Go ahead New Jersey, drink up and wash the cars: After 300 days, the governor's office on Thursday officially lifted the statewide drought warning.

The decree comes after three months that have featured an assortment of downpours and general rainfalls, with a bonus early-season nor'easter, throughout the Garden State and the Philadelphia region...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Supporters of a high-profile Nov. 3 ballot measure that would require Californians to show identification when they vote accused state Democratic leaders of falsely stating that President Donald Trump has endorsed the initiative.

Republican Assembly member Carl DeMaio of San Diego, one of the measure’s authors, on ...Read more

The Space Coast saw only one launch in all of September, but if weather holds Thursday, it could see two in just one day with a SpaceX Falcon Heavy primed to lift off from Kennedy Space Center following the launch earlier in the day of the Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station.

Falcon Heavy is aiming for liftoff from KSC’s Launch...Read more

Walt Disney Co. plans to cut hundreds of jobs as part of a restructuring of its television operations, extending a wave of job cuts, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The overhaul will consolidate divisions at the company, according to the Journal, which cited unidentified people familiar with the matter. Top executives are hashing out details ...Read more

The Pennsylvania House Republican Caucus chastised a GOP state legislator Thursday after he reportedly hurled a homophobic slur earlier in the week at Democratic State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta of Philadelphia, who is gay.

State Rep. Aaron Bernstine, a Republican who represents portions of Butler and Lawrence Counties in Western Pennsylvania, also ...Read more

NEW YORK — Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday appointed New York Attorney General Letitia James as a special prosecutor to take over the newly reopened investigation into the alleged gang rape of a woman at a Cornell University frat house.

As special prosecutor, James will not only take the reins from Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van ...Read more

An independent investigation report on St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her’s behavior, spurred by accusations by Police Chief Axel Henry, revealed how the once-collegial relationship between the two key city leaders quickly soured and then grew even more strained after allegations of sexual harassment.

The 73-page report by St. Cloud-based Resolute Law...Read more

LOS ANGELES — If Nicole Linton had a seizure, then she can't be held responsible for what happened after her Mercedes flew into a South L.A. intersection at 131 mph in August 2022.

If she didn't, then she's going to prison for decades on six counts of murder.

After a three-week trial that focused more on Linton's mental and physical health ...Read more

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Florida weather was dicey all morning, but cleared enough to let SpaceX and NASA launch the Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station.

A Falcon 9 topped with the Crew Dragon Grace and its four occupants carved its way through a billowing whitewash of clouds lifting off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump expressed frustration with his Supreme Court picks, complaining about votes against his policies and lamenting what he said was a lack of loyalty.

Asked in a Time Magazine interview if he regrets nominating Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, Trump said, “Yeah. What can I do? I ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon may soon deploy an additional aircraft carrier and 10,000 sailors and Marines to the Persian Gulf, according to a U.S. official, a move that gives U.S. commanders more options if President Donald Trump chooses to escalate attacks on Iran.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier left its San Diego home port on Sunday, the ...Read more

Former New Jersey Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell, who resigned last week after investigators found that he had made inappropriate and sexually charged comments to women and violated ethics rules, is now being investigated by his church, according to an email from a bishop reviewed by The Inquirer.

Cynthia Moore-Koikoi, the bishop of the Eastern ...Read more

Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed legislation that would have given Native tribes a greater role in California water policy decisions, saying the state is already making this a priority.

The bill would have directed state agencies to recognize historical inequities affecting tribes, and to consult with them on water projects, plans and policies.

Newsom...Read more

CHICAGO — The leader of a South Side police district who was recently disciplined in connection with the Chicago police’s response to a high-profile confrontation on the city’s southwest side during Operation Midway Blitz has been removed from his post and transferred to a non-patrol division, police announced Thursday.

Cmdr. Joseph Mark,...Read more

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said he wants to build more housing to bring down costs, but researchers caution that even a significant increase in the state’s housing supply may not make homes affordable for its poorest residents.

Moore signed two executive orders Thursday aimed at speeding up permitting, expanding modular housing and creating more...Read more

HARTFORD, Conn. — A federal court has temporarily blocked enforcement of a new state law that would ban the sale of legal handguns that can be converted, by the attachment of illegal devices, to fully automatic weapons.

U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley’s hurried ruling grants an emergency order sought by Austrian gun maker Glock and three...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Days after signing a package of bills to rebuff aspects of federal immigration enforcement in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed two bills from Los Angeles lawmakers that targeted public employment for federal agents.

One of the bills, backed by Speaker Robert Rivas, D-Hollister, would have blocked agents and ...Read more

The U.S. Department of Justice sued Maryland and two of its largest counties Thursday, challenging state and local laws that restrict all law enforcement officers, including federal agents, from wearing masks, and require them to identify themselves in certain circumstances.

The lawsuit names Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, the ...Read more