WASHINGTON — A Senate deal on border enforcement measures and Ukraine aid suffered a swift and total collapse Tuesday as Republicans withdrew support despite President Joe Biden urging Congress to “show some spine” and stand up to Donald Trump. Just minutes after the Democratic president's remarks at the White House,...
House GOP Effort to Impeach Homeland Chief Mayorkas Fails Because of Republican Defections
WASHINGTON — In a dramatic setback, House Republicans failed Tuesday to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, forced to shelve a high-profile priority — for now — after a few GOP lawmakers refused to go along with the party’s plan. The stunning roll call fell just a few votes short...
Blinken Pushes for Progress on Gaza Cease-Fire-for-Hostages Deal in Meetings with Arab Mediators
DOHA, Qatar — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken pressed ahead with a diplomatic tour of the Middle East on Tuesday, meeting Egyptian and Qatari leaders as part of his efforts to secure a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war in exchange for the release of hostages. Blinken's visit also comes...
Super Bowl Expected to Smash Betting Records With $23 Billion in Wagers
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Nearly 68 million American adults — about 1 in 4 — plan to bet on this year's Super Bowl, setting a record by a wide margin, according to the gambling industry's national trade association. Figures released Tuesday by the American Gaming Association include bets placed with...
Landslides Threaten SoCal After LA Is Walloped With Nearly Half Its Seasonal Rainfall in 2 Days
LOS ANGELES — Rainfall from one of the wettest storms in Southern California history was easing Tuesday after Los Angeles was bombarded with nearly half of its seasonal rainfall in just two days, but forecasters warned of a continuing threat for potentially deadly landslides on super-soaked ground. The slow-moving storm...
RIP, Toby Keith: Country Singer-Songwriter Packed a Lot of Living and Singing in His 62 Years
Toby Keith, a hit country crafter of pro-American anthems who both riled up critics and was loved by millions of fans, has died. He was 62. The “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” singer-songwriter, who had stomach cancer, died peacefully Monday surrounded by his family, according to a statement posted on the...
Dial It Up to Cat 6? As Warming Stokes Storms, Some Want a Bigger Hurricane Category
A handful of super-powerful tropical storms in the last decade and the prospect of more to come has a couple of experts proposing a new category of whopper hurricanes: Category 6. Studies have shown that the strongest tropical storms are getting more intense because of climate change. So the traditional...
SF Considers a Measure to Screen Welfare Recipients for Addiction
SAN FRANCISCO — The Democratic mayor of San Francisco is pushing a pair of controversial public safety proposals on the March 5 ballot, including one that would require single adults on welfare to be screened and treated for illegal drug addiction or else lose cash assistance. Mayor London Breed also...
Grammys Are Taylor Swift’s World on a Night When Women Like Cyrus, Mitchell, and Chapman Also Shine
It's Taylor Swift's world, and she just allows us to live in it. After weeks where she attracted endless attention for her football star boyfriend and a mystifying right-wing campaign against her, the Grammy Awards put the focus squarely back on her art. “Midnights” earned Swift her fourth career Grammy...
Blinken Returns to Mideast in Push for Hostage Deal, Postwar Plan for Gaza, but Obstacles Loom
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Saudi Arabia's crown prince Monday at the start of his fifth visit to the Middle East since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, hoping to press ahead with a potential cease-fire deal and postwar planning while tamping...