By SOPHIE AUSTIN and JANIE HAR Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom released details Wednesday of a new $291 billion state spending plan for the 2024-25 budget year that accounts for an estimated $37.9 billion deficit. Newsom, a Democrat, proposed covering the shortfall by tapping $13 billion from reserves, trimming $8.5
Continue ReadingBy Jeff Winter, CNN (CNN) — Two men incarcerated in New York state prisons allege they were waterboarded and beaten by corrections officers during a days-long lockdown spurred by a prisoner-on-guard assault last October. In separate civil lawsuits filed in December, Charles Wright, 44, and Eugene Taylor, 32, claim they were brutally beaten and pepper sprayed in
Continue ReadingBy EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council demanded an immediate halt to attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on ships in the Red Sea in a new resolution that implicitly condemned their main weapons supplier — Iran. The resolution, sponsored by the United States and Japan, was approved by a vote
Continue ReadingBy ADAM BEAM and OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California lawmakers who want to ban tackle football for kids under 12 to reduce brain injuries gained ground Wednesday in the Legislature but still face a very long field and a clock that is ticking. Though it was a school day, dozens
Continue ReadingBy CHRISTINA LARSON AP Science Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — An ancient species of great ape was likely driven to extinction hundreds of thousands of years ago when climate change put their favorite fruits out of reach during dry seasons, scientists reported Wednesday. The species Gigantopithecus blacki, which once lived in southern China, represents the largest
Continue ReadingBy Annie Grayer, Melanie Zanona, Manu Raju and Lauren Fox, CNN House Republicans hoped to turn over a new leaf in the new year. But they returned to the Capitol this week confronting the same exact problems that plagued the party last year: a razor-thin majority, a rebellious right flank and looming threats of a
Continue ReadingBy TIM BOOTH AP Sports Writer RENTON, Wash. (AP) — Pete Carroll’s mantra was “always compete,” — it was the title of a book, after all. And he did right up to the point where the ownership of the Seattle Seahawks decided it was time for a new voice to be in charge following 14
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BY SCOTT SONNER AND STEFANIE DAZIOAssociated Press RENO, Nev. (AP) — An avalanche roared through a section of expert trails at a California ski resort near Lake Tahoe on Wednesday, killing one person with three others injured as a major storm with snow and gusty winds moved into the region, authorities said. Authorities planned to provide more details
Continue ReadingBy COLLEEN SLEVIN DENVER (AP) — U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert was cleared on Wednesday of domestic violence allegations after her ex-husband recanted his claim that she punched him during an altercation in a restaurant where they’d gone to try to get on better terms, according to police and court documents. Jayson Boebert was arrested Tuesday
Continue ReadingHEMET, Calif. (AP) — Sheriff’s deputies in Southern California shot and killed an armed man who opened fire on them with an assault rifle when they answered a report of a fight at a home, authorities said Wednesday. Deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department were called to a home in Hemet, 75 miles (120
Continue ReadingBy OHAD ZWIGENBERG Associated Press KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Israeli military said Wednesday it has found evidence that hostages were present in an underground tunnel in the Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, which has become the focus of Israel’s ground offensive. The military showed the tunnel to journalists who were escorted
Continue ReadingBy RANDALL CHASE Associated Press DOVER, Del. (AP) — A judge has rejected several claims lodged by Delaware’s attorney general in a lawsuit alleging that the fossil fuel industry has downplayed the risks of climate change. Tuesday’s ruling significantly narrows the scope of the suit seeking to hold the industry liable for the effects of
Continue ReadingBy RANDALL CHASE Associated Press DOVER, Del. (AP) — A judge has rejected several claims lodged by Delaware’s attorney general in a lawsuit alleging that the fossil fuel industry has downplayed the risks of climate change. Tuesday’s ruling significantly narrows the scope of the suit seeking to hold the industry liable for the effects of
Continue ReadingBy ROBERT YOON Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — After months of campaigning, the Republican candidates vying to unseat President Joe Biden in November will face their first formal test at the ballot box in the Iowa caucuses on Monday. It is the first contest of the 2024 presidential primary season. At stake in the caucuses
Continue ReadingBy Andy Rose and Andi Babineau, CNN (CNN) — The ex-husband of Rep. Lauren Boebert is facing misdemeanor and petty charges stemming from an argument with the Republican congresswoman at a restaurant in Silt, Colorado, on Saturday. Jayson Boebert, 43, is charged with obstructing a peace officer, third degree criminal trespass and disorderly conduct, Silt
Continue ReadingBy BRIAN WITTE Associated Press ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — A federal appeals court has directed a lower federal court to consider the merits of a challenge to Maryland’s first-in-the-nation digital advertising tax on First Amendment grounds. But in the decision released Wednesday the panel of judges agreed with the lower court’s decision to dismiss three
Continue ReadingANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland’s elections administrator says No Labels, a political group laying the groundwork for a possible third-party presidential ticket, has reached the required signature threshold to become a political party in Maryland. Jared DeMarinis said Wednesday that the state has verified the more than 10,000 signatures of registered voters in Maryland that
Continue ReadingBy LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Federal prosecutor Damian Williams in New York says his office is busy with lots of crimes but he wants to find more. So he met with reporters Wednesday and issued what amounts to a casting call for whistleblowers willing to reveal crimes his office doesn’t already
Continue ReadingPLATTSMOUTH, Neb. (AP) — Voters decided to remove a small-town Nebraska school board member from office after she tried to have dozens of books pulled from school libraries. More than 1,600 Plattsmouth voters supported recalling Terri Cunningham-Swanson from the board she joined a year ago. Cunningham-Swanson said voters shouldn’t have been surprised because she expressed
Continue ReadingBy GONZALO SOLANO and MEGAN JANETSKY Associated Press QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Schools and stores are shuttered, many people stayed home and soldiers are roaming the streets of Ecuador’s biggest cities after armed gang members invaded a television station live afternoon newscast. The intruders wielding explosives and guns flashed across the TVs of Ecuadorians for
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