A federal judge in San Francisco has ordered a new mental health evaluation of a Mexican man acquitted of murder in the 2015 fatal shooting of a woman at the city's Embarcadero, a killing that became a national flashpoint over immigration. A separate case against Jose Ines Garcia Zarate on...
SoCal Man Charged With Spear-Gun Killings of His 2 Children
A California surfing school owner was charged Wednesday with killing his two young children with a spear gun in Mexico because he believed they would become monsters, authorities said. Matthew Taylor Coleman, 40, of Santa Barbara is facing a federal charge of the foreign murder of U.S. nationals, the U.S....
US Keeping Distance as Afghan Forces Face Taliban Rout
WASHINGTON — Afghan government forces are collapsing even faster than U.S. military leaders thought possible just a few months ago when President Joe Biden ordered a full withdrawal. But there's little appetite at the White House, the Pentagon or among the American public for trying to stop the rout and...
US Jobless Claims Near Pandemic Low as Economy Strengthens
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell for a third straight time last week, the latest sign that employers are laying off fewer people as they struggle to fill a record number of open jobs and meet a surge in consumer demand. Thursday's report from the Labor...
California Justices Decline Case Seeking to Limit Newsom’s Emergency Powers
The California Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to consider reining in Gov. Gavin Newsom's emergency powers during the coronavirus pandemic, leaving in place a lower court's ruling that the governor acted within his authority. The justices unanimously denied the petition for review filed by Republican Assemblymen James Gallagher and Kevin...
Back-to-Back Price Hikes, Wholesale Costs up 1% in July
WASHINGTON — Inflation at the wholesale level jumped a higher-than-expected 1% in July, matching the rise from the previous month, and dimming hopes that the upward trajectory of prices would begin to slow. Prices at the wholesale level over the past 12 months are up a record 7.8%, the largest...
Republicans Take to Mask Wars as Virus Surges in Red States
WASHINGTON — Top Republicans are battling school districts in their own states' urban, heavily Democratic areas over whether students should be required to mask up as they head back to school — reigniting ideological divides over mandates even as the latest coronavirus surge ravages the reddest, most unvaccinated parts of...
EXPLAINER: Will We Need Vaccine Passports to Do Fun Things?
Ready to go out on the town before summer ends? In parts of the U.S., you might have to carry your COVID-19 vaccine card or a digital copy to get into restaurants, bars, nightclubs and outdoor music festivals. After resisting the divisive concept of vaccine passports through most of the...
California First State to Mandate Teachers Get COVID-19 Vaccine or Test Weekly
California will become the first state in the nation to require all teachers and school staff to get vaccinated or undergo weekly COVID-19 testing. The statewide vaccine mandate for K-12 educators comes as schools return from summer break amid growing concerns of the highly contagious delta variant. Gov. Gavin Newsom...
Taliban Complete Northeast Afghan Blitz as More Cities Fall
KABUL, Afghanistan — The Taliban seized three more Afghan provincial capitals and a local army headquarters Wednesday to complete a blitz across the country's northeast, giving them control of two-thirds of the nation as the U.S. and NATO finalize their withdrawal after decades of war. The fall of the capitals...