California has decided to abandon its groundbreaking regulations phasing out diesel trucks and requiring cleaner locomotives because the incoming Trump administration is unlikely to allow the state to implement them. State officials have long considered the rules regulating diesel vehicles essential to cleaning up California's severe air pollution and combating...
US Sues Southwest Airlines Over Chronic Delays
The federal government sued Southwest Airlines on Wednesday, accusing the airline of harming passengers who flew on two routes that were plagued by consistent delays in 2022. In a lawsuit, the Transportation Department said it was seeking more than $2.1 million in civil penalties over the flights between airports in...
The Barcode Is Out. QR Codes Are In. What Does the Future Have in Store?
The first barcode made its appearance in 1974. Back then, grocery stores needed a way to streamline the checkout process. Now, cashiers around the world scan a barcode 10 billion times a day, according to GS1, the not-for-profit company that standardizes the different types of codes. But companies told them...
South African Police End Mine Rescue Operation With at Least 78 Dead and 246 Survivors
STILFONTEIN, South Africa — South African police ended a rescue operation at an abandoned gold mine on Wednesday and said they believe they have brought out all the survivors and retrieved all the bodies after hundreds of miners were trapped for months in one of the country's deepest mines while...
Vivek Ramaswamy, an Ohio Native, Is Interested in Filling Vance’s Old Senate Seat, AP Source Says
CINCINNATI — Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has expressed interest in the Ohio U.S. Senate seat that was vacated by Vice President-elect JD Vance, two people with direct knowledge of the biotech entrepreneur's wishes told The Associated Press. The 39-year-old from Cincinnati had been weighing a campaign for Ohio...
Google Signs Deal With AP to Deliver Up-to-Date News Through Its Gemini AI Chatbot
Google says its artificial intelligence chatbot Gemini will deliver up-to-date news from The Associated Press in the tech giant's first such deal with a news publisher. Google announced the deal in a blog post Wednesday, saying that AP "will now deliver a feed of real-time information to help further enhance...
Are the Resnicks ‘Hoarding’ Water While LA Burns? No
Almost as soon as the unprecedented scale of the Los Angeles wildfires hit the public's awareness, SJV Water started getting some pretty out there emails and texts alleging that Lynda and Stewart Resnick "own" 60% (75%, even 80%) of California's water and were somehow "hoarding it" so it couldn't be...
Will State GOP Determine Who Is Rightful Leader of Fresno GOP?
Liz Kolstad says she is the chair of the Fresno County Republican Party. She's not alone. Peter Halajian says he's the chair of the Fresno County Republican Party. The dueling claims stem from the party's organizational meeting Jan. 7, where it appeared the party's executive committee re-elected Kolstad to another...
Trump and Biden Both Claim Credit for Gaza Ceasefire Deal
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump are both claiming credit for Israel and Hamas agreeing to a ceasefire deal in Gaza after the White House brought Trump's Middle East envoy into negotiations that have dragged on for months. Trump wasted no time in asserting he was the...
CEO Arrested For Giving His 8-Year Old Son a Marijuana Gummy
Cyberbacker CEO Craig Goodliffe was apprehended in Ogden, Utah, following a disturbing incident involving his young son. According to a Fox News affiliate in Salt Lake City, Goodliffe allegedly provided marijuana candy to his 8-year-old child, resulting in charges of child endangerment, illegal firearm purchase, and intoxication. The arrest stemmed...