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Looking for free Wi-Fi and A/C? These L.A. libraries deliver

As Los Angeles swelters under summer heat and remote workers seek refuge from cramped home offices and costly cafes, public libraries across the region have become vital community spaces, offering free air conditioning, high-speed Wi-Fi, and peace and quiet to all who walk through their doors. “There’s no place like it,” said Joyce Cooper, director of branch services for the L.A. Public Library. “Where else can you just walk in off the street and get help for whatever you need?” Since reopening after the pandemic, L.A. libraries have seen a notable increase in visitors using b

Free school for 4-year-olds? California says yes — if parents hear about it

California races to stop golden mussels from threatening water supply

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Can California really balance fish, farms, and faucets with one plan?

California water regulators unveiled a revised framework for managing the Bay-Delta watershed that seeks to protect fish habitats while maintaining water deliveries to communities across the state. The State Water Resources Control Board's proposal incorporates Gov. Gavin Newsom's Healthy Rivers and Landscapes Program, marking the first significant overhaul of water management rules in the region since 1995. The initiative allows water agencies, farmers, and other users to enter into cooperative partnerships rather than face traditional regulatory mandates. "I am proud to see the Health

Community library in El Sereno offers tools, books, and belonging

Father of Georgia school shooter had letter from son ‘asking for forgiveness’ on day of the shooting, testimony reveals

Firefighters rescue family trapped by fallen tree; home declared total loss

SYLVA, North Carolina (WLOS) -- A Sylva woman is sharing her story after a massive tree came crashing down on her home during a powerful thunderstorm Thursday afternoon.That woman, Autumn Richards, said she and five of her family members, including her six-year-old granddaughter, were all inside their home on Chickadee Lane when it happened.Richards explained that they were all in separate parts of the home when the tree came down.“I felt it in the floor and the lights flickered twice. Then a loud crash. I thought the whole house was gone. I came running out, screami

Man accused of stealing garbage truck, crashing on bridge after chase

Police officer detained by ICE is being held at Massachusetts facility

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Texas Democrats signal they are ready to end redistricting standoff and return to state

Texas Democratic lawmakers signaled their intention on Thursday to end their redistricting standoff and return to Austin, paving the way for Republicans there to pass a redrawing of congressional lines backed by President Donald Trump.In a release Thursday, Texas House Democrats set conditions for heading back that are already in motion. They called for Republicans to adjourn the legislative special session underway, a move expected Friday, and for California Democrats to introduce their own new congressional map that would offset the five US House seats Republicans want to flip in Texas. Cali

Crime|US|World

Prosecutors say Florida deputy who punched Black man at traffic stop did not commit crime

A Florida deputy who punched a Black man at a February traffic stop did not commit a crime, prosecutors said in a report on an incident that was condemned by civil rights groups.A video of the incident showed officer D. Bowers punching William McNeil Jr., 22, who recorded the clip. It went viral in July when the video was posted online.Other officers threw the Black man to the ground and surrounded him during the traffic stop."Officer Bowers conducted a lawful traffic stop and gave McNeil 12 individual lawful commands, which McNeil refused to obey," the report released by the State Attorney'

Mortgage rates fall to lowest level in 10 months

Michigan handed multimillion-dollar fine and head coach Sherrone Moore given additional suspension for sign-stealing scandal

Trump told Melania to ‘go forward’ with legal action against Hunter Biden over Epstein relationship comments

President Donald Trump confirmed Thursday morning that Melania Trump’s attorneys are threatening legal action against Hunter Biden, saying he told her to “go forward.”“You know, I’ve done pretty well on these lawsuits lately. And I said, go forward. Jeffrey Epstein has nothing to do with Melania and I introducing. But they do that. They make up stories,” he told Brian Kilmeade on Fox News radio.The legal threat centers on a claim Biden made in an interview on YouTube about the Trumps’ relationship to Jeffrey Epstein, according to the journalist who conducted the interview and a c

Crime|Political|US|World

Bondi names DEA head as DC's 'emergency police commissioner,' but capital leaders push back

The Trump administration, stepping up its crackdown on policing in the nation's capital, on Thursday named the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration to be Washington's “emergency police commissioner" with all the powers of the police chief — a significant move that increases national control over the city as part of the federal government's law-enforcement takeover. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a directive issued Thursday evening that DEA boss Terry Cole will assume “powers and duties vested in the District of Columbia Chief of Police.” The Metropolitan Polic

The Latest: Trump en route to high-stakes meeting with Putin in Alaska

Trump thinks Putin is ready to make a deal on Ukraine

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Arts|Science|Technology|Travel|World

I tried to find out if the fossil I bought online was real. Then I realized I was asking the wrong question

It stands to reason that a 95 million-year-old tooth shipped to my home would have a rich past. But what ensued after I bought it online for about $100 revealed how, for such relics and those who covet them, the present is in some ways much more complicated.I always wanted to own a fossil, and once the algorithm picked up on that desire, ads flooded my Instagram feed. It then became impossible to resist the thrill of purchasing a piece of one of the largest predators that ever existed: Spinosaurus, a semiaquatic meat-eater that could reach almost 60 feet (about 18 meters) in length — longer

Arts|Europe|Science|Travel|World

Ethiopian fossil Lucy leaves for her first exhibition in Europe

The human ancestor fossil known as Lucy left Ethiopia for display in a European museum, Ethiopian national media reported Friday, citing Tourism Minister Selamawit Kassa. Lucy’s skeleton, which is 40% complete, left Ethiopia on Friday and will be displayed at the Czech National Museum in Prague for approximately two months. Lucy was recovered in Ethiopia in 1974 from what was an ancient lake near fossilized remains of crocodiles, turtle eggs and crab claws. She was a member of Australopithecus afarensis, an early human species that lived in Africa between about 4

Federal courts go old school to paper filings after hack to key system

Trump's 'safe and beautiful' move against DC homeless camps looks like ugliness to those targeted

Education|Sports|World

10-year-old chess prodigy becomes youngest female player to defeat grandmaster

A 10-year-old British girl has made chess history by becoming the youngest female player to ever beat a grandmaster.Bodhana Sivanandan, from northwest London, defeated 60-year-old grandmaster Pete Wells in the final round of the 2025 British Chess Championships in Liverpool on Sunday.At 10 years, five months and three days, Sivanandan broke the record set by American Carissa Yip, who was 10 years, 11 months and 20 days old when she defeated a grand master in 2019, according to the International Chess Federation (FIDE).Sivanandan has now earned woman international master status, one level below

Education|Technology|World

Exclusive: Oklahoma to begin controversial test to weed out ‘woke’ teacher applicants today

Teachers from “liberal” states who have relocated to Oklahoma and are seeking to work there must take a controversial new assessment, given for the first time today, that “keeps away woke indoctrinators,” according to Oklahoma’s top education official.Ryan Walters, Oklahoma’s superintendent for public instruction, told CNN that if applicants do not pass the test, they will not earn a teaching certificate to be able to teach in public schools in the state this school year, which begins for some Oklahoma districts on Monday.The decision to use the assessment, developed by PragerU, a