GLASGOW, Scotland — President Joe Biden announced steps Tuesday to stop methane leaks and spend money on infrastructure abroad to limit global warming while, back home, a pivotal senator has threatened to scuttle landmark climate legislation Biden is pushing for the U.S. Biden portrayed the plans unveiled at a side...
Wayward Seal Pup Rescued From Bay Area Street After Dangerous Crossing
A northern fur seal pup was recovering Monday at a marine life rehabilitation center where he is being fed fish smoothies after a harrowing weekend in San Rafael where he was almost hit by a car. The baby seal was spotted Saturday by police officers near the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge...
Giant Sequoias Rise From Ashes of Wildfire in Tulare County Community
SEQUOIA CREST— Ashtyn Perry was barely as tall as the shovel she stomped into barren ground where a wildfire last year ravaged the Tulare County community of Sequoia Crest and destroyed dozens of its signature behemoth trees. The 13-year-old with a broad smile and a braid running to her waist...
What’s the Next Gig for Fresno’s Audra McDonald?
NEW YORK — Audra McDonald is going from host of the Tony Awards to another stage role. The six-time Tony-winner will return to Broadway in the play “Ohio State Murders” by Adrienne Kennedy, directed by Tony Award winner Kenny Leon. Dates and the creative team will be announced later. The...
Tight Virginia Governor’s Race Tests Biden’s Strength
RICHMOND, Va. — The first major test of how voters feel about Joe Biden's presidency is unfolding in Virginia, where a governor's race that was supposed to be a comfortable win for Democrats is instead ending in suspense. Terry McAuliffe, one of the most prominent figures in Democratic politics and...
Americans Sour on Economy Amid Inflation Woes: AP-NORC Poll
Americans’ opinions on the U.S. economy have soured noticeably in the past month, a new poll finds, with nearly half expecting economic conditions to worsen in the next year. Just 35% of Americans now call the national economy good, while 65% call it poor, according to a poll by The...
Fresno Anti-Abortion Group Scores Win in Challenge to Law Protecting COVID Vaccine Sites
A federal judge in Fresno has thrown out California's new 30-foot buffer zone designed to restrict protests at coronavirus vaccination sites, though his ruling left in place other parts of a new state law despite arguments that it infringes on free speech. The law that took effect Oct. 8 makes...
Arpaio Legal Tab Hits $100M as Taxpayers Foot his Last Bills
PHOENIX — Nearly five years after Joe Arpaio was voted out as sheriff of Arizona's most populous county, taxpayers have covered one of the last major bills from the thousands of lawsuits the lawman's headline-grabbing tactics inspired — and the overall legal tab has hit $100 million. Officials in Maricopa...
Fed to Start Reining in Economic Aid as Inflation Risk Rises
WASHINGTON — With inflation at its highest point in three decades, the Federal Reserve is set this week to begin winding down the extraordinary stimulus it has given the economy since the pandemic recession struck early last year, a process that could prove to be a risky balancing act. Chair...
G-20 Make Mild Pledges on Climate Neutrality, Coal Financing
ROME — Leaders of the world’s biggest economies agreed Sunday to stop funding coal-fired power plants in poor countries and made a vague commitment to seek carbon neutrality “by or around mid-century” as they wrapped up a Rome summit before the much larger United Nations climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland....