California voters have approved Proposition 34, a measure from an apartment trade group that aimed to restrict spending by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which has bankrolled several rent control initiatives and criticized the measure as unconstitutional revenge.

The Associated Press called the initiative Wednesday evening. According to the ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas and FBI Director Christoper Wray declined to testify publicly at a Senate committee hearing Thursday on threats to the nation, drawing a rare bipartisan rebuke from members who had to cancel it at the last minute.

It was the second scuttled congressional hearing in as many days ...Read more

BOISE, Idaho — Two leading frozen potato manufacturers based in Idaho face a lawsuit over allegations of price fixing.

Boise agribusiness giant J.R. Simplot and Eagle potato producer Lamb Weston were among four companies sued Friday in U.S. District Court in Illinois for conspiring to artificially raise prices of frozen potato products, ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Gov. Josh Shapiro chatted with workers at a West Philadelphia barbershop Thursday, weighing in on Sixers player Paul George’s knee injury and group chat gossip, and ribbing one of the barbers at Philly Cuts for daring to cut the hair of Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum.

“Love thy neighbor — except for Celtics and Cowboys,...Read more

A week ago, Matt Gaetz was on his way to becoming Donald Trump’s avenging angel as U.S. Attorney General, the nation’s top law enforcement official.

But now that the former Florida congressman has withdrawn his nomination amid persistent questions about his involvement in a sex scandal involving a 17-year-old girl, his political prospects ...Read more

The gun ownership rate among Republican women has increased significantly in recent years, new polling reveals.

According to Gallup’s annual gun ownership survey — which groups results in six-year clusters — 33% of GOP women owned guns between 2019 and 2024. That is a 14-point increase from 2007 to 2012, when 19% of Republican women owned...Read more

The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip, adding to pressure on the country’s leadership over the conduct of its military campaign against Hamas.

The Hague-based court’s announcement on Thursday followed a request by the ICC’s chief ...Read more

When a man who called himself Luis Miguel Martinez moved into a $1.2-million home in an exclusive Riverside, California, neighborhood in 2023, he brought standard luxuries.

Parked outside were luxury cars, including a BMW and another car with Mexican license plates.

But after his arrest this week by federal authorities, neighbors learned that ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — If one oarfish landing on a beach is a sign of a disaster to come, how bad will it be if three wash up in quick succession?

A silvery 10-foot-long creature, the oarfish has fueled fisherman's tales of sea serpents — and in some cultures has been a portent of natural disasters.

It's rare to see an oarfish up close in ...Read more

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Cal Poly will acquire Cal Maritime — the state's beleaguered maritime academy — in hopes of saving it from bankruptcy and dwindling enrollment, California State University trustees decided Thursday.

The administrative merger is slated to be complete by the start of the next academic year and will present around $...Read more

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — A complaint filed with the Department of Education alleges that programs for men of color at at least eight California State University campuses — including Cal Poly — violate federal civil rights law.

The Nov. 19 complaint targets the CSU's "Young Males of Color Consortium" and its affiliated programs, including...Read more

Sen. John Fetterman (D., Pa.) has offered his office’s bathroom to Delaware State Sen. Sarah McBride, elected this month as the first openly transgender member of Congress, as House Republicans prepare to block her from using the women’s restrooms at the Capitol.

McBride said Wednesday that she will follow the rules though she disagrees ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Northern California is being drenched by the first major atmospheric river storm of the season, with rain totals reaching well over 7 inches in many areas, and continued rain on Thursday stretching the threat for flooding and mudslides.

The slow-moving storm was strengthened by a so-called bomb cyclone, which describes how ...Read more

MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said immigrants shouldn't be viewed as "criminals," but declared that Mexico has a plan for an influx of returnees should President-elect Donald Trump proceed with threatened mass deportations of immigrants, many of them Mexican nationals.

"We don't agree that migrants be treated as criminals,...Read more

This week, Republican leaders rolled out a bill advertised as disaster relief for those suffering the impacts of Hurricane Helene. But much of its 131 pages focus on taking power from Democrats newly elected as governor, attorney general and state schools superintendent.

Legislative leaders bypassed committee hearings and multiple votes by ...Read more

BOSTON — A 53-year-old Boston man has been charged after allegedly attacking a transgender woman on an MBTA train.

Gregory Burnett is facing several assault charges and a civil rights violation stemming from an incident at the Maverick MBTA station on Halloween.

The 41-year-old transgender woman reportedly told MBTA Transit Police on Nov. 1 ...Read more

BOISE, Idaho — The Boise trial in a lawsuit challenging Idaho’s near-total abortion ban concluded Thursday after six days of tense proceedings and emotional testimony from women who said they were forced to leave the state for medical procedures.

The trial seeking clarity on health exceptions for abortions prompted tearful testimony from ...Read more