The first major atmospheric river storm to hit the West Coast this season is kicking off the rainy season with a bang, as the system rapidly strengthened — to the tune of a bomb cyclone — before pummeling Northern California and southern Oregon with dangerous winds and heavy rains that could cause disruptions for several days.

Supercharged ...Read more

NEW YORK — U.S. prosecutors charged Gautam Adani, one of the world’s richest people, with participating in a scheme that involved promising to pay more than $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure solar energy contracts.

Prosecutors in Brooklyn alleged on Wednesday that Adani and other defendants lied about the plan...Read more

SEATTLE — Hours after a massive windstorm howled with gusts up to 74 mph in the lowlands, crews in Western Washington were working Wednesday to restore electricity for over 640,000 customers who lost power overnight.

At least two people have died.

One died when wind toppled a tree at a Lynnwood homeless encampment Tuesday night. And another ...Read more

BOSTON — Imagine your doctor prescribing you a shot of vodka or whiskey to bring you some relief.

Well, a new study out of Boston shows the promise of an alcohol-mimicking drug for patients with the debilitating neurological voice disorder, laryngeal dystonia (LD).

The researchers from Mass Eye and Ear found that an oral medication, sodium ...Read more

ATHENS, Ga. — As she was trying to fight off her attacker, Laken Riley marked him with scratches and secured his DNA under her fingernails. Wednesday, that evidence helped convict Jose Ibarra of murder.

“The evidence in this case has spoken loud and clear that he is Laken Riley’s killer,” special prosecutor Sheila Ross said in her ...Read more

ORION TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Orion Township officials said it will take a week to finish their investigation into what caused a massive explosion at a northern Oakland County condominium community on Tuesday that injured two and damaged 18 units.

Two people were transported to the hospital after the evening explosion at Keatington New Town ...Read more

Half a dozen groups and employers who oppose abortion are suing Gov. JB Pritzker and other state officials, aiming to stop them from enforcing a law that requires health insurers in Illinois to cover abortions and abortion medications at no cost to patients.

The groups sued Pritzker, Attorney General Kwame Raoul and Department of Insurance ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Planned Parenthood is reporting a post-election surge of interest in Minnesota and neighboring states among women seeking long-acting birth control and men seeking vasectomies.

Concerns about potential threats to access under President-elect Donald Trump’s administration prompted some young adults to take action before he ...Read more

BOISE, Idaho — Bryan Kohberger, who is charged with murdering four University of Idaho students, can face the death penalty at his trial next summer, the judge in the case ruled Wednesday.

Despite a slew of legal arguments made by Kohberger’s defense team to toss out a death sentence as an option, none moved Judge Steven Hippler to strike ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Sen. Bob Casey was displaying his usual calm.

Reporters surrounding the Pennsylvania Democrat as he exited the underground Senate tram to head to a vote, asked if his refusal to concede the Senate race against Republican Dave McCormick was fostering mistrust in elections.

He chuckled.

“We’re counting votes and there’s a ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Former Rep. Matt Gaetz met Wednesday with several Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, some of whom said Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general should be given the opportunity at a confirmation hearing to address misconduct allegations.

The Florida Republican and Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, had the meetings on ...Read more

WASHINGTON — After a much anticipated closed-door meeting Wednesday, the House Ethics Committee will not release the findings of its investigation into former Rep. Matt Gaetz’s alleged sexual misconduct and drug use, according to Chairman Michael Guest.

The Mississippi Republican offered few details to the swarm of reporters who had been ...Read more

WASHINGTON — After a much anticipated closed-door meeting on Wednesday, the House Ethics Committee will not release the findings of its investigation into former Rep. Matt Gaetz’s alleged sexual misconduct and drug use, according to Chairman Michael Guest.

The Mississippi Republican offered few details to the swarm of reporters who had been...Read more

NORFOLK, Va. — A Circuit Court judge in the western part of the state has ruled that Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s decision to withdraw from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative was “unlawful.”

The General Assembly passed a resolution to join the initiative in 2020.

The initiative is a multistate coalition that intends to reduce the use of ...Read more

CHICAGO — Using a pulley and standing a safe distance away, a Chicago firefighter dropped a frozen bird into a turkey fryer with too much hot oil, splashing the viscous liquid everywhere. The oil swiftly ignited, and despite a quick reaction from another firefighter wielding a hose, bright orange flames as tall and wide as a CTA bus engulfed ...Read more

WASHINGTON — After President-elect Donald Trump chose Mehmet Oz to oversee Medicare and Medicaid, the celebrity doctor's 2022 opponent, Democratic U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, quickly said he could support the nominee.

Trump on Tuesday nominated Dr. Oz as administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, responsible for the three...Read more

Jurors in a federal civil trial have awarded the family of Botham Jean almost $100 million in their lawsuit against former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger, who is serving a prison sentence for Jean’s murder, according to KDFW-TV.

The verdict was announced Wednesday afternoon in the wrongful death case that began on Monday. Guyger did not ...Read more