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This one should be a no-brainer. Introduced by Assemblymembers Chris Ward, D-San Diego, and Sharon Quirk-Silva, D-Fullerton, Assembly Bill 253 is the California Residential Private Permitting Review Act. It would speed the approval process for developments of 10 or fewer units, including single-family homes and duplexes. If a city takes longer than 30 days to review building plans, in the bill’s words the developer could “employ a private professional provider … to perform the plan check.” Speaking on Kitty O’Neal’s KFBK radio show in Sacramento, Ward explained his bill addresses both the wildfires that have burned much of the state…

By WILL GRAVES, Associated Press National WriterPresident Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Wednesday designed to prevent people who were biologically assigned male at birth from participating in women’s or girls’ sporting events.The order, which Trump is expected to sign at an afternoon ceremony, marks another aggressive shift by the president’s second administration in the way the federal government deals with transgender people and their rights.The president put out a sweeping order on his first day in office last month that called for the federal government to define sex as only male or female and for that to…

With all the ongoing chaos, it’s hard to sort the new president’s serious proposals from his tough-guy performances. Donald Trump, for instance, rattled financial markets with his plan to impose 25-percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico, but things calmed down after he paused those ill-thought-out actions.Likewise, his plan to expand the U.S. military’s Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba might also fizzle when reality hits, but we’re taking his promise seriously and literally. In an executive order, Trump ordered the “Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security to … expand the Migrant Operations Center at Naval Station Guantanamo…

By LISA MASCARO, Associated Press Congressional CorrespondentWASHINGTON (AP) — When Elon Musk debuted the Department of Government Efficiency recently at the Capitol, House Speaker Mike Johnson enthusiastically predicted the coming Trump administration would bring “a lot of change around here.”Three weeks in, the change the Trump administration has brought is a disruption of the federal government on an unprecedented scale, dismantling longstanding programs, sparking widespread public outcry and challenging the very role of Congress to create the nation’s laws and pay its bills.Government workers are being pushed to resign. Entire agencies are being shuttered. Federal funding to states and nonprofits…

By ZEN SOO, Associated Press Business WriterHONG KONG (AP) — Americans are likely to pay more for products from popular Chinese e-commerce platforms like Shein and Temu as the U.S. Postal Service said it would stop accepting parcels from China and Hong Kong.The move was announced Tuesday, coming after the U.S. imposed an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods and ended a customs exception that allowed small value parcels to enter the U.S. without paying tax. Canada and Mexico managed to negotiate a month-long reprieve from 25% tariffs threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump.It will likely impact online shopping destinations…

By DAVID RISING and JON GAMBRELL, Associated PressDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — President Donald Trump’s proposal that the United States “take over” the Gaza Strip and permanently resettle its Palestinian residents was swiftly rejected and denounced on Wednesday by American allies and adversaries alike.Trump’s suggestion came at a White House news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who smiled several times as the president detailed a plan to build new settlements for Palestinians outside the Gaza Strip, and for the U.S. to take “ownership” in redeveloping the war-torn territory into “the Riviera of the Middle East.”“The U.S. will…

EVANSTON, Ill. — The USC men’s basketball team is getting a crash course in the ups and downs of life in the Big Ten Conference, going from the high of a Top-10 upset to the low of a heartbreaking defeat in a matter of days.Nick Martinelli scored 27 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and his scoop shot with 2.6 seconds left helped Northwestern hold off short-handed USC, 77-75, on Tuesday night.Martinelli drove the baseline, attracting a double-team before getting a step between the two USC defenders and creating enough space to loft the shot and give Northwestern (13-10 overall, 4-8…

LOS ANGELES — Mick Cronin loves to draw inspiration from his mentors and peers, then share their advice with the world.He’s quipped that if he had Rick Pitino’s money he’d be soaking up the sun in Cabo San Lucas instead of coaching basketball. He credits Bob Huggins with teaching him the value of winning the possession battle. Real programs, Huggins instilled in a young, pre-balding Cronin, win when they don’t make shots. When Cronin first interviewed for the UCLA men’s basketball head coaching job, he told former athletic director Dan Guerrero that, if he got the job, he’d build a…

INGLEWOOD — Lakers star LeBron James, in his own words, had “seen it all.”After 22-plus years and counting in the NBA, there isn’t much that can surprise NBA’s all-time leading scorer.But this past weekend, the Lakers pulled off the unimaginable, shocking even James by acquiring five-time All-Star Luka Doncic in a three-team trade that sent 10-time All-Star Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks, Doncic’s former team.“I have seen it all up until this one,” James said after the Lakers’ 122-97 road victory over the Clippers on Tuesday night. “I have never been a part of one transaction like that. That…

ANAHEIM — On a night of milestones, the Ducks had plenty to celebrate before the puck dropped and even more after the final horn sounded in their 2-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night at Honda Center.Leading the way was goaltender John Gibson, whose 500th career game was a masterpiece as he made 26 saves to topple the NHL’s third-best team by points percentage and move the season series to 2-0 in the Ducks’ favor. Gibson, who debuted for the Ducks in 2014, has now played 53 more games than any other goalie in franchise history as he…