The inner-Vatican machinations of "Conclave" have nothing on this year's Oscar race. Just as Edward Berger's film juggles various candidates for the papacy, the race for best picture at the Academy Awards has seen one favorite replaced by another, and then another. While some clarity has lately emerged, with a...
Strong Storm Expected to Soak Southern California, Raising Fears of Mudslides
A winter storm is expected to bring much-needed rain and snow to Central and Southern California this week, but also a risk of flash flooding and mudslides, especially in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties and areas of Los Angeles County that were burned by wildfires last month. The...
Farmers and Rural Businesses Await Promised Rebates Amid Federal Funding Freeze
A freeze on federal loans and grants is creating turmoil for some rural U.S. business owners who fear they won't get reimbursed for new, cleaner irrigation equipment or solar panels they purchased with the promise of a rebate. In Cherryville, Maine, Hugh Lassen and his wife and two teenagers grow...
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Is Confirmed as Trump’s Health Secretary
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday confirmed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as President Donald Trump’s health secretary, putting the prominent vaccine skeptic in control of $1.7 trillion in federal spending, vaccine recommendations and food safety as well as health insurance programs for roughly half the country. Republicans fell in line...
White House Says It Has the Right to Punish AP Reporters Over Gulf Naming Dispute
NEW YORK — The White House said Wednesday that news organizations that refuse to use President Donald Trump's new name for the Gulf of Mexico were telling "lies" and insisted it would continue to bar Associated Press journalists from presidential events. Trump has decreed that the international body of water...
Hamas to Free 3 More Hostages, Easing Ceasefire Tensions
CAIRO — Hamas said Thursday it would release three more Israeli hostages as planned, paving the way toward resolving a major dispute over the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Hamas had threatened to delay the next release of captives, accusing Israel of failing to meet its obligations to allow in...
Russia Rejoices at Trump-Putin Call as Zelenskyy Rejects Talks Without Ukraine Present
Russian officials and state media took a triumphant tone Thursday after President Donald Trump jettisoned three years of U.S. policy and announced he would likely meet soon with Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate a peace deal in the almost three-year war in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said...
Judge Removes Hurdle for Trump’s Plan to Trim Federal Workforce
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Wednesday removed a key legal hurdle stalling President Donald Trump's plan to downsize the federal workforce with a deferred resignation program. The Boston-based judge's order in the challenge filed by a group of labor unions was a significant legal victory for the Republican president...
Stock Market Today: Fat Profit Reports Keep Wall Street Steady Ahead of a Tariff Announcement
NEW YORK — U.S. stocks are holding relatively steady on Thursday, ahead of an expected announcement on tariffs by President Donald Trump, as big U.S. companies keep reporting bigger profits than expected. The S&P 500 was 0.3% higher in morning trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 61 points,...
US Eggs Prices Hit a Record High of $4.95 and Are Likely to Keep Climbing
OMAHA, Neb. — Egg prices hit a record high as the U.S. contends with an ongoing bird flu outbreak, but consumers didn't need government figures released Wednesday to tell them eggs are terribly expensive and hard to find at times. The latest monthly consumer price index showed that the average price of a dozen...