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Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Much-needed nurses are flocking to California -- for some of the same reasons others are fleeing

Current News / News & Features /

WASHINGTON — Nurses — those indispensable health care workers in desperately short supply nationwide — are streaming into California, a striking contrast to the recent flight of thousands of frustrated residents to other parts of the country.

And in many ways, what’s drawing them to the state is not so different from why others are ...Read more

Mario Tama/Getty Images North America/TNS

Feds' cash stream supports Colorado River conservation -- but the money will dry up

Current News / News & Features /

Despite a megadrought, states in the West have been able to avoid drastic cuts to their allocations of Colorado River water this year not only because of surprising storms but also thanks to generous financial incentives from all levels of government that have encouraged people to conserve.

The temporary Colorado River water-sharing agreement ...Read more

Benjamin Hager/Las Vegas Review-Journal/TNS

Presidential visits no small task for Nevada officials

Current News / News & Features /

LAS VEGAS — It’s no small task for officials in the Silver State when a U.S. president or another dignitary visits Nevada.

Ensuring the safety of a dignitary once the person arrives at the airport and then getting the dignitary and their entourage to the destination means setting up a motorcade. That includes a mix of state, local and ...Read more

Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun/TNS

Hep C's number comes up: Can Biden's 5-year plan eliminate the longtime scourge?

Current News / News & Features /

Rick Jaenisch went through treatment six times before his hepatitis C was cured in 2017. Each time his doctors recommended a different combination of drugs, his insurer denied the initial request before eventually approving it. This sometimes delayed his care for months, even after he developed end-stage liver disease and was awaiting a liver ...Read more

Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Newsom bars school book bans: LGBTQ+ textbook bill signed into law amid growing culture wars

Current News / News & Features /

SACRAMENTO — School districts that seek to ban textbooks that portray LGBTQ+ people and other historically marginalized groups could face hefty fines under a new California law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday.

The legislation is the culmination of the Democratic governor’s fight against a majority-conservative school board in the ...Read more

Drew Angerer/Getty Images North America/TNS

Sen. Bob Menendez repeatedly suggests he is being targeted because he is Latino

Current News / News & Features /

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., has resisted calls for him to resign after he and his wife, Nadine, were indicted last week on bribery charges, repeatedly suggesting he is being targeted because of his heritage.

Menendez is accused of using his influence to protect and enrich three New Jersey associates and businessmen and of aiding Egypt’s ...Read more

TORSTEN BLACKWOOD/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Antarctica's shrinking sea ice hits a record low, alarming scientists

Current News / News & Features /

At its largest expanse this year, sea ice covered less than 17 million square kilometers (6.6 million square miles) of the Antarctic — an area that is 1 million square kilometers (almost 400,000 square miles) smaller than the previous record low set in 1986, according to preliminary figures released Monday by the National Snow and Ice Data ...Read more

Mother, teen daughter and dog killed in Brooklyn apartment: 'What I heard was grotesque,' neighbor says

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NEW YORK — The bodies of a woman, her teenage daughter and their dog were found fatally stabbed in a Brooklyn apartment, police said Monday — and a neighbor believes he heard them being slaughtered days earlier, but responding officers walked away when no one responded to their knocking on the door.

Police made the grisly discovery around 2...Read more

Alex Wong/Getty Images North America/TNS

Senate readies stopgap as House tries again on full-year bills

Current News / News & Features /

​WASHINGTON — Even as Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., preps a last-ditch attempt to get his unruly conference in line behind a spending strategy, there were quiet staff-level talks happening among the “four corners” of the congressional leadership in both chambers to somehow avert a shutdown.

Senate Democratic and Republican leaders ...Read more

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images North America/TNS

Senate nearing bipartisan measure to avert government shutdown; legislation would present challenge for McCarthy

Current News / News & Features /

WASHINGTON — Senate Republican and Democratic negotiators are nearing a deal on a short-term spending measure intended to keep the government open after Oct. 1, according to a person familiar with the talks.

