WASHINGTON — A judge has temporarily halted the first federal executions in 16 years as a lawsuit on how the government intends to carry them out continues. U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan said in a Wednesday evening ruling that the public is not served by “short-circuiting” legitimate judicial process....
AP FACT CHECK: Nunes Asserts a Biden Crime That Wasn’t
WASHINGTON — Congressional Republicans at impeachment hearings Tuesday tried to defend President Donald Trump by pushing a widely discredited claim that former Vice President Joe Biden pressed Ukraine’s government to shut down a corruption investigation of Burisma, the energy company paying Biden’s son Hunter. A look at some of the remarks in...
Top White House Aides Call Trump Call ‘Improper,’ ‘Unusual’
WASHINGTON — One top national security aide who listened to President Donald Trump’s July call with Ukraine’s president called it “improper.” Another said it was “unusual.” The two testified Tuesday at House impeachment hearings as the inquiry reached deeper into the White House. Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, an Army officer at the...
California Sues E-Cigarette Maker Juul Over Ads, Youth Sales
WASHINGTON — California on Monday sued the nation’s biggest e-cigarette maker, alleging that Juul Labs deliberately marketed and sold its flavored nicotine products to teenagers. The lawsuit from California’s attorney general is the latest legal action against Juul, the multi-billion dollar vaping startup that has been widely blamed for helping...
Pelosi Invites Trump to Testify as New Witnesses Prepare
WASHINGTON — Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi invited President Donald Trump to testify in front of investigators in the House impeachment inquiry ahead of a week that will see several key witnesses appear publicly. Pushing back against accusations from the Republican president that the process has been stacked against him, Pelosi said...
Walters: Westlands Contract Shakes the Waterscape
California’s perpetual, uber-complex conflict over water progresses much like the tectonic plates that grind against one another beneath its surface. Periodically, as subterranean friction increases, there’s a sudden movement that we call an earthquake — sometimes imperceptibly small, but occasionally large enough to disrupt and endanger life at the surface....
Roger Stone Guilty of Witness Tampering, Lying to Congress
WASHINGTON — Roger Stone, a longtime friend and ally of President Donald Trump, was found guilty Friday of witness tampering and lying to Congress about his pursuit of Russian-hacked emails damaging to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 election bid. Stone was convicted of all seven counts in an indictment that accused him of...
Turkey Deports American IS Suspect Stuck at Greek Border
ANKARA, Turkey — An American man suspected of being a member of the Islamic State group is being repatriated to the United States after spending three days in a no man's land between Turkey and Greece, Turkey’s Interior Ministry said Thursday. The United States agreed to take him in and...
Sour Grapes: Trade War Puts Cork in US Wine Sales to China
LIVERMORE — Caught in the crossfire of President Donald Trump’s trade war with China, U.S. vineyards are struggling to sell Syrah in Shanghai and Chardonnay in Shenzhen. They risk losing their foothold in one of the world’s fastest-growing wine markets. The 16-month dispute between the world’s two biggest economies has...
Fed’s Powell Sees Steady Growth, Signals Pause in Rate Cuts
WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell indicated Wednesday that the Fed is likely to keep its benchmark short-term interest rate unchanged in the coming months, unless the economy shows signs of worsening. But for now, in testimony before a congressional panel, Powell expressed optimism about the prospects for the...