In an ancient star system expected to be stable and dormant, scientists found a 3 billion-year-old white dwarf star still tearing apart massive quantities of rock.

“The rate we’ve seen rock consumed by this star is very high,” said John Debes, an astronomer with the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore and a co-investigator on a...Read more

CHICAGO — Illinois residents will pay an average of 78% more across the state for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act exchange if Congress does not extend enhanced premium tax credits — the issue at the heart of the current government shutdown — state regulators said Monday.

Illinois residents who have health insurance ...Read more

LAS VEGAS — Federal rules prevent Nevada from funding a food program that helps feed half-a-million state residents, even as it’s slated to run out of money Saturday due to the government shutdown, Gov. Joe Lombardo wrote in a letter.

Nevada’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as SNAP, costs the federal government ...Read more

RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia lawmakers convened in the Capitol Monday for the start of an effort that opens the door to redistricting the state’s congressional seats.

Virginia Democrats are trying to pass a constitutional amendment to begin the process for redistricting. If they’re successful, congressional maps could be redrawn so that ...Read more

A judge in Utah said the 22-year-old man accused of killing conservative commentator Charlie Kirk can wear civilian clothes in court rather than his jail fatigues, but he’ll have to appear with some form of physical restraints.

A defense lawyer for Tyler James Robinson argued that allowing the suspect to appear in plain clothes was necessary ...Read more

LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan House must present nine bills passed from the last session to the governor for her signature, an appellate court panel ruled Monday.

The 2-1 decision out of the Michigan Court of Appeals found that the House had a constitutional obligation to present the bills, and it ordered a lower court to set a deadline by ...Read more

Hurricane Melissa, now a Category 5 monster, began its northwest turn Monday evening, churning toward Jamaica with what will likely be the most powerful winds ever recorded on the Caribbean island.

Melissa, which also is expected to dump several feet of rain, has already been blamed for a handful of deaths in Haiti and Jamaica, and the toll ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Congressional Republicans came out in force Thursday in support of a Treasury Department program that helps provide loans to low-income and underserved populations that traditional financial institutions usually don’t reach.

Treasury indicated earlier this month that it would cut 1,446 positions in a reduction in force related ...Read more

CHICAGO — Federal immigration agents have again been accused of violating a judge’s restraining order during a fracas in the Old Irving Park neighborhood over the weekend where residents were tackled and tear gassed as children prepared for a Halloween parade.

The incident in the 3700 block of North Kildare Avenue, where agents chased a day...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — A string of mild winters and scarce deer may have taken their toll on northern Minnesota’s wolves.

The wolf population in and around Voyageurs National Park dropped to roughly 100 this year, its lowest point in more than a decade, according to an annual survey from the Voyageur’s Wolf Project.

Researchers estimated there ...Read more

For many Californians, crab bakes, crab cakes and crab feeds are traditional holiday fare.

But the need to protect humpback whales in California’s coastal waters combined with widespread domoic acid contamination along the North Coast have put the brakes on the Dungeness commercial fishery and parts of the recreational fishery this fall.

...Read more

Electric vehicle advocates are bracing for the Trump administration’s anticipated reversal of the coupling more than a decade ago of vehicle fuel economy standards with EPA goals to reduce tailpipe emissions.

The Transportation Department’s upcoming rewrite of Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards — paired with the 2025 ...Read more

CHICAGO — Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Springfield lobbyist plans to lead a group of the mayor’s City Council allies to lobby the Illinois General Assembly on Tuesday for a corporate income tax hike and other long-shot demands for new revenue.

The proposals entail raising the corporate tax rate by 0.92%, imposing a new levy on digital ads and ...Read more

NEW YORK — Gov. Kathy Hochul Monday announced the state will provide $30 million in additional emergency food aid to prevent hunger for millions of New Yorkers facing a cutoff of federal food assistance this weekend as the government shutdown drags on with no end in sight.

Meeting with senior citizens and officials at an East Harlem community...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s plan to erect a massive ballroom where the White House’s historic East Wing once stood has reignited old questions about the power of the purse and new ones about an unchecked executive branch.

Trump asserts that the $300 million project for a 90,000-square-foot structure with “glass walls” will ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Monday to allow the removal of Shira Perlmutter as register of copyrights at the Library of Congress while a legal challenge to her firing works its way through the courts.

President Donald Trump fired Perlmutter in May, after he fired Carla Hayden as librarian of Congress in a ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Leaves are changing color, there’s a slight chill in the air, pumpkin-flavored products are lining the shelves — and canceled events are now another seasonal arrival.

As the government shutdown reaches almost a full month, annual fall traditions are being called off or postponed, and the shutdown holiday blame game has begun,...Read more

Hurricane Melissa spun into a Category 5 monster on Monday, churning toward Jamaica with what will likely be the most powerful winds ever recorded on the Caribbean island.

Melissa, which also is expected to dump several feet of rain, has already been blamed for a handful of deaths in Haiti and Jamaica and the toll will almost certainly rise. ...Read more

The Nicolás Maduro regime says Venezuela has captured a group of alleged mercenaries with ties to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and accused Washington and Trinidad and Tobago of coordinating military exercises intended to provoke an armed confrontation in the Caribbean.

In a statement released Sunday by Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Indiana Gov. Mike Braun on Monday called the state’s Legislature back for a redistricting session starting next week, the latest Republican-controlled state to do so amid a flurry of mid-decade congressional map-drawing this year.

The special session, set to start Nov. 3, would allow the state to redraw its nine House seats, ...Read more