LOS ANGELES — Three months ago, Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles appointed Steve Soboroff to oversee the first phase of the huge recovery effort that confronted the city after the January wildfires. “There is no one better equipped to create our rebuilding plan,” she said at the time. Soboroff,...
Money, Not Instruction Time, Is at Heart of Designated Schools Negotiations
For close to a year, Fresno Unified and its teachers union have been haggling over the district’s proposed elimination of its Designated Schools Program. Money is at the heart of the ongoing dispute about the program that provides extended-day learning for students at 40 schools. The district says it is...
3 People Killed and 1 Injured When Plane Crashes in South Florida Near a Major Highway
BOCA RATON, Fla. — Three people were killed and one was injured when a small plane crashed Friday morning in South Florida near a major interstate highway and pushed a car onto railroad tracks, officials said. Boca Raton Fire Rescue assistant chief Michael LaSalle said the plane crash that killed...
Trump Canceled Millions in CA School Grants. The State Sues to Reclaim the Money
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. The Trump administration overstepped its authority when it cut short pandemic relief grants for K-12 schools, a move that cost them hundreds of millions of dollars, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday by California and a dozen other...
How Diplomatic Engagement With Iran Could Work Under Trump
U.S. and Iranian officials are expected to meet Saturday in Oman in what could mark a significant diplomatic opening for former President Donald Trump — one that evaded his predecessor, Joe Biden, Trita Parsi writes in a recent Time article. After weeks of private correspondence and public threats, Trump ordered...
Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds Announces She Won’t Seek Reelection in 2026
DES MOINES, Iowa — In a surprise announcement Friday, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said she will not seek a third term in office in 2026. Reynolds, a Republican, has held the position since 2017, when former Gov. Terry Branstad was appointed U.S. ambassador to China. She was elected to full...
Border Patrol to Retrain Hundreds of CA Agents on Complying With the Constitution
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. The Department of Homeland Security told a federal court it will retrain more than 900 California-based Border Patrol agents after controversial immigration sweeps in Kern County in January. The sweeps are the subject of a federal lawsuit against...
Former Parlier City Manager Sentenced to Prison for Fraud
Antonio Gastelum, a former Parlier city manager and Fresno City Council candidate, is headed to federal prison for two years. U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd handed down Gastelum's sentence on Thursday. The architect of the scheme, Marcus Asay, 69, of Fresno, received a five-year sentence. Asay and Gastellum, 53,...
Mariah Carey on New Music, Rihanna, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Her Lost Grunge Album
NEW YORK — It may be hard to conceive of now, but there was once a lull in Mariah Carey's superstar career. In 2001, her film "Glitter" was a commercial flop; the album that followed, 2002's introspective "Charmbracelet," was met with a muted response. She was at a crossroads. And...
Jury Finds Soulja Boy Liable for Sexual Assault of Ex-Assistant, Awards Over $4M
SANTA MONICA — A jury on Thursday found that rapper Soulja Boy was liable for sexually assaulting and physically and emotionally abusing a former assistant, awarding the woman more than $4 million in damages. The decision from the Los Angeles County jurors came after a three-week trial in Santa Monica....