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Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group/TNS

An ancient mound of shells has been mined in the San Francisco Bay for 100 years -- but the oyster's future is uncertain

Current News / News & Features /

For years now, if a commuter were to glance to the north side of the San Mateo Bridge, they might see a lonely barge, painted with the words “Lind Marine,” floating a few hundred yards from the shoreline.

A stray vessel in the San Francisco Bay is not an uncommon sight. But this particular barge is the last sign of one of California’s ...Read more

Geoff Robins/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Judge gives final OK for $626 million Flint water crisis settlement

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DETROIT — A Michigan judge has given final approval to the record-breaking $626 million Flint water crisis partial settlement with the state of Michigan and other entities, putting Flint residents a step closer to receiving financial compensation for the man-made disaster that began nearly a decade ago.

In a ruling on Monday, Genesee County ...Read more

Jung Yeon-je/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

US, South Korea plan 'largest-ever' live-fire drills in June

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SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea plans to hold its “largest-ever” live-fire drills with the U.S. in a move certain to anger North Korea, which has ramped up its provocations to new levels in response to recent military exercises.

The joint drills, which will involve mobilizing high-tech military equipment, are planned for June as part of ...Read more

Jon Bilous/Dreamstime/TNS

Judge tosses suit from 36 North Carolina congregations looking to leave Methodist church

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A lawsuit by dozens of conservative United Methodist churches in western North Carolina wishing to break away from their governing body was thrown out of court Tuesday by an N.C. judge.

Superior Court Judge Richard Doughton of Iredell County tossed the complaint filed by 36 congregations after agreeing with a motion by the ...Read more

PAVEL BYRKIN/Getty Images North America/TNS

After talks with Xi, Putin hails China's proposals for Ukraine

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After two days of talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged even closer ties with Russia’s most powerful backer and hailed Beijing’s proposals for ending his war in Ukraine.

“Many of the provisions of the peace plan proposed by China are in line with Russian approaches and could be used as the ...Read more

Deadly 'bomb cyclone' storm slams California, toppling trees and causing blackouts

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LOS ANGELES — At least one person was killed as a wet and windy storm arrived in California on Tuesday, delivering more rain, snow and hazards to residents of the Golden State on the second day of spring.

The person, who has not been identified, was killed when a tree fell onto a vehicle on Alpine Road in Portola Valley, according to the ...Read more

Joseph Cooke/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/TNS

Missouri advances measure limiting vaccines

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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The Missouri House approved an anti-vaccination measure Tuesday that could tie the hands of health professionals to address future pandemics.

The proposal, sponsored by Republican Rep. Bill Hardwick of Waynesville, would bar governments from being able to mandate a COVID-19 vaccine or future potential medical ...Read more

Biden teases 2024 run at awards ceremony for artists

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WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden teased his expected reelection run while honoring celebrities at the White House on Tuesday, with pointed quips to singer Bruce Springsteen and author Colson Whitehead.

“Bruce, some people are just born to run, man,” Biden said at an event where he bestowed 23 recipients with the nation’s highest awards ...Read more

HEATHER KHALIFA/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

Philly neighborhood activists met with DoJ over supervised drug consumption sites. Elected officials were turned away

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PHILADELPHIA — Representatives from neighborhood groups around Philadelphia said they felt federal officials are not listening to their concerns about efforts to open a place in the city where people could inject drugs under medical supervision.

Civic group leaders met Tuesday with U.S. Attorney Jacqueline Romero as the U.S. Justice ...Read more

US condemns Israel over reversal on West Bank settlements law

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The Biden administration condemned an Israeli parliament vote repealing a 2005 law that barred settlers from parts of the West Bank, calling the move “provocative and counterproductive.”

