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Inflation Reduction Act saves Massachusetts Medicare enrollees 100s of millions, report says
BOSTON — Ahead of her first debate with her Republican opponent, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s office is out with a new report that shows hundreds of millions in savings for Medicare beneficiaries in the Bay State.
According to the report, by next year Medicare cost savings written into the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 will have saved ...Read more
Oregon could become the first state to tax big companies and send the cash to all residents
PORTLAND, Ore. — The pitch intrigued nearly everyone who encountered a petition gatherer seeking signatures in Oregon: Would you like a $750 annual rebate from the state, for each member of your household? Paid for “by making giant corporations pay their fair share”?
Voters signed on to the concept in droves, catapulting the initiative ...Read more
Florida's free prison phone call program rewarded good behavior, cost taxpayers zero. DeSantis killed it
Sandra Ritter hasn’t seen her only son in eight years. He’s incarcerated at Apalachee Correctional Institution in North Florida, locked up for possession of cocaine.
Ritter lives six hours away in Largo and has a disability that prevents her from driving to see him in person. But she talks to William once a week by phone, considering ...Read more
Even political rivals agree that medical debt is an urgent issue
While hot-button health care issues such as abortion and the Affordable Care Act roil the presidential race, Democrats and Republicans in statehouses around the country have been quietly working together to tackle the nation’s medical debt crisis.
New laws to curb aggressive hospital billing, to expand charity care for lower-income patients, ...Read more
For Kamala Harris' LA neighbors, her house is a delight and an annoyance
LOS ANGELES -- The protesters lugged the charred couch into the middle of the two-lane street, depositing it directly in front of Vice President Kamala Harris' Brentwood residence.
The activists, from the Sunrise Movement, were there Sept. 23 to beseech Harris to stop promoting the extraction of fossil fuels. The ruined couch had come from a ...Read more
This California middle school restricted cellphone use on campus. Was it successful?
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — One of the biggest issues administrators at Sutter Middle School in Folsom faced coming back to campus after COVID-19 shutdowns was the prevalence of cellphone use on campus. Online bullying was a daily challenge and tween students — who are in the primetime of their lives for play and relationship building — were ...Read more
After chuppah falls on, injures groom's mom during Illinois wedding, defendants pay $2.3 million
CHICAGO — Lawyers for a woman who suffered permanent injuries when a chuppah (a wedding canopy used in Jewish marriage ceremonies) fell on her during her son’s 2021 wedding have reached a $2.3 million settlement with defendants, according to documents filed in Cook County court and the plaintiff’s attorneys.
Court records show that ...Read more
Election night hand count of ballots halted by Georgia judge
ATLANTA — A judge stopped a planned hand count of ballots on election night in Georgia, ruling Tuesday that it would create “administrative chaos” if poll workers were required to handle millions of ballots without being trained.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney put the State Election Board’s hand-count requirement on ...Read more
San Diego Zoo has flipped the Panda Cam live. Take a look at Xin Bao and Yun Chuan
A little more than two months after two giant pandas — the first sent to the U.S. in 21 years — debuted at the San Diego Zoo, fans can now do a virtual pop-in.
Panda Cam is live.
"Xin Bao and Yun Chuan have acclimated beautifully to their expansive, bamboo-filled homes and now their playful antics and natural behaviors can be observed from...Read more
California sheriff who said deputies 'probably' stopped assassination attempt at Trump's Coachella rally backs off a bit
LOS ANGELES — Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco is not the type of elected official who shies away from making controversial public statements.
The right-wing firebrand, who is rumored to be considering a 2026 gubernatorial run, put himself back into the political spotlight over the weekend when he said his deputies probably had thwarted a...Read more
No jurors picked in Illinois' landmark Madigan corruption case Tuesday as painstaking selection process enters second week
CHICAGO — The corruption trial of former House Speaker Michael Madigan inched closer to opening statements Tuesday as lawyers spent another long day questioning potential jurors about their backgrounds and feelings about the landmark case.
A total of 13 people were interviewed, but no final decisions were made on who might serve on the panel ...Read more
Lawsuits mount against Sean 'Diddy' Combs, including allegation he molested boy, 16, at Hamptons party
NEW YORK — Disturbing allegations continue to mount against accused serial predator Sean “Diddy” Combs — including in new lawsuits claiming he molested a 16-year-old boy at one of his infamous Hamptons parties and pistol-whipped and sexually assaulted a male worker in a Macy’s stockroom — amid the possibility of more charges against ...Read more
PG&E warns of potential power shutoffs for fire danger across Central and Northern California
Ahead of potentially dangerous conditions that could lead to wildfires, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. is warning of possible public safety power shutoffs across a wide swath of Northern and Central California beginning as early as Thursday night.
The utility, blamed for sparking several wildfires across the region including the deadliest blaze in ...Read more
Donald Trump will return to Western Pennsylvania with a rally in Latrobe this weekend
Former President Donald Trump will speak at an airport in Latrobe, Pa., on Saturday as both campaigns hustle around Pennsylvania in the final stretch of the election.
Trump is slated to speak around 6 p.m. at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport, with supporters arriving hours earlier. The site is less than 70 miles away from the Butler Farm Show ...Read more
Ex-special prosecutor Nathan Wade defends Georgia election interference case on Capitol Hill
WASHINGTON — Former Fulton County special prosecutor Nathan Wade on Tuesday defended his work investigating Donald Trump, telling a congressional panel that Georgia’s criminal case against the former president and his allies was driven by facts — not politics.
Departing Capitol Hill after roughly four hours of closed-door questioning, ...Read more
US, UK push ahead with Modi despite bombshell Trudeau claims
Canada’s closest allies signaled they will continue to pursue stronger ties with Narendra Modi’s government, despite Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations that Indian diplomats secretly collected intelligence on Sikh separatists living in Canada who were then threatened, extorted or killed.
The extraordinary claims, backed by ...Read more
Drive right into Yosemite. Park drops reservation requirement for the rest of 2024
Yosemite National Park officials say visitors won't be required to make reservations to drive into the park for the remainder of the year.
Park officials made the announcement on a Facebook post last week and said they originally planned on extending the requirement until Oct. 27 but ended it about a week sooner after monitoring "visitor use ...Read more
Supreme Court orders fresh look at young-adult gun restrictions
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court sidestepped a brewing gun safety issue for now, telling a federal appeals court to reconsider a ruling that 18- to-20-year-olds have a broad constitutional right to carry a firearm.
In a two-sentence order Tuesday, the justices opted not to take up an appeal by Pennsylvania officials, instead ordering a ...Read more
How many people has Tropical Storm Helene killed in North Carolina? How many remain missing?
Tropical Storm Helene has caused 95 confirmed deaths in North Carolina, Gov. Roy Cooper said at a Tuesday press conference. And almost as many, 92, remain missing.
Buncombe County has had the most Helene-related deaths, with 42. Yancey County has had 11 confirmed deaths; Henderson County has had seven; and Haywood County has had five, the North...Read more
News briefs
North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson sues CNN, porn store employee for defamation
North Carolina Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson announced Tuesday he was suing CNN and a porn store employee for defamation.
CNN published a story last month regarding Robinson’s alleged racist and sexually explicit posts on ...Read more
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