RIVERSIDE, Calif. — An Inland Empire state senator wants to keep cops away from ballot boxes.

To that end, state Sen. Sabrina Cervantes, a Riverside Democrat, announced new legislation Tuesday to prevent a repeat of Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco’s controversial investigation that seized more than 650,000 ballots cast by voters in ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Michigan Republicans are suggesting that the U.S. Department of Justice should investigate Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's "86 45" emblem visible in a television interview she filmed, but the five-year statute of limitations under federal law would probably bar any charges related to the 2020 incident.

The Justice Department on Tuesday ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The end of a 20-year mining moratorium in the Superior National Forest marked the culmination of a months-long fight on Capitol Hill between environmentalists, tribal leaders and a lobbying shop friendly with the president.

Political momentum shifted toward pro-mining interests earlier this year behind a concerted lobbying push, ...Read more

DENVER — Following in the paw-steps of several other states and local governments, Gov. Jared Polis signed a new law Wednesday that will soon ban pet stores in Colorado from selling dogs or cats.

Once it goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2028, House Bill 1011 will only allow pet stores to host animals from adoption or rescue services, so long as ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Court documents unsealed on April 29 show that federal prosecutors have charged a husband, his wife and their daughter in connection with a raucous anti-ICE demonstration earlier this month outside the Whipple Federal Building, where a conservative political reporter was twice shoved to the ground.

The clash on April 11 led to ...Read more

A United Airlines pilot arriving in San Diego on Wednesday morning reported encountering a drone thousands of feet in the air as the plane approached the airport, according to airport tower audio.

United flight 1980 departed from San Francisco International Airport at 6:53 a.m. and flew roughly 90 minutes before landing at San Diego ...Read more

The autopsies of Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner have not yet been completed, stalling the criminal case against their son Nick, who is charged in the couple’s grisly December 2025 deaths.

The 32-year-old — who has pleaded not guilty to killing his parents at their home in Los Angeles' Brentwood neighborhood on Dec. 14 — attended a ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors told a judge Wednesday about an accused gunman’s planning before attempting to breach a Washington ballroom Saturday night in a failed attempt to assassinate President Donald Trump and top administration officials.

In a memorandum requesting 31-year-old Cole Allen be kept in custody before his eventual trial...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Republican-controlled Florida Legislature on Wednesday approved a new congressional map that could give the GOP up to four pickup opportunities in November.

The state Senate backed the new map, 21-17, a few hours after the state House had pushed it through in an 83-28 vote during a special session called by Gov. Ron DeSantis....Read more

Police officers in Tijuana, Mexico, are now equipped with body cameras in an effort to strengthen transparency and accountability, officials said.

Last week in a video posted on social media, Tijuana Mayor Ismael Burgueño announced the initial deployment of 400 body cameras, which will outfit a fraction of the city’s police force of about 2,...Read more

President Donald Trump threatened Iran in a predawn social media post Wednesday as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Congress the monthlong war has been a huge success and has cost taxpayers $25 billion so far.

Posting a fake image of himself carrying a machine gun with the caption “No more Mr. Nice Guy,” Trump suggested Iran’s ...Read more

CHICAGO — The man accused of fatally shooting Loyola University Chicago student Sheridan Gorman has pleaded not guilty to all charges, weeks after the killing became a lightning rod in the polarizing discourse over immigration policy.

José Medina, 26, entered a not guilty plea for all 18 felony counts charged against him in an arraignment ...Read more

In the years before he was found dead in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019, Jeffrey Epstein cultivated elite circles across the length and breadth of Africa.

When Senegal was investigating the son of a former president for corruption, Epstein offered him his Palm Beach, Florida, mansion and spent hundreds of thousands on his legal fees, including ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The murder case against Nick Reiner will not proceed until September, in part due to delays in the release of reports detailing the autopsies of his parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, officials said in court Wednesday.

Reiner, 32, was charged with killing his parents inside the master bedroom of the family’s Brentwood estate ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Haverford College will not consider removing U.S. Commerce Secretary and mega donor Howard Lutnick’s name from its library despite student calls to do so, the school announced Wednesday.

President Wendy Raymond’s announcement came 30 days after the student body voted by an overwhelming majority to ask that she establish a ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Evidence in the murder case against the singer D4vd — who is charged with the brutal killing of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez — could become public as soon as Friday, depending on the outcome of a hearing scheduled for Wednesday afternoon in downtown Los Angeles.

David Anthony Burke, 21, was charged with murder, ...Read more

Mehmet Oz, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services administrator, is ordering all states to step up their efforts to crack down on Medicaid fraud.

His April 21, 2026, announcement expanded on the Trump administration’s related enforcement actions, such as withholding Medicaid funds from Minnesota and threatening to do that ...Read more

When the U.S. Department of Justice moved to reclassify medical marijuana to a Schedule III drug on April 23, 2026, it set the stage for a vast amount of medical research that has been hobbled for decades by its more restrictive Schedule I classification.

The Justice Department also called for an expedited federal rescheduling process...Read more

The fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire announced on April 7, 2026, after 40 days of war came at an opportune time for the United States. Several reports indicate it is running out of weapons amid the conflict.

As a scholar focused on U.S. military deployments, these reports are concerning and somewhat surprising.

After all, the ...Read more