LOS ANGELES — Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday that his office is weighing issues of enforcement and workplace safety in considering whether and when to adopt the latest federal guidelines around masking. Newsom said his office has been talking with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, local health officers...
California Is Awash in Tax Revenue and Budget Reflects It
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday proposed a $268 billion state budget that is one-third larger than the state's current spending plan, fueled by surging state tax revenues and federal stimulus money. He said the windfall that produced a $76 billion surplus provides a chance for the most populous...
Deaths Rise as Palestinians Flee Heavy Israeli Fire in Gaza
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Thousands of Palestinians grabbed children and belongings and fled their homes Friday as Israel barraged the northern Gaza Strip with tank fire and airstrikes, killing a family of six in their house and heavily damaging other neighborhoods in what it said was an operation to...
Ramadan Drives Donations, Memberships to Giving Circles
Sahina Islam can still recall the day when she heard an elderly Pakistani couple got kicked out of their New York City home by their son-in-law and were sitting near John F. Kennedy International Airport, stranded and with nowhere to go. The incident led Islam and five friends to help...
Vandenberg Air Force Base to be Renamed Space Force Base
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE — California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base will be renamed as a U.S. Space Force Base on Friday. The name will be changed to Vandenberg Space Force Base during an afternoon ceremony on the parade field at the sprawling base on the state's Central Coast, which tests...
Bill Maher Taping Canceled After Host’s Positive Virus Test
LOS ANGELES — A taping of Bill Maher's weekly HBO show was canceled after the host tested positive for COVID-19. Maher, who is fully vaccinated, is “asymptomatic and feels fine," according to a statement Thursday from HBO. “No other staff or crew members have tested positive at this time,” the...
Biden to Meet DACA Recipients in Immigration Overhaul Push
President Joe Biden is scheduled to meet Friday with six immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children who benefited from an Obama-era policy that protected them from deportation. The Oval Office meeting comes as Biden looks to press Congress to pass legislation codifying the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals...
House GOP Elects Trump Defender Elise Stefanik to No. 3 Post
WASHINGTON — Republicans vaulted Rep. Elise Stefanik into the ranks of House leadership Friday, electing an ardent Donald Trump defender in hopes of calming their searing civil war over the deposed Rep. Liz Cheney's unremitting combat with the former president. Stefanik, R-N.Y., a moderate turned Trump loyalist who's given voice...
Afghan Police Say Kabul Mosque Bombing Kills 12 Worshippers
KABUL, Afghanistan — A bomb ripped through a mosque in northern Kabul during Friday prayers, killing 12 worshippers, and wounding 15, Afghan police said. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing, the latest in a surge in violence as U.S. and NATO troops have begun their final withdrawal from...
San Francisco Police Make Rare Apology for Officer Shooting
SAN FRANCISCO — In a rare police apology Thursday, San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott apologized for a police shooting last week that injured a burglary suspect. The man, 23-year-old Xavier Pittman, was shot in the wrist by a plainclothes officer as he was being arrested. Suspect Shot by Officer...