SEATTLE — Firefighting crews are making progress containing wildfires burning hundreds of square miles across Washington, including the catastrophic trio of fires in Spokane.

But winds are predicted to pick up this weekend while temperatures rise, increasing fire risk even as containment percentages have grown among the largest and most ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was in Lexington Wednesday to announce the federal government is ending its contract with Kentucky’s organ donation organization.

Network for Hope has come under scrutiny in recent years after a Health Resources and Services Administration investigation in ...Read more

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Mooresville police officer accused of misusing a controversial license plate reader database to search for a person’s vehicle was arrested Wednesday, according to court records.

Elizabeth Anne Snowman was charged with accessing computers to search for a vehicle using a Flock program “for purpose other than official law...Read more

DETROIT — Cyclosporiasis cases continue to rise in Michigan, with cases now up to 12,218 as of Wednesday, an 8.8% increase over Monday's case count.

The new cases come as the outbreak of the parasitic illness that causes explosive diarrhea has widened nationally from nine states to 15. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has added ...Read more

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, in perhaps the most in-depth and toughest interview he has faced in recent memory, defended his unwavering support for Israel and his harsh criticisms of fellow Democrats when pressed by Jon Stewart in a podcast episode released Wednesday.

The liberal comedian and political commentator repeatedly accused Fetterman, D.,...Read more

DURHAM, N.C. — Two Durham teens charged in an alleged medication abortion attempt appeared in court for the first time Wednesday morning.

Syeisha Johnson, 18, and Elijah Speight, 19, were arrested Tuesday, six days after Durham police say Johnson gave birth to a 31-week-old baby in a toilet at her home, The News & Observer previously ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — For the second time, Yolanda Olejniczak Marodi has been found guilty of killing a spouse — both times with a knife.

On Tuesday in San Diego County Superior Court, Olejniczak Marodi, 54, confessed to killing her wife, 49-year-old Cal Fire Capt. Rebecca Marodi, at their Ramona home on Feb. 17, 2025, according to Tanya Sierra, ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A man arrested in advance of President Donald Trump’s trip to the Trump National Golf Club had visited the facility twice in three days, wore a radio earpiece and took photographs of Secret Service agents at the Palos Verdes Peninsula facility, authorities allege.

After arresting him Sunday, authorities said they discovered a ...Read more

DETROIT — A week after the Gordie Howe International Bridge welcomed its first vehicle traffic, hundreds of hikers and bikers got their turn Wednesday as the span's multi-use path opened to crowds of eager users on both sides of the Detroit River.

Some exercisers lined up hours ahead of the 8 a.m. opening to try the new way to cross the ...Read more

Texas’ new ban on most hemp-derived THC products has only been in effect for a few days, but it’s already being challenged in court.

Members of the hemp industry have sued state lawmakers, arguing the new rules violate federal law and the U.S. Constitution.

The legal challenge comes as Texans are still trying to understand which products ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — It remains unclear when Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agent Christian Castro will appear in Minnesota to face criminal allegations that he shot Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in north Minneapolis during the height of Operation Metro Surge earlier this year and later lied about it.

Castro, 52, has been held in the Cameron County ...Read more

The U.S. government’s top information security official warned that computer systems nationwide need to bolster their defenses to meet the growing threat of cyberattacks powered by artificial intelligence.

During remarks Wednesday, Acting Federal Chief Information Security Officer Michael Duffy said that the government and private-sector ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A man arrested in advance of President Donald Trump’s trip to the Trump National Golf Club had visited the facility twice in three days, wore a radio earpiece and took photographs of Secret Service agents at the Palos Verdes Peninsula facility, authorities allege.

After arresting him Sunday, authorities said they discovered a ...Read more

DENVER — Former Vice President Mike Pence will join Colorado Christian University as a visiting faculty member for the coming academic year, the school announced this week.

Pence will travel to the private college’s Lakewood campus once a month for the 2026-27 term, CCU said in a press release on Tuesday. He’ll give lectures, lead ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — As air quality regulators press for legal action against the operator of a cold-storage warehouse that burned in Boyle Heights, Lineage officials say they expect to spend $80 million to $100 million to clean up the site, which contains millions of pounds of rotting meat and has generated thousands of odor complaints.

Lineage ...Read more

MIAMI — It’s approaching the peak of hurricane season for South Florida, but the Atlantic is dead quiet.

This great news is likely to continue, according to an updated hurricane season prediction released Wednesday by Colorado State University. Forecasters at CSU dropped their predicted number of storms, hurricanes and major hurricanes from...Read more

DURHAM, N.C. — Two Durham teens were arrested Tuesday after the female teen allegedly took abortion-inducing medication while 31 weeks pregnant.

Syeisha Jadan Johnson, 18, is charged with assault inflicting serious bodily injury on an unborn child, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and negligent child abuse inflicting serious ...Read more

MIAMI — A dispute over a diving spot during the lobster mini-season ended in what authorities say was an attempted murder after a man allegedly turned off a diver’s oxygen supply.

On July 29, around 5:30 a.m., a boat had stopped, and its occupants were preparing to dive at a known lobster location when a second boat, a 27- to 28-foot Gray ...Read more

Hundreds of thousands of Haitian immigrants shielded from deportation lost that official protection Wednesday when a federal judge in Washington, D.C., lifted her stay that had blocked the Trump administration from carrying out its policy to end it.

U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes was forced to undo her stay preserving temporary protected ...Read more