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Could Trump destroy the Epstein files?

Current News / News & Features /

WASHINGTON — In political exile at his mansion in Florida, under investigation for possessing highly classified documents, Donald Trump summoned his lawyer in 2022 for a fateful conversation. A folder had been compiled with 38 documents that should have been returned to the federal government. But Trump had other ideas.

Making a plucking ...Read more

Trump to host Saudi's MBS with eye toward defense, tech deals

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WASHINGTON — Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will meet U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday, cementing a burgeoning relationship that the oil-rich kingdom says will advance peace and stability in the Middle East.

MBS, as the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia is known, arrived in Washington on Monday — a ...Read more

Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Students oppose UC tuition hikes. Leaders say campuses need money in the Trump era

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LOS ANGELES — University of California regents — facing an uncertain financial outlook amid Trump administration cuts, a significant reduction in state funding and growing inflation — will vote this week on whether to increase tuition and put aside a smaller portion of that money for financial aid.

The highly anticipated vote on ...Read more

KAZUHIRO NOGI/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/TNS

Japan's Takaichi has few good options to end China's backlash

Current News / News & Features /

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is facing her first major diplomatic test less than a month into office, after angering China with remarks about Tokyo’s position on the red line issue of Taiwan.

Takaichi this month became the first sitting Japanese leader in decades to publicly link a Taiwan Strait crisis with the possible deployment ...Read more

Spencer Platt/Getty Images North America/TNS

Conflicting advice on COVID shots likely to ding already low vaccine rates, experts warn

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More than three-quarters of American adults didn’t get a COVID shot last season, a figure that health care experts warn could rise this year amid new U.S. government recommendations.

The COVID vaccine was initially popular. About 75% of Americans had received at least one dose of the first versions of the vaccine by early 2022, Centers for ...Read more

Sean Rayford/Getty Images North America/TNS

Accreditation of colleges, once low key, has gotten political

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When six Southern public university systems this summer formed a new accreditation agency, the move shook the national evaluation model that higher education has relied on for decades.

The news wasn’t unexpected: It arrived a few months after President Donald Trump issued an executive order in April overhauling the nation’s accreditation ...Read more

Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times/TNS

The deep bonds on an Altadena street driving neighbors to rebuild

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ALTADENA, Calif. -- Before the fire, Heather Rutman could look up the street from her frontyard to see if her mom was home. Sometimes when her kids were playing outside and her mom was coming back from the store, they'd jump in her car to go play at grandma's house.

In the late afternoon, Highland Avenue came alive with families playing catch, ...Read more

Matt Stone/Boston Herald/TNS

Lawsuit contends Boston fire department is sidelining veterans to meet mayor's diversity hiring goals

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BOSTON — A disabled military veteran is suing the City of Boston and its fire commissioner alleging that they are improperly using a new cadet program aimed at diversifying fire department ranks to bypass veterans and other more qualified candidates.

Jason Finn, an East Boston resident who said he was bypassed for original Boston firefighter ...Read more

K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune/TNS

UC San Diego, a giant in science, is struggling with freshmen who can't do basic math

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SAN DIEGO — UC San Diego says it’s struggling to deal with a large and growing number of freshmen whose math skills are below middle-school level, leaving many unprepared to thrive at an institution famed for its teaching and research in science, medicine and engineering.

This fall, 665 students — 8.5% of incoming freshmen — were placed...Read more

CalPERS isn't divesting from fossil fuels, but climate activists keep pushing

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Year after year, various groups have petitioned the state’s largest pension system to divest its billions of dollars from fossil fuel companies as the consequences of climate change continue to impact California.

While the California Public Employees’ Retirement System agrees with the activists that climate change presents financial risks ...Read more

Alejandro A. Alvarez/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

Suit alleges negligence caused the Jan. 31 jet crash in Northeast Philly

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The families of two Mexican nationals killed in a Northeast Philly jet crash have filed a wrongful-death suit against a medical airline, alleging its negligence was responsible for the Jan. 31. disaster that killed eight people, seriously injured at least 20 more, and devastated a neighborhood.

The complaint, filed Monday in Philadelphia's ...Read more

Claudia Staut/Pioneer Press/TNS

Minnesota housing organizations say HUD cuts could double chronic homelessness

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As the chief executive officer of Catholic Charities Twin Cities, Jamie Verbrugge helps oversee 1,000 small apartments tied to voluntary services aimed at helping previously-homeless residents stay housed, such as “wrap-around” counseling support for those with addiction and mental health issues. Verbrugge said 90% of his tenants stick ...Read more

Dominic Di Palermo/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Autopsy shows father of 2 fatally shot by ICE struck in neck, had cocaine in system

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A father of two fatally shot by an immigration agent during a traffic stop in Franklin Park in September was struck in the left side of his neck before crashing the car into a semitruck, according to autopsy results obtained Monday by the Tribune.

When paramedics brought Silverio Villegas González to the hospital, doctors found “apparent ...Read more

Amanda Snyder/Seattle Times/TNS

Seattle's homelessness response in peril as Trump aims at 'Housing First'

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New federal restrictions under the Trump administration could put $41 million in homelessness funding for King County and Seattle at risk — jeopardizing housing for hundreds of households across the region.

On Thursday, the Trump administration announced it would shift money away from data-backed long-term housing strategies and toward short-...Read more

Olivier Douliery/AFP//GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/TNS

Pressure builds on Marcos from Philippine corruption scandal

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Rising anger in the Philippines over a huge corruption scandal has forced out two ministers from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s cabinet, testing his administration’s efforts to restore public trust and investor confidence.

The revamp underscores Marcos’s determination to press ahead with his corruption crackdown, even as allegations ...Read more

Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Flood advisory extended for L.A. County as officials warn of thunderstorms, mudslides

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L.A. County was facing a chance of thunderstorms, strong winds that could topple trees and downpours Monday evening as another storm moved through Southern California following a weekend of sometimes heavy rain.

The National Weather Service warned that thunderstorms were likely as the storm system pushed through Los Angeles. A flash flood ...Read more

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images North America/TNS

Sen. John Fetterman returns to D.C. after hospitalization, speaks at conference for Jewish leaders

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Sen. John Fetterman is back to work after recovering from a fall that required hospitalization.

Fetterman, D-Pa., was hospitalized last week following a fall after he experienced a heart issue, an unnamed spokesperson announced Thursday. On Saturday, Fetterman shared a selfie after being released from the hospital with a coffee in hand.

Come ...Read more

Denise Bennett/TNS/TNS

She died in the Eaton fire. Her family says emergency alert software was to blame

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LOS ANGELES — Attorneys representing the family of Stacey Darden, an Altadena resident who perished in the Eaton fire, filed a wrongful death lawsuit Monday alleging that the software that Los Angeles County uses for emergency alerts was defective and failed to alert her to leave in time.

The complaint, filed more than 10 months after the ...Read more

NYC public school student released after ICE arrest slammed as illegal

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NEW YORK — A federal judge on Monday ordered the release of Bronx student Joel Camas, who despite having a special class of legal status was detained last month by federal immigration authorities.

Southern District of New York Judge Cathy Seibel made the ruling from the bench in White Plains nearly a month after Joel, a 16-year-old Ecuadorian...Read more

Alejandro A. Alvarez/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

Pennsylvania still fighting Trump administration over sensitive voter information

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Pennsylvania, several other states and advocacy groups are still fighting the Trump administration in court over requests for sensitive voter information — a case likely to pick up steam now that the month-plus federal government shutdown has ended.

Al Schmidt, the Secretary of the Commonwealth, wrote to the Department of Justice in August, ...Read more