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Iran attacks energy sites, defying Trump calls for restraint

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Iran maintained attacks on energy assets around the Middle East even after U.S. President Donald Trump called for restraint, with damage to key oil and gas infrastructure triggering a fresh surge in prices.

Tehran’s response to Israel’s assault on the giant South Pars gas field “is underway and not yet complete,” the semi-official ...Read more

Pedro Portal/El Nuevo Herald/TNS

US prosecutors present assault rifles tied to Moïse assassination in Haiti

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Federal prosecutors on Wednesday presented several high-powered rifles tied to the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, along with a ballistics expert who testified that high-velocity bullets he tested were fired from one of the guns.

“These three ammunition components were all identified as having been fired from the same ...Read more

Hegseth says Iran war not becoming a 'forever war' or 'quagmire'

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WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed back against criticism the U.S. war on Iran risked becoming a military “quagmire,” as Iranian attacks on energy infrastructure pushed energy prices even higher on Thursday.

“The media here — not all of it, but much of it — wants you to think, just 19 days into this conflict, that ...Read more

European leaders harden stance against Trump's 'pointless' war

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Leaders from the European Union stepped up criticism of Donald Trump’s war in Iran in a clear indication they don’t plan to heed the U.S. president’s demand for allies to help America’s military secure the Strait of Hormuz while fighting continues.

At an E.U. summit in Brussels, leaders from the 27 member states will discuss the ...Read more

(Anindita Dasgupta)/KFF HEALTH NEWS/TNS

Families scramble to pay five-figure bills as clock ticks on promised preauthorization reforms

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Sheldon Ekirch is used to being disappointed by her health insurance company.

That’s why Ekirch, 31, of Henrico, Virginia, was stunned when she learned Anthem would finally have to pay for life-changing medical treatment.

For two years, she had battled the company to cover blood plasma infusions called intravenous immunoglobulin, or IVIG. ...Read more

Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times/TNS

California's richest real estate: Why these cities top our list without Silicon Valley gold

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It’s hundreds of miles from the AI boom and tech billionaire class of Silicon Valley.

It maintains an image, at least in some minds, as a beachside mecca for old money, big yachts and conspicuous consumption.

And now, a new Times analysis of the highest home values in California shows Newport Beach perched at the top. Among California’s ...Read more

Emily Siner/Nashville Public Radio/TNS

Is it worth your time and money to set up an HSA?

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When Mike McKee thinks about saving money for the future, he has a few priorities. Maxing out his retirement is one. Building up his kid’s college fund is another.

Opening up a health savings account? Not so much, even though he qualifies because of his high-deductible health plan.

“I’m so frustrated with the system that has anything to ...Read more

People in polyamorous relationships fight 'shame,' demand legal protections

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LOS ANGELES — Megan Katz hasn't always been so forthcoming about the fact that she dates outside her marriage.

Katz, 51, a librarian in West Hollywood, has two children with her "nesting partner," and another partner whom she does not live with. She has not experienced prejudice at work or in her neighborhood but knows others who have. She ...Read more

Robyn Beck/AFP/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/TNS

If the giant sequoia is dying out, why are there tens of thousands of seedlings and saplings?

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In a Sierra Nevada canyon all but incinerated in the 2021 KNP Complex fire, a new forest of California's beloved giant sequoias is now growing. Only not yet one that is actually giant.

The seedlings and saplings are mostly knee-high to chest-high and mixed with thickets of ceanothus and other post-fire brush growing amid the true giants that ...Read more

Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times/TNS

AI pilot program in LA County courts will help judges craft rulings in some cases

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LOS ANGELES — Judges in one of the nation's largest court systems have started using artificial intelligence, testing a tool that can rapidly distill hundreds of pages of legal motions and use samples of a jurist's writing style to help reach conclusions and even draft tentative rulings.

