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The schedule for all of the football games in the CIF State Championships on Friday and Saturday. CIF STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS FRIDAY  DIVISION 1–AA Folsom (13-1) vs. Cathedral Catholic (11-2) at Saddleback College, 8 p.m. DIVISION 2–AA Stockton St. Mary’s (12-2) vs. Bakersfield Christian (13-0) at Saddleback College, 4 p.m. DIVISION 3–AA San Francisco St. Ignatius (8-6) vs. Ventura (13-2) at Fullerton HS, 8 p.m. DIVISION 4–AA Sutter (13-1) vs. Barstow (11-3) at Buena Park HS, 8 p.m. DIVISION 5–AA Oakland Bishop O’Dowd (10-4) vs. El Cajon Christian (8-7) at Buena Park HS, 4 p.m. DIVISION 6–AA San Jose Lincoln (11-3)…

By FATIMA HUSSEIN WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is proposing to overhaul a regulatory panel that monitors the nation’s financial stability, by advocating for looser regulations. The Financial Stability Oversight Council, a U.S. body created in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis, monitors risks to the financial system and coordinates regulators’ approaches to overseeing the U.S. financial system. In a letter released by Bessent Thursday, he said “too often in the past, efforts to safeguard the financial system have resulted in burdensome and often duplicative regulations.” “Our administration is changing that approach,” said Bessent, who…

By FATIMA HUSSEIN, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. imposed sanctions on three nephews of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, among others, on Thursday as President Donald Trump looks to inflict further pressure on the South American nation. The new sanctions on Franqui Flores, Carlos Flores and Efrain Campo come a day after Trump announced that the U.S. had seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. Also included in the sanctions are six firms accused of transporting Venezuelan oil. A Treasury official confirmed the sanctions on condition of anonymity ahead of the official announcement later Thursday. The sanctions…

The holiday season usually means Americans are running up their credit card debt. Come January, lenders are typically fielding a plethora of inquiries for home equity lines of credit for people seeking to consolidate their debt. A home equity line of credit or HELOC may help you to coral debt, knock credit card interest rate down and improve a cash-flow situation. First, consider the credit card challenge driven by inflation and depleted savings. The average American owes somewhere between $6,300 and $7,500 in credit card debt, depending on the data source. As of December, the average credit card interest rate…

By JOSH FUNK, AP Transportation Writer Senators from both parties pushed Thursday for changes to a massive defense bill after crash investigators and victims’ families warned the legislation would undo key safety reforms stemming from a collision between an airliner and Army helicopter over Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people. The head of the National Transportation Safety Board investigating the crash, a group of the victims’ family members and senators on the Commerce Committee all said the bill the House advanced Wednesday would make America’s skies less safe. It would allow the military to operate essentially the same way as…

By JAMES ROBSON, AP Soccer Writer Soccer fans were able to apply for tickets to watch specific matches at next year’s World Cup for the first time on Thursday as FIFA opened up its latest phase of sales. Following last week’s draw for the 2026 tournament, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, an updated schedule has been published. That means fans know when and where the likes of Lionel Messi and Argentina will play. Previous ticket ballots were blind as the qualification period had not even been completed and the draw was yet to take…

By COLLIN BINKLEY, AP Education Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Some of the country’s most prestigious colleges are enrolling record numbers of low-income students — a growing admissions priority in the absence of affirmative action. America’s top campuses remain crowded with wealth, but some universities have accelerated efforts to reach a wider swath of the country, recruiting more in urban and rural areas and offering free tuition for students whose families are not among the highest earners. The strategy could lead to friction with the federal government. The Trump administration, which has pulled funding from elite colleges over a range of…

By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer The average rate on a 30-year U.S. mortgage edged higher this week, though it remains relatively near its low point so far this year. The uptick brings the average long-term mortgage rate to 6.22% from 6.19% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.6%. Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, also rose this week. The rate averaged 5.54%, up from 5.44% last week. A year ago, it averaged 5.84%, Freddie Mac said. Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, from…

By ISABELLA VOLMERT Indiana state senators are expected to cast a decisive vote Thursday on a redrawn congressional map after months of pressure by President Donald Trump for a rare mid-cycle redistricting, however the outcome in the Republican-controlled chamber is still uncertain. Trump has urged GOP-led states to gerrymander their U.S. house districts ahead of the 2026 elections to create more winnable seats for Republicans. It’s an unusual move, since the district boundaries are usually adjusted based on the census every 10 years. The president on Wednesday again criticized Republican Senators in Indiana who are resisting the plan, and repeated…

The Associated Press Disney is investing $1 billion in OpenAI and will bring characters such as Mickey Mouse, Cinderella and Luke Skywalker to the AI company’s Sora video generation tool, in a licensing deal that the two companies announced on Thursday. The agreement makes the Walt Disney Co. the first major content licensing partner for Sora, which uses generative artificial intelligence to create short videos. Under the three-year licensing deal, fans will be able to use Sora to generate and share videos based on more than 200 Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars characters. AI video generators like Sora have…