SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass returned to Sacramento Wednesday to lobby state leaders for money to help close the city’s nearly $1 billion budget hole.

This is Bass’ second visit to the state Capitol in as many months — a homecoming of sorts for a former Assembly speaker who helped navigate the state’s 2009 budget ...Read more

The Trump administration is considering reducing tariffs on auto parts ahead of a May 3 deadline that has drawn the ire of global carmakers, according to the Financial Times.

The proposal would exempt car parts from tariffs President Donald Trump has levied on imports from China to stop fentanyl production, people familiar with the plan told ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump will sign around a half-dozen executive actions aimed at overhauling higher education, expanding the administration’s efforts to put its imprint on colleges and universities across the U.S.

One order directs the education secretary to review higher education accreditation services that certify the ...Read more

A forest wildfire in Ocean County just miles from the Shore had ballooned to at least 13,250 acres, but its growth had slowed Wednesday evening, according to state officials.

The fire could become New Jersey’s largest in 20 years, Shawn LaTourette, the commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection, said at a news conference...Read more

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Gov. Wes Moore is “not planning” on traveling to El Salvador to see Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man who was mistakenly deported, he said Wednesday.

“This is not about immigration — this is about due process, and are we going to follow the Constitution or not?” he told reporters in Annapolis when asked about ...Read more

Internet crime cost U.S. consumers $16.6 billion in 2024 — an increase of more than 30% compared to the previous year — and seniors were hit the hardest with a $4.8 billion loss, the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced Wednesday.

The staggering numbers are reflected in the FBI’s annual internet crime report, which analyzed ...Read more

MIAMI — In the wake of the devastating mass shooting at Florida State University last week, former Broward County School Board member and current Florida Board of Education member Daniel Foganholi calls for a controversial solution: allowing students and professors to carry guns on campus.

Foganholi, a Republican from Coral Springs, published...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is planning to travel to Michigan on Tuesday, according to two Republican sources briefed on his plans. It would be the president's first visit to the battleground state since winning the November election.

The White House has not confirmed the trip and did not immediately respond to a request for comment ...Read more

A woman wearing a motorcycle helmet and waving a sword at an Indiana police officer stole his car and led authorities on a chase that ended violently in Kentucky, officials say.

A Chandler police officer was responding to a reckless driver call at about 9 a.m. Monday, April 21, in Warrick County when they first encountered the suspect, Indiana ...Read more

FRESNO, Calif. — After months of anxiety over the possibility that mass deportations could cripple the San Joaquin Valley’s multibillion-dollar agriculture industry, President Trump has signaled that he may be open to relaxing the rules for some undocumented workers.

During an April 10 cabinet meeting, Trump said he would be open to giving ...Read more

DETROIT — A 32-year-old Venezuelan national who was deported last month following his attempt in January to enter the United States through the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel was flown to El Salvador after he was identified as a member of the Tren de Aragua gang who had violated an immigration order, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland ...Read more

WASHINGTON — A dozen states filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday challenging the Trump administration’s imposition of sweeping tariffs, arguing the president trampled on Congress’ powers to raise taxes.

The complaint filed by Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Confronted with fresh warnings from financial markets, business leaders and top advisers, President Donald Trump this week eased off on two of his frequent punching bags: Jerome Powell and China.

Trump entered office with a steadfast desire to reshape the global economy. But his resolve has appeared to waver in the face of ...Read more

NEW YORK — A climate protester was arrested Wednesday for spray-painting a sign inside Trump Tower in Manhattan.

Video of the incident shows a light-haired man wearing a black T-shirt and black pants spraying “USA” in green paint over the center of a mock Presidential Seal plaque that reads “President of the United States” at the top,...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said that imposing a higher tax rate on millionaires would spur the country’s richest to leave the U.S., downplaying an idea that is under discussion in some Republican circles as a way to pay for an economic package.

“I think it would be very disruptive because the millionaires would leave the country,...Read more

NEW YORK — The ailing and jailed film producer Harvey Weinstein was once a titan of industry who preyed upon young women in a “profoundly psychological” manner while holding their dreams in his hands, a jury heard in opening statements Wednesday at his Manhattan rape and sexual assault retrial.

Five years after Weinstein’s landmark ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Senate Democratic Whip Richard J. Durbin of Illinois announced Wednesday that he would not seek reelection next year, opening up a safely blue seat that’s likely to spark a competitive Democratic primary.

“The decision of whether to run for reelection has not been easy. I truly love the job of being a United States senator,�...Read more

Defense Secretary and former Fox News host Pete Hegseth reportedly ordered a makeup studio to be installed in the Pentagon so he can freshen up for TV appearances.

The vanity project was initially planned to cost taxpayers $40,000 before being scaled back, according to CBS News.

Hegseth’s powder area is reportedly located inside a green room...Read more

CHICAGO — Jurors on Wednesday told the judge overseeing the federal corruption trial of state Sen. Emil Jones III that they may be approaching a deadlock in their deliberations.

In a note late in its second full day of talks, the panel wrote to U.S. Judge Andrea Wood that it may not be able to agree on two counts, those alleging bribery and ...Read more