The program, which launched last month, gave half a ...Read more

Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Trump vows to fight invasive carp in Great Lakes, but Illinois federal funds remain frozen

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CHICAGO — A recent pledge by President Donald Trump to protect the Great Lakes from invasive carp comes as his administration continues to withhold federal funding for a key Illinois project designed to stop the spread into Lake Michigan.

Illinois officials say they welcome the president’s public support but are urging immediate action. ...Read more

Rick Friedman/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

States' lawsuit argues Trump's college data mandate threatens student privacy

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A coalition of mostly Democratic-led states is suing the Trump administration over a new federal requirement that would force colleges to report detailed admissions data, including race, gender, test scores and financial aid for individual students.

The mandate is an expansion of a 40-year-old system known as IPEDS and follows the 2023 Supreme ...Read more

People in polyamorous relationships fight 'shame,' demand legal protections

Current News / News & Features /

LOS ANGELES — Megan Katz hasn't always been so forthcoming about the fact that she dates outside her marriage.

Katz, 51, a librarian in West Hollywood, has two children with her "nesting partner," and another partner whom she does not live with. She has not experienced prejudice at work or in her neighborhood but knows others who have. She ...Read more

Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times/TNS

California lawmaker vows to protect consumers, scrutinize data centers' energy use

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California lawmakers’ latest attempt to address the environmental impacts of rapidly growing data centers was introduced in January through a bill authored by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan.

Assembly Bill 1577, or the Data Center Accountability Act, would require California data centers to disclose their energy use to the California ...Read more

Josh Boland/Chicago Tribune/TNS

'This election is not over': Democratic race for Illinois comptroller still undecided as Croke holds slim lead

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The Democratic primary for Illinois comptroller remained too close to call Wednesday as state Rep. Margaret Croke maintained a slim lead over state Sen. Karina Villa.

With an estimated 92% of votes counted, Croke led Villa 34.6% to 32.2%, according to unofficial results from The Associated Press. Lake County Treasurer Holly Kim, who had secured...Read more

Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images North America/TNS

House Democrats walk out of Bondi briefing on Epstein files

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WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats walked out of a briefing with U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche that was intended to cover the Justice Department’s handling of files related to sex trafficking investigations of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Representative Robert Garcia of California ...Read more

Maria G. Ortiz-Briones/Fresno Bee/TNS

California bill seeks to change Cesar Chavez Day state holiday to Farmworker Day

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FRESNO, Calif. — A proposal by a Central Valley lawmaker calls for renaming Cesar Chavez Day, a state holiday, to Farmworker Day after rape allegations against the labor leader came to light Wednesday.

Cesar Chavez Day, held annually on March 31 to honor Chavez’s birthday, was established as a state holiday in 2000 in California, and ...Read more

Tim Graham/Evening Standard/Getty Images North America/TNS

Cesar Chavez accused of abusing girls, raping fellow leader Dolores Huerta, newspaper inquiry finds

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LOS ANGELES — Labor leader Cesar Chavez is accused of sexually assaulting two underage girls in the 1970s as well as fellow farmworker leader Dolores Huerta in the 1960s, according to an investigation from the New York Times.

The allegations have sparked public outcry from elected leaders and spurred a wider reckoning of a towering figure in ...Read more

Allen Schaben/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Cesar Chavez's name is on buildings, parks, roads and calendars. Some are demanding change

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Dozens of California schools, streets, parks and libraries bear the name of Cesar Chavez — on top of the statues erected and holiday established in his honor.

But in the wake of new sexual abuse allegations against the iconic labor leader, some elected officials and organizations are calling for change.

A steady stream of leaders from ...Read more

Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Report: Family of Minnesota 5-year-old detained by ICE loses asylum case, ordered deported

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MINNEAPOLIS — An immigration judge has denied the asylum claims of a Columbia Heights family whose 5-year-old son became a national symbol of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota, their attorney told Minnesota Public Radio News on Wednesday.

Liam Conejo Ramos — the preschooler photographed in a blue bunny hat and ...Read more