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As California lawmakers returned Monday to Sacramento for the legislative session, Democrats acknowledged a clear message from voters: California’s sky-high cost of living needs to drop back down to Earth.“We get it,” Democratic state Sen. Dave Cortese said. “The Democratic Party, has, in effect, just been called out by the voters on that issue.”The state’s Democrats say they’ll focus this year on making California more affordable, and party leaders are increasingly railing on the high costs of staples such as groceries and home electricity bills.The reason? Even though Democrats kept their supermajorities in both houses of the Legislature after November’s…

LOS ANGELES — A few years ago, Lincoln Riley might have panicked if he only had two quarterbacks in his room come December. Times have changed. This was a yearly occurrence, USC’s head coach reflected on National Signing Day, expressing faith in returning starter Jayden Maiava and highly touted freshman Husan Longstreet heading into 2025.Still, Miller Moss was gone to the transfer portal, as was backup Jake Jensen. The room had no buffer, by sheer depth. And USC, Riley confirmed then, would need to add a third quarterback.“Coach Huard, the rest of our staff,” Riley said, referring to USC quarterbacks…

Winter weather often causes flight delays and cancellations. While airlines can’t control the weather, they are required in the U.S. to provide refunds to customers whose flights are canceled. Here’s what to know about your rights, and what to know when cancellations start piling up: Keep an eye on weather forecasts Related Articles Travel | 6 tips to keep teenagers happy on vacation Travel | Teachers get free annual passes to SeaWorld San Diego Travel | Climate change-driven weather risks are reshaping the way US consumers travel Travel | 17 tips for having a great cruise down the Nile River…

By LISA MASCARO, MARY CLARE JALONICK, FARNOUSH AMIRI and MATT BROWN, Associated PressWASHINGTON (AP) — Congress certified President-elect Donald Trump as the winner of the 2024 election in proceedings Monday that unfolded without challenge, in stark contrast to the Jan. 6, 2021, violence as his mob of supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol.Lawmakers convened under heavy security and a winter snowstorm to meet the date required by law to certify the election. Layers of tall black fences flanked the Capitol complex in a stark reminder of what happened four years ago, when a defeated Trump sent his mob to “fight like hell” in what became the most gruesome attack on the seat of American…

Sean McVay had a coaching tree before most NFL people figured he was old enough to develop one.Here it is, eight seasons after he was hired by the Rams – following two seasons as Washington’s offensive coordinator – and he’s still probably viewed in some quarters as the kid coach. He turns 39 later this month – those of us who passed that number long ago can only sigh – and he has already reached the Super Bowl twice, won one, and earned a reputation as a coach whose teams (a) are never out of the hunt and (b) are…

By DEE-ANN DURBIN, Associated PressMcDonald’s is ending some of its diversity practices, citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision outlawing affirmative action in college admissions.McDonald’s is the latest to shift its tactics in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling and the conservative backlash that followed. Walmart, John Deere, Harley-Davidson and others have also rolled back diversity programs.McDonald’s said Monday that it planned to retire specific goals for achieving diversity at senior leadership levels. It also intends to end a program that encourages its suppliers to develop diversity training and increase the number of minorities in their own leadership ranks.McDonald’s…

By MATTHEW DALY, Associated PressWASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is moving to ban new offshore oil and gas drilling in most U.S. coastal waters, a last-minute effort to block possible action by the incoming Trump administration to expand offshore drilling.Biden, whose term expires in two weeks, said he is using authority under the federal Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to protect offshore areas along the East and West coasts, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and portions of Alaska’s Northern Bering Sea from future oil and natural gas leasing.“My decision reflects what coastal communities, businesses and beachgoers have known for a long…

New England’s Jerod Mayo and Jacksonville’s Doug Pederson are two NFL coaches who are out of a job while New York Giants coach Brian Daboll is among those who look like they will be back next fall.It’s the day after the NFL’s regular season, which usually means a tough day for coaches as underachieving teams move quickly to make changes.Mayo was fired on Sunday after the team’s win over the Buffalo Bills, ending his tenure after just one season and a 4-13 record. The move means the Patriots will embark on another rebuild as the team tries to build an identity following the Bill…

Angela Hart and Christine Mai-Duc | KFF Health NewsSix years after he entered office vowing to be California’s “health care governor,” Democrat Gavin Newsom has steered tens of billions in public funding to safety net services for the state’s neediest residents while engineering rules to make health care more accessible and affordable for all Californians.More than a million California residents living in the U.S. without authorization now qualify for Medi-Cal, the state’s version of Medicaid, making California among the first states to cover low-income people regardless of their immigration status. The state is experimenting with Medicaid money to pay for…

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and MICHAEL KUNZELMAN, Associated PressWASHINGTON (AP) — It’s the largest prosecution in Justice Department history — with reams of evidence, harrowing videos and hundreds of convictions of the rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Now Donald Trump’s return to power has thrown into question the future of the more than 1,500 federal cases brought over the last four years.Jan. 6 trials, guilty pleas and sentencings have continued chugging along in Washington’s federal court despite Trump’s promise to pardon rioters, whom he has called “political prisoners” and “hostages” he contends were treated too harshly.In a statement Monday, Attorney General Merrick Garland…