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Ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura testifies at Sean 'Diddy' Combs' trial, details horrific beatings, 'freakoff' sex performances

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NEW YORK — Casandra “Cassie” Ventura took the stand as the star witness at Sean “Diddy” Combs’ federal sex trafficking trial in New York on Tuesday, relaying horrific beatings she endured by the multimillionaire hip-hop mogul and being forced to participate in dayslong, demoralizing and disgusting sexual performances with male sex ...Read more

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images North America/TNS

Expedited South African refugees to resettle in Idaho under Trump order

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BOISE, Idaho — A plane carrying dozens of South Africans claiming to face anti-white discrimination landed in the United States on Monday. Nine will be resettled in Idaho as refugees, making them some of the only refugees to the state since President Donald Trump ordered pauses in January.

Nearly 50 Afrikaners — a term that refers to South ...Read more

Hector Amezcua/The Sacramento Bee/TNS

Gavin Newsom wants California to stock up on abortion pill

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to expand the state’s ability to stockpile brand-name drugs to safeguard against potential federal intervention and shortages.

The governor said Tuesday he will propose expanding the California Department of Health Services’ ability to buy brand-name and generic drugs, citing the need to “...Read more

Yuri Gripas/ABACA/Abaca Press/TNS

Joe Biden's routine physical exam turns up 'small nodule' on prostate

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Former President Joe Biden’s regular medical evaluation earlier this month turned up a “small nodule” on his prostate that required he undergo “further evaluation,” according to his spokesperson.

Biden spent Friday night at a hospital in Philadelphia after doctors spotted the nodule during his “routine physical exam” last week, ...Read more

California eaglets Sunny and Gizmo get ready to test their wings

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LOS ANGELES — Fans of Big Bear's bald eagle family — stars of their own webcam reality show — watched over the winter as parents Jackie and Shadow finally welcomed offspring to the nest after several previous attempts led to heartbreak. Now, in just 2 1/2 months, their eaglets have sprouted up.

Time flies — and, any day now, so will ...Read more

Theodore Parisienne/New York Daily News/TNS

Federal judge orders independent official to take control of Rikers Island from NYC

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NEW YORK — A federal judge ruled Tuesday that an independent outside official will take control of Rikers Island from New York City in a sweeping ruling aimed at fixing years of violence and deteriorating conditions.

In her 77-page ruling, Manhattan Federal Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain didn’t immediately identify the official who will ...Read more

Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images North America/TNS

Schumer blocks Trump DOJ appointees over $400 million plane gift from Qatar

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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer Tuesday put a hold on President Donald Trump’s Justice Department appointees over the gift of a $400 million luxury plane from Qatar that could be used as his Air Force One.

The Brooklyn Democrat slammed as “blatant corruption” the present from the oil-rich Gulf Arab state to Trump, who admits he plans...Read more

Lezlie Sterling/The Sacramento Bee/TNS

California sues over Trump policy tying transportation grants to immigration

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WASHINGTON — California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed two lawsuits Tuesday challenging a Trump administration policy that would deny the state billions of dollars in transportation grants unless it follows the administration’s lead on immigration enforcement.

“Let’s be clear about what’s happening here,” Bonta said in a ...Read more

Allen J. Schabe/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Researchers find drinking water is safe in Eaton, Palisades burn areas as utilities lift last 'do not drink' order

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LOS ANGELES — Scientists have released some of the first independent test results confirming that drinking water in fire-affected areas around Altadena and the Pacific Palisades is largely free of harmful contaminants, as an Altadena utility lifted the last “do not drink” notice left in the burn zones.

Researchers with the LA Fire HEALTH...Read more

Robert Willett/The News & Observer/TNS

North Carolina Justice Allison Riggs sworn in after 6-month election battle with GOP challenger

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RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs was sworn in for an eight-year term Tuesday morning at the state Capitol, days after her Republican challenger conceded the race — capping a months-long legal battle.

