Wildfires are an increasingly big and increasingly costly reality. The "severity and overall size" of wildfires has expanded considerably in... Read More
Wildfires are an increasingly big and increasingly costly reality. The “severity and overall size” of wildfires has expanded considerably in recent decades, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. California’s 2018 fire season, in particular, broke several dubious records, including the most acres burned, the most property loss, and the ... Read More
WASHINGTON -- The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell last week to a pandemic low 340,000, a sign the... Read More
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell last week to a pandemic low 340,000, a sign the economy continues to improve, the Labor Department said Thursday. The number of claims declined by 14,000, as vaccinations for COVID-19 have encouraged businesses to reopen or expand hours and start hiring again. Filings for jobless [&... Read More
WASHINGTON — America's safety net programs are running out of money, and fast. All four major trust funds — Social... Read More
WASHINGTON — America’s safety net programs are running out of money, and fast. All four major trust funds — Social Security Old-Age and Survivors Insurance, Social Security Disability Insurance, Medicare Hospital Insurance, and the Highway trust fund —are heading for insolvency in the next 13 years. On Aug. 31, 2021, the Social Security and Medicare […] Read More
WASHINGTON -- Two days after an independent contractor in Illinois received a $20,000 Paycheck Protection Program loan, the Small Business... Read More
WASHINGTON — Two days after an independent contractor in Illinois received a $20,000 Paycheck Protection Program loan, the Small Business Administration changed a rule governing how a business like his should document the request. Now his loan will not be forgiven, despite completing the application in good faith and using the funds appropriately, said ... Read More
Google is once again postponing a return to the office for most workers until mid-January, in addition to requiring all... Read More
Google is once again postponing a return to the office for most workers until mid-January, in addition to requiring all employees to be vaccinated once its sprawling campuses are fully reopened. The highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus is driving a dramatic spike in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, leading companies to ... Read More
WASHINGTON (AP) — A deeply divided Supreme Court is allowing a Texas law that bans most abortions to remain in... Read More
WASHINGTON (AP) — A deeply divided Supreme Court is allowing a Texas law that bans most abortions to remain in force, for now stripping most women of the right to an abortion in the nation’s second-largest state. The court voted 5-4 to deny an emergency appeal from abortion providers and others that ... Read More
A monthslong campaign by the Republican Party, fueled in part by the false narrative of widespread fraud in last year's... Read More
A monthslong campaign by the Republican Party, fueled in part by the false narrative of widespread fraud in last year’s presidential election, has led to a wave of new voting laws that will tighten access to the ballot for millions of Americans. The restrictions especially target voting methods that have been ... Read More
WASHINGTON -- A cybersecurity expert told a congressional panel Wednesday that private industry alone cannot be expected to effectively confront... Read More
WASHINGTON — A cybersecurity expert told a congressional panel Wednesday that private industry alone cannot be expected to effectively confront the kinds of cyberattacks that have wreaked havoc on U.S. computer networks in recent years. He testified to a House Homeland Security subcommittee as it considers a legislative proposal that would make ... Read More
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose has directed the state’s 88 county boards of election to begin... Read More
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose has directed the state’s 88 county boards of election to begin a four-year process to identify any registrations that have been inactive for at least two years or appear on the national change of address database. If a registration is found to fall into ... Read More
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Jury selection is underway in the fraud trial of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, a one-time darling... Read More
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Jury selection is underway in the fraud trial of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, a one-time darling of Silicon Valley now facing felony charges alleging she duped elite financial backers, customers and patients into believing that her startup was about to revolutionize medicine. But the Theranos technology, which promised to ... Read More
Nielsen, which for decades has been providing television ratings for everything from presidential debates and political conventions to nightly newscasts,... Read More
Nielsen, which for decades has been providing television ratings for everything from presidential debates and political conventions to nightly newscasts, was reeling Wednesday after a key industry organization pulled its support of the company’s services. The Media Rating Council is a United States-based nonprofit organization that manages accreditation for media research ... Read More
WASHINGTON -- A hearing held by the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging centered around whether to expand Medicare to... Read More
WASHINGTON — A hearing held by the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging centered around whether to expand Medicare to cover eyes, ears, and teeth, a proposal from Senate Democrats that could possibly cost over $359 billion over a decade. “While these programs recognize the value of dental, hearing, and vision in ... Read More
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law AB 133, an expansion of Medi-Cal that will provide coverage... Read More
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law AB 133, an expansion of Medi-Cal that will provide coverage to undocumented Californians age 50 and over, set to go into effect in May 2022. “Accessing health coverage through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program will not generally risk immigration status,” wrote a ... Read More
WINTER PARK, Fla. -- The Florida Democratic Party has named Rep. Stephanie Murphy chair of its Democracy and Voter Protection... Read More
WINTER PARK, Fla. — The Florida Democratic Party has named Rep. Stephanie Murphy chair of its Democracy and Voter Protection Program. In her new role, the Winter Park Democrat will work with the program’s staff, party leaders and other elected officials to combat voter suppression and disinformation. “As someone who fled an ... Read More
TOPEKA, Kan. - A drug most commonly given to horses and cows as an anti-parasite medicine should not be taken... Read More
TOPEKA, Kan. – A drug most commonly given to horses and cows as an anti-parasite medicine should not be taken by humans to treat or prevent COVID-19, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment said in a Wednesday advisory. Ivermectin was introduced as a veterinary drug in the late 1970s, and the discovery ... Read More
WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration is alerting health care personnel to stop using certain N95 respirators manufactured by... Read More
WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration is alerting health care personnel to stop using certain N95 respirators manufactured by Shanghai Dasheng Health Products Manufacturing Co. due to “serious concerns with [their] quality.” In a letter released last week, the FDA announced that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Institute ... Read More
DENVER, Colo. -- Invenergy, a privately held developer of sustainable energy solutions, has begun work on a 127 megawatt project... Read More
DENVER, Colo. — Invenergy, a privately held developer of sustainable energy solutions, has begun work on a 127 megawatt project in Colorado that will generate enough electricity to power 25,000 homes while paying about $250,000 annually in local property taxes. Dubbed the Boutique Solar project, the facility in Montezuma County, Colorado will create about 300 […] Read More
GENEVA (AP) — Weather disasters are striking the world four to five times more often and causing seven times more... Read More
GENEVA (AP) — Weather disasters are striking the world four to five times more often and causing seven times more damage than in the 1970s, the United Nations weather agency reports. But these disasters are killing far fewer people. In the 1970s and 1980s, they killed an average of about 170 people a ... Read More
WASHINGTON (AP) — A defensive President Joe Biden called the U.S. airlift to extract more than 120,000 Americans, Afghans and... Read More
WASHINGTON (AP) — A defensive President Joe Biden called the U.S. airlift to extract more than 120,000 Americans, Afghans and other allies from Afghanistan to end a 20-year war an “extraordinary success,” though more than 100 Americans and thousands of others were left behind. Twenty-four hours after the last American C-17 cargo plane roared ... Read More
A federal bankruptcy judge is expected to rule Wednesday on whether to accept a settlement between OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma,... Read More
A federal bankruptcy judge is expected to rule Wednesday on whether to accept a settlement between OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, the states and thousands of local governments over an opioid crisis that has killed a half-million Americans over the last two decades. If Judge Robert Drain confirms the plan, estimated to be ... Read More
MEQUON, Wis. (AP) — A loose network of conservative groups with ties to major Republican donors and party-aligned think tanks... Read More
MEQUON, Wis. (AP) — A loose network of conservative groups with ties to major Republican donors and party-aligned think tanks is quietly lending firepower to local activists engaged in culture war fights in schools across the country. While they are drawn by the anger of parents opposed to school policies on racial history ... Read More
A Texas law banning most abortions in the state took effect at midnight, but the Supreme Court has yet to... Read More
A Texas law banning most abortions in the state took effect at midnight, but the Supreme Court has yet to act on an emergency appeal to put the law on hold. If allowed to remain in force, the law would be the most dramatic restriction on abortion rights in the United States ... Read More
AUSTIN, Texas — For the Democrats who fought bitterly to prevent it, it's all over but the playing of a... Read More
AUSTIN, Texas — For the Democrats who fought bitterly to prevent it, it’s all over but the playing of a sad song on a honky tonk juke box. On Tuesday, the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature sent a major overhaul of the state’s elections laws to Gov. Greg Abbott for his signature. In ... Read More
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Justice Department sent out an urgent request this week for attorneys nationwide to volunteer to represent... Read More
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Justice Department sent out an urgent request this week for attorneys nationwide to volunteer to represent an expected flood of renters trying to avoid eviction. A letter from U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland asked “the entire legal community” to help prevent hundreds of thousands of evictions after ... Read More
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Since May 2020, new variants of the novel coronavirus have emerged that can cause COVID-19 infection, and... Read More
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Since May 2020, new variants of the novel coronavirus have emerged that can cause COVID-19 infection, and now health experts keep encouraging individuals to get vaccinated to reduce the spread of infection and avoid the emergence of a variant capable of resisting vaccines. “What’s important to understand is that ... Read More
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Researchers in Illinois have developed a smart home called the McKechnie Family LIFE Home, an interactive living... Read More
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Researchers in Illinois have developed a smart home called the McKechnie Family LIFE Home, an interactive living space equipped with smart appliances and innovation labs to study how home-based technologies may improve health for older individuals or those living with disabilities. “Facilities like these provide an opportunity to test out ... Read More
WASHINGTON -- The House Rules committee will host a roundtable discussion examining food as medicine on Wednesday, Sept. 1 at... Read More
WASHINGTON — The House Rules committee will host a roundtable discussion examining food as medicine on Wednesday, Sept. 1 at 2 p.m. The event, announced by Committee Chairman James McGovern, D-Mass., is the seventh in a series of committee events highlighting the reality of food insecurity in the United States and examining the steps ... Read More
WASHINGTON - In a world where the cost of almost everything seems to go up for everybody, broadcasters got something... Read More
WASHINGTON – In a world where the cost of almost everything seems to go up for everybody, broadcasters got something of a treat last week. When the FCC officially set its Fiscal Year 2021 regulatory fees last week, commissioners did away with rate hikes that could have climbed to 15% in some cases associated with [&... Read More
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan late Monday, ending America's longest war and closing a... Read More
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan late Monday, ending America’s longest war and closing a chapter in military history likely to be remembered for colossal failures, unfulfilled promises and a frantic final exit that cost the lives of more than 180 Afghans and 13 U.S. service members, some ... Read More
SITES, Calif. (AP) — In 2014, in the middle of a severe drought that would test California's complex water storage... Read More
SITES, Calif. (AP) — In 2014, in the middle of a severe drought that would test California’s complex water storage system like never before, voters told the state to borrow $7.5 billion and use part of it to build projects to stockpile more water. Seven years later, that drought has come and gone, replaced ... Read More