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After nearly two decades, this massive New Mexico wind project is now powering California

Current News / News & Features /

The largest wind energy project in U.S. history is now online, delivering power from a massive array in New Mexico to Arizona and California — and signaling a new era for sending clean electricity across the West.

Nearly two decades in the making, the estimated $11-billion SunZia project from Pattern Energy is now fully operational, company ...Read more

Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Arson case handled by 'Broadview Six' prosecutor now in jeopardy amid new allegations of wrongdoing

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CHICAGO — A man accused of conspiring to torch his father’s grocery became the latest defendant to allege serious grand jury misconduct by the federal prosecutor who led the “Broadview Six” case that collapsed in spectacular fashion last month.

Lawyers for Alla Ishkirat said in a court filing Thursday that grand jury transcripts ...Read more

Alejandro A Alvarez/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

Sen. Andy Kim has 'no confidence in any aspect' of Trump's deal to end war in Iran

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WASHINGTON — As lawmakers on Capitol Hill grapple with President Donald Trump’s deal to end the war in Iran, the New Jersey Democrat who spent years weighing national security issues in the Middle East described the agreement as a “mind-boggling” move that will have damaging reverberations across the globe.

“It’s like setting your ...Read more

Gov. Dunleavy threatens second special session if Senate doesn't pass bill supporting Alaska LNG

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ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Thursday upped the stakes in his bid to pass a multibillion-dollar tax break for the state's long-sought Alaska LNG megaproject, saying on social media that he'll call a second special session if senators can't come to an agreement.

The statement came as the Senate considers a bill that passed the ...Read more

Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Obamas hope presidential center in Chicago will be a 'beacon of hope' for democracy

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CHICAGO — The Obama Presidential Center was dedicated Thursday in Jackson Park to the sounds of celebration and aspiration, music and motivation to amplify Barack and Michelle Obama’s message that it serve as a “beacon of hope” for democracy and help pave the way for a new generation of political leadership.

Surrounded by former ...Read more

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images North America/TNS

Long list of US concessions to Iran raises specter of a 'lost war'

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WASHINGTON — The White House pushed back Thursday against growing bipartisan criticism of a negotiated settlement to the war with Iran, arguing its concessions to the Islamic Republic were contingent on its conduct and essential to securing peace.

The administration's defensive posture came as details of the framework agreement, known as a ...Read more

Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Zuma Press/TNS

Sovereign wealth fund tax on AI companies unveiled by Sanders

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Newly released text offers details on legislation from progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., for the federal government to take a 50% share in leading artificial intelligence companies.

The text of the as-yet unnumbered bill, released Thursday, would put a one-time tax on AI companies with more than $200 million in annual sales, to be paid in...Read more

Katy Kildee/The Detroit News/TNS

Feds probe 3 Michigan school districts over Title IX controversies

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DETROIT — Three Michigan school districts are under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education for possible Title IX violations involving gender-identity controversies.

On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights announced it opened new investigations into Ann Arbor Public Schools, Monroe Public Schools ...Read more

Jewish residents in Pacific Palisades say neighbor terrorized them; member of Lion Raisins family arrested

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LOS ANGELES — A member of a family that runs a California raisin company is facing hate crime charges after he allegedly terrorized his Jewish neighbors in Pacific Palisades.

On Wednesday, Bruce Lion, who was arrested over the weekend, was set to be arraigned. But the proceeding was reportedly postponed because the 64-year-old would not come ...Read more

Mikhail Metzel/Kremlin Pool/Planet Pix via ZUMA Press Wire/TNS

Cuba rushes to pass Chinese-style reforms in last-ditch effort to survive US pressure

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With an unusual tone of urgency, Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel defended Chinese-style reforms he said must be implemented without delay, including allowing foreign investment in the country’s private sector and liberalizing the communist country’s centrally planned economy.

