App-based ride hailing and delivery companies like Uber and Lyft can continue to treat their California drivers as independent contractors, a state appeals court ruled Monday, allowing the tech giants to bypass other state laws requiring worker protections and benefits. The ruling mostly upholds a voter-approved law, called Proposition 22,...
US Repels Migrant Border Surge as Frustration Over Asylum Process Grows
A large group of migrants in Mexico who were poised to barge into the U.S. over the weekend were blocked from crossing a bridge leading from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, to El Paso, Texas, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman said. The migrants were “posing a potential threat to make a...
Biden OKs Controversial, Huge Willow Oil Drilling in Alaska
The Biden administration said Monday it is approving the controversial major Willow oil project on Alaska's petroleum-rich North Slope, one of President Joe Biden’s most consequential climate choices that is likely to draw condemnation from environmentalists who say it flies in the face of the Democratic president’s pledges. The announcement comes a day...
Pence Says Trump ‘Endangered My Family’ on Jan. 6
Former Vice President Mike Pence on Saturday harshly criticized former President Donald Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, widening the rift between the two men as they prepare to battle over the Republican nomination in next year's election. “President Trump was wrong," Pence...
US Calls Iran’s Prisoner Swap Claim a ‘Cruel Lie’
Iran's top diplomat claimed Sunday that a prisoner swap was near with the U.S., though he offered no evidence to support his assertion. The U.S. immediately dismissed his comments as a “cruel lie.” Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has made similar comments in the past about possible deals with the...
Russian Advance Stalls in Ukraine’s Bakhmut, Think Tank Says
Russia’s advance seems to have stalled in Moscow's campaign to capture the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, a leading think tank said in an assessment of the longest ground battle of the war. The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said there were no confirmed advances by Russian forces in Bakhmut....
8 Dead After Smuggling Boats Capsize off San Diego Beach
At least eight people were killed when two migrant smuggling boats capsized in shallow but treacherous surf at a San Diego beach, authorities said Sunday, marking one of the deadliest maritime human smuggling operations ever off of U.S. shores. A Spanish-speaking woman on one of the panga-style boats called 911...
Iran-Saudi Arabia Deal Shows China’s Growing Clout
An agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia to reestablish diplomatic relations has cast China in a leading role in Middle Eastern politics — a part previously reserved for longtime global heavyweights like the U.S. and Russia. It's another sign that China's diplomatic clout is growing to match its economic footprint. Under strongman...
Iran Says 22,000 Arrested in Protests Pardoned by Top Leader
Iran announced Monday that the country's supreme leader has pardoned more than 22,000 people arrested in the recent anti-government protests that swept the Islamic Republic. There was no immediate independent confirmation of the mass release. The statement by Iran's judiciary head Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejehi offered for the first time a...
A New Atmospheric River Threatens California With More Flooding
Wet, miserable weather continued across huge swaths of California on Sunday as an atmospheric river that caused major flooding flowed eastward, while a new storm threatened another onslaught of rain, snow and gusting winds as soon as Monday. The National Weather Service said the next system could exacerbate severe flooding...