TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — When Florida lawmakers return to the state Capitol next week at Ron DeSantis’ behest, one of the governor’s biggest, most-consequential priorities won’t be on the agenda: cutting property taxes.

The idea, first floated by DeSantis early last year, has all but disappeared from the daily digest of topics to tackle in ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Democrats’ narrow victory in Tuesday’s redistricting referendum in Virginia gives the party up to four pickup opportunities in the commonwealth in this year’s midterm elections. But it also puts both parties near parity in the monthslong arms race over redrawing congressional lines that has been a defining storyline of the ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Iranian forces attacked three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, stoking an already tense standoff in the Persian Gulf as a U.S. naval blockade strains Tehran’s economy and pressures its divided leadership to return to peace talks.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, claimed responsibility for...Read more

A week after the city of Durham, North Carolina, attempted to remove a homeless encampment from a downtown park, police made multiple arrests at another.

On Wednesday afternoon, Durham police carried out multiple arrests and seized drugs and weapons at Long Meadow Park on Liberty Street, according to a statement from the department.

The park ...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. — On March 13, Duke University’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine shared an Instagram post featuring a political cartoon of two pigs: one labeled “U.S. Imperialism,” holding a torch of liberty, and another labeled “Zionism,” holding a Star of David. The two are touching snouts and interlocking toes.

Eleven ...Read more

Possible victims of a cruise ship crew member who planted a hidden camera to watch a young girl undress in her cabin won a significant legal victory on Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale federal court.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Detra Shaw-Wilder ruled against Miami-based Royal Caribbean’s attempt to require that all potential victims go through ...Read more

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear on Wednesday doubled down on criticism of the University of Kentucky, saying the school should be “a nonpartisan university that doesn’t waste taxpayer dollars.”

One day after saying he was “losing confidence and growing increasingly concerned with the management and decision-making” at the state’s largest...Read more

The government of Kenya is refuting a United Nations report that found members of its police-led gang-fighting security mission in Haiti were involved in cases of sexual exploitation and rape in the Caribbean country.

The rejection of the findings was conveyed in a confidential letter sent earlier this month to U.N. Secretary-General António ...Read more

The Trump administration is nearing a rescue package for Spirit Airlines that could give the U.S. government the option to own as much as 90% of the carrier once it emerges from bankruptcy, according to people familiar with the matter.

The agreement, which has not yet been finalized, would offer as much as $500 million in financing in exchange...Read more

DENVER — Colorado’s wolves roamed a smaller slice of the state in April as spring denning activity began.

All of the wolves tracked by the state remained largely in the northwest quadrant of the state between March 24 and April 21, according to a new map released Wednesday by Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

Their territory stretched west from...Read more

NEW YORK — A judge temporarily blocked the city from opening a new intake shelter in the East Village Wednesday after a group of neighborhood residents filed a court challenge over how the Mamdani administration went about closing the existing 30th Street shelter.

The temporary restraining order, issued by Justice Sabrina Kraus, does not mean...Read more

HARTFORD, Conn.— After months of clashes and hours of debate, the state House of Representatives passed a controversial bill Tuesday to ensure the status quo in a state that already has one of the highest vaccination rates in the nation.

Democrats who favored the bill said they were trying to reinforce the status quo at a time when the ...Read more

Former South Carolina Lt. Gov. André Bauer will likely be the next U.S. ambassador to Belize.

Bauer, who served under Gov. Mark Sanford, was appointed by President Donald Trump’s administration Tuesday. The nomination needs approval from the U.S. Senate.

President Donald Trump previously nominated Bauer to a diplomatic post at the end of ...Read more

A Florida state college’s plan to build a data center near Lake Okeechobee has stoked fierce pushback from residents and an about-face from the DeSantis administration, which granted $1.5 million in state funds to the project and now says it was deceived. But college leaders say that the conflict is just a misunderstanding.

Indian River State...Read more

Michigan and parts of Wisconsin are in the midst of a historic flooding event in spring 2026. Days of heavy rainfall on top of snow have sent lakes and rivers over their banks and threatened several dams in both states, forcing people to evacuate homes downstream. By April 20, 2026, nearly half of Michigan’s counties were under a state of ...Read more

Washington is buzzing with the possibility that President Donald Trump might name one or more Supreme Court justices before the November midterm elections.

In a conversation with Fox Business TV host Maria Bartiromo on April 15, 2026, Trump discussed the potential retirement of Justice Samuel Alito, 76, the reliably conservative ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Supreme Court justices grappled over a president’s power over immigration enforcement Wednesday during oral arguments over a technical challenge to the government’s ability to take away someone’s green card as they enter the country.

Over the course of more than an hour of oral arguments, the justices delved into what ...Read more

The U.S. and Iran are locked in a battle for control of the Strait of Hormuz after failing to meet for a fresh round of peace talks, with both sides blocking the waterway to gain leverage during an extended ceasefire.

President Donald Trump said the truce agreed April 7 would stay in place indefinitely while Washington waits for Iran to submit...Read more

A petition signed by prominent media figures, including Dan Rather and Ann Curry, is urging organizers at Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner to send a message to President Donald Trump, who plans to attend the annual Washington, D.C., gathering for the first time as the nation’s leader.

“These are not normal times...Read more

WASHINGTON — Democratic Rep. David Scott, a 12-term congressman representing Georgia’s 13th District, has died. He was 80.

Combined with prior stints in the Georgia statehouse, Scott was in public service for over 50 years. He was first elected to the House in 2002 and became the first African American chair of the Agriculture Committee ...Read more