A new California law aimed in part at boosting salaries for fast food workers has been delayed for nearly two years following industry resistance. Now the Democrats who control the state Legislature might have figured out how to raise worker pay anyway. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the law last year....
CA Black Landlords Say 3-Year Eviction Ban Has Them Drowning in Debt
SAN FRANCISCO — Retiree Pamela Haile has paid property taxes, insurance and other bills on a house she lets out in Oakland, but for more than three years her tenants have paid no rent thanks to one of the longest-lasting eviction bans in the country. Tenants Owe Over $60,000 in...
What Is the Hajj Pilgrimage and What Does It Mean for Muslims?
MECCA, Saudi Arabia — Over 2 million Muslims will take part in this week's Hajj pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, as one of the world's largest religious gatherings returns to full capacity following years of coronavirus restrictions. The Hajj is one of the five pillars...
More States Charging Road Taxes by the Mile Instead of the Tank as Revenues Plummet
Evan Burroughs has spent eight years touting the virtues of an Oregon pilot program charging motorists by the distance their vehicle travels rather than the gas it guzzles, yet his own mother still hasn't bought in. Margaret Burroughs, 85, said she has no intention of inserting a tracking device on...
With Russia Revolt Over, Mercenaries’ Future and Direction of Ukraine War Remain Uncertain
The rebellious mercenary soldiers who briefly took over a Russian military headquarters on an ominous march toward Moscow were gone Sunday, but the short-lived revolt has weakened President Vladimir Putin just as his forces are facing a fierce counteroffensive in Ukraine. Under terms of the agreement that ended the crisis, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who...
International Investigation Begins Over Titanic Tourist Sub Catastrophe
An international group of agencies is investigating the loss of the Titan submersible, seeking to determine what caused it to implode while carrying five people to the Titanic. Investigators from the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, the French marine casualties investigation...
The Supreme Court’s Biggest Decisions Are Coming. Here’s What They Could Say
The Supreme Court is getting ready to decide some of its biggest cases of the term. The high court has 10 opinions left to release over the next week before the justices begin their summer break. As is typical, the last opinions to be released cover some of the most contentious...
Russia’s Defense Minister Seen in First Video Since Mercenary Revolt as Uncertainty Swirls
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made his first public appearance since a mercenary uprising demanded his ouster, inspecting troops in Ukraine in a video released Monday aimed at projecting a sense of order after the country’s most serious political crisis in decades. But uncertainty still swirled about his fate, that of...
Black Nun Who Founded First African American Religious Congregation Advances Closer to Sainthood
Mother Mary Elizabeth Lange -- a Black Catholic nun who founded the United States’ first African American religious congregation in Baltimore in 1829 -- has advanced another step toward sainthood. Under a decree signed by Pope Francis on Thursday, Lange was recognized for her heroic virtue, and advanced in the...
Who Will Have the 2023 Song of the Summer? We Offer Some Predictions
LOS ANGELES — The sun is shining, the beach is calling, and school is out: It’s time to prepare the song of the summer. Often, there’s a clear champion: In 2017, Lusi Fonsi, Daddy Yankee, and Justin Bieber’s “Despacito” was unavoidable. In 2019, Lil Nas X’s ubiquitous “Old Town Road” foretold future superstardom. Olivia...