SAN FRANCISCO — California officials will again truck millions of young salmon raised at fish hatcheries in the state's Central Valley agricultural region to the Pacific Ocean because projected river conditions show that the waterways the fish use to travel downstream will be historically low and warm due to increasing...
Biden’s Agenda: What Can Pass and What Faces Steep Odds
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden laid out a long list of policy priorities in his speech to Congress — and some are more politically plausible than others. The two parties are working together in some areas, including on changes to policing and confronting the rise of hate crimes against Asian...
5 Arrested in Violent Robbery of Lady Gaga’s Dogs
LOS ANGELES — The woman who returned Lady Gaga’s stolen French bulldogs was among five people arrested in connection with the theft and shooting of the music superstar’s dog walker, Los Angeles police said Thursday. Thieves Not Believed to Have Known the Dogs Belonged to Gaga Detectives do not believe that the...
Religious Festival Stampede in Israel Kills 45, Hurts Dozens
JERUSALEM (AP) — A stampede at a religious festival attended by tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews in northern Israel killed at least 45 people and injured about 150 early Friday, medical officials said. It was one of the country's deadliest civilian disasters. The stampede began when large numbers of...
Employers Paying Higher Wages to Attract Workers Back, Data Shows
WASHINGTON — Wages and benefits grew quickly for U.S. workers in the first three months of the year, a sign that businesses are starting to offer higher pay to fill newly-opened jobs. U.S. workers’ total compensation rose 0.9% in the January-March quarter, the largest gain in more than 13 years,...
Disneyland Opening Highlights California’s COVID Turnaround
ANAHEIM — Disneyland, California’s world-famous theme park, reopened to excited visitors Friday after an unprecedented 13-month closure in what tourism officials hope is a sign of the state’s rebound from the pandemic. The reopening came just four months after the nation's most populous state was struggling to combat a surge...
Amazon’s Profit More Than Triples as Pandemic Boom Continues
NEW YORK — Amazon’s pandemic boom isn’t showing signs of slowing down. The company said Thursday that its first-quarter profit more than tripled from a year ago, fueled by the growth of online shopping. It also posted revenue of more than $100 billion, the second quarter in a row that...
White Farmers Sue Seeking Government Loan Forgiveness
MADISON, Wis. — A group of Midwestern farmers sued the federal government Thursday alleging they can't participate in a COVID-19 loan forgiveness program because they're white. The group of plaintiffs includes farmers from Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota and Ohio. According to the lawsuit, the Biden administration's COVID-19 stimulus plan provides...
Arizona Farmers to Bear Brunt of Cuts From Colorado River
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Arizona is prepared to lose about one-fifth of the water the state gets from the Colorado River in what could be the first federally declared shortage in the river that supplies millions of people in the U.S. West and Mexico, state officials said Thursday. Arizona stands to...
Driver in Fresno County Crash That Killed 9 Was Drunk, Feds Say
The driver of an SUV involved in a western Fresno County crash that killed nine, including seven children, was drunk and didn't have a license, federal investigators said Thursday in a preliminary report. The children, who were between 6 and 15 years old, were members of two related families traveling...