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California governor rejects bill to give unemployment checks to striking workers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:29:15 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California won’t be giving unemployment checks to workers on strike, with Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoing a bill Saturday that had been inspired by high-profile work stoppages in Hollywood and the hotel industry.Newsom, a Democrat, says he supports workers and often benefits from campaign contributions from labor unions. But he said he vetoed this bill because the fund the state uses to pay unemployment benefits will be nearly $20 billion in debt by the end of the year.“Now is not the time to increase costs or incur this sizable debt,” Newsom wrote in a veto message.The fund the state uses to pay unemployment benefits is already more than $18 billion in debt. That’s because the fund ran out of money and had to borrow from the federal government during the pandemic, when Newsom ordered most businesses to close and caused a massive spike in unemployment. The fund was also beset by massive amounts of fraud that cost the state billions of dollars.Plu...

California governor signs law to bolster eviction protections for renters

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:29:15 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law Saturday to bolster eviction protections for renters and close a loophole in an existing law that has allowed landlords to circumvent the state’s rent cap.The move updates a 2019 landmark law that created rules around evictions and establishing a rent cap at 5% plus the inflation rate, with a 10% maximum.Under the 2019 law, landlords can evict tenants for “at fault” or “no fault” reasons. “At fault” reasons include failure to pay rent on time. Under “no fault” rules, landlords can terminate leases by saying they need to move into units, make repairs or take the units off the rental market.Renters’ advocates said some landlords have exploited the “no fault” evictions to get around the state’s rent cap. They pointed to a case in Santa Clara County in which a landlord evicted tenants, citing the need to move in relatives, but then re-listed the units at nearly double the price.Under the new law, land...

A populist, pro-Russia ex-premier looks headed for victory in Slovakia’s parliamentary elections

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:29:15 GMT

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — A populist former prime minister who campaigned on a pro-Russian and anti-American message looked to be heading for victory in early parliamentary elections in Slovakia, according to preliminary results early Sunday.With results from almost 88% of about 6,000 polling stations counted by the Slovak Statistics Office, former Prime Minister Robert Fico and his leftist Smer, or Direction, party led with 23.7 % of the vote.A liberal, pro-West newcomer, the Progressive Slovakia party, was a distant second with 15.6% of the votes cast Saturday.With no party likely to win a majority of seats, a coalition government would need to be formed. The left-wing Hlas (Voice) party, led by Fico’s former deputy in Smer, Peter Pellegrini, was in third with 15.4%. Pellegrini parted ways with Fico after Smer lost the previous election in 2020, but their possible reunion would boost Fico’s chances to form a government.“It’s important for me that the new coalition would be forme...

California Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s body returns to San Francisco on military flight

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:29:15 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein returned Saturday to her hometown for the final time when a military jet carrying the late Democratic senator’s body landed at San Francisco International Airport.The long-serving senator and political trailblazer died Thursday at her home in Washington, D.C., after a series of illnesses. At 90, she was the oldest member of Congress after first being elected to the Senate in 1992. The arrival of her body was not open to the public. No details have been shared about services.The former San Francisco mayor was a passionate advocate for priorities important to her state, including environmental protection, reproductive rights and gun control. But she also was known as a pragmatic, centrist lawmaker who reached out to Republicans and sought middle ground.Her death was followed by a stream of tributes from around the nation, including from President Joe Biden, who served with Feinstein for years in the Senate and called her “a pioneer...

Biden says it’s ‘good news’ the shutdown was averted but blames House GOP for ‘manufactured crisis’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:29:15 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Staring down a possible government shutdown, the White House wanted to make sure any blame would fall at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue — specifically on House Republicans. After all, it was the majority party in the House that had been paralyzed until Saturday by an inability to pass a funding package, stymied by members who don’t want to uphold a bipartisan spending agreement from earlier this year. President Joe Biden is hoping the rest of the country would see things the same way. It’s a murky proposition at a time of extreme political polarization, with many Americans dug into their partisan corners regardless of the facts of the matter.With a deadline looming, Congress on Saturday approved a short-term funding bill to keep federal agencies open through Nov. 17, and sent the measure to Biden to sign. Speaker Kevin McCarthy dropped demands for steep spending cuts, but also cut aid for Ukraine. In a statement, Biden said the bill was “good news for the Ame...

