San Francisco’s 1st black female mayor takes oath of office

The first black female mayor of San Francisco made history Wednesday as she took the oath of office, vowing to help drug users and the homeless in a city that has come to embody extreme wealth and poverty. In her inauguration speech, London Breed promised to build more housing in a city that has a woefully inadequate supply for the number of high-paying tech-related jobs it creates.

Birmingham NewsRunoffs for US House, state positions on runoff ballot

Only a handful of statewide races are on the ballot in Alabama's runoff election on Tuesday, and all that action is on the Republican side. Most attention nationally will go to the U.S. House race in southeastern Alabama between Rep. Marta Roby and former congressman Bobby Bright.

Kavanaugh to address his past work involving Clinton, Bush

Before his Senate confirmation hearing, President Donald Trump's pick for the Supreme Court will need to provide information about his past experience investigating President Bill Clinton and working for President George W. Bush. Requests for that information are included in questionnaires sent to Brett Kavanaugh by the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, who will lead the confirmation hearing.

Senators want probe of cyberattacks targeting family members of deployed servicemembers

Investigators believe it was Russian computer hackers who harassed U.S. military families in 2015 while pretending to be Islamic jihadists, and Sens. Cory Gardner and Ron Wyden are asking the Justice Department to confirm and help protect U.S. veterans and their families from future attacks. Gardner, R-Colo., and Wyden, D-Ore., sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Friday recounting how the wives and families of U.S. servicemen overseas were harassed by computer hacks and threatening messages in 2015.

1 Firefighter Remains Hospitalized After Everett Blaze

Markey, Kennedy Push Bill To End So-Called 'Gay Panic' Defense Massachusetts Sen. Edward Markey and Rep. Joe Kennedy are pushing a bill that would end the use of so-called "gay panic" and "trans panic" defenses in federal court. Off-Duty Lifeguards Rescue 10 Swimmers From Hampton Beach Rip Current Off-duty lifeguards rescued 10 people from rip currents at a popular New Hampshire beach Friday night.

NJ Transit gets more time to get federal funding for Portal Bridge

WASHINGTON -- New Jersey Transit has received a six-month extension as it seeks federal funding to replace the North Portal Bridge, part of the Gateway project that also includes a new tunnel under the Hudson River. The Federal Transit Administration gave NJ Transit until Jan. 31 to supply the necessary information for federal funds under the Capital Investment Grants or "New Starts" program, according to a letter obtained by NJ Advance Media.

Tragedy as elderly man, 71, is killed as he tried to cross a busy Sydney motorway

Thai boys speak for the first time: Soccer team who feared death as they sat trapped in a cave for 17 days thank their rescuers and reveal they've already ordered their favorite meal - a KFC 'He wanted to go out like Bonnie and Clyde': Cops shoot dead 16-year-old armed and suicidal football star after his mother called 911 on him for locking her in a garage Was Russia listening? Hack of Democratic Party came right after Trump urged Moscow to 'find Hillary Clinton's 30,000 missing emails' John McCain calls on Trump to CANCEL summit in Helsinki 'unless he is prepared to hold Putin accountable for election tampering' after 12 Russian agents are charged in Mueller investigation Father of New York socialite who was found dead at the bottom of a 27-story trash chute believes his daughter was 'murdered' amid bitter divorce with her construction boss husband Frank Sinatra's first wife Nancy dies ... (more)

The Red-State Democrats’ Many Paths to ‘No’

Conventional wisdom decrees that red-state Democratic senators running for reelection are politically screwed, regardless of how they vote on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. If they signal thumbs-up, they'll infuriate the party's progressive base and dampen the Democratic turnout they'll badly need.

Then, If he’s Re-Elected, he’LL Savage Businesses for…

Democratic senator Bill Nelson has been avoiding common campaign expenses such as paying payroll tax and providing benefits such as health insurance by staffing his reelection effort solely through contractors, a rarely used and frowned-upon tactic. Nelson's filings with the Federal Election Commission so far this cycle contain no disbursements for payroll or salary, nor payments for payroll taxes that come along with having salaried workers.

Trump criticized for not leading effort to secure elections

As alarms blare about Russian interference in U.S. elections, the Trump administration is facing criticism that it has no clear national strategy to protect the country during the upcoming midterms and beyond. Both Republicans and Democrats have criticized the administration's response as fragmented, without enough coordination across federal agencies.

Russia hack of Democrat followed Trump speech

FILE In this file photo taken on Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2006, President Vladimir Putin wears headphones as he tests a pistol in a shooting range as he visits the Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate in Moscow, Russia. The Justice Department has announced charges against 12 Russian intelligence officers for hacking offenses during the 2016 presidential election, it was announced on Friday, July 13, 2018.

US agency urges automakers to speed up Takata recalls

The U.S. government's road safety agency is urging automakers to speed up replacement of potentially dangerous Takata air bag inflators. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a statement Friday that Heidi King, it's top official, has met with 19 affected companies urging them to accelerate the recalls and to post recall plans on their websites.