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 up north roadways.

Multiple roadways and small bridges were washed away by floodwaters from Grand Traverse County on Lake Michigan to Presque Isle County on...Read more

The top U.S. derivatives regulator is investigating a series of suspiciously well-timed trades in the oil futures market ahead of recent policy pivots by President Donald Trump related to the war in Iran, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is leading the probe into trading of oil futures ...Read more

Donald Trump’s bid to block Iran from using the Strait of Hormuz chokes a key Chinese energy supply and risks a showdown with Xi Jinping a month before the two leaders are set to meet in Beijing.

Xi broke his near seven-week silence over the Iran war on Tuesday, warning the world order is “crumbling into disarray,” while pledging to play ...Read more

The U.S. and Iran are considering a two-week ceasefire extension to allow more time to negotiate a peace deal, according to a person familiar with the matter, reducing the risk of a resumption of fighting despite an intensifying standoff over the Strait of Hormuz.

With the initial truce due to expire next week, mediators between the warring ...Read more

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday delayed a planned special session on redistricting by one week, while simultaneously expanding the agenda to include a revived push for artificial intelligence regulations and vaccine discussions.

In a proclamation issued Wednesday evening, DeSantis said he was pushing back the special ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Senate voted to table impeachment proceedings against Fayette Circuit Judge Julie Muth Goodman but vowed to return to the issue if a judicial oversight commission does not act on misconduct accusations against the judge on the final day of session.

On Wednesday morning, the Senate impeachment committee voted to table ...Read more

CHICAGO — Former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore and retired lobbyist Michael McClain were released from federal prison Wednesday, but their freedom comes with a future that remains uncertain.

A day after an appeals court said it would reverse their convictions in the “ComEd Four” conspiracy case and ordered them freed “forthwith,” ...Read more

Donald Trump’s bid to block Iran from using the Strait of Hormuz chokes a key Chinese energy supply and risks a showdown with Xi Jinping a month before the two leaders are set to meet in Beijing.

Xi broke his near seven-week silence over the Iran war on Tuesday, warning the world order is “crumbling into disarray,” while pledging to play ...Read more

NEW YORK — SantaCon is led by a conman who siphoned more than a million dollars raised for charity during the yearly crimson plague of drunken revelry — a grinch who “stole Christmas from tens of thousands of victims,” federal prosecutors in Manhattan charged Wednesday.

Suspected Bad Santa Stefan Pildes pleaded not guilty to wire ...Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Three San Jose residents backed by a national justice nonprofit have filed a federal lawsuit alleging that the city’s vast network of automated license-plate reader cameras violate the Constitution by subjecting citizens to nonstop warrantless surveillance.

The Wednesday filing, helmed on behalf of the plaintiffs by the ...Read more

ST. PAUL, Minn. — A Republican-backed proposal that would have set up the framework for impeachment proceedings for Democratic Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison over fraud concerns failed to pass in a House committee on Wednesday.

There was little chance of the resolution passing in the tied House, where it was defeated on an 8...Read more

Actor Ruby Rose's public allegations of sexual assault against pop star Katy Perry have made their way to Australian officials, days after the former raised her claims on social media.

A spokesperson for the Victoria Police in Australia confirmed in a statement to The Times on Wednesday that its Melbourne Sexual Offences and Child Abuse ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Sen. Thom Tillis didn’t hold back his opinion of President Donald Trump posting an image of himself as Jesus or attacking Pope Leo.

Early Monday, Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself dressed in a white robe with a red shawl draped over it. Jesus is often depicted wearing the same garments in Western art, a symbol of ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans again fended off a Democratic attempt to force President Donald Trump to end the war in Iran, but there are signs GOP anxiety could bubble up as the conflict nears the 60-day mark.

The Senate on Wednesday voted 47-52 against a motion to discharge from the Foreign Relations Committee a joint resolution from Sen....Read more

A Republican lawmaker on Wednesday introduced a resolution declaring a recent Kentucky Supreme Court ruling that halted impeachment against a Lexington judge unconstitutional.

The resolution, introduced by state Rep. John Blanton, R-Salyersville, on the last day of Kentucky’s legislative session, called a recent high court ruling that stopped...Read more

WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued a rare public apology for criticism she levied toward Brett Kavanaugh during a speaking appearance.

“At a recent appearance at the University of Kansas School of Law, I referred to a disagreement with one of my colleagues in a prior case, but I made remarks that were inappropriate,�...Read more

BALTIMORE —Maryland lawmakers probably face this question every January at the start of the General Assembly session: What can we bring home to our constituents in April to justify those 90 days in Annapolis?

This year, the question loomed particularly large for two reasons: The spiking utility bills that stand in for a broader affordability ...Read more

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Four people stranded on a Bering Sea ice floe for nearly two days were rescued Sunday via helicopter, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

The Coast Guard said in a Wednesday statement that it rescued a subsistence seal hunting party of three adults and one child about 10 miles west of the Western Alaska community of Chefornak on ...Read more

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