President Joe Biden has approved North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum’s request for a major disaster declaration related to a Christmastime ice storm that toppled power lines and left thousands of people without power. VERMONT GOV. SCOTT REQUESTS DISASTER DECLARATION OVER DECEMBER FLOODING Burgum’s office announced the approval Wednesday. The governor had declared a statewide emergency due to the Dec. 25-27 storm. He sought the presidential disaster declaration to...

Alabama lawmakers are advancing legislation that would strictly define who is considered female and male based on their reproductive systems. Opponents said the move could erode the rights of transgender and intersex people in the state. “There are only two sexes, and every individual is either male or female,” declares the Senate bill approved in committee on Tuesday. It defines sex based on reproductive anatomy and says schools...

Angry Chicago residents railed against local leaders at a city council meeting Wednesday as tensions run high over the national illegal immigrant crisis.  City and state officials have approved hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to feed, clothe and house more than 35,000 migrants who have been transported to Chicago and its suburbs in the past year and a half. The overwhelming influx of people has drained city...