The U.S. is “extremely troubled that the Israeli Knesset has passed legislation rescinding parts of the 2005 Disengagement Law,” deputy State ...Read more

D.A. Varela/Miami Herald/TNS

As Miami Beach struggles to control spring break crowds, still few answers on last weekend's shootings

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MIAMI — Two deadly shootings, motives unclear. Hundreds of arrests. Dozens of guns confiscated. Emergency city commission meetings.

It’s spring break in Miami Beach and once again city leaders and the police force are struggling for ways to control crowds and the kind of publicity that no tourist-driven community wants.

“We can’t allow...Read more

Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Massive strike shutters LAUSD as a sea of workers seeking higher wages rallies downtown

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LOS ANGELES — The start of a massive three-day strike led by the lowest paid public school workers and supported by teachers shut down Los Angeles campuses Tuesday amid a fierce morning storm, sent parents scrambling for child care and meals and brought thousands of picketers to campuses and a boisterous afternoon rally downtown.

The strike ...Read more

Dreamstime/TNS/TNS

As budget cuts loom, group warns of effects on House staff pay

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A bipartisan coalition of 25 advocacy groups, think thanks and individuals is warning of a “crisis for staff” if Republicans roll back discretionary spending that had boosted pay for House staffers.

Republicans are seeking to return spending to fiscal 2022 levels, which would gut pay increases that some say were long overdue.

During his ...Read more

Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times/TNS

LAPD chief says inspector general's office will investigate release of photos of undercover officers to watchdog website

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LOS ANGELES — The Office of the Inspector General will investigate LAPD Chief Michel Moore and the department’s constitutional policing director over the disclosure of photos of thousands of officers, including those who work undercover.

At Tuesday’s regular meeting of the Police Commission, Moore said he had issued “deep apologies” ...Read more

News briefs

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White House aims to stop China, Russia from using chip funding

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Commerce Department released proposed guidelines Tuesday to prevent China, Russia, Iran and North Korea from benefiting from $52 billion in federal funding for semiconductor chip production.

Companies receiving a portion of the funding won't be allowed to ...Read more

Jay Paul/Getty Images North America/TNS

Va. teacher recalls day of shooting, says she will 'never forget' first-grader pointing gun at her

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NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Abigail Zwerner told NBC News this week that the image of her 6-year-old student aiming a gun at her during class has been forever etched in her mind.

“I will just never forget the look on his face that he gave me while he pointed the gun directly at me,” Zwerner told reporter Savannah Guthrie on a “Today” show ...Read more

PAVEL BYRKIN/Getty Images North America/TNS

After talks with Xi, Putin hails China proposals for Ukraine

Current News / News & Features /

After two days of talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged even closer ties with Russia’s most powerful backer and hailed Beijing’s proposals for ending his war in Ukraine.

“Many of the provisions of the peace plan proposed by China are in line with Russian approaches and could be used as the ...Read more

Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News/TNS

House Republican leaders work to fuse support for energy package

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ORLANDO, Fla. — House Republicans spent the last day of their annual issues conference discussing their top legislative priority, an energy package dubbed HR 1, that will test the new majority’s ability to unite around major legislation when it hits the floor next week.

If they pass the bill with their slim four-seat majority, it could ...Read more

'Experience Regina': Canadian city apologizes for sexualized tourism campaign

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A group in charge of tourism in Regina, the capital city of Saskatchewan, a province in western Canada, is apologizing for leaning into sexual innuendos as part of its recently unveiled rebranding campaign.

“We just went too far,” Tim Reid, CEO of the organization formerly known as Tourism Regina, said in an interview on Monday.

Reid was ...Read more

Jacqueline Charles/Miami Herald/TNS

'We are living in a reign of terror': As Biden heads to Canada, Haitians ask, 'What next?'

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MIAMI — As President Joe Biden heads to Canada on Thursday for a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, where the crisis in Haiti will be a leading topic, there is one thing that everyone can agree on:

Since the U.S. and Canada began targeting Haiti’s political and business elite with travel visa bans and economic sanctions in early ...Read more