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A TV displays U.S. President Donald Trump's prime-time address on the war in Iran inside a Cheesecake Factory on April 1, 2026, in Washington, D.C.  Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Why the 60-day War Powers Resolution deadline doesn’t actually constrain presidents

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May 1, 2026, marks the 60th day of Operation Epic Fury in Iran – a symbolically significant date designating when a president who has mounted unilateral military operations must receive Congressional approval or wind it down.

However, the complex history of the War Powers Resolution clock demonstrates it is a toothless milestone....Read more

Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Behind the Trump administration's detentions of LA Iranians

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LOS ANGELES — Sarina Hosseiny said she had never heard of Qassem Soleimani, an Iranian general assassinated by the U.S. in 2020.

That is, not until this year, when threatening comments cropped up on social media claiming that she and her mother were relatives of Soleimani and were terrorists who should be deported.

The 25-year-old, who ...Read more

Christina House/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Mayor Bass' budget cuts $1.6 million for dog exercise program at LA animal shelters

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LOS ANGELES — Animal activists are pressing the Los Angeles City Council to continue funding a program that provides exercise and play time for dogs confined in city animal shelters.

Under a $1.6 million annual contract with the city, a nonprofit group called Dogs Playing for Life ensures that shelter dogs get out of their kennels for walks, ...Read more

San Diego County Sheriff’s Office/TNS

SoCal teen on electric dirt bike leads half a dozen patrol cars on bizarre, speedy pursuit

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A bizarre pursuit unfolded along the residential streets of Oceanside, California, this week as a helicopter and half a dozen sheriff's patrol cars chased a teen whizzing away from them on an electric dirt bike.

The suspect, identified as Hunter Bellish, is accused of speeding more than 50 mph, running multiple red lights and even knocking a ...Read more

Imago/Imago via ZUMA Press/TNS

Recycled plastics industry gets unexpected boost from Iran war

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LOS ANGELES — As the war with Iran sends the price of virgin plastic skyward, speculation is growing as to whether recycled plastic could finally have its day after struggling for years to gain a greater foothold among manufacturers.

Not since the collapse of the global recycling market in 2018 and the COVID-19 pandemic has the world faced as...Read more

John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune/TNS

A century of Route 66 celebrated at the Old Joliet Prison with The Big House Ballgame

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JOLIET, Ill. — Inside 25-foot high, sand-colored walls where inmates once served maximum security prison sentences and where rusty jail cells still stand, thousands gathered for an unusual afternoon ballgame Thursday.

For some, the day at the Old Joliet Prison marked the first time to see their beloved Joliet Slammers take the field this ...Read more

Iran delivers new proposal to US as Hormuz remains shut

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Iran delivered a new proposal to the U.S. and President Donald Trump vowed to maintain a naval blockade, as the two sides pursue behind-the-scenes diplomacy to turn a fragile ceasefire into a lasting peace.

Tehran relayed its latest position to Washington via Pakistan, which mediated a first round of direct negotiations last month, Iran’s ...Read more

Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune/TNS

120,000 Illinoisans may lose SNAP food assistance starting Friday due to work requirements

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CHICAGO — As many as 120,000 Illinoisans could lose access to food assistance beginning Friday due to new work requirements from the federal government, according to the Illinois Department of Human Services.

To remain eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly referred to as SNAP or food stamps, “able-bodied” ...Read more

RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post/TNS

Message carved into Colo. high school shooter's shoe invoked 'incel' ideology, experts say

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DENVER — A message carved into the shoe of the boy who shot two students and then himself at Evergreen High School last year makes clear the teenager was deeply entrenched in online extremist networks and that his radicalization was central to his attack, experts said.

The 16-year-old attacker had the phrase “ER SENDS HIS REGARDS” carved ...Read more

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images North America/TNS

They tracked California hate groups. Now, Trump's DOJ charges donors were defrauded

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LOS ANGELES — Experts who monitor far-right extremism have tracked a resurgence in California in recent years.