Cubs' playoff hopes vanish before they complete 10-6 victory over Brewers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:29:15 GMT

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Yan Gomes hit a grand slam, but the Chicago Cubs were eliminated from postseason contention during a 10-6 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday night.Chicago's game was going into the eighth inning when Miami finished its 7-3 victory at Pittsburgh, securing an NL wild card and knocking the Cubs out of the playoff race.It looked as if the Cubs were in good shape for a wild card when they improved to 78-67 with a 5-4 victory at Colorado on Sept. 11. But they dropped 11 of their next 15 games.Before Saturday's victory at Milwaukee, they had lost four in a row by a total of five runs. They also had dropped nine straight road games.Chicago (83-78) spent the top of the first inning taking out its frustration on Eric Lauer (4-6), who was making his first major league appearance since May 20 with the NL Central champion Brewers (91-70) resting their top starting pitchers.On Lauer’s third pitch, Christopher Morel hit a 431-foot drive over the wal...

Kim has 4 hits, Padres beat White Sox 6-1 to hand Chicago 100th loss

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:29:15 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago White Sox lost 100 games for the first time since 2018 as Ha-Seong Kim had four hits to lead the San Diego Padres to a 6-1 win on Saturday night.Michael Wacha (14-4) struck out seven, walked one and allowed three hits over seven scoreless innings as the Padres, who were eliminated from playoff contention Friday, moved to above .500 (81-80) for the first time since May 10.Jurickson Profar had two hits and drove in four runs and Ji Man Choi added a pair of hits, his first with San Diego.Mike Clevinger (9-9) was roughed up for six runs in 1 2/3 innings against his former team.Lenyn Sosa homered off Ray Kerr in the eighth for the White Sox, who reached 100 losses for the fifth time. Chicago has lost 14 of 20 and has the fourth-worst record in the majors. They joined Oakland and Kansas City to give AL three 100-loss teams.Profar hit a three-run double to put the Padres ahead in the first after Clevinger allowed two walks and a single. Choi followed with an RBI ...

University of Chicago hosts second annual South Side Science Festival

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:29:15 GMT

CHICAGO — The University of Chicago brought science out of the lab and into the community during its South Side Science Festival on Saturday.Maanasa Raghavan, an assistant professor in the Department of Human Genetics at the University of Chicago, helped bring the event to fruition."It's just such a cool feeling to be in a lab and be able to discover something and for those few moments, it's knowledge that only you hold to yourself uniquely and then be able to share with the world," Raghavan said. Read more: Latest Chicago news headlines After brainstorming with two colleagues during the COVID-19 pandemic, the South Side Science Festival was born.Raghavan says she drew inspiration from similar events held at universities in Northern Europe."They have these famous long nights of science which is sort of dedicated to essential campuses opening up to the public. And it's just to essentially speak curiosity and interest in science among the public" Raghavan said.Planning for the event...

Loons continue to flounder with playoffs on line in 1-1 draw with San Jose.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:29:15 GMT

Minnesota United remains a broken record this season.They can’t win enough at Allianz Field — often dropping  points from winning positions in the process — and they now are on the verge of breaking their record of four straight MLS Cup Playoff appearances.Teemu Pukki put MNUFC up 1-0 in the 56th minute with a shot tucked in the near post and past goalkeeper Daniel. The goal had a nice buildup from Emanuel Reynoso to Franco Fragapan and Wil Trapp to Bongi Hlongwane.But San Jose equalized in the 82nd minute with Paul Marie at the back post off an assist from Cristian Espinoza.Boos rained down in St. Paul as MNUFC settled for a 1-1 draw on an unseasonably steamy Saturday night.Manager Adrian Heath figures the Loons need two wins in their final four games to make the MLS Cup Playoffs. They now have three and will be underdogs at LAFC on Wednesday and at Kansas City on Decision Day on Oct. 21. They host LA Galaxy in the process.The Loons (9-10-12, 38 points) failed to make up ground on ...

Cardinals cruise to 15-6 win in penultimate game, eliminate Reds from postseason

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:29:15 GMT

ST. LOUIS - The St. Louis Cardinals dominate in their penultimate game of the season, winning 15-6 over the Cincinnati Reds. The victory eliminates the Reds from postseason contention. Check back for extended AP recap.