California targets companies with highly paid execs
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California is considering raising taxes on some of the country's largest companies, but the size of the tax increase would depend...
Murder indictments handed down in deadly Houston drug raid
HOUSTON — A grand jury has indicted two former Houston police officers — including one who is facing murder counts — for their roles in a deadly Janua...
House leaders march Trump impeachment articles to the Senate
WASHINGTON — In a dramatic procession across the U.S. Capitol, House Democrats carried the formal articles of impeachment against President Donald Tru...
Weinstein lawyers: ‘Circus’ atmosphere, juror tweets unfair
NEW YORK — As if picking a jury for Harvey Weinstein’s rape trial wasn’t complicated enough, some potential jurors have been posting on social media a...
Virgin Islands suit alleges decadeslong abuse by Epstein
HAVANA — A lawsuit filed by prosecutors in the Virgin Islands says multimillionaire sex offender Jeffery Epstein used two private islands in the U.S. ...
Small Iowa city agrees to plan for huge federal ghost town
KNOXVILLE, Iowa — After watching for more than a decade as a once busy Veterans Affairs campus deteriorated into a sprawling ghost town of crumbling b...
Leader of St. Louis black police union says racial bias real
ST. LOUIS — The president of a predominantly black St. Louis police union said Wednesday that the city prosecutor’s lawsuit is correct in pointing out...
Judge halts Trump’s order allowing states to block refugees
SILVER SPRING, Md. — A federal judge on Wednesday halted President Donald Trump's executive order that gave state and local officials the ability to s...
Crab fishermen survive harrowing capsize off Oregon coast
PORTLAND, Ore. — Three men were in good condition early Wednesday after being cut from inside the hull of a capsized crab boat off the Oregon coast. T...
News flash from Florida legislators: Telegraph era is over
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida lawmakers are transmitting a news bulletin: The telegraph era is over.
Judge revokes bail for Avenatti, cites new crime evidence
SANTA ANA, Calif. — A federal judge revoked bail Wednesday for attorney Michael Avenatti after prosecutors detailed evidence of new financial crimes h...
Crafting for critters: Australian fires prompt global effort
CONCORD, N.H. — Kyla Gill had never so much as touched a sewing machine or picked up a crochet hook two weeks ago. Now, she’s hooked on crafting for c...
Researchers tie massive Pacific seabird die-off to heat wave
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Common murres look like skinny penguins but fly like F-15 fighter jets.
New book shares early stories written by Zora Neale Hurston
NEW YORK — Sixty years after her death, the story of Zora Neale Hurston is still not fully told.
Virginia moves to brink of becoming 38th state to ratify ERA
RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia moved to the brink of becoming the crucial 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment on Wednesday, a momentous victory ...
Pressure building on rural north Mississippi dam
STARKVILLE, Miss. — A rain-swollen lake in rural north Mississippi rose at least a foot overnight, keeping heavy pressure on a dam that is in danger o...
Fever chart: Earth had its hottest decade on record in 2010s
WASHINGTON — The decade that just ended was by far the hottest ever measured on Earth, capped off by the second-warmest year on record, two U.S. agenc...
US firm offers free cybersecurity help to federal campaigns
WASHINGTON — A major U.S. web infrastructure and security company will provide free support to federal election campaigns to help thwart any repeats o...
US-China pact signing to ease tension but leaves much undone
WASHINGTON — After 18 months of economic combat, the United States and China are set to take a step toward peace Wednesday. At least for now.
Analysis: Dems strain for civility, contrasts burst through
WASHINGTON — Electability questions persist. Anxieties about gender and sexism are resurgent. And three leading candidates are about to get yanked off...
World shares slip on jitters over China-US trade deal
BANGKOK — World shares were mostly lower on Wednesday as conflicting reports raised concerns over the likely outcome of a trade deal to be signed by t...
Texas inmate faces execution for killing wife in 2005
HOUSTON — A Texas inmate with a history of violence against women is set to be executed Wednesday evening for fatally shooting his wife, who had feare...
Meat Loaf sues hotel, blaming negligence for disabling fall
FORT WORTH, Texas — Meat Loaf has filed a lawsuit against a hotel at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and organizers of a horror convention hel...
Priyanka Chopra Jonas joining Amazon’s spy series ‘Citadel’
PASADENA, Calif. — Priyanka Chopra Jonas will star opposite Richard Madden in the U.S. edition of “Citadel,” a drama series to be produced in conjunct...
Rights group says China is trying to silence critics abroad
The head of Human Rights Watch said Tuesday the Chinese government has not only constructed "an Orwellian high-tech surveillance state” at home but is...
Tennessee governor says he will sign anti-LGBT adoption bill
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee announced Tuesday that he'll sign into law a measure that would assure continued taxpayer funding of faith-...
Black prosecutors back Gardner, say they’ve faced resistance
ST. LOUIS — One day after St. Louis’ top prosecutor filed a federal lawsuit alleging a concerted and racist conspiracy to push her out of office, othe...
Census Bureau plans hundreds of ads in 13 languages for 2020
ORLANDO, Fla. — Faced with a changed media landscape from the last once-a-decade head count in 2010, U.S. Census Bureau officials unveiled a multi-mil...
Jury selection at Weinstein’s rape trial trudges forward
NEW YORK — A sixth day of jury selection at Harvey Weinstein's New York City rape trial ended Tuesday after another batch of prospective jurors told a...
Asians cringe at ‘Chinese restaurant syndrome’ in dictionary
A social media campaign backed by a Japanese seasonings company is targeting the persistent idea that Chinese food is packed with MSG and can make you...