Author: admin

As wildfires continue to rage across Southern California, the NFL announced its contingency plan if the Rams and Minnesota Vikings are unable to play their NFC wild-card playoff game at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood on Monday night.The teams are still preparing as if they will play there as scheduled. But should Inglewood not be a safe playing environment, the league said Wednesday, the game would be played Monday night at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.“The NFL’s priority is the safety of the Los Angeles community. We are grateful for the tireless efforts of the first responders. Our hearts are…

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER, AP Economics WriterWASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve officials at their meeting Dec. 17-18 expected to dial back the pace of interest rate cuts this year in the face of persistently elevated inflation and the threat of widespread tariffs and other potential policy changes.Minutes from the meeting, released after the typical three-week lag, also showed clear division among the Fed’s 19 policymakers. Some expressed support for keeping the central bank’s key rate unchanged, the minutes said. And a majority of the officials said the decision to cut rates was a close call.Ultimately, the Fed choose to cut its key rate…

Tom Hanks, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Vice President Kamala Harris are among the many famous people at risk of losing their luxury homes as the raging, windstorm-fueled Palisades fire roared through this tony, oceanside Los Angeles neighborhood Tuesday and Wednesday, destroying homes and forcing 30,000 residents to evacuate amid clouds of smoke and clogged roadways.“The neighborhood I grew up in is burning to the ground,” Chet Hanks, the musician son of Bay Area-reared actor Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson, posted on his Instagram Story Tuesday evening. Chet Hanks also said, “Pray for Palisades.”Affleck was photographed…

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST and MARK SHERMAN, Associated PressWASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump is asking the Supreme Court to call off Friday’s sentencing in his hush money case in New York.Trump’s lawyers turned to the nation’s highest court on Wednesday after New York courts refused to postpone the sentencing by Judge Juan M. Merchan, who presided over Trump’s trial and conviction last May on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Trump has denied wrongdoing.Prosecutors were expected to file a response by Thursday morning.Trump’s team sought an immediate stay of the scheduled sentencing, saying it would wrongly restrict him as he prepares to take office. While Merchan has indicated he will…

DALLAS — The Lakers have gone through a similar pattern as they near the season’s midway point – one they have hopes of ending during their upcoming homestand.They’ll have a stretch of performing at the high level coach JJ Redick and the players envision they can consistently, followed by a momentum-halting poor play.This trend was on display during their winless two-game Texas road trip.They lost to the Houston Rockets 119-115 on Sunday, after trailing by 22 after struggling to keep the Rockets off the offensive glass, and were defeated by the Dallas Mavericks 118-97 on Tuesday, despite the Mavericks being…

Colleges went mad.They charge students big bucks and then make them feel guilty.My new video looks at a new documentary called “The Coddling of the American Mind.” It persuasively suggests that today, young people are anxious and depressed because “adults” at their schools brainwashed them.Students like Lucy Kross Wallace at Stanford.“I was anxious,” she says. “I felt guilty constantly. I couldn’t stop thinking about the white privilege thing.”Kimi Katiti attended The Art Institute of California and now says, “I feel like I lost my life for six years. I was full of self-confidence when I was 18. But in college, that disintegrated.”Kimi,…

By Ava Benny-Morrison and Rachel Metz, Bloomberg News (TNS)The sister of Sam Altman accused the OpenAI chief executive officer of sexually abusing her for almost a decade, in a lawsuit filed in federal court.Ann Altman, 30, alleged that Sam Altman abused and manipulated her while they were growing up in Missouri in the late 1990s to early 2000s. According to the lawsuit filed Monday, the alleged abuse began when she was 3 years old and the last instance allegedly occurred when he was an adult but she was still a minor. Ann Altman has previously claimed on social media that Sam Altman abused her.Sam Altman, 39, posted a statement on…

President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday blamed the massive wildfires burning homes in Southern California on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s water policies, claiming in a jab on his Truth Social media platform that Newsom put the needs of “essentially worthless fish” over “the people of California.”“Governor Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snow melt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way,” Trump’s post said.“He wanted to protect…

By LISA MASCARO and KEVIN FREKING, Associated PressWASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump arrived on Capitol Hill late Wednesday to meet privately with Republican senators as House and Senate GOP leaders are straining to come up with a strategy for tackling his legislative priorities as the party takes power in Washington.The visit is Trump’s first time back inside the U.S. Capitol since he left office four years ago, after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot by his supporters. He is also expected to pay tribute to the late President Jimmy Carter, whose remains lie in state in the Rotunda with long lines of visitors ahead…

EL SEGUNDO — If there was a moment when Quentin Johnston showed the known football universe that he had finally evolved into the wide receiver the Chargers always believed he could be, it was in the early minutes of a game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Dec. 8 at Arrowhead Stadium.Johnston ran a precise route deep into the Chiefs’ secondary, caught a pass from Justin Herbert for a 21-yard gain and then absorbed a vicious hit from Kansas City linebacker Nick Bolton. Remarkably, Johnston held onto the ball, rising to his feet as if nothing had happened.Bolton was penalized…