The Health and Human Services Department is proposing new initiatives for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including a program to increase hepatitis B screening for pregnant women, as part of a broader push to restructure the agency, according to an internal document viewed by Bloomberg News.

Leading five of the 16 initiatives is...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Is it a gassy whale? A top secret submarine? Godzilla rising from the surfer-filled waters of Hermosa Beach?

Residents have been stumped over a patch of bubbles rising out of the ocean off the coast of Hermosa Beach this week, prompting several beachgoers to speculate at what exactly is under the surface and causing the water to...Read more

After attacking and demonizing each other incessantly during the New York City mayoral campaign, President Trump and Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani have agreed to meet at the White House on Friday.

In a post on his Truth Social site around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Trump said, “Communist Mayor of New York City, Zohran “Kwame” Mamdani, has asked ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The recent arrest of Capitol powerbroker Dana Williamson took Gov. Gavin Newsom completely by surprise, he said Wednesday in his first remarks since the U.S. Attorney’s Office indicted his former chief of staff on 23 counts of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, lying to the FBI, falsifying tax returns and ...Read more

Harvard University will undertake a new investigation into its ties to Jeffrey Epstein after correspondence between the late sex offender and the school’s former president was made public by U.S. lawmakers.

Following the disclosure, former Harvard President Larry Summers said that he would step back from public commitments. On Wednesday, a ...Read more

California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta spent nearly half a million dollars in campaign funds last year on personal attorneys to represent him as he spoke to federal investigators about alleged corruption in Oakland.

Bonta paid about $468,000 to law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati last year from his 2026 reelection campaign, according to campaign...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced Wednesday evening that he has signed legislation overwhelmingly approved by Congress that aims to compel the release of files related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump once again pointed a finger at Democratic lawmakers over the matter, saying,...Read more

WASHINGTON — House Republicans this year have pursued an aggressive oversight agenda for Washington, D.C., and they wasted little time returning to it after reopening the government.

On Wednesday the House passed two bills aimed at rolling back criminal justice laws, with help from a number of Democrats. One would require cash bail for ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani are set to meet at the White House on Friday, the president said in a social media post.

The meeting marks the first time the two leaders — and political polar opposites — will come together to discuss how they can work with each other since the election earlier this ...Read more

The Texas Department of Agriculture is warning horse owners to take precautions with their herds after an outbreak of a deadly virus after an event in Waco last week.

At least 18 equestrian events in North Texas and beyond have been canceled to control the spread of Equine Herpesvirus Type 1, including at the Fort Worth Stockyards. Visit Fort ...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. — First lady Melania Trump thanked roughly 1,500 Marines, sailors and airmen for their service Wednesday as Thanksgiving approaches, a greeting she offered after a visit to an on-base kindergarten, where the children wore ribbons for parents deployed overseas.

Trump spoke inside a hangar at Marine Corps Air Station New River, ...Read more

Hurricane Melissa caused nearly $9 billion in damage in Jamaica, making it the costliest storm ever to hit the island nation, according to newly released figures.

The preliminary estimate was released Wednesday as part of an assessment by the World Bank, in coordination with the Inter-American Development Bank. The storm’s $8.8 billion in ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Trump on Wednesday night signed into law legislation demanding that the Justice Department release all documents related to its investigation into sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

With little fanfare, the president announced the action in a lengthy social media post that attacked Democrats who have been linked to the late...Read more

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — With the U.S. Border Patrol continuing its sweep through Charlotte, work at some construction sites seem to be coming to a halt.

“There’s not a lot of workers outside,” said Kevin Rodriguez, who works for a local roofing company. “A lot of people didn’t show up. Maybe some of them are legal here and maybe some of ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Lawyers representing victims of the Palisades fire are seeking to depose Los Angeles firefighters to shed light on allegations that a California State Parks official restricted how the Los Angeles Fire Department handled an earlier blaze that reignited into the deadly firestorm that destroyed thousands of homes.

The Fire ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has tapped another Office of Management and Budget official to head a consumer protection agency the administration is trying to wind down, but the administration indicated Wednesday that OMB Director Russ Vought will remain in charge.

Trump nominated Stuart Levenbach, an OMB associate director, to become ...Read more

NEW YORK — NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch has accepted an offer from Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani to remain New York City’s top cop under his administration — a move that comes despite sharp differences in their outlooks on public safety.

In a Wednesday email to NYPD officers announcing she will stay on, Tisch hinted at those political ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Confronting increasing costs and decreasing state and federal funding, the University of California regents on Wednesday approved a tuition hike lauded by UC leaders but fiercely opposed by students.

The board voted to renew a controversial "tuition stability" program adopted five years ago that UC officials say provides long-...Read more