Wildfires now up to 100 miles wide as death toll reaches 40

Firefighters gained some ground on a blaze burning in the heart of California's wine country but face another tough day ahead with low humidity ... . FILE - In this Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2017 file photo, people walk past a fallen transformer and downed power lines on Parker Hill Road in Santa Rosa, Calif.

Schumer: FDA must reverse decision delaying e-cig regulation

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer is calling on the federal government to reverse a recent decision to delay the regulation of e-cigarettes. The New York Democrat said Sunday that the Food and Drug Administration should reconsider its decision announced earlier this year to put regulating electronic cigarettes on hold.

Fire death toll hits 40

The California wildfires raced toward wineries and the historic town of Sonoma on Saturday, chasing hundreds more people from their homes and threatening to roll back firefighters' modest gains against fires that stretched across a 100-mile swath of Northern California. Propelled by stiff winds, the fires damaged or destroyed several buildings in the middle of the night before crews halted their advance at the edge of Sonoma, where firefighters spent days digging firebreaks to keep flames from reaching the city's historic central plaza built centuries ago when the area was under Spanish rule.

Little has happened in 2 months since Trump declared opioid crisis an “emergency”

On the mid-August day when President Donald Trump first called the nation's opioid epidemic a "national emergency," plaudits from the state's congressional delegation were quick to follow. Sen. Sherrod Brown, DOhio, said the designation was overdue.

15% of Ohioans could see higher taxes under GOP plan

As part of an effort to overhaul the federal tax code, House Republican leaders want to scrap a key section of the current code used by more than 40 million Americans to deduct their property taxes and state taxes from their returns. But because the tax plan also eliminates the $4,000 personal exemption, the combined changes could lead to higher taxes for as many as 15 percent of Ohio's taxpayers, according to a study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonpartisan, nonprofit in Washington.

Alec Baldwin’s Trump tells Mike Pence to ditch NFL game, gay…

Saturday Night Live was back to its Donald Trump -inspired shenanigans this week, with Alec Baldwin returning to the fore to mock the president's involvement in a wide array of high-profile matters, ranging from the NFL "Take a Knee" protest controversy to his recent spat with Republican Senator Bob Corker . The cold open depicted Trump addressing a crowd in Harrisburg, Pa.

Smoke smolders from a wildfire-ravaged home Saturday, Oct. 14, 2017, in Sonoma, Calif.

Newly released body camera footage shows a sheriff's deputy braving flames to rescue a disabled woman and get people to flee from a lethal wildfire that was about to devour a Northern California community. Sonoma County announced Saturday evening that its coroner had confirmed two more deaths, taking the total in the county to 22 and the overall count to 40. A residence in the hills above Sonoma, Calif., has a posted sign alerting people to an available pool if needed to shelter from wildfires Friday, Oct. 13, 2017.

Steve Bannon Declares – Season of War’ Against GOP Establishment

Steve Bannon, President Donald Trump's former chief strategist, has a blunt message for the Republican establishment: Get ready for battle. In a fiery speech Saturday at the Values Voter Summit, an annual conference for social conservatives, Bannon lambasted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and declared a "season of war" on party elders.

Most Insiders see Irma as boost to Scott

Gov. Rick Scott received generally high marks for his handling of the hurricanes hitting Florida and its sister territory, Puerto Rico, but his PR team lately has been working ferociously to push back against assorted reports raising questions about his emergency management record before and after the storms hit. Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio joined calls for a congressional investigation into the deaths of 14 Floridians in a sweltering Broward County nursing home.

California wildfire death toll approaches 40, hundreds still missing

Fast-moving fires spread by shifting winds forced thousands more Californians to evacuate their homes on Saturday as the death toll from the deadliest blaze recorded in the state's history rose to at least 38, with hundreds of people still missing. About 10,000 firefighters supported by air tankers and helicopters overhead were battling 16 major wildfires, some encompassing several smaller merged blazes, in areas north of San Francisco that have consumed nearly 214,000 acres over seven days, or roughly 334 square miles - an area larger than New York City.

Trump leaves Republicans with heavy lift on Iran deal

Republicans demanded a major say on the Iran nuclear agreement two years ago and never got it from Democrat Barack Obama. Now that President Donald Trump has directed Congress to make the international pact more stringent, the GOP is finding that having that voice won't be easy.