President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday intended to ban transgender athletes from participating in girls' and women’s sports. The order, titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” gives federal agencies, including the Justice and Education departments, wide latitude to ensure entities that receive federal funding abide by...
Protesters Across US Rally Against Trump and Project 2025
A movement to oppose President Donald Trump organized under the hashtags #buildtheresistance and #50501, which stands for 50 protests, 50 states, is looking to spark nationwide protests on Wednesday. Organized largely online, many of the protests are planned at state capitols, with some in other cities. Flyers circulating decry Project...
Trump’s Birthright Citizenship Order Put on Hold by Second Federal Judge
GREENBELT, Md. — A federal judge on Wednesday ordered a second nationwide pause on President Donald Trump's executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship for anyone born in the U.S. to someone in the country illegally, calling citizenship a "most precious right." U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman said no court...
Merced Sees Back-to-Back Protests Demanding Immigrant Protections
Hundreds of people took to Merced's streets Monday in separate demonstrations calling for protections for undocumented workers and immigration reform. Some protesters also are urging local officials to consider designating Merced a sanctuary city. The first protest, organized by UC Merced students, began at 10 a.m. at the university's Pavilion...
CA School Test Scores Trail Those of States Newsom Considers Culturally Backward
When Gov. Gavin Newsom issues one of his periodic boasts about California's superiority vis-a-vis other states — particularly those with conservative politics such as Texas and Florida — he conveniently omits aspects that are less than admirable. The exclusions include California's levels of poverty, homelessness, unemployment, utility bills and housing...
State Farm Asks for ‘Emergency’ Insurance Rate Increases After LA Fires
State Farm, the largest insurer for California homeowners, this week asked the state to approve "emergency" rate increases for insurance policy holders, saying the recent Los Angeles County fires have imperiled its finances. The company wants an average 22% increase for homeowners and 15% for renters on top of rate...
Rubio Strikes Deal With Guatemala to Accept Deported US Migrants
GUATEMALA CITY — Guatemala’s president said Wednesday after meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio that his country will accept migrants from other countries being deported from the United States. Under the “safe third country” agreement announced by President Bernardo Arevalo, the deportees would then be returned to their...
Lawmakers Propose $175 Million in New CalFire Funding
Roughly a month after deadly wildfires erupted in Los Angeles County, killing at least 29 people, lawmakers in the state Senate have introduced a proposal to bolster CalFire staffing, and Gov. Gavin Newsom is meeting with President Donald Trump over disaster aid. Joined by several other senators and firefighters in...
Box-Office Smash ‘Moana 2’ Drives Disney Profit in the First Quarter
NEW YORK — Disney easily topped first-quarter expectations thanks in part to the box office smash "Moana 2." There were some oversized expectations for the animated film but "Moana 2", originally intended as a series for the company's streaming service before it was produced for the big screen — blew...
UN Agencies Concerned Over Pakistan’s Afghan Deportation Plan
ISLAMABAD — The U.N. refugees and migration agencies on Wednesday expressed their concern over Pakistan's decision to deport thousands of Afghan refugees awaiting relocation to the United States and elsewhere. The U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, and the International Organization for Migration in a statement said they were seeking clarification from...