United States — Fire departments across multiple states responded to several residential, brush and vacant-building fires this week, displacing residents and prompting investigations. On Tuesday through Saturday, crews extinguished blazes in Fall River, Fort Madison, Tulia, Montgomery County, Munfordville, San Diego, San Francisco, Springfield, Albany, Champaign and Knoxville, evacuating occupants...
Boston — A federal court on Thursday ordered restoration of FEMA's Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grant program, ruling the administration unlawfully terminated its funding. Judge Richard Stearns sided with a coalition of state attorneys general, finding the executive branch lacked authority to divert Congress-appropriated funds. The order requires FEMA...
Washington — President Donald Trump on December 12 signed an executive order directing the federal government to preempt state artificial intelligence regulations and establish a unified national framework. The order instructs the attorney general to form an AI Litigation Task Force to challenge state laws, directs the Commerce Department to...
United States. Meteorologists across regions warned that a fast-moving cold front will bring an arctic blast beginning Sunday and continuing into Monday, prompting First Alert Weather Days and advisories. Forecasts issued Friday predict falling temperatures, gusty winds, single-digit wind chills in some areas, and localized snowfall or wintry mix where...
Washington state officials declared a statewide emergency Wednesday after atmospheric rivers and heavy rain caused widespread flooding across the region. Governor Bob Ferguson activated the National Guard, warned that the Skagit River could rise above previous records, and asked FEMA for expedited assistance. National Weather Service forecasts described the threat...
Little Rock, Arkansas—The Arkansas Educational Television Commission voted this week to disaffiliate from PBS, effective July 1, 2026, citing roughly $2.5 million annual PBS membership dues and an equivalent loss in federal Corporation for Public Broadcasting funding. The network will rebrand as Arkansas TV and plans expanded local programming while...
Orlando, Orange County investigators closed the probe into the Sept. 17 death of 32-year-old Kevin Rodriguez Zavala at Universal’s Epic Universe, ruling the incident accidental and finding no criminal conduct. Deputies reviewed security video, sworn statements, medical examiner findings and Epic Universe’s standard operating procedures. The report notes Zavala sustained...
Mount Vernon, Washington — An atmospheric river brought days of torrential rain this week that swelled rivers, overtopped floodplains and prompted statewide emergency declarations. Gov. Bob Ferguson declared a state of emergency Thursday as tens of thousands received evacuation orders, including about 78,000 in the Skagit River floodplain and roughly...
United States. Multiple publicly traded companies reported quarterly financial results this week, with mixed outcomes. Netskope posted a fiscal third-quarter GAAP loss of $453.1 million but beat adjusted-per-share estimates and revenue forecasts. RH, Broadcom, Quanex and Mitek released respective quarterly results, with Broadcom reporting $8.52 billion net income and revenue...
TRENTON, New Jersey. Governor Phil Murphy declared state of emergency this Thursday after a service interruption at a propane distribution facility in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania disrupted deliveries and threatened winter heating supplies. The executive order, effective at 9 a.m. Friday, temporarily relaxes federal hours-of-service limits for commercial carriers moving propane,...
