor Zohran Mamdani to break with his schools chancellor and impose a two-year moratorium on artificial intelligence in the classroom.

The protesters — which also included some students, teachers and elected officials — delivered a petition with more ...Read more

SEATTLE — Only a fraction of Washington law enforcement officers have completed de-escalation and mental-health training mandated by state law and intended to reduce the use of force and improve public interactions with police, according to a state performance audit.

The requirements were required by a sweeping citizens initiative, I-940, ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Singer D4vd was arrested Thursday on suspicion of murder in connection with the case of a girl whose decomposing body was discovered inside his Tesla in Hollywood.

David Anthony Burke, 21, was taken into custody at a home in the Hollywood Hills, a law enforcement source who has knowledge of the investigation, but is not ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Trump administration officials urged U.S. oil producers to boost output, driving home a message to the industry that’s become more urgent amid the war in Iran.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Energy Secretary Chris Wright made their plea during a videoconference Thursday with roughly a dozen oil executives, including ...Read more

NEW YORK — The Trump administration has cried uncle in its bid to keep funding from the Second Avenue Subway.

In documents filed Thursday with the Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C. — where the MTA is currently suing the Trump administration for blocking the disbursement of roughly $60 million in congressionally approved funds — ...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. — Some North Carolina school districts are canceling classes on May 1 because they say so many teachers are planning to take May Day off to participate in a mass protest in Raleigh.

The North Carolina Association of Educators is encouraging teachers to call out of work on May 1 to march on the Legislative Building in Raleigh to ...Read more

North Carolina evangelist Franklin Graham took to social media Thursday to express solidarity with President Donald Trump amid widespread backlash over recent posts by the president.

Trump shared an AI-generated image to his Truth Social platform late Sunday that depicted him as a Jesus-like figure in robes with light emitting from him as he ...Read more

After the tornado sirens cut out, Andrew Donaldson stepped out of his Clinton, Missouri, home and looked to the sky. Without their warning wail, he assumed he was safe.

But in the sky, he saw the unmistakable mark of a tornado: rotation.

He bolted back inside. The winds clawed the door from his grasp as he made it in the house, where he, his ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Twin Metals Minnesota got a major boost on Thursday with the Senate vote to roll back a Biden administration ban on mineral leasing near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

The 50-49 vote on April 16, paves the way for Twin Metals to move forward on its multibillion-dollar proposal for a copper-nickel mine near the BWCAW....Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Environmental advocates and opponents of a proposed mine near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness vowed to continue fighting after the U.S. Senate voted on Thursday, April 16, to repeal a mining ban near the protected wilderness.

The vote allows for companies such as Twin Metals, owned by Chilean mining giant Antofagasta, ...Read more

The Trump administration’s decision to shut down a refuge run by the Catholic Church in Miami for migrant children who come to the U.S. alone will traumatize kids who have already experienced extreme hardship on their journeys here, Catholic leaders said on Thursday

During a press conference, Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski and Catholic ...Read more

ST. PAUL, Minn. — An ICE agent is charged with pointing his duty weapon at two people in another vehicle on the highway, the first federal officer charged in connection with Operation Metro Surge, Hennepin County’s chief prosecutor announced Thursday.

Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr., 35, was heading to the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building ...Read more

LONDON — Pre-war planning meant Iran’s military was able to mitigate the impact of U.S.-Israeli strikes on its weapons arsenal and leadership, according to Western military intelligence assessments — which also say it retains the ability to respond if the ceasefire fails.

The country has sustained massive damage to its infrastructure and ...Read more

CHEBOYGAN, Mich. — Water is creeping closer to the crest of the Cheboygan dam and now is less than 5 inches from the top, state officials reported Thursday afternoon.

The water level at the Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex was 4.92 inches below the top of the dam as of 5:30 p.m., said the Michigan State Police Department of Emergency Management...Read more

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — In a 10-1 vote, the City Council on Thursday approved an all ages 9:30 p.m. curfew at the Oceanfront for most of the last two weekends of April. It will go into effect Friday but will not be in effect on April 25, during a military appreciation festival.

“I look at this as a short-term inconvenience for a long-term ...Read more

NEW YORK — The third and final suspect in the 2002 murder of Jam Master Jay is expected to take a plea deal in connection with the rap legend’s slaying, according to a federal court filing in Brooklyn.

The suspect, Jay Bryant, didn’t go to trial alongside co-defendants Karl Jordan Jr. and Ronald Washington in 2024, but he featured heavily...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Former state Attorney General Xavier Becerra is touting a poll published Thursday and a surge of recent social media interest as evidence that his campaign for California governor is viable in the wake of Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell’s exit from the race following sexual misconduct allegations.

An Emerson College ...Read more