SACRAMENTO — California lawmakers on Thursday approved a $214.8 billion operating budget, sending the plan to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk with a focus on expanding access to health insurance while spending billions of new money on homelessness and housing. Newsom will have 12 days to review the bill and is...
Jon Stewart Lashes out at Congress Over 9/11 Victims Fund
WASHINGTON — Comedian Jon Stewart scolded Congress Tuesday for failing to ensure that a victims' compensation fund set up after the 9/11 attacks never runs out of money. Stewart, a longtime advocate for 9/11 responders, angrily called out lawmakers for failing to attend a hearing on a bill to ensure the...
Courts Weigh Trump’s Plan to Tap Pentagon for Border Wall
SAN FRANCISCO — President Donald Trump is moving fast to spend billions of dollars to build a wall on the Mexican border with money secured under his declaration of a national emergency, but he first must get past the courts. On Friday, a federal judge in Oakland, California, will consider...
Newsom to Reveal Updated $200 Billion Spending Plan
SACRAMENTO — California is flooded with money and Gov. Gavin Newsom will outline how he thinks the nation's most populous state should spend it Thursday when he releases a revised version of his $200 billion-plus state budget. The Democratic governor has already proposed new spending to expand health care for...
Walters: Sales Tax Bite Looms for Internet Consumers
There’s nothing new about ordering merchandise from the comfort of one’s home and having it delivered to the doorstep. Generations of Americans — especially those living in isolation on farms and ranches — pored over the inches-thick catalogs that Sears and Roebuck, Montgomery Ward and other retailing behemoths issued each...
Livid R. Kelly Cries, Calls Sex Abuse Accusers Liars
CHICAGO — R&B star R. Kelly cried, angrily stood up and ranted about being "assassinated" during his first interview since being charged with sexual abuse, calling his accusers liars and saying people are after him for his money. Kelly, one of the best-selling music artists of all time, told Gayle...
California: Trump Plan to Take Back Rail Money ‘Disastrous’
SACRAMENTO — Leaders of California's high-speed rail project told the Trump administration Monday its plans to withhold or claw back $3.5 billion in federal money for the project was "legally indefensible" and "disastrous policy." Terminating the money "would cause massive disruption, dislocation, and waste, damaging the region and endangering the...
First-Ever ‘Jeopardy!’ Team Contest Draws Top Champions
CULVER CITY — Glance around the "Jeopardy!" set during rehearsals for its first-ever team championship and it's easy to be intimidated by the assembled brain power. There's Brad Rutter, whose overall "Jeopardy!" haul, $4.3 million, is the most won on any game show. And Ken Jennings, a 74-game winner and...
Though Unhappy With Deal, Trump Doesn’t Expect a New Shutdown
WASHINGTON — Under mounting pressure from his own party, President Donald Trump appears to be grudgingly leaning toward accepting an agreement that would head off a threatened second government shutdown but provide just a fraction of the money he's been demanding for his Mexican border wall. Trump said Tuesday he would need...
Walters: School Districts Set Poor Example for Students
There’s bitter irony in the loud complaints from California school officials and unions – particularly in large urban districts – about not having enough money. Schools are supposed to be teaching our children how to become productive and responsible adults, but by overspending revenues, blaming others for their fiscal problems...