WASHINGTON — Facing disquiet at home and danger abroad, President Joe Biden will deliver his first State of the Union address at a steeply challenging moment for the nation, aiming to navigate out of the pandemic, reboot his stalled domestic agenda and confront Russian aggression. The White House had conceived Tuesday night's speech...
Live Ukraine Updates: Russia Escalates Attacks on Civilian Areas
The latest developments on the Russia-Ukraine war: KYIV, Ukraine — Russian forces escalated their attacks on crowded urban areas Tuesday, bombarding the central square in Ukraine’s second-biggest city and Kyiv's main TV tower in what the country's president called a blatant campaign of terror. “Nobody will forgive. Nobody will...
California Among States to End School Mask Mandates on March 12
SACRAMENTO — Schoolchildren in California, Oregon, and Washington will no longer be required to wear masks as part of new indoor mask policies the Democratic governors of all three states announced jointly on Monday. “With declining case rates and hospitalizations across the West, California, Oregon and Washington are moving...
Potent Protest: Bars Drop Russian Vodka, Promote Ukraine’s
Some bars and liquor stores think they’ve found a potent way to punish Russia for invading Ukraine: They’re pulling Russian vodka off their shelves and promoting Ukrainian brands instead. “I woke up yesterday morning, and I saw that Russia had invaded Ukraine. You wonder what you can do,’’ said...
Salinas Police Officer Killed, Suspect Arrested
SALINAS — A Salinas Police Department officer was killed in an exchange of gunfire with a man he stopped for a traffic violation and the suspect in his death has been arrested, authorities said Saturday. Our heartfelt sympathies go out to the family, friends and colleagues of Police Officer...
Sen. Feinstein’s Husband, Richard Blum, Dies at 86
WASHINGTON — Richard Blum, husband of California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, died Sunday after a long battle with cancer. He was 86. Feinstein announced her husband's death in a statement Monday morning that said her “heart is broken today.” She said her husband, a wealthy San Francisco investor, “left things...
Ruble Plummets as Sanctions Bite, Sending Russians to Banks
MOSCOW — Ordinary Russians faced the prospect of higher prices and crimped foreign travel as Western sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine sent the ruble plummeting, leading uneasy people to line up at banks and ATMs on Monday in a country that has seen more than one currency disaster in...
Live Ukraine Updates: Russians Shell Ukraine’s No. 2 City and Menace Kyiv
The latest developments on the Russia-Ukraine war: KYIV, Ukraine — Russian forces shelled Ukraine's second-largest city on Monday, rocking a residential neighborhood, and closed in on the capital, Kyiv, in a 17-mile convoy of hundreds of tanks and other vehicles, as talks aimed at stopping the fighting yielded only an...
It’s a Bear Battalion! Ravenous Hank the Tank Is Actually 3 Bears
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE — Hank the Tank is actually a three-bear battalion. DNA evidence now shows that the 500-pound black bear the public had nicknamed “Hank the Tank” is, in fact, at least three not-so-little bears who have damaged more than 30 properties around Lake Tahoe in recent months. The state Department...
Ukraine Capital Under Threat as Russia Presses Invasion
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian troops bore down on Ukraine’s capital Friday, with gunfire and explosions resonating ever closer to the government quarter, in an invasion of a democratic country that has fueled fears of wider war in Europe and triggered worldwide efforts to make Russia stop. With reports of hundreds...