A long-running plan to build a community of 19,000 homes on vast Tejon Ranch along Interstate 5 south of Bakersfield has been halted by a judge who cited high wildfire risk. Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff on Tuesday rejected Los Angeles County’s approval of the developer’s environmental impact report, effectively...
California Advances Bill Aimed at Massive Unemployment Fraud
SACRAMENTO — California lawmakers on Thursday advanced what they called commonsense legislation requiring two state agencies to share information aimed at helping stop billions of dollars in pandemic-related unemployment fraud. The measure that cleared its first committee would require the beleaguered Employment Development Department to crosscheck unemployment applications with inmate...
Space Force Field Command to be Located at Los Angeles Base
Los Angeles Air Force Base will serve as a field command site for the U.S. Space Force, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday. The military will establish the Space Systems Command at the base near Los Angeles International Airport, the governor said in a statement. “This is a critical investment in...
Newsom Returns to Creek Fire Area to Outline $536 Million Wildfire Prevention Plan
California will authorize $536 million for wildfire mitigation and forest management projects before the worst of the fire season strikes later this year, Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders said Thursday. That more than doubles $200 million in recent annual spending, advocates said, and wildfire preparedness grants were dropped entirely...
Top Honor for Israeli Academic Blocked Over West Bank Petition Signature
JERUSALEM — Israel's top court on Thursday upheld a Cabinet minister's decision to temporarily block a prominent academic from receiving the country's highest honor after he called on the EU to halt funding for an Israeli university located in the occupied West Bank. The ruling by Israel’s Supreme Court drew...
Holocaust Survivors use Social Media to Fight Anti-Semitism
BERLIN — Alarmed by a rise in online anti-Semitism during the pandemic, coupled with studies indicating younger generations lack even basic knowledge of the Nazi genocide, Holocaust survivors are taking to social media to share their experiences of how hate speech paved the way for mass murder. Survivors Hope to...
North Ireland Leaders Call for Calm After Violence Escalates
BELFAST, Northern Ireland — Authorities in Northern Ireland sought to restore calm Thursday after Protestant and Catholic youths in Belfast hurled bricks, fireworks and gasoline bombs at police and each other. It was the worst mayhem in a week of street violence in the region, where Britain’s exit from the...
Mortgage Rates Dip for First Time Since January
McLEAN, Va. — Mortgage rates fell for the first time in more than two months as buyers continue to be stifled by high prices and limited supply. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the benchmark 30-year loan rate dipped to 3.13% this week from 3.18% last week. At this...
Biden Seems Ready to Extend US Troop Presence in Afghanistan
WASHINGTON — Without coming right out and saying it, President Joe Biden seems ready to let lapse a May 1 deadline for completing a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Orderly withdrawals take time, and Biden is running out of it. Biden has inched so close to the deadline that...
Biden Making New Moves on Guns, Including Naming ATF Boss
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden, in his first major gun control measures since taking office, is announcing executive actions Thursday aimed at addressing what the White House calls a “gun violence public health epidemic." Biden also is nominating David Chipman, a former federal agent and adviser at the gun control...