AP California

By WALTER BERRY Associated Press It was one of the deadliest wildland fires ever in the U.S., killing 19 members of an elite central Arizona firefighting crew in 2013 after flames trapped them in a brush-choked canyon. The city of Prescott and the neighboring town of Yarnell marked a decade without the fallen Granite Mountain

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Mookie Betts will compete in the All-Star Home Run Derby in Seattle on July 10, joining Seattle’s Julio Rodríguez and Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero in the eight-man competition. Elected to start in the All-Star Game for the National League, Betts leads the Dodgers with 20 home runs. Betts

By TOM DAVIES and KRISTIN M. HALL Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Smoky haze, hot weather and powerful storms brought dangerous and uncomfortable conditions to parts of the U.S. heading into a long July Fourth weekend that typically draws Americans to outdoor gatherings. From heat waves in the South and West to unhealthy air quality

By TRÂN NGUYỄN Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Assemblymember Robert Rivas was sworn in Friday as the next speaker of California’s state Assembly, becoming the first lawmaker from a rural district to hold the powerful office in the state’s modern history. Rivas, a 43-year-old Democrat representing the agricultural Central Coast area, replaces former Speaker

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — In many ways, UCLA is at the midway point in its process of joining the Big Ten Conference. Friday marked one year since the Bruins and Southern California shook up the collegiate landscape by announcing they were leaving the Pac-12 in 2024. Since then, UCLA

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE and COLLEEN LONG Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — An Air Force chef and a Marine Corps chef, both crowned “Chopped” champions during Jill Biden ‘s appearance on a military-themed episode of the Food Network show, spent Friday whipping up lemon-herb scallops and osso buco in the White House Navy Mess. Air Force

By BEATRICE DUPUY Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — From flinging bras to tossing flowers, concertgoers have long been a bit extra in showing adoration for their beloved artists — but a recent spate of artists being hit by weightier projectiles raises concerns about extreme fan culture and security. Country singer Kelsea Ballerini was the

By PETER SMITH Associated Press Less than a month after finalizing the ouster of one of its largest churches for having women pastors, the Southern Baptist Convention has lost another of its biggest congregations. Elevation Church — a North Carolina-based megachurch that draws thousands of worshippers to its multiple campuses and has wielded a strong

DIGHTON, Mass. (AP) — The police chief of a town in southeastern Massachusetts is among a handful of individuals facing insider trading charges in a scheme that allegedly netted the men more than $2.2 million in illegal profits, according to federal investigators. Dighton Police Chief Shawn Cronin is among five men charged in the insider

By JOHN WAWROW and STEPHEN WHYNO AP Hockey Writers Organizers announced plans Friday to launch a new women’s professional hockey league in January that they hope will provide a stable, economically sustainable home for the sport’s top players for years to come. The North American league is expected to start with six teams — three

By SCOTT McFETRIDGE Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A California law approved by voters that promises to get breeding pigs out of narrow cages that prevent them from standing or turning will finally take effect Saturday, after years of delays and warnings that the rules could lead to price spikes and pork shortages.

By JAY COHEN AP Baseball Writer CHICAGO (AP) — Trying to make the most of his powerful swing, White Sox slugger Luis Robert Jr. lets the ball run deep into the strike zone sometimes. That’s when it happens. “When I do that, the catchers, they might think that I am not swinging (for) the ball

By BOB THOMAS AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Alan Arkin, the wry character actor who demonstrated his versatility in everything from farcical comedy to chilling drama as he received four Academy Award nominations and won an Oscar in 2007 for “Little Miss Sunshine,” has died. He was 89. His sons Adam, Matthew and

By COLLIN BINKLEY AP Education Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — In a good month, Celina Chanthanouvong has about $200 left after rent, groceries and car insurance. That doesn’t factor in her student loans, which have been on hold since the start of the pandemic and are estimated to cost $300 a month. The pause in repayment

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hollywood actors may be days from joining screenwriters in what would be the first two-union strike in the industry in more than six decades, with huge consequences for film and television production. Here is a look at how it could play out, and why it’s

By STEFANIE DAZIO and FABIOLA SÁNCHEZ Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — For four years, Gabriel Trujillo trekked the breadth of the United States and south into Mexico in search of a flowering shrub called the common buttonbush. The plant is native to the varied climates of Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. Trujillo, a 31-year-old

By COLLIN BINKLEY AP Education Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has sent shockwaves through higher education with a landmark decision that struck down affirmative action and left colleges across the nation searching for new ways to promote student diversity. Leaders of scores of universities said Thursday that they were disappointed by what they

By MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Attorneys for Gov. Ron DeSantis have asked that a trial involving Disney be postponed until the middle of 2025, well after the GOP presidential nomination race wraps up and voters have picked a winner in the November 2024 general election. In a Tallahassee federal court filing