WASHINGTON (AP) – A year after COVID-19 upended lives, there are troubling signs that the pandemic stalled efforts to get Americans to stop smoking. There were fewer calls made to quit-smoking hotlines last year. Some people reported smoking more. And there was an unusual bump in cigarette sales. Experts say unemployment, delayed medical care and…… MORE
Census Data Delay Scrambles Plans for State Redistricting
(AP) — A delay in census data is scrambling plans in some states to redraw districts for the U.S. House and state legislatures. The Census Bureau has said redistricting data that was supposed to be provided to states by the end of March won’t be ready until August or September. That’s after the deadline to…… MORE
Biden Planning Executive Action to Beef Up Gun Control Measures
The White House is confirming that President Joe Biden intends to push ahead with plans to increase gun control laws via executive order. The news comes in the wake of two mass shootings earlier this month, in Atlanta and Boulder, Colo., in which a total of 18 people were killed. The violent episodes have renewed…… MORE
Why is Media Access at the Border an Issue?
Access to government-run facilities housing young immigrants on the border with Mexico has caused one of the first tussles between news organizations and the two-month-old administration of Joe Biden. Before the doors opened slightly this week, the media was limited in depicting how people in U.S. custody were being treated, and how that compared to…… MORE
Romney Gets Profile in Courage Award for Impeachment Vote
BOSTON (AP) – U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah has been named this year’s recipient of the Profile in Courage Award for being the only Republican to vote to convict former President Donald Trump during his first impeachment trial. The honor was announced Friday on NBC’s “Today” show. Trump’s first trial in 2020 focused on…… MORE
Dominion Voting Sues Fox for $1.6B Over 2020 Election Claims
WASHINGTON (AP) – Dominion Voting Systems has filed a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News, arguing the cable news giant falsely claimed in an effort to boost faltering ratings that the voting company rigged the 2020 election. Friday’s defamation lawsuit is the first filed against a media outlet by the Denver-based company at the…… MORE
In Shift, Oil Industry Group Backs Federal Price on Carbon
WASHINGTON (AP) – The oil and gas industry’s top lobbying group has endorsed a federal price on carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming. The move Thursday comes as the Biden administration has pledged dramatic steps to address climate change. The American Petroleum Institute, whose members include ExxonMobil and Chevron, announced the policy change…… MORE
Calif. Card Room Agrees to Record $5.3M Penalty
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – Officials say one of California’s more profitable card rooms has agreed to a record $5.3 million penalty for misleading gambling regulators and violating a federal law designed to deter money laundering. The state said Thursday that Artichoke Joe’s Casino south of San Francisco failed to properly report a federal investigation. The…… MORE
Calif. High Court: Judges Must Weigh Ability to Pay Bail
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – The California Supreme Court has ruled that judges must consider suspects’ ability to pay when they set bail, essentially requiring that defendants be freed unless they are deemed too dangerous to be released awaiting trial. The unanimous decision Thursday comes after voters in November rejected a state law that would have…… MORE
USC Agrees to $852M Payout in Sex Abuse Lawsuit
LOS ANGELES (AP) – The University of Southern California has agreed to an $852 million settlement with over 700 women who accused the college’s longtime campus gynecologist of sexual abuse. The agreement announced Thursday is believed to be a record amount for such a case. It dwarfs the $500 million that Michigan State University agreed…… MORE
