Ten Democratic-leaning states are using their own money to help people buy Obamacare health plans, at least partially replacing the federal tax credits that expired at the end of last year.

The state assistance, some of it offered through programs that existed before the federal subsidies expired, is helping hundreds of thousands of people ...Read more

States are scrambling to meet rising demand for newly expanded school choice initiatives, pouring more money into the programs as waiting lists — and budget concerns — grow.

A further boost is expected next year, when the federal government rolls out a new policy allowing taxpayers to claim a tax credit for up to $1,700 in donations to ...Read more

Is reality finally settling in on Capitol Hill? The nation can only hope.

As the national debt rushes toward $39 trillion, and Social Security and Medicare get nearer to insolvency with each tick of the clock, pressure mounts on the White House and Congress to craft a more sustainable path forward. After decades of apathy — which has pushed ...Read more

MOJAVE DESERT — The desert tortoise, a once-resilient reptile, is a keystone species in the Mojave Desert, where other animals depend for their survival on the burrows it digs.

But it is imperiled in California thanks in part to an unusual predator: off-road vehicles that race through thousands of miles of trails — official and unofficial �...Read more

After a grueling year of chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation to treat breast cancer, Sadia Zapp was anxious — not the manageable hum that had long been part of her life, but something deeper, more distracting.

“Every little ache, like my knee hurts,” she said, made her worry that “this is the end of the road for me.”

So Zapp, a 40-...Read more

Subsidies. Love ’em or hate them, they dominated the news during the Affordable Care Act’s sign-up season, and their reduction is now hitting many enrollees in the pocketbook.

While lawmakers continue to disagree on a way forward, and the politics of affordability keeps the issue front and center, it would be understandable to think these ...Read more

Cuban authorities said Wednesday a Florida-registered speedboat intercepted in its territorial waters was carrying 10 armed people who planned “a terrorist infiltration” of the island and identified some of the people who were injured or killed in a gunfire exchange with a Cuban coast guard vessel.

In a new statement, the Interior Ministry ...Read more

Not only is it a bad idea to feed birds alcohol, but to then record it and have it posted online as evidence? Well, that could get you a jail sentence.

That was the lesson a Los Angeles man learned last week when he was sentenced to 45 days in jail after he gave a Cooper's hawk a BuzzBall, a type of ready-to-serve cocktail known for its fruity ...Read more

Cuba says a boat with 10 people near its coast early Wednesday was carrying weapons, and its occupants — Cubans living in the U.S. — were intent on entering the country to fight against the government.

The Cuban Coast Guard shot and killed four of the passengers while another six were injured and detained after the Florida-registered boat ...Read more

Two Democratic secretaries of state said they were told the Trump administration isn’t planning to send federal immigration enforcement agents to polling locations during November’s congressional elections.

State officials were told during a call Wednesday with federal authorities that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents won’t be ...Read more

Residents in a small town on Colorado’s Eastern Plains were ordered to evacuate Wednesday afternoon after a grass fire sparked from a vehicle crash nearby, fueled by strong winds and dry vegetation, according to fire officials.

The fire burned between 3,500 to 4,000 acres and drew responses from departments in eastern Colorado and Nebraska.

...Read more

The Trump administration announced Wednesday it plans to halt $259 million in Medicaid payments to Minnesota over concerns about fraud in the state’s social services programs, the latest chapter in the federal government’s crackdown on the state.

The announcement comes one day after President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — President Donald Trump re-aired an allegation in his State of the Union address that $19 billion has been stolen from Minnesota programs, a demonstration of what he called “the corruption that is plundering” the nation’s tax dollars.

Trump has on several earlier occasions presented the eye-popping number to the public ...Read more

California’s marquee climate policy — rebranded last year from “cap-and-trade” to “cap-and-invest” — was back in the Capitol this week as lawmakers scrutinized proposed changes to the program.

The policy, which lets companies and investors buy and trade allowances to emit carbon dioxide, was the central point of last-minute, ...Read more

HARTFORD, Conn. — Senate Republicans and Democrats clashed Wednesday at the state Capitol before passing emergency legislation on a wide variety of subjects, including warehouse workers, voter data, and funding for nonprofits.

After a brief debate on a separate bill, the state Senate voted 35-1 to increase the penalties against the violators ...Read more

A day after President Donald Trump demanded Congress impose new rules governing elections, Republicans in the Florida House of Representatives passed a state-level measure Wednesday that mirrors much of what Trump wants on the national level.

The legislation would make multiple changes in Florida election law. The provisions with the biggest ...Read more

A northern Minnesota man is accused of calling Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office and threatening to execute everyone at the State Capitol the day after he posted threats online about killing a Republican state senator.

John Tobias, 58, of Park Rapids, was arrested Tuesday, Feb. 24, and appeared in court Wednesday on two felony charges ...Read more

SEOUL, South Korea — Kim Jong Un pledged to build more nuclear weapons and upgrade his missile programs but said it could also be possible to improve relations with the U.S. if Washington recognizes North Korea as a nuclear power.

Speaking at the country’s first ruling party congress in five years, Kim laid out plans for weapons development...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Federal authorities raided the home and office of Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho on Wednesday morning in what appears to be a probe related to a company that developed an AI chatbot for the nation’s second-largest school system.

Authorities have not provided any details about the ...Read more

BALTIMORE — Maryland lawmakers are attempting to regulate and restrict incoming immigration detention facilities, as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and other private owners try to add more centers in the state.

The Maryland House of Delegates is set to vote on two bills later this week, one to attempt to restrict the opening ...Read more