LOS ANGELES — A former producer and drug counselor who distributed the ketamine that killed Matthew Perry was sentenced Wednesday to two years in prison.

Erik Fleming pleaded guilty in August 2024 to conspiracy to distribute ketamine and distribution of ketamine resulting in death.

Prosecutors had asked for a 2 1/2-year prison sentence; ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom will propose a new $100 million fund to help wildfire victims afford loans to rebuild their homes under a revised budget plan set to be released Thursday.

The Newsom administration estimates that thousands of victims of the Los Angeles wildfires cannot afford to rebuild, blaming a lack of access to ...Read more

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., on Wednesday cast the deciding vote against the latest effort to limit President Donald Trump’s ability to attack Iran — the seventh such time he’s broken with his party since the war began but the first time that Republican deflections made his vote decisive.

The war powers resolution failed 49 to 50 as ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Real estate developer and former gubernatorial candidate Stephen Cloobeck, who exited the race in November, was arrested in Los Angeles County on Tuesday.

Jail records show Cloobeck, 64, was arrested before 11 a.m. and booked at the West Hollywood station on $300,000 bail, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department ...Read more

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Supreme Court has ruled to overturn the 2023 double murder conviction of disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh.

In its ruling Wednesday, the S.C. Supreme Court said the actions of former Colleton County Court Clerk Becky Hill denied “Murdaugh his right to a fair trial by an impartial jury.”

Murdaugh’s ...Read more

DETROIT — U.S. District Judge Thomas Ludington was sentenced to six months' probation Wednesday for drunk driving, capping a rare criminal case against a federal judge whose intoxicated, belligerent and slurring behavior during an October arrest has sparked an investigation into his conduct.

He was sentenced by 90th District Judge Angela ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Generations of Chinese immigrants have settled in Arcadia, transforming the San Gabriel Valley suburb, a typical bedroom community, into a “Chinese Beverly Hills” with high-end real estate and luxury shopping.

But the city’s residents, many of them affluent, learned this week that a prominent local elected official had a ...Read more

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida’s attorney general isn’t alone in trying to reshape Florida’s surrogacy laws.

Attorney General James Uthmeier, inserting himself into what had been a standard surrogacy case, is arguing that surrogacy is unconstitutional. The case is in front of Florida’s 4th District Court of Appeal.

Meanwhile, Uthmeier�...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Real estate developer and former gubernatorial candidate Stephen Cloobeck, who exited the race in November, was arrested in Los Angeles County on Tuesday.

Jail records show Cloobeck, 64, was arrested before 11 a.m. and booked at the West Hollywood station on $300,000 bail, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Severely disabled veterans in California could be getting an expanded tax break.

State lawmakers are considering legislation that would exempt from taxation 50% of the residential property owned by a fully disabled veteran, or 100% if their household income does not exceed $40,000.

"I've seen firsthand the financial challenges ...Read more

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- The South Carolina Supreme Court has ruled to overturn the 2023 double murder conviction of disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh.

In it’s ruling Wednesday, the state Supreme Court said the actions of former Colleton County Court Clerk Becky Hill denied “Murdaugh his right to a fair trial by an impartial jury.”

Murdaugh’s ...Read more

NEW YORK — The Mamdani administration hopes to speed up service on Q70-SBS bus service to and from LaGuardia Airport by building a dedicated bus lane on a stretch of Broadway in Jackson Heights ahead of the World Cup.

The eastbound lane would run down the center of Broadway, from Roosevelt Ave. to 69th St. The street would maintain an ...Read more

Health Secretary Wes Streeting is preparing to resign from the U.K. government and challenge Prime Minister Keir Starmer for the leadership, according to his allies.

Streeting, who met Starmer briefly in Downing Street on Wednesday morning, is likely to quit the Cabinet this week and attempt to trigger a leadership contest, they said, ...Read more

President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing for the first state visit to China by a U.S. leader in nine years, as the world’s two largest economies look to stabilize ties with a summit playing out against the backdrop of the Iran war.

Air Force One touched down at the Beijing Capital International Airport slightly before 8 p.m. on Wednesday, ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — When state wildlife officials euthanized "Blondie" the bear over the objections of local elected leaders in March, it was unclear if her two orphaned bear cubs would ever be able to live in the wild again.

The tiny furry creatures weighed just 5.8 and 7.6 pounds. They required spoon-feedings four times a day. And they could not ...Read more

At a recent dental appointment, I was unexpectedly seen by a new provider in my longtime dentist’s practice. Early in the visit, he realized we were both Iranian American. Like me, he had been born and raised in the United States. We were both fluent English speakers and fully accustomed to navigating American medical settings.

...Read more

President Donald Trump announced on May 1, 2026, that the United States will withdraw 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany – personnel who had been deployed there as a response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Germany-U.S. tensions started after the U.S. invasion of Iran. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz refused to support Trump’s war...Read more

Beginning in July 2026, Detroiters will be paying higher water and sewer bills.

That’s because The Great Lakes Water Authority, or GLWA, voted unanimously on Feb. 25, 2026, to increase water rates by 5.8% and sewer rates by 4.26% for its customers. GLWA raised rates by similar amounts in 2025.

Residents at GLWA’s last rate...Read more

President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing for the first state visit to China by a U.S. leader in nine years, as the world’s two largest economies look to stabilize ties with a summit playing out against the backdrop of the Iran war.

Air Force One touched down at the Beijing Capital International Airport slightly before 8 p.m. on Wednesday, ...Read more