WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has accepted a gifted Boeing 747 aircraft from Qatar for President Donald Trump to use as Air Force One, the Pentagon said Wednesday. The Defense Department will "work to ensure proper security measures" on the aircraft to make it safe for use by the...
Wall Street Stocks Slip as Treasury Yields Rise on Worries About Trump Tax Cuts
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday as Treasury yields rose and investors digested prospects that passage of U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed tax-cut bill could swell the federal debt. All three major Wall Street indexes were lower. The benchmark S&P 500 and the technology-heavy Nasdaq extended losses...
US Redirects $365 Million Biden Had Set for Puerto Rico Solar Power
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration said on Wednesday it will redirect $365 million in funding for Puerto Rico's power grid that had been awarded during the previous administration to support rooftop solar power and battery storage. Puerto Rico has long dealt with widespread power outages due to the U.S....
Tulare County Firefighters Battle Haystack Blaze Near Lindsay
Fire crews are responding to a haystack fire burning near Avenue 240 and Road 188 in Tulare County, authorities said Wednesday. Tulare County Fire is working alongside Lindsay City Fire and CalFire to contain the blaze. Officials are urging the public to avoid the area while crews work to bring...
This Is What’s Inside Trump’s ‘Beautiful’ Spending Package
WASHINGTON — House Republicans are getting closer to passing President Donald Trump's tax breaks, spending cuts, and beefed-up border security as Speaker Mike Johnson attempts to pass the package over unified Democratic opposition by Memorial Day. House committees have labored for months on the legislation, which exceeds 1,000 pages and...
Porterville Fire Crews Contain Tule River Blaze With Strategic Burn
Fire crews responded to a Tuesday night grass fire along the Tule River and used the opportunity to conduct a controlled burn before fully extinguishing the flames, authorities said. The Porterville Fire Department said crews arrived just before midnight and found conditions favorable for a strategic burn. Firefighters used the...
Police Arrest Teen Suspect in Threat of School Shooting at Monache High
A 16-year-old Woodville resident was arrested in connection with a threat of a school shooting at Monache High School, police said. This comes a day after a 15-year-old girl was stabbed in a classroom at the school, prompting a lockdown as police arrested a 19-year-old suspect nearby. The Porterville Police...
The Trump-Supporting Christians Accusing Jews of Antisemitism
In The New York Times this weekend, Katie J.M. Baker described a fundraising pitch that the Heritage Foundation, the right-wing think tank that gave us Project 2025, made for a campaign to crush a subversive movement that threatens "America itself." The pitch, she wrote, "presented an illustration of a pyramid...
In Approving Soda Ban for Food Stamps, USDA Reverses Decades of Policy
WASHINGTON — For two decades, the federal government has rejected states' efforts to ban purchases of sugary drinks using food stamps, hesitant, in part, to cross an unusual coalition of corporate interests and anti-poverty groups. Now, the Trump administration has waded in, approving a first-of-its-kind waiver Monday for Nebraska to...
Congress Debates Two Issues With Big CA Implications: EVs, Taxes
This commentary was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Four months into Donald Trump's second presidency, Republican legislative leaders are attempting to give him some major victories. Two of the most contentious issues now awaiting votes would have particularly heavy impacts on California. </> One pending measure...