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By LISA MASCAROWASHINGTON (AP) — One by one, all the president-elect’ s men, and women, are falling into place in his Cabinet.While Defense Secretary pick Pete Hegseth’s nomination was teetering toward collapse just weeks ago, he now appears on track for confirmation after a fiery Senate hearing that focused on his drinking, views of women in combat and lack of high-profile management experience for the top U.S. military job.President-elect Donald Trump’s other nominees pushed Wednesday through a gauntlet of confirmation hearings with the help of allied Senate Republicans carrying them toward the finish line, despite Democratic objections. One of them,…

The Angels signed catcher Gabriel Davalillo, considered the top available catcher on the international market, as one of their 18 signings on Wednesday, the first day of the international signing period.Davalillo, who is from Venezuela, was ranked 17th overall among international prospects by MLB Pipeline. The Angels signed him to a $2 million bonus, the largest of any of the players signed on Wednesday.Davalillo, 17, is 5-foot-11, 215 pounds, and he has the potential to be a 25-home run hitter in the majors, according to Baseball America.The Angels also signed shortstop Yilver De Paula out of the Dominican Republic, inking…

By Alex Brown, Stateline.orgBlue states are bracing for a battle with the Trump administration over their authority to limit tailpipe emissions, a showdown that will have major repercussions on the types of cars and trucks sold to American drivers.All sides expect President-elect Donald Trump to try to revoke states’ authority to adopt California’s strict rules on the pollution spewed by vehicles.Many states’ efforts to fight climate change hinge on a federal process that allows them to adopt stringent regulations for transportation, the country’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions.This long-standing waiver authority allows California — and the dozen or so…

One person was detained after a vegetation fire broke out Wednesday, Jan. 15, in San Bernardino with the potential to threaten structures in the area.Crews responded around 2 p.m. to Little Mountain Drive and West Edgehill Road, where the Little Mountain fire was burning around 30 acres as of around 2:45 p.m., said Eric Sherwin, a spokesperson for the San Bernardino County Fire Department. That area is northeast of the 210 Freeway/215 Freeway interchange.San Bernardino police detained one person at the scene, but officials were still working to determine if the fire was intentionally set.No evacuations are in place, but…

Southern California lawmakers on both sides of the aisle largely agree: No conditions on wildfire aid. The nearly 30 House members who represent communities in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties are far and away against imposing any conditions on federal aid for California to help in the aftermath of the devastating wildfires that have destroyed thousands of homes and businesses in the Los Angeles area. Of those lawmakers, three — two Republicans and one Democrat — said they’d be open to entertaining conditions for aid.  “Under no circumstances should there be conditions on disaster aid,” said Rep.…

Angel City Football Club announced that Mark Parsons has been hired as the club’s new Sporting Director.Parsons will oversee all soccer operations, including the technical staff, the scouting and analytics department, sports medical, performance, nutrition, and player care. He will report directly to ACFC Co-Founder and President Julie Uhrman.Parsons’ last job in the NWSL was as coach of the Washington Spirit (2023). Prior to that he had a successful time at the Portland Thorns (2016-21), where he won the NWSL Championship (2017), NWSL Shield (2016, 2021) and NWSL Challenge Cup (2021). He’s the only coach in league history to win…

“February was the wettest month in downtown Los Angeles since 1998. With over 12 inches of rain drenching the city, it was the fourth-wettest February — and the seventh-wettest month overall — in the city’s nearly 150-year recorded history,” said Judson Jones’ report on Los Angeles’ weather on March 2, 2024, in The New York Times. Just under a year later, Los Angeles is on fire and the fire hydrants have run dry from a lack of water.“In 2014, in the middle of a severe drought that would test California’s complex water storage system like never before, voters told the…

The Riverside school board on Thursday, Jan. 16, will discuss a resolution that would call on state legislators to repeal a law allowing transgender athletes to participate in sports.Under the proposal, the Riverside Unified School District would formally request that the state repeal Education Code 221.5, which allows equal access to sports and facilities for all students, regardless of assigned gender at birth.The resolution states that, prompted by a recent lawsuit against the district and instances of female athletes being displaced by transgender athletes, there has been significant pubic sentiment calling on the district to “protect fairness in girls’ sports and to…

By MATT O’BRIENGoogle says its artificial intelligence chatbot Gemini will deliver up-to-date news from The Associated Press in the tech giant’s first such deal with a news publisher.Google announced the deal in a blog post Wednesday, saying that AP “will now deliver a feed of real-time information to help further enhance the usefulness of results displayed in the Gemini app.”AP’s chief revenue officer, Kristin Heitmann, said it is part of a longstanding relationship with the search giant “based on working together to provide timely, accurate news and information to global audiences.”NEWS AND AI: Daily News, NY Times ask NY judge…

By CHRIS MEGERIANWASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will deliver a farewell address to the nation Wednesday night, seizing what may be his final opportunity to reshape Americans’ grim views on his term before he departs the White House.He plans to deliver the speech at 8 p.m. ET in the Oval Office, the latest in a series of remarks on domestic policy and foreign relations that are intended to cement his legacy. Earlier in the day, he heralded a long awaited ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, which could end more than a year of bloodshed in the Middle East.But…