The legislation would extend funding for four to six weeks, the person said, asking not to be named discussing private negotiations. ...Read more

Lezlie Sterling/The Sacramento Bee/TNS

Newsom signs child sex trafficking bill that exposed cracks in prison reform efforts

Current News / News & Features /

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Monday that will increase penalties for those convicted of child sex trafficking, a seemingly straightforward measure that instead divided Democrats over how to handle crimes that disproportionately affect women and children.

Senate Bill 14 will reclassify sex trafficking of ...Read more

Tom Conway, international president of United Steelworkers, dies at 71

Current News / News & Features /

PITTSBURGH — Tom Conway, the international president of United Steelworkers, died at 71, the union announced Monday.

It was a "devastating" loss for Collin O’Mara, CEO of the National Wildlife Federation and Conway's co-chair at the BlueGreen Alliance until the day he died.

"He was a giant in every way," O'Mara said in an interview. "Most ...Read more

KIM WON JIN/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

North Korea allows foreigner entry for first time since 2020

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North Korea appears to be allowing entry for foreigners for the first time since it shut its borders at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, opening up a source of revenue that once provided the country with hard currency.

North Korea announced foreigners would be allowed to enter the country starting Monday, according to a report ...Read more

ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Mexico weighs new screening plan with US, UN to tackle migration

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Mexico, along with President Joe Biden’s administration and the United Nations, is considering setting up a temporary program to help pre-screen tens of thousands of migrants for U.S. entry eligibility as border crossings increase again.

The program would be focused on about 40,000 migrants from Venezuela, Haiti, Nicaragua and Cuba who are in...Read more

Arvin Temkar/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS

Judge in Trump RICO case orders protections for jurors

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ATLANTA — Prospective jurors in the racketeering case against former President Donald Trump and his 18 co-defendants got an extra layer of security Monday when the judge overseeing the case ordered additional safeguards to protect their identities.

Once the cases reach trial, defendants, reporters and observers will be prohibited from ...Read more

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images North America/TNS

Cardin to take Foreign Relations gavel after Menendez charges

Current News / News & Features /

WASHINGTON — History is repeating itself on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as Chairman Bob Menendez relinquishes his leadership position for a second time because of federal corruption charges, with Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin expected to take the gavel.

Cardin, D-Md., will take over with a few differences compared to the last time the ...Read more

NHC/TNS

Tropical Storm Philippe weakens; odds increasing for system off Africa to develop

Current News / News & Features /

Tropical Storm Philippe weakened slightly Monday afternoon ahead of its projected northwest turn in the open waters of the Atlantic, and a tropical depression is likely to form from a system that is not far behind Philippe.

Showers and thunderstorms associated with a system off Africa increased Monday night, and forecasters expect it to develop...Read more

John Lamparski/Getty Images North America/TNS

Gov. Kathy Hochul says NY will commit 150 more National Guard members to help migrant crisis

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NEW YORK — New York state will add 150 members of the National Guard to a flock of personnel responding to the asylum-seeker crisis in New York City, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Monday.

The addition will bring the total number of National Guard service members assisting the migrants to 2,050, and will position the state to task 250 troops with ...Read more

Yuri Gripas/Abaca Press/TNS

Biden vows action to fight climate change in summit with Pacific island leaders

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President Joe Biden on Monday told Pacific island leaders that he is committed to fighting climate change that poses an existential threat to the tiny atolls that could be swamped by rising sea levels.

Meeting with members of the 18-member Pacific Islands Forum, Biden vowed to help the region meet the challenges of climate change which ...Read more

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images North America/TNS

Cardin to take Foreign Relations gavel again after Menendez charges

Current News / News & Features /

WASHINGTON — History is repeating itself on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as Chairman Bob Menendez relinquishes his leadership position for a second time because of federal corruption charges, with Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin expected again to take the gavel.

Cardin, D-Md., will take over with a few differences compared to the last time ...Read more