In an urgent meeting on Wednesday, the Communist Party’s ...Read more

Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal/TNS

Will a new Nevada law to prevent heat deaths work? Planning is underway

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LAS VEGAS — Nevada’s biggest cities and counties are changing their master plans to comply with a state law that takes effect this year, but new language alone may not have much tangible impact.

Assembly Bill 96, signed by Gov. Joe Lombardo last year, requires that all local governments that serve more than 100,000 residents incorporate ...Read more

Hannah Ruhoff/The Sacramento Bee/TNS

California Senate sends revenue-raising package taxing software, health plans to Newsom

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California Senate on Thursday passed a set of bills that raise taxes on commercial health insurance plans and software programs and end cap some corporate tax credits, with the chamber’s Democrat caucus following suit on their Assembly colleagues.

The tax package now goes to Gov. Gavin Newsom. All the tax raising ...Read more

David Guralnick/The Detroit News/TNS

FBI links Oxford school shooter to new terrorism case in Michigan's Macomb County

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DETROIT — FBI counterterrorism investigators have arrested a Macomb County man they said is linked to a vow to commit a mass shooting and wrote "There is no God" on the stock of a rifle in a nod to Oxford High School killer Ethan Crumbley.

The allegations are contained in a criminal filing unsealed Thursday in federal court in Detroit that ...Read more

Heather Diehl/Getty Images North America/TNS

RFK Jr. moves to lift warning labels on testosterone therapy

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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services wants to remove some of the stigma from testosterone treatment.

The agency, through the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, is asking manufacturers to take off warnings that have long appeared on hormone replacement therapy labels for older men whose testosterone levels decline naturally with age,...Read more

Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/TNS

The Obama Center's A-list opening, or, The art of having famous friends

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CHICAGO — If you have been anywhere near the Obama Presidential Center this week, anywhere at all near Jackson Park and Stony Island Avenue, leading up to the opening ceremonies on Thursday, you have seen the checkpoints, the concrete barricades, the imposing fences, the dark SUVs certain to be bulletproof. You have noticed the security.

That...Read more

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images North America/TNS

Wrapup: Senate hits spy powers snafu

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WASHINGTON — Senators moved ahead with a bipartisan housing bill this week, paving the way for a final vote once they return from the Juneteenth long weekend. But on another topic, they seemed to go not forward, but back.

President Donald Trump sent negotiations to renew a lapsed spy power authority back to square one Wednesday, souring the ...Read more

Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images North America/Getty Images

JD Vance defends Iran deal, warns Israel not to criticize Trump

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Vice President JD Vance aggressively defended the controversial peace deal with Iran, and warned Israel not to criticize President Donald Trump over the agreement.

In a White House press briefing, Vance embraced his new role as the top cheerleader for the deal that some critics say amounts to a capitulation to the Islamic Republic and a sell ...Read more

Alligator Alcatraz remains open, Florida's emergency director says

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MIAMI — Florida’s top emergency management official, whose job is to ensure Floridians are prepared for hurricanes, said Thursday that he did not know why federal immigration authorities said this week that immigrants at Alligator Alcatraz were being relocated due to hurricane season. He said the detention center was still open.

Kevin ...Read more

Nancy Lane/Boston Herald/TNS

Massachusetts high court cites 'misleading summary' by AG in striking down ballot initiative to lower state income tax

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BOSTON — The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court struck down an initiative petition to lower the state income tax from 5% to 4%, stating that a summary of the proposal authored by the Attorney General’s office and used to collect required signatures was misleading and must be disqualified from appearing on the ballot.

The high court ruled ...Read more

Maggie Trovato/Baltimore Sun/TNS

Key Bridge collapse: Dali engineer's federal charges could be dismissed

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BALTIMORE — The criminal case against the chief engineer of the cargo ship that destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge could be dismissed three years from now under an agreement with the government, entered into federal record on Thursday.

Federal prosecutors allege that Karthikeyan Deenadayalan, chief engineer aboard the Dali, failed to ...Read more