WASHINGTON — President Trump has once again mocked Gov. Gavin Newsom’s dyslexia as “disqualifying” for leadership, marking at least the fourth time in a week that the president has targeted the California Democrat for being open about his diagnosis.

In remarks Monday in the Oval Office, Trump said Newsom was “dumb” and should never...Read more

WASHINGTON — The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier is leaving the fight with Iran and heading back to port, a U.S. official familiar with the matter said, after a fire broke out in its laundry area and left at least two sailors with non-life-threatening injuries.

The Ford will travel from its current location in the Red Sea to Souda Bay, on...Read more

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday appointed the key attorney behind the controversial Hope Florida Medicaid agreement to serve as a circuit judge in Tallahassee.

Andrew Sheeran, general counsel for the state’s Agency for Health Care Administration since 2023, was the chief legal architect behind the settlement with Medicaid company Centene at the ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Senate on Tuesday afternoon voted to begin what could become a long and extended debate on the SAVE America Act, the GOP’s marquee voter ID and election overhaul bill, following increased pressure from President Donald Trump and his allies on Capitol Hill.

But the debate is not the same thing as a “talking filibuster,” ...Read more

The state has won a key federal approval for its plan to award nearly $630 million to more than a dozen companies to help modernize internet service in Alaska.

The money represents the largest single chunk of federal funds ever committed to improving online access across the state, officials said.

It will extend high-speed internet to more ...Read more

Arizona said it filed criminal charges against Kalshi for operating an illegal gambling business, in a significant escalation in the legal battles between the prediction market exchange and about a dozen states.

While state regulators have taken steps to crack down on what they say is unlicensed betting on Kalshi’s site, Arizona appears to ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Capitol Police must expand to face a rise in threats to lawmakers’ safety, Chief Michael G. Sullivan told House appropriators on Tuesday.

The department is seeking more than $1 billion for fiscal 2027, an increase of 20% over current levels and its largest request to date.

This was Sullivan’s first budget hearing since ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The House Oversight Committee ordered U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to appear for a deposition on the U.S. Justice Department’s handling of the investigation and release of files related to sex trafficking by disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

The panel’s Republican chairman, James Comer of Kentucky, said in a letter to ...Read more

LANSING, Mich. — Citing extreme winter weather, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared Tuesday a state of emergency in seven counties and a statewide energy emergency.

A winter storm system on Sunday and Monday dropped 2 feet to 4 feet of snow across much of Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula, causing widespread damage, according to ...Read more

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned his effort to recruit partners for the war with Iran and scolded allies who openly rejected his appeals, even as he repeated claims the conflict would end soon.

The U.S. and Israel nonetheless kept up their attacks with little clarity on when operations would end, with Israel saying it had ...Read more

Gov. Maura Healey is responding to a federal probe into Medicaid fraud in Massachusetts as Tuesday marks the deadline for her to turn over information requested by the House Energy & Commerce Committee, claiming MassHealth has “strong program integrity,” while also dismissing Vice President JD Vance’s new role as chief of the newly-created...Read more

CHICAGO — Mayor Brandon Johnson on Tuesday commended the safety of Chicago’s St. Patrick’s Day festivities, but declined to endorse the proliferation of BORGs in citywide revelries this past weekend.

A BORG, or “blackout rage gallon,” is an alcoholic concoction typically contained in a plastic gallon jug. And in the nation’s third-...Read more

MIAMI — Despite receiving bomb threats that triggered evacuations, police sweeps and financial losses during the past week, Zoo Miami is “the safest it’s ever been,” longtime spokesperson and wildlife expert Ron Magill said Tuesday.

From Friday through Monday, Zoo Miami received at least four bomb threats. None were found to be credible...Read more

A federal judge in New Jersey this week declined to hold a routine sentencing hearing because of what he said were unresolved questions about who is leading that state’s U.S. Attorney’s Office — a decision the judge made during a contentious proceeding in which he also kicked a prosecutor out of his courtroom.

The ruling from U.S. ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Gov. Tim Walz is proposing to trim the statewide sales tax rate, expand a child care tax credit for families and boost programs meant to help Minnesotans recover from the federal government’s immigration crackdown in the state.

The proposals are part of an amended budget plan that would make several other significant changes, ...Read more

Senate Democrats, led by California Sen. Alex Padilla, reiterated their opposition to a voter ID bill Tuesday ahead of what is expected to be a prolonged and contentious debate.

The legislation, known as the SAVE America Act, would require proof of citizenship when registering to vote, a photo ID to cast a ballot and provide the Department of ...Read more

Afghanistan’s Taliban government said at least 400 people were killed by Pakistani airstrikes on a drug treatment hospital in Kabul, marking a dramatic escalation in the conflict between the neighbors.

The strikes destroyed large sections of the 2,000-bed rehabilitation facility, the Taliban government said. Media organizations like Agence ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The United Farm Workers union said it will not participate in celebrations of its founder Cesar Chavez amid what the union described as “troubling allegations” against the iconic Chicano figure.

The union, in a statement released Tuesday, did not detail the accusations against Chavez but said they were concerning enough for ...Read more