SAN DIEGO — Heading into the final months of this year, residents in the San Diego area should prepare for a potentially combustible peak wildfire season.

“The outlook is not good,” Cal Fire/San Diego County Fire Chief Tony Mecham said Wednesday, citing a lack of rain in recent months that has left vegetation parched. “The fuels are ...Read more

NEW YORK — Mayor Adams Wednesday called on the City Council to pass legislation that would wind down the carriage horse industry in New York, while instructing city agencies to prepare for a ban of the iconic symbols of Central Park.

“I’m calling on the City Council to do what they should have done long ago: end the horse carriage ...Read more

Former Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor announced Wednesday he is running for governor, becoming the 10th Republican to enter the race.

Taylor resigned his post as attorney general last month after serving in the position since 2021. He is the second former member of Gov. Mike Dunleavy's cabinet to enter the race.

Dunleavy is termed out ...Read more

DENVER — The 18-year-old Evergreen High School student who was wounded during a shooting at the school last week warned fellow students about the attack as it unfolded, his uncle said in a video statement released Wednesday by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.

Matthew Silverstone remains in critical condition after the shooting and may...Read more

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein visited Capitol Hill Wednesday, meeting with federal officials to ask for additional funding for Helene relief.

“Everybody cares desperately about what happened in Western North Carolina,” Stein said in an exclusive interview with McClatchy at the Capitol. “I want to make sure I do everything we can to help ...Read more

Gov. Gavin Newsom and other California defenders often argue that the Golden State subsidizes other states – particularly Republican-run ones – by sending more tax dollars to the federal government than it gets back.

“Californians pay (President Donald) Trump’s bills,” Newsom’s office declared in June, citing reports that California...Read more

HOWELL, Mich. — Vice President JD Vance offered to ship National Guard troops to Detroit during a Wednesday rally at a Livingston County stamping plant.

"Gretchen, we are happy to send the National Guard to Detroit, Michigan," Vance said, referencing Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Vance added: "Part of making this country work for you all...Read more

Gov. Gavin Newsom has responded to a social media post from President Trump saying the state was nearing approval of low-income housing in Pacific Palisades following January's firestorm, writing the claim is a "lie."

On Tuesday, Trump took to Truth Social to say Newsom was "in the final stages of approval to build low income housing in Pacific...Read more

NORFOLK, Va. — Members of the Virginia National Guard were mobilized this week to support the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Guard said.

Guard troops are getting prepped and trained and are scheduled to report for duty at ICE field offices by the end of the week. Additional troops are scheduled to mobilize later this month, up ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers sparred with FBI Director Kash Patel on Wednesday over his handling of investigative materials related to disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and whether his posture changed because President Donald Trump’s name appeared in them.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top-ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary ...Read more

Charlie Kirk’s legacy of helping President Donald Trump win re-election and engaging young conservatives stems from his physical and virtual proximity to Gen Z.

The 31-year-old right-wing political activist who was killed last week while speaking at Utah Valley University was known for his presence on college campuses. That was both through ...Read more

The director of the FBI seemed not to remember one of the worst mass shooting attacks in South Carolina history or recognize the name of the white supremacist his agency helped put on federal death row during a congressional hearing on Wednesday.

FBI Director Kash Patel was testifying before the House Judiciary Committee, answering questions ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — When scores of dead and dying sea animals began washing up on L.A.-area beaches just weeks after January’s devastating fires, the timing seemed suspicious.

Harmful algae blooms had sickened marine life in each of the three years prior. But the especially high number of animal deaths this year prompted several research teams to...Read more

The report card is in — and the results are not good.

A new Gallup poll reveals the share of Americans who are satisfied with the country’s K-12 education system has tumbled to a record low, driven largely by declining support among Democrats.

At the same time, most Americans believe schools are heading in the wrong direction, while few ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — U.S. Border Patrol Sector Chief Gregory Bovino — the brash agent who led a phalanx of military personnel into MacArthur Park this summer — was called as a witness Wednesday in a federal misdemeanor assault case against a protester, who allegedly struck a federal agent.

Bovino, one of the faces of President Trump’s ...Read more

Massachusetts Republican gubernatorial candidates say public employees who appear to celebrate Charlie Kirk’s assassination should be fired, while Gov. Maura Healey called for the political temperature to be lowered.

Mike Kennealy and Brian Shortsleeve, GOP candidates for governor, and Healey are making their stances after the Massachusetts ...Read more

BOISE, Idaho — Public school advocates Wednesday announced plans to sue Idaho over a new state law that directs money to private school tuition and fees.

An alliance of groups, including the Idaho Education Association, at a news conference said it will file a petition in the Idaho Supreme Court that asks the justices to prohibit the tax ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — An Orange County Superior Court judge was sentenced Wednesday to 35 years to life in prison for fatally shooting his wife during a “drunken argument,” according to prosecutors.

Jeffrey Ferguson, 74, was convicted in April of fatally shooting his 65-year-old wife, Sheryl, during a fight over money at their Anaheim Hills home ...Read more