WASHINGTON — NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte played to President Donald Trump’s love of praise and splashy visuals during a visit to Washington that was aimed at easing the U.S. leader’s anger over alliance nations’ reluctance to help with the campaign against Iran.

Meeting Trump in the Oval Office, Rutte displayed posters that ...Read more

What happens to animals involved in active animal cruelty cases? California legislators are considering whether they are finding loving homes quickly enough.

Assembly Bill 2344 — the Rehome Abused Animals Act — aims to fast-track the adoption process for animals removed from abusive situations. This bill would authorize shelters to put ...Read more

A powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck north-central Venezuela on Wednesday, triggering panic in Caracas and other cities as preliminary reports of structural damage and injuries began to emerge.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake happened at 6:04 p.m. local time, with the epicenter off Venezuela’s central coast.

According to...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Stress on the San Andreas Fault System has reached a 1,000-year high, according to new research from the University of Hawaii.

Higher stress on a fault means the pressure that causes earthquakes is building.

But there’s no reason to be significantly more concerned than you were before hearing about the study, said Kate ...Read more

WASHINGTON — In his first two years on the job, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has become a polarizing figure on Capitol Hill, largely because of his vaccine skepticism and distrust of the status quo.

But one of his quieter pushes — ending animal testing in medical research — has earned him accolades among some ...Read more

The Pennsylvania House has approved a measure that could help reinstate the rights of parents whose children are in state custody and another that would protect the parental rights of incarcerated people.

The latter bill clarifies that a person’s incarceration status cannot be the sole reason for taking away parental rights.

It gives courts ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As early voting starts in Kansas City for the August primary election under Missouri’s new, gerrymandered election map, some voters may have received outdated information before casting their ballots. Kansas City Election Board officials say the mix-up is because they’re waiting for their license to use the state’s ...Read more

MIAMI — Florida’s record-setting pace of executions has drawn renewed opposition from the Catholic Church, which is urging Gov. Ron DeSantis to halt the scheduled execution Thursday of a 74-year-old veteran.

The appeal comes as Florida continues an unprecedented run of executions under DeSantis, who oversaw a record 19 executions last year ...Read more

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Lawyers for Alex Murdaugh filed pretrial motions Wednesday including one requesting a change of venue from Colleton County, South Carolina, where his first double-murder trial was held, and far from surrounding counties as well.

“The basis for this motion is that this is among the most heavily publicized criminal ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Several protesters involved in a January anti-ICE demonstration at a St. Paul church service asked a judge to dismiss their federal charges, arguing that their protest did not amount to a violation of the laws they’re charged with breaking.

Lawyers on behalf of 33 of the protesters, including activist Nekima Levy Armstrong, ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Andres Chait has been named superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District three days after the resignation of Alberto Carvalho in a lightning-speed transition that elevates a well-liked insider to the top of the nation's second-largest school system.

The Board of Education announced its unanimous decision Wednesday, ...Read more

LAS VEGAS — The staffing shortages that triggered hourslong flight delays at Harry Reid International Airport last weekend may not be a short-term problem.

Federal officials are racing to hire nearly 7,000 air traffic controllers nationwide, but it can take up to two years to fully train new controllers, leaving Las Vegas and other airports ...Read more

BOSTON — More N-word-laden messages and racist photos on former Mass State Police trooper Michael Proctor’s personal cellphone have been made public.

The new messages, included in a motion to dismiss a murder case Proctor investigated, mention violence against Black people, the belief that they commit more crime and Proctor’s desire to ...Read more

The company formerly known as Dominion Voting Systems is ending its $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit against MyPillow and its CEO, Mike Lindell.

The voting machine company, which was sold last year to a former GOP election official and is now called Liberty Vote, agreed to dismiss the long-running lawsuit in a federal court filing this week.

�...Read more

The federal Office of Management and Budget is requesting that $1 billion of an $87.6 billion defense funding package be earmarked for Penn Station, the Daily News has learned.

The funding request is one of several “urgent needs” outlined in a letter — obtained by the Daily News — from Trump’s budget director, Russell Vought, to House...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A fire that has burned at a Boyle Heights warehouse for more than a week is nearly out, officials said Wednesday, but residents in many Eastside communities were just beginning to assess the health implications from days of dirty air as well as significant economic losses.

The announcement coincided with the official expiration ...Read more

DENVER — A wildfire burning on Colorado’s Western Slope consumed hundreds of acres on Tuesday and destroyed two buildings, including a home, according to firefighting officials.

Colorado River Fire Rescue crews first responded to the Dry Creek fire near Rifle at about 3:20 p.m. Tuesday, agency officials said. Mandatory evacuations were ...Read more

NEW YORK — A federal judge in Manhattan on Wednesday temporarily blocked the Trump Justice Department from seizing the medical records of transgender youth from New York City hospitals and cast doubt on the government’s claim that it didn’t want to use the information to prosecute patients.

In a lengthy oral decision announced at a remote...Read more

LAS VEGAS — The Southern Nevada Health District announced Wednesday that it has identified the first mosquitoes of the season to test positive for West Nile virus in the Las Vegas Valley.

According to the agency, the mosquitoes were collected in the 89121 ZIP code as part of the Health District’s ongoing mosquito surveillance program. The ...Read more