Monday night’s EF-2 tornado had just plowed through four blocks of Ottawa, Kansas, ripping off roofs and demolishing buildings as the storm muscled its way east.

Twenty-five miles later, at the Shady Acres R.V. Park in Hillsdale, a twister descended, lifting and tossing and spinning mobile homes like Lego pieces.

“Then we could see the ...Read more

DENVER — An alert from Denver’s gunshot detection system prompted police officers to swarm a Montbello woman’s 70th birthday party with guns drawn and detain Black partygoers for close to an hour — even though the ShotSpotter alert was 20 minutes old, for a neighboring address and was likely triggered by fireworks, according to a new ...Read more

NEW YORK — New York families sounded off at a public hearing Tuesday night over a plan to launch the city’s first public high school focused on artificial intelligence ahead of a key vote later this month.

The school, Next Generation Technology High School, is expected to open this fall in Lower Manhattan, pending approval by the city’s ...Read more

CHICAGO — Illinoisans trying to escape domestic violence sought help in record numbers in 2025, according to a new report from the organization that runs the state’s domestic violence assistance hotline.

Almost 70,000 people from all over the state seeking assistance with shelter, emotional support, legal help and other services contacted ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento teacher who was removed from her position after allegedly allowing students to wield hammers and a crowbar to help her tear up classroom carpet last year is suing her employer for sex- and race-based discrimination, retaliation, emotional distress and defamation.

In her complaint, former Phoebe Hearst ...Read more

WASHINGTON — With a fragile ceasefire set to expire with Iran in a matter of days, President Donald Trump is still deciding between diplomacy and a resumption of fighting that may ultimately hinge on his definition of victory.

Negotiations have continued over the last week between the warring sides over a potential agreement that would end ...Read more

BALTIMORE — Baltimore Inspector General Isabel Mercedes Cumming is pushing back on the city’s request to disqualify her attorneys in a lawsuit against City Hall, arguing that Baltimore officials are attempting to curtail her authority.

In a Tuesday filing in Baltimore Circuit Court, attorneys for Cumming argue that the independent Office of...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — A divided Minnesota Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that state law enforcement violated the rights of a Minneapolis man convicted of murder because a warrant that obtained data from Google to identify him as a suspect was overly broad.

Lawsuits around the country have tested the constitutionality of geofence warrants — which law...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The National Park Service broke the law when it greenlit a mining operations in the Mojave National Preserve amid a long-running dispute with agency officials that took an abrupt turn when President Donald Trump took office, alleges a lawsuit filed Wednesday by the National Parks Conservation Association.

"Mojave National ...Read more

WASHINGTON — For the fourth time since the war in Iran began, Democratic U.S. Sen. John Fetterman joined nearly every Republican on Wednesday to help kill an effort to restrict the president’s attacks in the Middle East.

The vote on the measure took place roughly a week after Trump threatened to eliminate Iran’s “whole civilization,” ...Read more

NEW YORK — SantaCon is run by a conman who siphoned millions of dollars meant for New York charities, federal prosecutors in Manhattan charged Wednesday — describing the leader of the annual crimson plague as a grinch who “stole Christmas from tens of thousands of victims.”

Stefan Pildes was charged with wire fraud in an unsealed ...Read more

Democratic lawmakers are facing questions about ties to disgraced ex-Rep. Eric Swalwell, who was able to rise through the political ranks even as some say his ugly behavior to women was considered an open secret on Capitol Hill.

New York Rep. Dan Goldman of Manhattan and Rep. Josh Riley, who represents a Catskills district, both returned ...Read more

NEW YORK — Three dozen young members from two warring Brooklyn gangs have been indicted for unleashing a wave of broad-daylight gun violence in Brownsville — killing one and wounding 10 others, and sending children scrambling in playgrounds and housing complex courtyards.

The violent rivalry between the WOOO and CHOO gangs has raged for ...Read more

DETROIT — Heavy spring rainfall and lingering melt-off of winter snow and inland lake ice have left much of Michigan's northern Lower Peninsula awash in water this week, wreaking havoc on roadways.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has placed the entire state under an energy emergency as some residents in northern Michigan have been urged to ...Read more

CHICAGO — A suburban Chicago man pleaded guilty Wednesday to a felony charge stemming from a traffic altercation with Border Patrol agents in Brighton Park in October, marking the first federal conviction involving the protests and unrest sparked by Operation Midway Blitz.

Anthony Gonzalez Alvarez, 27, of Lyons, entered his plea to one count ...Read more

President Donald Trump on Wednesday posted a controversial AI-generated image of himself and Jesus Christ just a day after he yanked a meme that appeared to depict him as the holy man amid widespread criticism.

Trump re-posted an image depicting Jesus blessing him, which was first posted by a right-wing Republican candidate for a Boston ...Read more

MIAMI — A Miami woman called a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier a racial slur and tried to hit her with her SUV, police said.

The carrier was delivering mail around 4:25 p.m. Tuesday on the 1000 block of Northwest 18th Place when she was allegedly confronted by 34-year-old Lourdes Maria Portugues.

Portugues’ child went up to the carrier to...Read more

SAN DIEGO — For some cross-border students living in Tijuana, the daily commute to school means sacrificing hours of sleep to wait in line at the often unpredictable border crossing to make it to class in San Diego on time. But that could soon change for eligible higher education students.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is now accepting ...Read more

The lakes, streams and ponds you’ve visited for years are likely looking more brown than they used to. And people who are fishing those waters are likely catching different species and sizes of fish than in the past.

Our research has identified a link between those two developments, which means that trout, bass, perch and whitefish ...Read more