California voters will decide on Tuesday (Sept. 14) whether to remove Governor Gavin Newsom in a recall election. Mike O’Sullivan reports that both Democrats and Republicans are aggressively mobilizing voters either for or against the Democratic governor.Camera: Genia Dulot, Elizabeth Lee for homeless video …
Leave a commentA huge increase in federal food aid kept the number of U.S. households considered “food insecure” from rising during 2020, despite the economic devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. But a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that more than one in 10 U.S. households was short of food at some point last year, and that racial and regional disparities in hunger increased despite the surge in federal aid.Now, however, with the pandemic surging back throughout the country, the assistance programs that prevented an untold number of American families from facing food shortages last year are beginning tomore
Leave a commentWith college students back on campus this school year, insect extermination company Terminix ranked the most bedbug-infested cities in the United States.Bedbugs spread by hitching rides on luggage, backpacks and clothing, and can crawl through cracks in the walls, making common spaces of dorm living extremely vulnerable to infestations.”Bedbugs go where people go, so they can be virtually anywhere,” said Rick Cooper, senior director of bedbug services at Terminix.”Bedbugs move from infested structures, whether that be hotels, airports, schools or college campuses,” he said. “They can tag along on someone’s clothes or backpack.”Terminix based its rankings on the number of requestsmore
Leave a commentThe White House said on Wednesday it had asked 18 Trump administration appointees to resign from military academy boards, saying President Joe Biden would require such officials to be “aligned with the values of this administration.” The 18 — six each on the Board of Visitors to the Air Force Academy, the Military Academy and the Naval Academy — were asked to resign, the White House said. If they did not resign their positions, they were to be terminated at 6 p.m., the White House said. Those asked to step down include Kellyanne Conway, White House counselor under Donald Trump, and Sean Spicer, a White House spokesperson under themore
Leave a commentAt first, Khadija Ghanizada had a tough time adjusting to the United States. She was 17 when she first came to America on a full scholarship in 2017 to attend Emma Willard School in rural upstate New York, far from any metropolis. That was tough for Ghanizada, who came from Kabul, Afghanistan’s largest city, populated by nearly 5 million people. She missed the busy street life.”Slowly, day by day, I started to make friends and adjust to American culture, food and the people around me. I watched American teen TV shows to learn about my peers and what they likemore
Leave a commentThe first trial in the “Operation Varsity Blues” college admissions bribery scandal will begin this week, with the potential to shed light on investigators’ tactics and brighten the spotlight on a secretive school selection process many have long complained is rigged to favor the rich.Jury selection is beginning Wednesday in federal court in Boston in the case against two parents — former casino executive Gamal Abdelaziz and former Staples and Gap Inc. executive John Wilson — who are accused of paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to help get their kids into the University of Southern California by falsely presentingmore
Leave a commentRepublican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law Tuesday an elections overhaul that adds more voting restrictions in the booming state. Democrats had spent months protesting what they say are efforts to weaken minority turnout and preserve the Republican Party’s eroding dominance in the state. Abbott signed the sweeping changes during a ceremony in the East Texas city of Tyler, where the surrounding county went for former President Donald Trump by a more than 2-to-1 margin last year. But it was far closer in Texas overall, with Trump carrying the state by 5 1/2 percentage points, the thinnest margin of victorymore
Leave a commentAnalysts are portraying this week’s visit to China by U.S. presidential envoy John Kerry as a diplomatic embarrassment, with Chinese leaders giving no ground on Kerry’s appeal for cooperation on climate change and offering him only video meetings with senior officials.“The Taliban got a better reception” when a delegation from the Afghan insurgent group met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on July 28, noted Anders Corr, a longtime China observer and publisher of the Journal of Political Risk.The chilly treatment of Kerry reflects how much an increasingly assertive China’s approach to Washington has changed in just amore
Leave a commentTulane University began evacuating students to Houston early Tuesday and is set to close for two weeks after Hurricane Ida damaged New Orleans’ power grid. Students were required to be off campus by 5 p.m. as buses evacuated those who were on campus. The university said students would remain in Houston, with food and lodging provided by the university, until they could arrange their own flights home. “Classes will resume online only beginning September 13 through Wednesday, October 6, to give the city time to repair and reinstate power and other critical services,” the university said in a statement. More than 1 millionmore
Leave a commentA Texas ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy took effect early Wednesday morning after the U.S. Supreme Court did not act on an emergency request by abortion rights groups to block the law enabling the ban. Barring a later ruling by the court, its inaction by midnight on the groups’ request for an injunction will allow the ban litigation continues in the groups’ lawsuit challenging its constitutionality. Abortion rights groups say 85%-90% of abortions in Texas are obtained after six weeks of pregnancy, meaning the law would most likely force many clinics to close. Such a ban has never been permitted in any state since the Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade,more
Leave a comment