SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California lawmakers have approved legislation by Assemblymember Dawn Addis, D-Morro Bay, to permanently bar people convicted of certain felony sex crimes and human trafficking from running for state or local elected office. The measure now goes to Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The Assembly voted unanimously to approve the Senate’...Read more

BALTIMORE — An Eastern Shore judge raised concerns Thursday about whether Maryland lawmakers followed their own election rules and accurately described a proposed congressional redistricting amendment to voters, as he prepares to rule by Friday afternoon on whether the measure should remain on the Nov. 3 ballot.

The lawsuit, filed Aug. 10 by ...Read more

BALTIMORE — Maryland is joining a multistate lawsuit seeking to block new federal requirements for Title X funding that could threaten money for family planning clinics and limit access to reproductive health care, cancer screenings and affordable contraception.

Attorney General Anthony Brown and his Massachusetts counterpart co-led the ...Read more

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said he opposes sweeping sales and use tax exemptions for in-state data centers.

“I don’t think data centers need incentives,” he said Aug. 27 during his weekly update. “I don’t think we should be providing them, so I would certainly support rolling back any of that. These are some of the wealthiest ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced he was moving to rename Lake Ontario as Lake America, escalating his clash with Canada after trade negotiations between the two nations collapsed.

Trump on Thursday signed a directive changing the name of the lake and said the move would take place “effective immediately.” The president ...Read more

A new report by a British journalist who previously broke news about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle‘s plan to return to the United Kingdom after six tumultuous years in the United States now details how the couple envision their life in Harry’s home country going forward for the next 10 or 15 years.

First off, Harry is back in the U.K. “...Read more

A flash flood in a Nepalese valley near the Chinese border unleashed waves of devastation that inundated villages and swept away buildings, killing at least 389 and leaving more than 1,200 still missing, including hundreds of foreign tourists.

Visitors from countries including India, Malaysia, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. — A regulatory commission gave final approval to a series of new rules targeting mail-in ballots and voter ID on Thursday, but at least some of them appear to have been blocked from taking effect in North Carolina’s elections this year.

The rules, which were passed by the Republican-majority State Board of Elections last month...Read more

Vape pens and other disposable e-cigarettes could soon be illegal in California.

On Wednesday, the state assembly approved Assembly Bill 762, which if signed by the governor, will make the battery-powered disposable devices illegal to manufacture, distribute or sell in the state. The bill passed the state Senate on Tuesday.

“We are hopeful ...Read more

Temperatures have warmed dramatically across the equatorial Pacific Ocean in 2026, signaling the onset of a strong and potentially historic El Niño. These events can affect weather around the world, and the intensity of recent El Niño events is raising alarm that, as global temperatures rise, these natural events are becoming stronger and ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Sen. Bill Cassidy is accusing abortion pill manufacturers of not meeting their legal responsibilities to ensure compliance with Food and Drug Administration safety regulations, especially when pills are sold online through third-party providers.

A report issued Thursday by Cassidy, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and...Read more

NEW YORK — A federal judge in Manhattan on Thursday approved a $72.5 million class-action settlement reached between victims of Jeffrey Epstein and Bank of America.

Manhattan Federal Court Judge Jed Rakoff greenlit the agreement at an hourlong conference, hailing the outcome as a significant step toward accountability while acknowledging ...Read more

President Donald Trump’s seven-day mourning period for Dolly Parton with American flags lowered to half-staff at all government buildings is longer than the ones he ordered for Pope Francis or Charlie Kirk.

The stars-and-stripes tribute to the country music legend outstrips the four-day period Trump proclaimed for Kirk after the conservative ...Read more

WASHINGTON — A man arrested near the Capitol with a 10-foot-tall guillotine in the bed of his truck was released Wednesday and charged with a misdemeanor.

Philan Tam Duy Le was arrested by Capitol Police on Tuesday after initially being approached for being parked illegally in a permit-only parking spot near the Library of Congress. According...Read more

A flash flood in a Nepalese valley near the Chinese border unleashed waves of devastation that inundated villages and swept away buildings, killing at least 359 and leaving more than 1,400 missing, including hundreds of foreign tourists.

Visitors from countries including India, Malaysia, Australia, the U.K. and U.S. are unaccounted for more ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — The National Hurricane Center on Thursday said Tropical Storm Dolly formed in the Atlantic after gaining more organization overnight.

As of the NHC’s 11 a.m. advisory, the center of Dolly was located about 1,555 miles east of the Caribbean’s Leeward Islands moving west at 24 mph with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph.

...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — The National Hurricane Center on Thursday said Tropical Storm Dolly could form today in the Atlantic, but it may not last that long.

As of the NHC’s 8 a.m. tropical outlook, an area of low pressure dubbed Invest 96L located about halfway between Africa and the Caribbean’s Windward Islands in the central tropical Atlantic ...Read more

MEXICO CITY — As increasing numbers of migrants perish during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has vowed to ramp up pressure on U.S. authorities to investigate the deaths.

“There are too many cases,” Sheinbaum told reporters last week, referring to 17 Mexican citizens who have died ...Read more