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LOS ANGELES — He hadn’t been home for a week, the campus invites flooding Eli Sanders’ phone as soon as his name dropped in the transfer portal.First he hopped on a plane to East Lansing, and Michigan State, the very Monday and Tuesday the portal opened. Then came a trip westward, to Arizona, the following Wednesday and Thursday. Friday yo-yoed him back east to Arkansas. Saturday and Sunday was Virginia Tech. All of these programs pitching themselves, across the country, to one of the most productive backs in the portal, the 5-foot-11 Sanders coming off a season in which he…

Electeds in the smaller cities of Los Angeles County tout local control as politics at its best. If you’re one of five City Council members in a city of some 72,000 residents, say, right in the middle of the teeming 10 million-people county, you can claim  to provide real constituent service right there on the ground.Citizens and those with business interests in your fair city can shake your hand,  kvetch about public safety and potholes, or the regulatory climate. Or, you know, bribe you with an envelope kindly filled with $15,000 in cash. Whichever.We don’t mean to sound too cynical…

By Funto Omojola, NerdWalletMobile wallets that allow you to pay using your phone have been around for well more than a decade, and over those years they’ve grown in popularity, becoming a key part of consumers’ credit card usage. According to a “state of credit card report” for 2025 from credit bureau Experian, 53% of Americans in a survey say they use digital wallets more frequently than traditional payment methods.To further incentivize mobile wallet usage, some credit card issuers offer bonus rewards when you elect to pay that way. But those incentives can go beyond just higher reward rates. In…

By FARNOUSH AMIRI and LISA MASCAROWASHINGTON (AP) — The House Ethics Committee voted in secret to release the long-awaited ethics report into ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz, raising the possibility that the allegations against the Florida Republican who was President-elect Donald Trump’s first choice for attorney general could be made public in the coming days.The decision by the bipartisan committee was made earlier this month, according to a person familiar with the vote who was not authorized to publicly discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity Wednesday. CNN first reported the vote.It’s a stunning turnaround for the often secretive panel of…

So many questions, so few answers.How will the Chargers respond Thursday night against the Denver Broncos after their blowout loss Sunday to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers?How effective will quarterback Justin Herbert be after his mobility was limited by a sprained left ankle, a left thigh contusion and a sore left knee?How will the Chargers’ defense hold up against quarterback Bo Nix and the Broncos after they failed to contain Baker Mayfield and the Bucs?Anyone who claims to know the answers is either a liar or a fool. Or maybe both.So much is at stake that the NFL flexed this game…

When asked by pollsters, Californians repeatedly rate homelessness as one of their top concerns — and for good reason.This year’s federal count of Californians who lack housing neared 186,000, by far the most of any state and about 5,000 people higher than the previous year.Gavin Newsom began his governorship six years ago with many promises of decisive action on major issues, among them housing and homelessness. He pledged to appoint a homelessness czar to attack the crisis, and he and the Legislature allocated billions of dollars.A 2023 report by the Legislative Analyst’s Office pegged direct spending by four state agencies…

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER, AP Economics WriterWASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Wednesday by a quarter-point — its third cut this year — but also signaled that it expects to reduce rates more slowly next year than it previously envisioned, largely because of still-elevated inflation.The Fed’s 19 policymakers projected that they will cut their benchmark rate by a quarter-point just twice in 2025, down from their previous estimate in September of four rate cuts. Their new quarterly projections suggest that consumers may not enjoy much lower rates next year for mortgages, auto loans, credit cards and…

FILE – Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump greets Robert F. Kennedy Jr., at a Turning Point Action campaign rally, Oct. 23, 2024, in Duluth, Ga. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of Health and Human Services, waves to the media as he rides the train to go to meet with Sen. John Thune, R-S.D. at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) Robert Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Health and Human Services Department, walks between meetings with senators on Capitol Hill,…

By MARTHA BELLISLE, Associated Press The secretary general of the International Biathlon Union apologized to any athlete who was mistreated during his tenure at U.S. Biathlon while speaking to a 90-minute meeting Tuesday that focused on concerns about athlete safety brought to light by multiple Associated Press reports. “I appreciate anyone who comes forward with issues, especially issues of sexual misconduct, whether it’s recent ones or old ones. I think that’s an incredibly brave and important thing to do,” Max Cobb said in remarks to the U.S. Biathlon Association’s annual meeting, held over Zoom. It was Cobb’s first public statement…

By Jeanne Kuang | CalMatters Starting Jan. 1, California employers won’t be able to require workers to attend any meetings related to their political or religious views — or how their bosses feel about unions. That’s according to a new law, Senate Bill 399, that is one of the most prominent of the usual wave of new workplace laws businesses are expected to follow each year. The legislation came as the Legislature’s Democratic supermajority sought to support a rising wave of unionization across California and the nation. The law bans mandatory workplace meetings in which the employer discusses their “opinion…