Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard said Monday that she was encouraged by last week's U.S. inflation report, which pointed to slower price increases, and said the Fed would likely soon reduce the size of its rate hikes. “The inflation data was reassuring, preliminarily," Brainard said. “It will probably be...
Zelenskyy Calls Liberation of Kherson ‘Beginning of the End’
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy triumphantly walked the streets of the newly liberated city of Kherson on Monday, hailing Russia's withdrawal as the “beginning of the end of the war,” but also acknowledging the heavy price Ukrainian troops are paying in their grinding effort to push back the invaders. The retaking of Kherson was one of...
Playboy Model Takes Plea in Vegas Beating Death of 71-Year-Old Monterey Doctor
A former Playboy model charged in the beating death of a California doctor whose body was found in a car trunk outside Las Vegas has accepted a plea agreement. Las Vegas media outlets reported this week 29-year-old Kelsey Turner will take an Alford plea to second-degree murder, according to court...
US to Buy South Korean Howitzer Rounds to Send to Ukraine
The U.S. will buy 100,000 rounds of howitzer artillery from South Korean manufacturers to provide to Ukraine, a U.S. official said Thursday, in a deal the two governments have been working on for some time. The agreement comes as Ukrainian leaders press for more weapons and aid to take advantage of a...
Ukraine Troops Prepare to Reclaim City Abandoned by Russians
Russia relinquished its final foothold in a major city in southern Ukraine on Friday, clearing the way for victorious Ukrainian forces to reclaim the country’s only Russian-held provincial capital that could act as a springboard for further advances into occupied territory. Russia’s Defense Ministry said its troops finished withdrawing from...
9-Month-Old in Merced Fatally Shot While in Stroller
A 9-month-old boy sitting in a stroller being pushed by his mother on a Merced sidewalk was shot and killed when someone opened fire from a car, police said. The mother was walking Wednesday with her boyfriend when a car drove by and one of the occupants opened fire, striking...
Latest California Solar Proposal Again Trims Power Buyback Rates
California regulators on Thursday proposed changes to the state's residential solar market designed to encourage more at-home battery systems that can help the electrical grid rely less on fossil fuels in the evenings, especially during heat waves. It's the California Public Utilities Commission's second attempt at updating the state's incentive program for...
Despite Big Losses, Odds Are Good for Sequel to California Sports Betting Push
The effort to legalize sports betting in California ran headlong into a typical challenge for competing ballot measures as each was battered in a torrent of negative advertising that doomed both to spectacular failure in the most expensive ballot race in U.S. history. Anytime voters face two measures at odds...
Iran Protests Rage on Streets as Officials Renew Threats
Protests in Iran raged on streets into Thursday with demonstrators remembering a bloody crackdown in the country's southeast, even as the nation's intelligence minister and army chief renewed threats against local dissent and the broader world. Meanwhile, a top official in Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claimed it had “managed to...
Armenian Soldier Wounded Amid Heightened Tensions with Azerbaijan
Armenia ’s Defence Ministry reported Thursday that an Armenian soldier was wounded and in critical condition after being shot by Azerbaijani forces on the eastern section of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. Both sides accused each other of opening fire on border positions earlier in the week. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev accused Armenia on Tuesday...