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Pet hotel safety alert: Wag Hotels pays $150K for neglect

A pet hotel chain with facilities in the Bay Area and Southern California will pay $150,000 to settle allegations that it mistreated animals and failed to report dog bites as required by law. Wag Hotels, which operates day care and boarding facilities, faced a consumer protection lawsuit filed in August by district attorneys from San Francisco, San Mateo County, and Santa Clara County. The complaint alleged the business neglected pets in its care, according to officials. The lawsuit followed a San Francisco Chronicle investigation that uncovered allegations of inadequate animal care and

America’s grid is under strain — can rooftop solar panels be the solution?

Migrant student success programs halted, leaving futures in limbo

Lifestyle

Itchy skin? Try this instead of scratching

Scientists have found that rubbing or gently stroking itchy skin provides better relief than scratching, according to recent research that could change how people respond to this common irritation. A 2020 study led by Tasuku Akiyama, an associate professor of dermatology and cutaneous surgery at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, demonstrated that stroking the skin of mice prevented itch signals from reaching the brain. The research showed that stroking sent a counter-signal that inhibited the uncomfortable sensation. "Once you start scratching, sometimes you can’t sto

Lights, camera, Newport! Film festival returns for its 26th year

Anxiety grows among residents still unsure of post fire contamination risks

Lifestyle

Why everyone is talking about retinol — and you should too

Retinol, a vitamin A-based compound, has emerged as one of the most versatile ingredients in skincare, offering benefits that range from reducing acne to minimizing the appearance of wrinkles. New York-based dermatologist Rachel Nazarian describes retinol as a "multitasking superhero" supported by decades of scientific research. The ingredient works by accelerating cell turnover to reveal smoother skin beneath the surface, which can help reduce fine lines and wrinkles while enhancing collagen and elastin production. While many associate retinol with anti-aging, Nazarian recommends it to

Tourist arrivals plunge in Los Angeles after wildfires, raids, and tariffs

Newsom navigates political pressure with major climate and energy reforms

US News

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Economy|Health|US|World

Talks to end the government shutdown intensify as federal closure nears longest ever

Signs of a potential end to the government shutdown intensified Tuesday with behind-the-scenes talks, as the federal closure was on track to become the longest ever disrupting the lives of millions of Americans. Senators from both parties, Republicans and Democrats, are quietly negotiating the contours of an emerging deal. With a nod from their leadership, the senators seek a way to reopen the government, put the normal federal funding process back on track and devise some sort of resolution to the crisis of expiring health insurance subsidies that are spiking premium costs fro

Political|US|World

Dick Cheney, influential Republican vice president to George W. Bush, dies

Dick Cheney, America’s most powerful modern vice president and chief architect of the “war on terror,” who helped lead the country into the ill-fated Iraq war on faulty assumptions, has died, according to a statement from his family. He was 84.“His beloved wife of 61 years, Lynne, his daughters, Liz and Mary, and other family members were with him as he passed,” the family said, adding that he died due to complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease.“Dick Cheney was a great and good man who taught his children and grandchildren to love our country, and to live lives

Dick Cheney, powerful former US vice president who pushed for Iraq war, dies at 84

US government shutdown ties record, as congressional inaction takes toll

Economy|Health|US|World

Congress ties record for longest shutdown as bipartisan talks pick up steam

With Congress now tied for its longest-ever shutdown, a small group of fed-up lawmakers in Washington are furiously trying to end the standoff as soon as this week.Those members insist there’s real momentum this time. Yet the potential off-ramp doesn’t appear to deliver Democrats any real win on their biggest demand of the shutdown: health care.Talks over reopening the government are focused on putting together a funding package and giving Democrats a stand-alone vote to extend expiring subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, according to sources familiar with the high-stakes negotiations

Crime|Election|Political|US

New York City voters are choosing their next mayor as Mamdani faces Cuomo in a generational battle

New York City's voters are deciding the outcome of a generational and ideological divide that will resonate across the country Tuesday as they choose the next mayor to run the nation's largest city. Zohran Mamdani, who won the Democratic primary earlier this year, faces former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent, and perennial Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, who is trying to land a massive upset. A victory for Mamdani would give the city its first Muslim mayor and its youngest leader in generations, while elevating the democratic socialist to pol

California voters take up Prop 50, a Democratic push for more US House seats

Jets trade star cornerback Sauce Gardner to Colts in stunning deadline deal

World News

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Business|Fashion and Beauty|Technology|World

Ultra-fast fashion and ‘childlike’ sex dolls: Why Shein isn’t winning friends in France

In the spiritual home of fashion, the newest kid on the block is most definitely not welcome.Chinese-founded e-commerce giant Shein is set to open its first brick-and-mortar store in the world in Paris Wednesday, amid a storm of outrage in France over the platform’s reputation for throwaway fashion and a headline-roiling scandal over the sale of “childlike” sex dolls.From Wednesday, Shein will set up shop in BHV, one of the French capital’s most famous department stores, before rolling out its clothing range in five of France’s well-known Galeries Lafayette malls elsewhere in the cou

Science|World

Mating injuries may lead scientists to identify dinosaurs’ sex

Paleontologists have long wrestled with how to differentiate between male and female dinosaurs based on their fossils.But new research may bring scientists closer to identifying the sex of one group of dinosaur.Hadrosaurs, also known as duck-billed dinosaurs, were common during the Late Cretaceous Period (100.5 to 66 million years ago), and the bones of these herbivores have been found across multiple continents.Some hadrosaur fossils show evidence of healing from traumatic bone injuries, all in the same location: on their vertebrae past the base of the tail.No soft tissues preserving evidenc

How the US could shape the COP30 climate summit without even being there

Norwegian opposition complicates Musk's path to $1 trillion pay deal

Economy|Health|Political|US|World

For first time in long US government shutdown, hints of progress toward reopening

The first glimmers toward ending a near-record long federal government shutdown were seen in the U.S. Capitol on Monday, as leading Senate Republicans and Democrats talked of a possible "off-ramp" to the disruption.For 34 days, a standoff between Congress and President Donald Trump has shuttered a range of federal programs including those that provide aid for low-income Americans, U.S. soldiers' paychecks and airport operations.A new fiscal year began on October 1 with no legislation enacted to fund these activities. Thousands of federal workers have now been furloughed, and the battle has hun

Crime|MidEast|Political|World

A leaked video, a frantic search, and the top military lawyer: What to know about the scandal rocking Israel

Less than a week ago, Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi was the Israeli military’s top lawyer, tasked with enforcing the rule of law within the nation’s armed forces.Now, she is under arrest as part of a criminal investigation into the leak of a video showing the alleged abuse, including sexual abuse, of Palestinian detainees in a notorious Israeli military prison.A longstanding target of Israel’s right-wing, Tomer-Yerushalmi’s rapid fall has quickly emerged as a national scandal, overshadowing the video at the center of the case.The affair dates back to July 2024, when legal authoritie