Author: admin

LOS ANGELES — Something about Kiki Iriafen, the Washington Mystics’ Tarzana-born rookie forward – she’s not going to wait for your invitation. No, she’ll do it herself, on her own timeline, make a beeline from A past B straight to the W, where her WNBA dream job is exceeding her own lofty expectations. The 21-year-old former Harvard-Westlake girls’ basketball star – you might also know her from her season at USC, starring alongside JuJu Watkins – is an All-Star already. She’ll suit up for Saturday’s WNBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis along with fellow rookies Sonia Citron, Iriafen’s Mystics teammate, and…

By Julie Appleby | KFF Health News Most of the 24 million people in Affordable Care Act health plans face a potential one-two punch next year — double-digit premium increases along with a sharp drop in the federal subsidies that most consumers depend on to buy the coverage, also known as Obamacare. Insurers want higher premiums to cover the usual culprits — rising medical and labor costs and usage — but are tacking on extra percentage point increases in their 2026 rate proposals to cover effects of policy changes advanced by the Trump administration and the Republican-controlled Congress. One key factor…

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER WASHINGTON (AP) — Under intense pressure from President Donald Trump’s own supporters, his administration now says it will push a court to unseal secret documents related to Jeffrey Epstein’s case in an effort to put to rest for good a political crisis largely of its own making. But even if those records become public, it’s far from certain they will appease critics enraged over the administration’s unfulfilled promises of full transparency about evidence against the wealthy financier. Meanwhile, the administration remains dogged by questions about its refusal to release other records in its possession after stoking…

The Ducks and defenseman Drew Helleson have agreed to a two-year contract extension, the team shared in a news release on Friday. Helleson, 24, returned on a deal that will pay him an annual average value of $1.1 million. He spent the first month or last season in the minors but came up to play 56 NHL games. He had a +6 rating and 13 points manning the right side of the Ducks’ third pairing overwhelmingly, playing over 16 minutes per game. The Farmington, Minn., native was a friend of Jackson LaCombe growing up and their reunion with the Ducks…

The clock is rapidly running out on former Vice President Kamala Harris’ self-imposed deadline to issue a decision on her political future.  In the spring, Harris promised an “end of summer” decision on whether she would run for Governor of California next year, or whether she would stay out of that race in order to make another run at the White House in 2028. Now, over halfway through the summer, Harris finds herself at a crossroads: take the – likely – easy win and become the state’s 41st Governor, or instead, commit to a grueling primary process with a spot…

By ANNIE MA, AP Education Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The Education Department will release $1.3 billion in previously withheld grant money for after-school programs, days after 10 Republican senators sent a letter imploring the Trump administration to allow frozen education money to be sent to states. President Donald Trump’s administration on July 1 withheld more than $6 billion in federal grants for after-school and summer programs, adult literacy and English language instruction, as part of a review to ensure spending aligned with the White House’s priorities. In a letter sent Wednesday, Republican senators said the withheld money supported programs that had longstanding…

Southern California job creation in June was roughly double the pace of the previous year. My trusty spreadsheet, filled with state job figures released Friday, July 18, found 8.01 million people at work in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties in June. These figures are not adjusted for seasonal swings. That’s up 71,300 workers in the year compared with 36,600 local jobs added in the previous year. It’s the most significant increase in 10 months, but it’s no wild hiring spree. Southern California bosses grew staff at a 101,400 annual pace since 2010. Alternatively, consider staffing changes on…

By MATTHEW DALY WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is granting two years of regulatory relief to coal-fired power plants, chemical manufacturers and other polluting industries as he seeks to reverse Biden-era regulations he considers overly burdensome. Trump issued a series of proclamations late Thursday exempting a range of industries that he calls vital to national security. The proclamations cover coal-fired power plants, taconite iron ore processing facilities used to make steel, and chemical manufacturers that help produce semiconductors and medical device sterilizers. The proclamations allow the facilities to comply with Environmental Protection Agency standards that were in place before…

PEYRAGUDES, France — Tadej Pogačar delivered another crushing defeat to his Tour de France rivals by dominating an uphill time trial and reinforcing his grip on the yellow jersey on Friday. The brutal effort in the Pyrenees mountains was all about strength and stamina. It was just a painful experience offering no respite after already 12 grueling stages of racing. Riders first covered 1.8 miles to reach the bottom of the climb to Peyragudes, a daunting 5-mile ramp with a steep gradient. On that brutal terrain, Pogačar reigned supreme and killed any suspense. He increased his lead in the general…

By SEUNG MIN KIM, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday will sign into law a new set of regulations for a type of cryptocurrency that are seen as a way to legitimize the burgeoning industry. The GENIUS Act sets initial guardrails and consumer protections for stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency that is tied to a stable asset like the U.S. dollar to reduce price volatility. It passed both the House and Senate with wide bipartisan margins. The measure is meant to bolster consumer confidence in the rapidly growing crypto sector. Its passage comes as Trump makes…