Stocks fell in afternoon trading on Wall Street as investors received another dire readout on inflation. The S&P 500 fell 1.2% as of 12:01 p.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 366 points, or 1.2%, to 31,467 and the Nasdaq fell 1%. Technology stocks were among the biggest...
Court: California’s Under-21 Gun Sales Ban Unconstitutional
A U.S. appeals court ruled Wednesday that California’s ban on the sale of semiautomatic weapons to adults under 21 is unconstitutional. In a 2-1 ruling, a panel of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Wednesday the law violates the 2nd Amendment right to bear arms...
Ukraine Shutters Pipeline Carrying Russian Gas to Western Europe
ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine — Ukraine shut down a pipeline Wednesday that carries Russian natural gas to homes and industries in Western Europe, while a Kremlin-installed official in a southern region seized by Russian troops said the area will ask Moscow to annex it. The talk of annexation in Kherson —...
California Lawmaker Reveals Abortion as More Women Speak Out
A California legislator who is the wife of state Attorney General Rob Bonta disclosed Tuesday that she had an abortion as a 21-year old. Democratic Assemblywoman Mia Bonta joins a growing number of public officials, celebrities and musicians who have discussed their experiences after a leaked draft opinion suggested...
California Child Who Died Was Allegedly Subject to Exorcism
A 3-year-old girl whose death last fall has been ruled a homicide was the subject of an alleged exorcism last year at a Northern California church, a newspaper reported Tuesday. The child, Arely Naomi Proctor, died last September after family members performed a ceremony to “liberate her of her...
California Air Board Plan Lays Out Drastic Cuts to Fossil Fuel Use
New homes built in California starting in 2026 need to be powered by all-electric furnaces, stoves and other appliances if California is to meet its ambitious climate change goals over the next two decades, according to a state pollution-reduction plan released Tuesday. The roadmap by the California Air Resources...
Unauthorized Video of Jesse Williams Onstage Prompts Outrage
Video of a naked Jesse Williams captured onstage in a shower scene from a Broadway play has been posted online, prompting an outcry from the producers and the union that represents actors and stage managers. “We condemn in the strongest possible terms the creation and distribution of photographs and...
US Overdose Deaths Hit Record 107,000 Last Year, CDC Says
More than 107,000 Americans died of drug overdoses last year, setting another tragic record in the nation's escalating overdose epidemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated Wednesday. The provisional 2021 total translates to roughly one U.S. overdose death every 5 minutes. It marked a 15% increase from...
US Inflation Dips From 4-Decade High but Still Causing Pain
Inflation slowed in April after seven months of relentless gains, a tentative sign that price increases may be peaking while still imposing a financial strain on American households. Consumer prices jumped 8.3% last month from a year ago, the government said Wednesday. That was below the 8.5% year-over-year surge in...
Al Jazeera Reporter Killed During Israeli Raid in West Bank
JERUSALEM — Veteran Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot and killed while covering an Israeli military raid in the occupied West Bank town of Jenin early Wednesday. The broadcaster and a reporter who was wounded in the incident blamed Israeli forces. The Israel army initially raised the...