Justice Anita Earls, the only other Democrat on a court controlled by Republicans, administered the oath of ...Read more

Win McNamee/Getty Images North America/TNS

Trump says Saudis to invest $1 trillion, touting deals in the US

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President Donald Trump said Saudi Arabia would commit to investing $1 trillion in the United States, promoting a flurry of dealmaking at the start of his four-day Middle East visit.

Trump’s announcement Tuesday came as he cemented his relationship with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a key regional power player by making Riyadh his ...Read more

FBI/TNS

Marco Rubio says Cuba failed to cooperate with US on counterterrorism efforts last year

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio blacklisted Cuba on Tuesday as a country that did not fully cooperate with U.S. counterterrorism efforts in 2024 and blasted the government in Havana for its refusal to discuss the return of people residing on the island who are charged in the U.S. for various crimes.

The State Department said in a statement there...Read more

Win McNamee/Getty Images North America/TNS

Trump's agenda on Middle East trip: Lots of deals

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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — The first time President Donald Trump visited Riyadh in 2017, he posed with a ceremonial orb, took part in a traditional sword dance and secured an agreement by Saudi Arabia to purchase $350 billion in weaponry, the largest arms deal in U.S. history.

The sequel, coming eight years later — almost to the day — ...Read more

NATHANIEL LEVINE/The Sacramento Bee/TNS

Is spraying graffiti on a Telsa actually 'domestic terrorism'? What California law says

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Is spray painting graffiti on a Tesla to criticize Elon Musk a valid form of protest — or domestic terrorism?

President Donald Trump and his administration have denounced widespread attacks on Tesla vehicles, charging stations and dealerships.

Musk has faced ire in recent months for his role in the U.S. Department of ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Minnesota judge questions lag in charges for immigrant in fatality case highlighted by White House

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MINNEAPOLIS — A fatal drunken-driving crash in Minneapolis allegedly caused by an Ecuadorean national has drawn indignation from the White House over his immigration status and questions from a Hennepin County judge about what took so long to file criminal vehicular homicide charges.

German Adriano Llangari Inga, 35, was charged on May 2 in ...Read more

Win McNamee/Getty Images North America/TNS

Trump arrives in Saudi Arabia amid much pomp

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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — President Donald Trump arrived Tuesday for the first leg of his Middle East tour in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, where he was welcomed with a pomp-and-circumstance-filled ceremony and a high-powered lunch with top business leaders and government figures before giving a speech at an investment forum.

After Air Force One...Read more

Trump arrives in Saudi Arabia amid much pomp

Current News / News & Features /

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — President Donald Trump arrived Tuesday for the first leg of his Middle East tour in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, where he was welcomed with a pomp-and-circumstance-filled ceremony and a high-powered lunch with top business leaders and government figures before giving a speech at an investment forum.

After Air Force One...Read more

Win McNamee/Getty Images North America/TNS

Trump arrives in Saudi Arabia amid much pomp

Current News / News & Features /

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — President Donald Trump arrived Tuesday for the first leg of his Middle East tour in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, where he was welcomed with a pomp-and-circumstance-filled ceremony and a high-powered lunch with top business leaders and government figures before giving a speech at an investment forum.

After Air Force One...Read more

Nancy Lane/Boston Herald/TNS

Karen Read trial taking a day off today

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DEDHAM, Mass. — The Karen Read murder retrial is taking today off.

The announcement came in the form of a somewhat cryptic message from the state’s courts.

“Please be advised that the trial in Commonwealth v. Karen Read is not taking place today due to unavoidable circumstances,” Massachusetts state courts spokeswoman Jennifer Donahue ...Read more

RENÉE C. BYER/rbyer@sacbee.com/The Sacramento Bee/TNS

Sacramento motel could be developed into housing for formerly homeless people

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A south Sacramento motel is slated to be turned into permanent housing for homeless adults and families.

The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors will Tuesday consider a proposal to redevelop a Motel 6, near the corner of Stockton Boulevard and Elsie Avenue, into housing.

If the supervisors approve, nonprofit ...Read more