LAS VEGAS — Jon Gruden again said he is not a racist after his Las Vegas Raiders lost their first game since the revelation of the head coach's 2011 racial remark about players’ union leader DeMaurice Smith. Gruden apologized for his “insensitive remarks” when asked about the decade-old emails following...
Merck Asks FDA to Authorize Promising Anti-COVID Pill
WASHINGTON — Drugmaker Merck asked U.S. regulators Monday to authorize its pill for treating COVID-19 in what would add an entirely new and easy-to-use weapon to the world's arsenal against the pandemic. If cleared by the Food and Drug Administration — a decision that could come in a matter of...
California Law Requires Gender-Neutral Area in Some Stores
California on Saturday became the first state to say large department stores must display products like toys and toothbrushes in gender-neutral ways, a win for LGBT advocates who say the pink and blue hues of traditional marketing methods pressure children to conform to gender stereotypes. The new law, signed by...
Newsom Signs Law Banning Gas-Powered Lawn Equipment
SACRAMENTO — California will soon ban the sale of new gas-powered leaf blowers and lawnmowers, a move aimed at curbing emissions from a category of small engines on pace to produce more pollution each year than passenger vehicles. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a new law on Saturday that orders state...
White House Restoring Environmental Reviews for Big Projects
WASHINGTON — In a reversal of a Trump-era environmental rollback, President Joe Biden is restoring federal regulations guiding environmental reviews of major infrastructure projects such as highways and pipelines. The reviews were scaled back by the Trump administration in a bid to fast-track the projects. The White House Council on Environmental...
Native American Hero Marie Wilcox, 87, Dies in Visalia Hospital
Marie Wilcox, a Native American woman in California who saved her tribe’s dying language, has died. She was 87. Wilcox was once the last fluent speaker of Wukchumni but she worked for more than 20 years to produce a dictionary of the language spoken by her tribe in California’s San...
Rivals Dodgers, Giants Prepare for Instant Playoff Classic
Mookie Betts is ready to throw out all the wins his Dodgers and the rival Giants piled up on the way to a frenetic regular-season finish. San Francisco edged the defending World Series champions by a single game for first place in the NL West, 107 victories to 106 —...
IS Claims Afghan Mosque Attack, Says It Targeted Shiites
KABUL, Afghanistan — The militant Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing at a Shiite Muslim mosque in northern Afghanistan that killed at least 46 people and wounded dozens. The claim, carried by the IS-linked Aamaq news agency and cited by the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors...
Tesla HQ is Leaving California for Texas, Elon Musk Says
Tesla will relocate its headquarters from Palo Alto to Austin, Texas, though the electric car maker will keep expanding its manufacturing capacity in the Golden State, CEO Elon Musk said Thursday. Musk, who last year said he was moving to Texas from California, gave no timeline for the move when he...
KNP Complex Fires May Have Killed Hundreds of Giant Sequoias
Wildfires in Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks may have killed hundreds of giant sequoias as they swept through groves of the majestic monarchs over the past month, an official said Wednesday. “It's heartbreaking," said Christy Brigham, head of resource management and science for the parks. The lightning-caused KNP Complex...