Forest officials are now offering permits to cut down Christmas trees in designated areas of the Stanislaus National Forest, adding another location to the holiday program. The permits aren’t just a Christmas gift for the public, but will also help with fire suppression efforts by eliminating smaller trees at fuel fires.

Forest officials ...Read more

One of the biggest advocates of Australia’s COVID-19 lockdowns is set to be reelected in the state of Victoria on Saturday, a vindication for the center-left Labor Party after a term dominated by controversy over its handling of the pandemic.

As of 9 p.m. Saturday local time, Premier Daniel Andrews’s party was projected to win more than 45 ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Riverside police responding to a house fire on Friday found the bodies of three people killed in what police are investigating as a triple homicide.

About 10:30 a.m., police dispatchers fielded a request for a welfare check on a man and a woman who were having “some type of disturbance” outside a home in the 11200 block of ...Read more

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Last weekend's tragedy at Club Q, when an attacker killed two bartenders and three customers and shot 17 others inside the nightclub before two patrons intervened, in several ways united what some view as a divided community.

Differences on religion, politics and sexual orientation and identity seemingly were set ...Read more

NEW YORK — Two New York Police Department officers were forced to retire after the department discovered they lied about investigating cases, including domestic violence and drug complaints, department documents say.

Officer Eric Cabrera was assigned to the 113th Precinct in Jamaica when he improperly closed 25 investigations in 2019 — ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — California State University trustees are poised to abandon a proposal to require a fourth year of math-related coursework for admission, ending a plan introduced six years ago that touched off fierce criticism among many who said it would create barriers for students trying to enter the system.

Administrators are recommending ...Read more

Singapore’s ruling party selected Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong for a key role in the central executive committee, formalizing a succession plan that will see him eventually succeed Lee Hsien Loong as the next leader.

Wong was appointed as deputy secretary-general of the People’s Action Party by the 18-member central executive ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — When Sandy Sandoval tries to encourage her family members to get the flu vaccine, they usually tell her that the shot does not work and the vitamins they're taking are enough to protect them through the season.

But it didn't deter the 22-year-old from sitting in the appointment room at an AltaMed clinic in Santa Ana earlier this...Read more

Cases of once-rare “superbug” Candida auris have climbed to 600 in Southern Nevada, with more than one-third identified at just two hospitals.

Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, the largest general acute-care hospital in the state, has reported 122 cases of the drug-resistant fungus, the most of any hospital or skilled nursing facility. ...Read more

Pakistan’s former premier Imran Khan said his lawmakers are quitting regional legislative assemblies, ending his monthslong protest, to mount further pressure for snap elections days after the appointment of a new army chief.

“We won’t be part of this system anymore,” he said at a packed rally in the garrison town of Rawalpindi, an ...Read more

The Biden administration granted Chevron a license to resume oil production in Venezuela after U.S. sanctions halted all drilling activities almost three years ago.

The reprieve followed the resumption of talks by Venezuela’s political factions on Saturday with a deal to work together on a humanitarian spending plan.

Chevron received a six-...Read more

An estimated 94% of people in the U.S. have been infected with the COVID-19 virus at least once, according to according to a new paper from researchers at Harvard’s School of Public Health.

The big reason for the surprising surge? The omicron variant’s record-shattering case rates early this year and middling booster rates that fell short ...Read more

NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Eric Adams took a supportive if somewhat cryptic tone after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation this week limiting some cryptocurrency mining in the state, casting the new law as an acceptable step toward smart tech policy.

Adams, a vocal crypto booster, said he maintains his focus on establishing New ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched Saturday from Kennedy Space Center on the 52nd successful mission of the year from the Space Coast.

The CRS-26 mission lifted off from Launch Pad 39-A on a resupply run to the International Space Station at 2:20 p.m.

A brand new cargo Dragon spacecraft is carting up 7,700 pounds of supplies ...Read more

Venezuela’s battling political factions restarted negotiations on Saturday in Mexico, signing a rare deal to work together on a humanitarian spending plan and setting the stage for the U.S. to ease restrictions on Chevron to operate in the country.

Representatives of the Venezuelan government and the opposition signed a humanitarian agreement...Read more

DENVER — Long before a shooter walked through its doors one week ago and opened fire, Club Q on Colorado Springs’ busy North Academy Boulevard held a special place in the heart of the city’s LGBTQ community.

The club now sits at the center of a national conversation surrounding hate-motivated crimes, fueled by anti-LGBTQ rhetoric from ...Read more

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A federal judge Friday denied a motion for a third trial by two men who claimed the judge's biases and improper courtroom behavior led to their convictions in the plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Adam Fox and Barry Croft were convicted in August of kidnapping conspiracy and conspiracy to use a weapon of ...Read more

NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Eric Adams will attend a summit against antisemitism in Greece next week, his office said Friday.

The trip comes with anxieties about antisemitic hate heightened in New York City after authorities last week charged two 22-year-olds with plotting an attack on a synagogue.

The mayor’s office said Adams will ...Read more

Chiang Kai-shek’s great-grandson declared victory in the race to be mayor of Taiwan’s capital, as the ruling party suffered a resounding defeat in island-wide local elections a little more than a year before a new president is chosen.

Chiang Wan-an of the opposition Kuomintang will become, at 43 years old, the youngest ever mayor of Taipei,...Read more