Oil prices climbed about 3% on Wednesday on a report that the U.S. would not agree to change the location and format of talks with Iran planned for Friday. Brent futures rose $2.06, or 3.06%, to $69.39 a barrel at 1:09 p.m. EST (1809 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate...
Man Convicted of Attempting to Assassinate Trump Sentenced to Life
Ryan Routh, a man accused of hiding in the bushes of a Florida golf course with a semi-automatic rifle to try to assassinate Donald Trump less than two months before the 2024 U.S. election that returned him to the presidency, was sentenced by a judge on Wednesday to life in...
Lee H. Hamilton, a Foreign Policy Power in Congress, Dies at 94
Lee H. Hamilton, a former Democratic member of Congress from rural Indiana who became a major voice in foreign policy during the Iran-Contra affair in the 1980s and in national security investigations after the terrorist attacks of 2001, died Tuesday at his home in Bloomington, Indiana. He was 94. His...
The Race to Face Valadao and Other Congressional Fundraising Stats
Two Democrats are locked in a fundraising and endorsement battle as they seek to flip the seat held by Rep. David Valadao. Valadao, R-Hanford, has continually defied election odds, winning his congressional district despite a voter registration advantage that favors Democrats. If the current redistricting map holds, he will face...
Kern County Authorities Seek Public’s Help in Sexual Assault on Minor Case
The Kern County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help identifying a suspect in a sexual assault on a minor that authorities say occurred in the community of Lamont. According to the sheriff’s office, a juvenile female was walking home from her bus stop near the intersection of Buena...
OpenAI’s ChatGPT Down for Thousands Again, Downdetector Reports
OpenAI's ChatGPT experienced a possible outage Wednesday, according to Downdetector.com. More than 4,000 users had reported problems with the platform as of 9:26 a.m. PST, according to Downdetector, which tracks outages by collecting status reports from multiple sources. The platform had an outage on Tuesday where more than 28,000 users...
US Flu Cases Are Rising Again
Flu levels are rising once again across the United States, with emergency department visits increasing among children older than 5, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The situation is not nearly as bad as in December, when emergency rooms were flooded with sick patients. But...
Snow Drought in the West Reaches Record Levels
HELENA, Mont. — While record snowfall and single-digit temperatures pummel much of the United States, an extreme snow drought and unusually warm weather are keeping skiers off the mountains, snowmobilers off the trails and water out of the rivers across much of the West. In many places famed for deep...
US Senators Unveil Bill to Prevent Scam Ads on Social Media Platforms
U.S. Senators Ruben Gallego and Bernie Moreno have introduced anti-scam legislation requiring social media platforms to vet their advertisers. The bipartisan bill, called the Safeguarding Consumers from Advertising Misconduct Act, or the SCAM Act, would require social media platforms to take “reasonable steps” to combat fraudulent advertising or face legal...
US Pushes to Widen Talks With Iran Beyond Nuclear Issue
Meaningful talks between the United States and Iran will have to include Tehran's missile arsenal and other issues, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday, as Tehran said it would only discuss its nuclear program, not its missiles. Talks between the countries amid fears of a military confrontation...