KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Before Missouri became the first state in the country to overturn a near-total abortion ban in 2024, Republican lawmakers were already signaling a plan to strike down the results.

“People will be given an opportunity to vote again,” Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, an Arnold Republican, said before nearly 52% of voters ...Read more

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Greenville Police Department has closed its investigation into the death of actress Hayden Panettiere and no charges have been filed.

The investigation results agree with the Greenville County Coroner’s ruling that Panettiere died of an accidental drug overdose.

Toxicology results showed Panettiere had fentanyl, 4-ANPP...Read more

CHICAGO — Police officials had few answers Wednesday as aldermen questioned them about the gunshot detection technology Mayor Brandon Johnson plans to start testing in Chicago neighborhoods soon.

Interim police Superintendent Fred Waller acknowledged a gunshot detection pilot program could launch across a third of the city in as little as a ...Read more

DENVER — The state Capitol was evacuated and multiple Denver streets were closed on Wednesday morning after Colorado State Patrol troopers found a suspicious device designed to look like a bomb on a windowsill near the east entrance, agency officials said.

Law enforcement eventually determined there was no threat to the public after CSP ...Read more

Flávio Bolsonaro landed in the U.S. on Wednesday after fleeing Brazil, threatening to add new strains to relations between Brasilia and Washington and raising questions about his family’s future as a force on the Brazilian right.

The right-wing senator arrived in Miami shortly after 9 a.m. local time, ending days of speculation about his ...Read more

NEW YORK — The NYPD is backing away from a $750,000 no-bid contract with a company accused of treading on people’s civil rights for a new technology that can quickly pinpoint a suspect’s cellphone after Mayor Zohran Mamdani faced heat over the city using tech from the controversial firm, the New York Daily News has learned.

The department...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Salim Ahmed Said, a central figure in the largest pandemic-era fraud scandal in the United States, was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years in prison for perpetuating the scheme to steal millions of dollars from a federal program meant to feed needy children.

Said, 37, was found guilty at trial last year alongside Aimee Bock, who is ...Read more

MIAMI — Four Florida International University students who were suspended or expelled over private group chats containing racist remarks and references to violence are taking their fight to federal court Wednesday, arguing that the university violated their First Amendment rights by punishing speech that, however offensive, was constitutionall...Read more

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — A ship that was used to train Cal Poly Maritime Academy students for 30 years may be used to deport immigrants to Central and South America.

The Trump administration is considering refitting the 500-foot Training Ship Golden Bear — currently docked in Vallejo — and other boats to make expensive, days-long trips ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California’s leading elected officials on Wednesday praised labor icon Dolores Huerta not just for her impact on a wide range of social issues but for the inspirational role she had on many of their own careers. She died Wednesday at 96.

In the Capitol, Huerta was a powerful symbol of the values many Democratic ...Read more

President Donald Trump predicted the Senate would unanimously confirm Sen. Ted Cruz for a potential Supreme Court seat because both Democrats and Republicans would love “to get rid of him.”

Continuing his odd streak of putting down some GOP allies, Trump regaled the crowd at a Texas rally by needling Cruz for being famously unpopular with ...Read more

NEW YORK — New York is telling the artificial intelligence industry: Chatbots are not our children’s friends.

On Wednesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill that requires companies to block some AI chatbot features for minors, including conversations where the agent simulates a real human being or promotes harmful behavior.

“No longer ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A federal judge on Tuesday ruled that Bill Essayli is unlawfully serving as Los Angeles' top federal prosecutor and ordered him disqualified from overseeing two criminal cases, rejecting the Justice Department's latest effort to preserve his authority.

Senior U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright, however, delayed the ...Read more

Hasan Piker is suing conservative pundit Scott Jennings for indicating the controversial livestreamer advocates the lynching of Black people.

His civil defamation suit filed Tuesday in a Washington, D.C., district court is asking for $72.5 million. It alleges that Jennings said on an Aug.11 podcast that Piker was “out there calling for Black ...Read more

MIAMI — Tuesday’s sentencing of the Alexander brothers in New York isn’t the end of their legal trouble – two still face state rape charges in Miami-Dade criminal court, and they all face civil lawsuits from women who say they were raped or assaulted by one or more of the brothers.

Twins Oren and Alon Alexander, 39, and their brother ...Read more

MIAMI — Brazilian Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro landed in Miami on Wednesday morning, days after losing the presidential election in his country, after the United States agreed to grant him an entry visa as he faces a criminal investigation in Brazil.

The senator, the eldest son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, lost Sunday’s presidential ...Read more