By LEAH WILLINGHAM Associated Press CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey issued a slew of aggressive executive orders on his first full day as West Virginia's chief executive Tuesday, including one enabling families to receive religious exemptions from required school ...

By KATE PAYNE Associated Press/Report for America TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida state lawmaker has filed a bill that would ban some public colleges and universities from admitting immigrants who are in the country without legal permission. The proposal comes the day after Gov. Ron ...

By OLIVIA DIAZ Associated Press/Report for America RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The Virginia House of Delegates passed resolutions on Tuesday enshrining rights to abortion, voting and marriage equality in a critical step for Democrats hoping to amend the state's constitution next year. The ...

By JONEL ALECCIA AP Health Writer A California man whose two cats died after drinking raw milk recalled for bird flu risk says he meant to keep his beloved pets healthy, but his efforts tragically backfired. "It's horrible when you realize that you're the one that actually gave them the ...

By SARAH PARVINI AP Technology Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed an ambitious executive order on artificial intelligence that seeks to ensure the infrastructure needed for advanced AI operations, such as large-scale data centers and new clean power ...

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — As President-elect Donald Trump plans bold moves for his first days in office, so too are conservative lawmakers in Wyoming, the first state where Trump-friendly Freedom Caucus members have won control of a statehouse chamber. It marks a big test for the Freedom Caucus ...

By MAE ANDERSON AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The tax deadline for some small businesses affected by severe weather in 2024 is drawing near, the IRS is reminding owners. Small businesses in all or parts of 14 states and 2 territories that received extensions to file their 2023 ...

By MICHAEL PHILLIS Associated Press Harmful chemicals in sewage sludge that is spread on pasture land as fertilizer are causing cancer, the Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday. The risk is highest for people who regularly consume milk, beef and other products from farms where it ...

By ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE Associated Press ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul pitched voters on a series of populist economic policies — floating proposals to hand out free money, slash taxes and fight hedge funds — in a speech Tuesday aimed at cleaning up the kitchen table ...

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Former first lady Michelle Obama will skip the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, the second time in two weeks that she is not attending a gathering of former U.S. leaders and their spouses, but former ...

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER, ERIC TUCKER and COLLEEN LONG Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Jack Smith said his team "stood up for the rule of law" as it investigated President-elect Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, writing in a ...

By SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin's Democratic governor on Tuesday created a new office dedicated to preventing gun violence, a month after a school shooting not far from the state Capitol and an idea that drew immediate opposition from Republicans who said ...

By JACK DURA Associated Press BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota could become the first state to eventually end property taxes on people's homes under a proposal from the state's new governor that combines conservative fiscal policy with the state's enormous oil wealth. The plan by ...

By SARA CLINE Associated Press BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Before plowing a pickup truck into a crowd of New Year's revelers in New Orleans, killing 14 people, the man who carried out the Islamic State group-inspired attack had researched how to access a balcony on the city's famed Bourbon ...

By LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Pete Hegseth tried to convince members of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that he should be the next secretary of defense, as lawmakers peppered him with questions about his character and views on a range of military ...

By ERIC TUCKER and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Less than a week before President-elect Donald Trump is sworn into office, a report from special counsel Jack Smith is refocusing attention on the brazen steps he took to cling to power at the conclusion of his ...

NEW YORK (AP) — The Biden administration on Tuesday released a "roadmap" for maintaining government defenses against infectious diseases, just as President-elect Donald Trump pledges to dismantle some of them. The 16-page report recaps steps taken in the last four years against COVID-19, ...

By MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — A former Northeastern University employee who lied to the FBI about a package blowing up in his arms at the Boston campus has been sentenced to just over a year in prison for the hoax. Jason Duhaime, 47, from San Antonio, Texas, was ...

By COLLEEN LONG Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The last time Joe Biden packed up and left office, he took with him thousands of papers from his decades in public service — including some classified documents that should have gone to the National Archives for safekeeping. That move ...

By BRITTANY PETERSON Associated Press As fires continue to burn across Los Angeles, several utilities have declared their drinking water unsafe until extensive testing can prove otherwise. A warmer, drier climate means wildfires are getting worse, and encroaching on cities — with ...