World

Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency Wednesday as the H5N1 bird flu virus moved from the Central Valley to Southern California dairy herds, while federal officials confirmed the first U.S. case of severe illness in a hospitalized Louisiana patient — a concerning development as the virus continues to spread throughout the nation via…

The day Joe Biden faced reality, stepped aside and cleared the way for Kamala Harris to replace him atop the Democratic ticket, Teja Smith felt a mix of exhilaration and dread. Smith, who runs a social media firm in Los Angeles, had been working particularly hard of late, so she treated herself to a daylong…

CHOWCHILLA, Calif. —  Gazing across the crowd of women, fresh from county jail in their orange prison jumpsuits, Lena Coleman wishes she could save them all. And it’s her job to try. In July, after 20 years in prison for attempted murder and a gun enhancement, Coleman, 47, became one of three dozen prisoners at the…

A former Green Beret who drove an explosives-laden Tesla Cybertruck to Las Vegas and detonated its payload at Trump International Hotel left a suicide note saying the spectacle was intended as a “wake up call” for America and was not intended as an act of terrorism, according to authorities. “This was not a terrorist attack,”…

DAMASCUS, Syria —  The crowd surged forward, thousands cheering, waving and jostling their way around Damascus’ Al Ashmar Square, all positioning themselves for the best view of a hanging. “Hurry up,” a mother scolded her child as they walked along the roadside. “We don’t want to be late.” A fire truck approached, spurring a chorus of…

President-elect Donald Trump ushered in the new year in familiar fashion — using a news event in an attempt to build his case for tougher enforcement of the nation’s southern border, a change he said is crucial to stop violent criminals from flooding into the U.S. After a pickup truck driver mowed down dozens of…

Alcoholic drinks are a leading cause of cancer and should carry a warning about that risk on their label, the U.S. Surgeon General said Friday. Alcohol is a factor in nearly 100,000 newly diagnosed cancers each year and roughly 20,000 deaths from the disease, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said in an advisory intended to…

WASHINGTON —  Friday was the first day of work for California’s nine new House members, and their first order of business involved typical congressional chaos, as Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) narrowly won reelection to his role after almost losing the first round of voting. The nine new representatives — all Democrats, including three who flipped Republican…

WASHINGTON —  The Air Force lieutenant colonel left the Pentagon one day and returned the next — with a new name and a new gender identity. Bree Fram remembers the atmosphere in 2020 as welcoming and supportive. Her colleagues brought cookies. When the Pentagon officially changed her gender in employment records, she felt her journey was…

To look back over the politics of the past year is to see a preview of the coming one. It’s not pretty. Donald Trump, as president again, will of course dominate the news in 2025, but he did so as well in 2024 (and as far back as I can remember, it seems). A year…