WASHINGTON — A federal court has blocked Texas from moving forward with a new congressional map hastily drawn in recent months to net Republicans up to five additional seats in the U.S. House of Representatives in next year’s midterm elections.

The ruling on Tuesday is a major political blow to the Trump administration, which set off a ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The FBI has read or listened to Washington, D.C., and Sacramento lobbyists’ conversations as part of an ongoing corruption investigation that has so far ensnared Dana Williamson, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s former chief of staff, former Deputy State Attorney General Sean McCluskie and lobbyist Greg Campbell, according to ...Read more

WASHINGTON — A panel of federal judges on Tuesday blocked Texas from using its new congressional map in next year’s midterm elections, saying the new lines were likely unconstitutional racial gerrymanders.

The 2-1 opinion from Judge Jeffrey V. Brown of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, joined by Judge David C. ...Read more

NEW YORK — Former City Hall aide Mohamed Bahi was sentenced Tuesday to three years probation for helping funnel bogus donations into Mayor Eric Adams’ 2021 campaign coffers.

In handing down the sentence, Judge Dale Ho said during a hearing in Manhattan Federal Court that the “elephant in the room” was the fact that President Donald ...Read more

NetChoice, a tech trade association representing companies such as Google, YouTube and Meta, is suing Virginia over a state law that limits how much time kids can spend on social media platforms. The law passed with unanimous support in both chambers this past legislative session.

Set to take effect Jan. 1, the law requires social media ...Read more

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives on Tuesday overwhelmingly passed a bill demanding the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files on Tuesday after President Donald Trump abruptly reversed his strident opposition while still maintaining the scandal is a “Democrat hoax.”

Hours after a group of Epstein’s victims made another ...Read more

BALTIMORE — Maryland lawmakers blasted the latest Francis Scott Key Bridge rebuild projections Tuesday, after transportation officials revealed the estimates have nearly tripled since last spring and the timeline has been delayed to late 2030.

The original budget for the Key Bridge rebuild, now between $4.3 and $5.2 billion, was between $1.7 ...Read more

NEW YORK — City Comptroller Brad Lander on Tuesday chose to proceed to trial — and risk a possible jail stint — following his arrest for trying to inspect conditions under which the Trump administration is detaining migrants at 26 Federal Plaza.

Following several hours of mediation talks at Manhattan federal court Tuesday, prosecutors ...Read more

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — There are tall, pointy metal tubes aplenty at Port Canaveral, but one is extra large.

The first-ever recovered first-stage booster for Blue Origin’s massive New Glenn rocket arrived to the port Tuesday morning five days after its launch from nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Launch Complex 36 on the NG-2 ...Read more

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump said Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman “knew nothing about” the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, as the pair met to announce a deepening of economic ties at the White House.

“A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about,” Trump ...Read more

The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved legislation Tuesday that marks the first step in releasing the government’s criminal case files involving sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

The Department of Justice has kept most of the files under seal for almost two decades — since 2007 when the FBI and U.S. attorney’s office in ...Read more

BOISE, Idaho — Idaho election officials said they’re investigating missing votes in Elmore County after noticing a discrepancy in the November election tallies.

Elmore County notified the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office on Friday that it found a difference between the number of ballots cast and the number of people who voted in the Nov....Read more

BALTIMORE — Saying the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge was entirely preventable, the National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday detailed breakdowns both on board the Dali container ship that crashed into it and a lack of a warning system that could have alerted the construction workers to drive to safety rather than plunge to ...Read more

With Jeffrey Epstein’s reputation in tatters following a 2018 Miami Herald investigation into his sex crimes — and how he evaded serious consequences — the financier hit on a plan: He would produce a documentary to present himself in a favorable light.

He had several ideas about who could appear on it and provide favorable testimonies, ...Read more

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The U.S. Border Patrol arrested over 200 people between Saturday and Monday since armed federal agents wearing masks and paramilitary gear arrived in Charlotte over the weekend, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.

That’s up from the 130 the department said it made in its first two days in ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The longstanding fight to demand the Justice Department release all documents tied to its investigation of late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein shifted to the Senate on Tuesday after the transparency bill passed the House in a near-unanimous vote.

Senate Republicans are now weighing what to do next as they face pressure ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The House is poised to vote overwhelmingly on Tuesday to demand the Justice Department release all documents tied to its investigation of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

President Donald Trump, who initially worked to thwart the vote before reversing course on Sunday night, has said he will sign the measure if ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA - The turning point in Pennsylvania’s budget impasse, by Gov. Josh Shapiro’s telling, came just before Halloween, when he and leaders in Harrisburg gathered in his stately, wood-paneled office to meet twice daily to hash out a deal to end the bitter, monthslong stalemate.

The long grind eventually led to compromises 135 days in...Read more

WASHINGTON — It was a somber scene as more than a dozen women gathered outside the Capitol on Tuesday to share their stories of abuse ahead of a long-awaited vote.

Holding up photos of themselves at the ages they first met Jeffrey Epstein, survivors spoke one by one and called on the Trump administration to commit to releasing documents held ...Read more