California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s budget proposal would “put the state on precarious footing” because it does not incorporate the significant risk of a stock market downturn plummeting income tax returns, the California Legislature’s independent and nonpartisan fiscal analyst said Monday.

Citing a $30 billion difference between his agency�...Read more

SPRINGFIELD — Mary Jane Theis became a judge in 1983, a few weeks before the biggest, most sweeping judicial corruption scandal in Cook County history came to a head.

Operation Greylord resulted in about 100 indictments and the conviction of more than a dozen judges. And throughout a career that eventually saw Theis elected to the Illinois ...Read more

Audience members at the all-ages Minneapolis rock venue Pilllar Forum tussled with ICE agents on the street outside the club on Sunday — prompting that night’s show to be canceled.

The owner of Pilllar Forum, Corey Bracken, said several of his customers and musicians were pepper-sprayed by ICE agents and at least two were hit with batons on...Read more

NEW YORK — A New York City Council employee from Venezuela was detained by ICE agents Monday — even though he has status to be in the U.S. legally, according to Council Speaker Julie Menin.

The employee, whose name is being withheld, was whisked away by ICE while at a routine immigration appointment Monday morning in Bethpage, Nassau County...Read more

Australia’s ambassador to the U.S., Kevin Rudd, will step down a year earlier than planned after his tenure was clouded by past criticism of Donald Trump that had drawn the ire of the U.S. president.

A successor has not yet been named, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday, and will be announced in “due course.” Rudd will leave ...Read more

Two more Caribbean countries have entered into agreements with the Trump administration to accept asylum seekers deported from the United States, with one leader explicitly saying Haitians are not welcome.

St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Terrance Drew said that his government has agreed to accept a very small number of third-country ...Read more

MIAMI — As commuters headed home during Monday evening’s rush hour on U.S. 1 in Coconut Grove, high above them on a pedestrian bridge protesters demonstrating against the Trump administration’s immigration policies held signs and chanted slogans as drivers honked their horns below.

About 20 people gathered on the Vizcaya pedestrian ...Read more

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will seek closer ties with South Korea at a summit Tuesday, as Tokyo moves to contain a deepening diplomatic and trade dispute with China and counter Beijing’s efforts to drive a wedge between key U.S. allies.

Takaichi will meet South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in her home prefecture of Nara in their...Read more

WASHINGTON — Jeanine Pirro didn’t seek sign-off from her bosses at the Justice Department before subpoenaing the Federal Reserve and has no plans to back down from an investigation into Chairman Jerome Powell, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The probe elicited objections from lawmakers and comments from President Donald ...Read more

A Minnesota state representative said two Richfield Target employees detained by U.S. Border Patrol on Jan. 8 were U.S. citizens and were both injured in the incident.

Rep. Michael Howard, a Democrat who represents Wards 10 and 11 in Minneapolis and all of Richfield, said on Jan. 12 that he has been in contact with both employees and that they ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A former executive of a nonprofit camp for children with serious medical conditions is accused of embezzling more than $5 million from the organization and tampering with computer records to hide his crimes, according to prosecutors.

Lake Hughes-based organization the Painted Turtle, co-founded by actor Paul Newman in 1999, is a...Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, who has increasingly waded into statewide issues in recent years, is reconsidering his political future and could be preparing to enter California’s crowded race for governor — a contest that so far lacks a clear front-runner.

None of the declared candidates have offered a “clear and ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The state of Minnesota and cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul are suing to stop a “federal invasion” of the Twin Cities by immigration enforcement officials whose operation has killed one woman and sparked mass protests.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced the lawsuit in a news conference Jan. 12 with ...Read more

DENVER — The Denver City Council will soon consider banning law enforcement officers — including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents — from covering their faces during arrest and detention operations.

Councilwomen Flor Alvidrez and Shontel Lewis presented the idea for a potential city ordinance during a committee meeting ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Senate this week plans to debate an effort to limit President Donald Trump from engaging in any United States military involvement in Venezuela unless Congress agrees. Rep. Kevin Kiley’s not sure putting such limits on executive action is a good idea.

“I believe Congress needs to be centrally involved going forward when ...Read more

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Citing warrantless arrests, detentions of U.S. citizens based on race and accent, and the “unlawful deployment of thousands of armed, masked, and poorly trained federal agents,” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison joined the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul Monday to announce s joint legal action against the U.S. ...Read more

Speaking to a ballroom full of bankers in Durham on Monday, former U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry, a North Carolina Republican, offered his blunt assessment of the Trump administration’s move to investigate Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

“What Trump is doing now, I think is deeply offensive to our system of checks and balances,” McHenry ...Read more

Iran’s Foreign Minister said security forces have “full control” of the country after two weeks of violent unrest, amid reports he’s reached out to the U.S. following an intervention threat by President Donald Trump.

Abbas Araghchi’s claim to have asserted police authority over nationwide protests is yet to be fully tested, since the...Read more

Saying immigration agents have acted more like an occupying military force than law enforcement, lawyers for the state of Illinois and Chicago sued the Trump administration in federal court Monday seeking to bar agents from using tear gas without sufficient warning, making warrantless arrests, and randomly stopping people to question them about ...Read more