There are nearly 100 "hate and anti-government" groups in the state, including anti-vaxxers, doomsday prepper militias and old-school neo-Nazi outfits, according to the latest publicly available data from the Southern Poverty Law ...Read more

Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Robotaxis that violate California rules of the road will soon be ticketed. Here's how

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LOS ANGELES — Driverless cars haven't always obeyed the rules of the road but, unlike vehicles with humans behind the wheel, they've gotten away with it.

That's about to change.

A slew of statewide autonomous vehicle regulations based on Assembly Bill 1777 will go into effect July 1 — including a process for law enforcement to issue a "...Read more

Brandon Bell/Getty Images North America/TNS

States rush to figure out how to enforce Trump's Medicaid work requirements

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State officials remain uncertain on how to enforce a requirement that many adult Medicaid enrollees show they’re working — even as one state launches its program this week— and they’re taking a variety of approaches to the job, including, in a handful of states, using artificial intelligence.

A KFF survey of Medicaid officials from 42 ...Read more

Sean Rayford/Getty Images North America/TNS

Three new measles cases reported in South Florida; state still ranks fourth in US

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Three additional measles cases were reported in South Florida in April as the state, for two consecutive months, ranks fourth in the U.S. for the highest number of cases this year.

As of April 25, the latest data available, there have been a total of 149 measles cases in the state since Jan. 1, Florida Department of ...Read more

Court filing reveals new details of home invasion linked to a Chicago rapper

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CHICAGO — The masked home invaders that ransacked a Winnetka, Illinois, residence in search of cryptocurrency accounts in March held a person face-down on the ground as a child ran for help, new court filings allege.

A criminal complaint filed in Chicago federal court on Wednesday reveals new details in the high-profile invasion, which ...Read more

Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group/TNS

Trump administration investigates Stanford University for racial discrimination

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SAN JOSE, Calif. — Stanford is backing away from a program designed to support teachers of color after accusations of racial discrimination led to a federal investigation announced this week.

The Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights will determine whether Stanford violated Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act — a federal law ...Read more

A pregnant mother with untreated syphilis can pass it to the unborn fetus. Halfpoint Images/Moment via Getty Images

Syphilis cases in expectant mothers have dramatically risen since the pandemic – here’s what’s driving the trend

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Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacteria Treponema pallidum.

During pregnancy, this bacteria can pass from a mother with untreated syphilis, known as maternal syphilis, to her child in utero, causing the fetus to contract congenital syphilis.

In January 2026, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and ...Read more

Barbed wire surrounds the GEO Group ICE detention facility in Adelanto, Calif. on July 10, 2025.  Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

When immigration detention becomes a system of concentration: Lessons from research on 150 historical cases

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The phrase “concentration camp” is freighted with dark historical meaning. Most people hear it and instinctively think of concentration camps used by the Nazis to exterminate Jews and other minority populations during the Holocaust.

But the use and name of concentration camps originated far earlier. In the late 1800s, Spanish ...Read more

Sycophancy eats away at truth and trust. Andriy Onufriyenko/Moment via Getty Images

AI chatbots can prioritize flattery over facts – and that carries serious risks

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In the summer of 2025, OpenAI released ChatGPT 5 and removed its predecessor from the market. Many subscribers to the old model had become attached to its warm, enthusiastically agreeable tone and complained at the loss of their ingratiating robotic companion. Such was the scale of frustration that Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, had to ...Read more

Gas prices were well over $4 a gallon on April 28, 2026, in Brooklyn, N.Y. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

What’s in the price of a gallon of gas?

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The U.S. Energy Information Administration expects nationwide retail gasoline prices to average near US$4.30 a gallon for April 2026 – the highest monthly average of the year. The political response has been familiar. Georgia has suspended its state gas tax, other states are weighing their own tax holidays, and the White House has issued a ...Read more

-/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Iran internet blackout tightens military's grip on civilian life

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Iran’s record internet blackout is emerging as a key dividing line between the country’s powerful security apparatus and its civilian government, underlining how the war with the U.S. has extended the military’s control over daily life.

Top government officials have become increasingly vocal about their opposition to the shutdown, imposed...Read more