Politics

California’s largest wildfire merged with a smaller blaze and destroyed homes in rugged and remote areas, as numerous other fires burned across the U.S. West.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senators were running into new problems Monday as they raced to seal a bipartisan infrastructure deal with pressure mounting on all sides to show progress on President Joe Biden's top priority.

SEATTLE (AP) — Washington state is embarking on a massive experiment in police reform and accountability following the racial justice protests that erupted after George Floyd's murder last year, as nearly a dozen laws took effect Sunday.

Overdose fatalities rose in 2020, with Black people at high risk The isolation, anxiety, and stress of the pandemic has pushed the opioid epidemic to a record-breaking death toll. According to the latest CDC data, drug overdose fatalities rose by almost 30% in 2020, to 93,000 deaths. Opioids such as fentanyl are driving the greatest rise in deaths among Black Americans, while methamphetamine overdoses are more common in American Indians and Alaska Natives than other groups, reports Abby Goodnough for The New York Times.

Conservative talk radio host Larry Elder has filed a lawsuit challenging a decision by California election officials to block him from running in the state’s Sept. 14 recall election, saying he’s the target of political “shenanigans” by Sacramento Democrats.