SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - California Gov. Gavin Newsom moved Friday to bypass environmental regulations to prepare for the next wildfire season, a move he said was necessary to prevent further loss of life even as it frustrated activists in a state viewed as a national environmental leader.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - The mayor of Puerto Rico's capital announced Friday that she is running for governor of the U.S. territory. San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz is a polarizing figure who became an outspoken critic of U.S. President Donald Trump after Hurricane Maria hit in September 2017 as a Category 4 storm. "Trump and his followers here and over there clung to the idea that everything was fine," she said during her speech to supporters as they clapped.
NEW YORK (AP) - The prosecutor who led a New York probe of President Donald Trump's former personal attorney for the last year is stepping down. Robert Khuzami, 62, who presided over the case that led to guilty pleas by attorney Michael Cohen, will leave his post April 12. Cohen has since been disbarred.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Wisconsin Republicans asked an appeals court Friday to immediately reinstate GOP-backed laws limiting the powers of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul. Dane County Circuit Judge Richard Niess issued an injunction Thursday blocking the laws, which were quickly approved in December before Evers replaced Republican Gov. Scott Walker. On Friday, an attorney for the Republican lawmakers asked for an immediate stay to block Niess' order.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said Friday that recent flooding in the state has caused an estimated $1.6 billion in damage, pushing the total costs from the devastating Midwest flooding to at least $3 billion.
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - Maine fishermen began several weeks of taking to rivers and streams to fish for baby eels Friday, which marked the start of a high-stakes season harvesters hope isn't interrupted by poaching concerns as it was a year ago. Fishermen in Maine use nets to harvest baby eels, called elvers, to feed demand from Asian aquaculture companies, who use them as seed stock.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The Iditarod musher who was hours ahead in the Alaska wilderness race when his dogs refused to keep running dismissed critics who say he ran them too hard and chalked it up to a bad memory that spooked them. The team stopped last week after Frenchman Nicolas Petit yelled at a dog that was bullying another, but they "did not slow down like a tired team would," he said.
ATLANTA (AP) - Nearly four decades after voters unceremoniously rejected then-President Jimmy Carter's bid for a second term, the 39th president has reached a milestone that electoral math cannot dispute: He is now the longest-living chief executive in American history.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Arkansas-based Tyson Foods is recalling more than 69,000 pounds (31,297 kilograms) of frozen, ready-to-eat chicken strips because they may be contaminated with pieces of metal. The U.S. Agriculture Department said Thursday the products were produced on Nov. 30, 2018, and have a best if used by date of Nov. 30, 2019. The products have the establishment number "P-7221" on the back of the packages.
