President Donald Trump will host a Board of Peace meeting on Thursday in Washington, where he will announce that member states have pledged more than $5 billion for reconstruction and humanitarian efforts in Gaza, the White House said. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that member states had...
NIH Director Will Temporarily Run CDC in Leadership Shake-Up
WASHINGTON — The director of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, will take on the additional role of acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, two administration officials said Wednesday. Bhattacharya will continue to run the NIH, according to the officials, who insisted on anonymity...
Putin Meets Cuban Foreign Minister in Moscow, Says US Restrictions Are ‘Unacceptable’
MOSCOW, Feb 18 - Russian President Vladimir Putin met Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez on Wednesday in the Kremlin, where he said that new restrictions imposed on the communist-run island were "unacceptable", Russian state news agencies reported. A senior Russian diplomat said last week that Moscow would provide aid to...
Modesto Police to Conduct DUI Checkpoint Friday Night
The Modesto Police Department will conduct a DUI checkpoint Friday evening as part of an ongoing effort to remove impaired drivers from local roads. The checkpoint is scheduled for Feb. 20 from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. at an undisclosed location within the city, police announced Tuesday. Officers select checkpoint...
A Case Against 6 Democrats Lacked Urgency. Then Came a Swift Bid for an Indictment.
In mid-January, federal prosecutors contacted the lawyers representing six Democratic lawmakers who President Donald Trump said should be charged with sedition for issuing a video this fall reminding military and intelligence personnel that they did not have to obey illegal orders. Despite Trump’s claim that the lawmakers’ behavior was “punishable...
FCC Chair Denies Censoring Colbert Interview, Confirms Investigating ABC’s ‘the View’
The chair of the Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday denied the government had censored CBS late-night show Stephen Colbert from airing a candidate interview and confirmed that the agency is investigating ABC's "The View." FCC Chair Brendan Carr confirmed that the FCC had opened an enforcement into whether the ABC...
BBC to Argue Trump Failed to Show He Was Defamed in Documentary
Britain's public broadcaster, the BBC, said on Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump had failed to establish that it defamed him in a documentary broadcast shortly before he won a second White House term. In a filing in Miami federal court, the BBC said it intends to argue that Trump's...
Merced County Authorities Seek Family of Deceased Man
The Merced County Sheriff-Coroner's Office is asking for the public's help locating relatives of a 72-year-old man who died in the county. Officials are searching for the family of Bruce Wayne Collier. The coroner's office said it has searched numerous personal records but has been unable to find his relatives....
Pope Leo Laments a World ‘in Flames’ at Ash Wednesday Service
Pope Leo lamented a world "in flames" due to wars and the destruction of the environment during an Ash Wednesday Mass, opening the season of Lent for the world's Christians. Before sprinkling ashes on the heads of participants, a sign of mortality, the pope said the ashes could represent "the...
Meta’s Zuckerberg Faces Questioning at Youth Addiction Trial
LOS ANGELES, Feb 18 - Meta Platforms CEO and billionaire Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is set to be questioned for the first time in a U.S. court on Wednesday about Instagram's effect on the mental health of young users, as a landmark trial over youth social media addiction continues. While...