Newsom embraces dirty energy in bid to stave off blackouts

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom campaigned on shutting down Aliso Canyon, a gas storage facility that was the site of the largest methane leak in U.S. history. Now, five years later, his administration is poised to inject even more gas into the sandstone chamber 8,500 feet beneath north Los Angeles in a bid to stave off energy price spikes and power shortages. He's...

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Trump fraudulently inflated his net worth by billions of dollars, New York AG says

NEW YORK — Donald Trump fraudulently inflated his net worth by as much as $2.2 billion per year, New York officials said in court filings unsealed Wednesday ahead of his upcoming civil fraud trial. The new estimates came in filings from the New York state attorney general’s office, which is suing Trump, some of his adult children and his business empire for falsifying his...

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Super PAC mounts major effort to carry Burgum back to the debate stage

A super PAC backing GOP presidential candidate Doug Burgum is launching a huge national ad campaign in an effort to vault the North Dakota governor into the second debate next month. Best of America PAC on Wednesday reserved over $4 million in advertising set to run nationally on Fox Business Network, Fox News Channel, the History Channel, Newsmax, TBS, TNT on the Fox broadcast...

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Ryan Reynolds has transformed Wrexham. Who will save Britain’s other struggling towns?

Can the Hollywood takeover of a Welsh football club really be a model for regeneration? from Politics, Policy, Political News Top Stories https://ift.tt/aoePONF via IFT...

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Dem Senate plots move amid spending clash with House GOP

The Senate is preparing its first big move in the fall spending fight. Chuck Schumer is tentatively planning to bring up several spending bills for floor votes in mid-September, as the Senate majority leader works with Appropriations Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and ranking member Susan Collins (R-Maine) to prepare the bills for prime time. Democrats hope it will set up a...

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China behind ‘largest ever’ digital influence operation

Groups linked with China’s law enforcement peppered more than 50 social media platforms with pro-Beijing messages, Meta says. from Politics, Policy, Political News Top Stories https://ift.tt/nqmlEMc via IFT...

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Officials unveil “unprecedented” cybercrime takedown

Senior Justice Department officials on Tuesday revealed a major digital sting they carried out to quash malware cybercriminals have used for decades to launch ransomware attacks, break into corporate networks, and filch sensitive consumer data across the globe. The operation, which they called “unprecedented,” involved FBI agents and law enforcement partners in six other...

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Record warm waters power Hurricane Idalia's path to the coast

Hurricane Idalia is gathering strength as it churns toward Florida’s northern Gulf Coast, fueled by a sizzling marine heat wave that has gripped the Gulf of Mexico all summer. The storm could surge into a catastrophic Category 4 cyclone before making landfall Wednesday morning, National Hurricane Center forecasters warned. Its path toward Florida’s Big Bend region includes...

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'A big f-ing deal': Dem convention delegates will stay within Chicago city limits

CHICAGO — State delegations attending the 2024 Democratic National Convention will get to do something almost unheard of: Stay in a hotel within the city limits. Hotels for next year's Democratic convention delegates are all in downtown Chicago and all within close proximity of each other, allowing high-profile speakers to travel quickly from one hotel to another for the...

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Hawaii power utility takes responsibility for first fire on Maui, but faults firefighters

HONOLULU — Hawaii’s electric utility acknowledged its power lines started a wildfire on Maui but faulted county firefighters for declaring the blaze contained and leaving the scene, only to have a second wildfire break out nearby and become the deadliest in the U.S. in more than a century. Hawaiian Electric Company released a statement Sunday night in response to Maui County’s...

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Police search for suspected shooter at University of North Carolina; students warned to stay inside

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — An apparent shooting at the University of North Carolina flagship campus on Monday led to a school-wide alert warning of an “armed, dangerous person on or near campus” and urging people to go inside and avoid windows. Authorities didn’t immediately provide details of the alleged shooting on the Chapel Hill campus, including whether anyone had been shot....

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DOT levies largest-ever penalty against American Airlines for tarmac delays

The Transportation Department has issued a $4 million fine against Texas-based American Airlines for leaving passengers stranded on the tarmac for three hours or more — the agency's largest penalty to date for a single domestic airline for breaking the rule. DOT’s rules permit aircraft to idle awaiting takeoff for only three hours max for a domestic flight, without offering...

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Joe the Plumber, who questioned Obama's tax policies during the 2008 campaign, has died at 49

TOLEDO, Ohio — Samuel “Joe” Wurzelbacher, who was thrust into the political spotlight as “Joe the Plumber” after questioning Barack Obama about his economic policies during the 2008 presidential campaign, and who later forayed into politics himself, has died, his son said Monday. He was 49. His oldest son, Joey Wurzelbacher, said his father died Sunday in Wisconsin after...

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Pentagon bets on quick production of autonomous systems to counter China

The Pentagon is about to make a huge bet that it can field thousands of autonomous systems within two years — an attempt to use technological innovation to counter China’s much larger stockpile of traditional weapons. The ambitious effort, named Replicator, will be spearheaded by Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, who previewed the push in an interview. Hicks will formally...

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Pope slammed for telling Russians to hold on to ‘legacy’ of a ‘great empire’

While he also advocated for peace, remarks seeming to praise Russia’s imperialist past come under fire. from Politics, Policy, Political News Top Stories https://ift.tt/zcyIUGR via IFT...

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First test in Georgia v. Trump: Can prosecutors keep home-court advantage?

The first big showdown for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in her case against Donald Trump and 18 of his allies will take place on unfamiliar turf: a federal courtroom. Officially, the Monday hearing in Atlanta will focus on a bid by co-defendant Mark Meadows to move the case out of Georgia state court. But the session will also be a post-indictment courtroom...

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