LOS ANGELES — The University of Southern California announced Thursday that it is canceling its main May commencement ceremony, capping a dramatic series of moves that began last week after it informed valedictorian Asna Tabassum, who had been opposed by pro-Israel groups, that she would not be delivering the traditional speech.

In ending the...Read more

Wildlife officials said they will not remove a gray wolf potentially connected to recent livestock killings, despite requests from stockgrowers.

Two of the gray wolves reintroduced to Colorado’s Grand County in December — including one suspected in recent depredations — are likely “denning” and in the breeding process, Colorado Parks ...Read more

Cal Poly Humboldt will remain closed through the weekend, with classwork continuing remotely as the Northern California university struggles with Gaza protests and what it calls “hateful graffiti” on campus, officials said.

Administrators at the public university in Arcata are weighing whether to keep the campus closed beyond then as ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court appeared conflicted over how to handle Donald Trump’s claim that his presidency shielded him from federal prosecution during oral arguments Thursday in a case almost certain to shape this year’s presidential campaign.

The justices explored the breadth of the criminal case alleging Trump masterminded an ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The sidewalk outside the Supreme Court was dotted with more reporters than protesters Thursday morning as oral arguments in the Donald Trump immunity case played out inside.

Dozens of demonstrators banged drums, blared music and at times hurled insults at one another. But it was a relatively subdued gathering as the morning wore ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Fadwa Wazwaz attended a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Minnesota recently and intentionally took a picture with a Jewish attendee to show they could coexist despite the war in the Gaza Strip.

"This has to stop," Wazwaz, a Palestinian U employee, said of the violence.

Jewish student Jon Greenspan felt unnerved a ...Read more

BOISE, Idaho — Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador cast doubts on doctors’ claims that they’re transferring an increasing number of patients out of state for care to comply with the state’s strict abortion laws.

The claims were central to a U.S. Supreme Court hearing Wednesday that will determine whether Idaho abortion law conflicts ...Read more

The discovery of viral fragments of avian flu virus in milk sold in U.S. stores suggests that the H5N1 virus may be more widespread in U.S. dairy cattle than previously realized.

The Food and Drug Administration was quick to stress on April 24, 2024, that it believes the commercial milk supply is safe. However, highly pathogenic avian...Read more

For decades, the abortion wars have centered on whether a woman should be able to decide when and if she has a child. But with increasingly strict restrictions on reproductive rights being enacted across the United States, these debates are charting new, unfamiliar territory — medical care for women who have had miscarriages.

Up to one in ...Read more

In a dramatic reversal of the nation’s landmark #MeToo trial, a New York appeals court on Thursday overturned the sex assault conviction of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, citing errors by the trial judge.

The state appeals court found, in a 4-3 decision, that the judge who presided over Weinstein’s 2020 trial prejudiced the disgraced ...Read more

NEW YORK — Former National Enquirer David Pecker returned to the stand Thursday at Donald Trump’s Manhattan Supreme Court hush money trial — where the jurors heard details on a scheme to disguise a $150,000 payment to Playboy model Karen McDougal before the 2016 election to keep quiet about an alleged affair with Trump.

Meanwhile, lawyers...Read more

ATLANTA — In the United States this year alone, there will be an anticipated 2,001,140 new cancer cases — leading to an estimated 611,720 related deaths. That’s 5,480 new cases and 1,680 deaths every day. And, according to a recent CNN report, cancer cases among younger people are rising sharply.

The American Cancer Society reported ...Read more

NEW YORK — In a bombshell ruling Thursday morning, the New York state Court of Appeals has overturned fallen movie mogul Harvey Weinstein’s Manhattan rape and sex crime conviction.

The 4-3 ruling reverses a Manhattan Supreme Court jury’s 2020 verdict that Weinstein, 72, was guilty of rape for an attack on aspiring actress Jessica Mann at ...Read more

ATLANTA — A Henry County elections official under fire for errors on ballots in recent referendums says her office is taking steps to improve accuracy for future voting.

Henry County Elections & Voter Registration Executive Director Ameika Banks said she plans to beef up the number of people who proofread ballots before they are finalized and...Read more

ATLANTA — A Georgia immigrant detainee has died while in custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Jaspal Singh, an Indian national, had spent over nine months in detention at the Folkston ICE Processing Center near the Florida border before dying on April 15, at 57.

The cause of Singh’s death is unknown, with the results of an ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Shortly after a New York appeals court overturned Harvey Weinstein’s conviction on rape charges in Manhattan, a defense attorney in the disgraced movie mogul’s Los Angeles case said the same should happen in California.

If Weinstein’s lawyer Mark Werksman has any doubts about whether the same legal strategy will work in ...Read more

MIAMI — This year, Florida voters aren’t just deciding who they want to be president. They’re also choosing whether to amend the state constitution to protect their own property tax bills from inflation, stop candidates from receiving public money for political campaigns and legalize marijuana.

In all, six ballot initiatives will be ...Read more

DETROIT — Michigan's redistricting commission has voted to drop an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court that sought to overturn a lower court ruling that found Metro Detroit maps had been racially gerrymandered.

The commission voted 11-0 to dismiss the appeal Thursday, and also agreed to pay the attorney costs and fees of the Detroit plaintiffs ...Read more

WASHINGTON — House appropriators have made it more difficult for members to secure fiscal 2025 earmarks for some social services programs in their districts, according to new guidance Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., announced Thursday.

Nonprofits are now blocked from the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Economic ...Read more