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By HANNAH SCHOENBAUMPresident Joe Biden began his term in the White House with a broad promise to protect transgender Americans against Republican policies that painted them as a threat to children and sought to push them out of public life.“Your president has your back,” Biden assured trans people in his first State of the Union address in 2021, and he repeated a version of that statement in subsequent speeches.But with President-elect Donald Trump days away from taking office after piling on transgender people throughout his campaign, some worry Biden did not do enough to shield them from what’s likely to…

NEW YORK — South Korean All-Star second baseman Hyeseong Kim and the Dodgers agreed Friday to a $12.5 million, three-year contract, a person familiar with the talks told The Associated Press.Kim’s deal includes team options for 2028 and 2029, which must be exercised together and would raise the value to $22 million over five seasons, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not been announced.His becomes the latest addition by the World Series champions in their offseason spending spree.Kim’s 30-day posting window expires at 2 p.m. PST and the deal must be finalized by then.Kim,…

By The Associated PressMexican airline Aeromexico had the world’s best record for on-time arrivals in 2024, according to an annual ranking released Thursday. Delta Air Lines scored the highest among U.S. carriers despite a computer outage that caused thousands of flight cancellations in July.Aviation-data provider Cirium said in a report that nearly 87% of Aeromexico flights arrived within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrival, a widely used measure of on-time performance among airlines.Saudia, the flagship carrier of Saudi Arabia, ranked second worldwide, with an on-time performance rate of just over 86%, according to Cirium.Cirium has rated airlines for timeliness for…

By MARY CLARE JALONICKWASHINGTON (AP) — New Senate Majority Leader John Thune is kicking off the new session with a promise to preserve the filibuster, saying in his first floor speech as leader that his priority will be to “ensure the Senate stays the Senate.”Thune, R-S.D., and Senate Republicans are taking power on Friday a little more than two weeks before Donald Trump will be inaugurated, cementing a firm GOP hold on Washington. And Thune will have to navigate his new responsibilities along with the new president, who has made clear he expects allegiance from Congress – and has previously…

By Michael Macagnone, CQ-Roll Call (TNS)WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court on Thursday overturned a Biden administration rule establishing so-called net neutrality for internet providers following years of litigation over efforts to regulate internet speeds for different content online.The ruling likely ends a long-running effort by the Biden and Obama administrations to change regulation of internet providers — requiring them to provide all internet traffic at the same speed and not discriminate against certain sites or services. A similar rule was initially put in place by the Federal Communications Commission during the Obama administration, reversed by Donald Trump in his…

A family-led coalition trying to secure re-sentencing for Erik and Lyle Menendez, who are serving life sentences without parole for the 1989 shotgun slayings of their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion, will meet Friday with Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman.Friday’s meeting with the Justice for Erik and Lyle Coalition will include more than 20 members of Jose and Kitty Menendez’s family, who organizers say are united in their support for a new sentence that “reflects Erik and Lyle’s abuse, trauma, and demonstrated rehabilitation over the last 35 years.”Former District Attorney George Gascón, who was soundly defeated by…

By Justin Papp, CQ-Roll Call (TNS)WASHINGTON — Winston Pingeon is not out for awards or accolades, he said. He does not care about personal recognition.But like others who defended the Capitol that day, he does want some acknowledgment of what transpired on Jan. 6, 2021. In the lead-up to the fourth anniversary of the mob attack, some are again calling for the dedication of an overdue plaque to honor police, though they aren’t holding their breath.“At this point, I have no hope that it will be put up anytime soon. I feel like the GOP has forgotten and failed the…

Brooks Johnson | (TNS) The Minnesota Star TribuneFor the nation’s leading butter brand, consumer demand for all things health-and-wellness has been an unexpected boon for business.“There’s certainly been a trend toward more wholesome, natural foods: I can understand the ingredient label, I can pronounce the items on that ingredient label,” said Heather Anfang, president of dairy foods at Land O’Lakes. “And so when you look at butter, I mean, the ingredients are cream and salt.”Even as Americans drink less milk year after year, demand for dairy is growing — mostly in churned and fermented form.In 2023 Americans ate the most…

By DAVID KOENIG, Associated Press Airlines WriterThe Transportation Department said Friday it will hit JetBlue Airways with a $2 million penalty for chronically late flights along the East Coast, and half the money will go to passengers who were delayed.The agency said it’s the first time it has fined an airline for chronic delays on specific routes, which it blamed on “unrealistic scheduling” by JetBlue.“Illegal chronic flight delays make flying unreliable for travelers. Today’s action puts the entire airline industry on notice that we expect their flight schedules to reflect reality,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said. His department has led…

By LINLEY SANDERS and NICHOLAS RICCARDI WASHINGTON (AP) — A majority of Republicans say they are confident in the 2024 vote count after Donald Trump’s win, according to a new poll that finds a sharp turnaround from GOP voters’ skepticism about U.S. elections after the president-elect spent four years lying about his loss to President Joe Biden. About 6 in 10 Republicans said they have “a great deal” or “quite a bit” of confidence that the votes in last year’s presidential election were counted correctly nationwide, according to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. That’s…