Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu struck a defiant tone against President Joe Biden after the U.S. withheld a shipment of bombs as a warning to its top Middle East ally not to invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

In a first, punchy clip on the social media site X, Netanyahu said: “If we have to stand alone, we will stand alone” ...Read more

Multiple UC Irvine students involved in a pro-Palestinian encampment that formed on campus last week have been given suspension notices, a university spokesperson confirmed Thursday, May 9.

According to one of the suspension letters independently obtained by The Orange County Register, the students have been barred from being “physically or ...Read more

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman called President Joe Biden's threat to withhold military aid to Israel "deeply disappointing," the latest criticism he has levied at the president over his handling of the war in Gaza.

On Wednesday, Biden announced on CNN that he would halt some shipments of bombs and artillery into Israel if the country invaded the ...Read more

The California Coastal Commission has drawn a line in the sand: Allow transgender surfers to compete, or you’ll be in violation of the Coastal Act.

A two-day surf contest happening this weekend in Huntington Beach, California, found itself at the center of a hotly debated topic: Whether trans athletes should be allowed to compete in the ...Read more

SEATTLE — The Archdiocese of Seattle is refusing to turn over documents showing how it handled child sexual abuse allegations by church leaders, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson said in a news conference Thursday.

The archdiocese is citing a legal exemption for religious organizations that shields the records from public disclosure, ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA —The University of Pennsylvania is adding security for this year's graduation ceremony, as protests of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza grow heading into their third week.

In an update to parents, families, and friends, Penn said there would be a "high level of security" at its 268th commencement, scheduled for May 20 at Franklin ...Read more

The value of a college degree largely depends on where you go, a new HEA Group study found.

And as college tuition continues to increase – more than 30% in the next five years for Cal State University – some are wondering if higher education is worth the investment.

Eloy Ortiz Oakley, president and CEO of College Futures Foundation, set ...Read more

Eilon Presman was about 100 feet from the UCLA Palestinian solidarity encampment when he heard the screams: "Zionist! Zionist!"

The 20-year-old junior, who is Israeli, realized the activists were pointing at him.

"Human chain!" they cried.

A line of protesters linked arms and marched toward him, Presman said, blocking him from accessing the ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration proposed a rule Thursday aimed at speeding up the deportation process for migrants who are already ineligible for asylum.

The change isn't expected to have broad implications, but rather tighten existing rules. It comes as the White House and Democrats play offense on the border and immigration, one of ...Read more

WASHINGTON — California Attorney General Rob Bonta said he and his staff have been reviewing former President Donald Trump’s second-term agenda in detail to prepare a potential onslaught of environmental, immigration and civil rights lawsuits in the event Trump defeats President Joe Biden.

“We can’t be caught flat-footed,” Bonta said...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota could become the next state to ban police officer training on "excited delirium," a term that has been rejected by major medical associations in recent years as pseudoscience used to justify deaths in law enforcement custody.

Police officers invoking excited delirium during fatal interactions, such as the murder of ...Read more

The Illinois House on Thursday passed Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s initiative to consolidate early childhood services under a single agency, paving the way for the creation of a new state Department of Early Childhood.

“We can make early childhood simpler, better and fairer,” Democratic Rep. Mary Beth Canty of Arlington Heights, the bill’s main...Read more

The Metropolitan Oakland International Airport will be renamed to the San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport, following a unanimous vote by the Port of Oakland Board of Commissioners on Thursday.

The decision to rename the airport was based on the airport’s location on San Francisco Bay and its proximity to numerous notable locations...Read more

Citing increasing unlawfulness, Gov. Josh Shapiro on Thursday called on the University of Pennsylvania to disband a pro-Palestinian encampment that has spent two weeks on the Ivy League campus.

“Over the last 24 hours ... the situation has gotten even more unstable and out of control,” Shapiro said during an event in Westmoreland County. �...Read more

NEW YORK — The New York State prison system continues to send inmates with mental illness disabilities to solitary confinement, despite a 2022 state law banning them from doing so, according to a new class action lawsuit.

The suit, filed in Brooklyn Supreme Court, is accusing the state of placing inmates with myriad physical and mental ...Read more

For more than 150 years, visitors have taken hundreds of millions of photographs of Yosemite National Park.

But many of the park’s most iconic images — timeless, internationally famous shots of Half Dome, Tunnel View, Mirror Lake and other wonders that strikingly depict America’s natural heritage — were made by Bay Area native Ansel ...Read more

BALTIMORE — Salvage crews have been preparing explosive charges that will be used in a controlled demolition of the section of the Key Bridge that landed atop the Dali container ship, officials said Thursday, which will allow the vessel to eventually return to the Port of Baltimore.

The Key Bridge Unified Command, which is heading recovery ...Read more

A business owner has pleaded guilty to dumping thousands of gallons of hazardous substances into an Ohio river, killing more than 40,000 fish, officials said.

“There’s a right way and a wrong way to do business,” Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said in a May 7 news release. “When your business pollutes Ohio’s natural resources, you ...Read more

JUNEAU, Alaska — The Alaska House adopted the capital budget in a 39-1 vote Wednesday, displaying a rare moment of cohesion between the Republican-controlled majority and the more progressive minority.

Rep. Bryce Edgmon, a Dillingham independent who oversaw the capital budget in the House as co-chair of the House Finance Committee, said the ...Read more