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By ZEKE MILLER and CHRIS MEGERIAN, Associated PressWASHINGTON (AP) — As the nation reeled from the deadliest American aviation disaster in more than two decades, President Donald Trump on Thursday baselessly blamed diversity initiatives for undermining air safety and questioned the actions of a U.S. Army helicopter pilot involved in the midair collision with a commercial airliner.Sixty-seven people are believed to have died in the Wednesday evening crash, which occurred while a flight from Wichita, Kansas, was landing at Washington Reagan National Airport. As Trump spoke, the federal investigation was just beginning and first responders were still working to recover bodies from the…

By BARRY WILNER | AP Sports WriterNEW YORK — Dick Button was more than the most accomplished men’s figure skater in history. He was one of his sport’s greatest innovators and promoters.Button, winner of two Olympic gold medals and five consecutive world championships, died Thursday, said his son, Edward, who did not provide a cause. He was 95.As an entrepreneur and broadcaster, Button promoted skating and its athletes, transforming a niche sport into the showpiece of every Winter Olympics.“Dick was one of the most important figures in our sport,” Scott Hamilton said. “There wasn’t a skater after Dick who wasn’t…

Four men who an indictment claims espouse neo-Nazi beliefs have been charged with child exploitation in a case in which they coerced 16 children — including two in San Bernardino County — to create child pornography and other images showing them harming themselves, the U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday, Jan. 30.CVLT members groomed children through a platform run by CVLT to produce the images through various means of degradation, including exposing the victims to extremist and violent content, a DOJ news release said. CVLT specifically targeted victims who may be vulnerable, such as those suffering from mental health problems…

By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICONFORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump began his White House briefing Thursday with a moment of silence and a prayer for victims of Wednesday’s crash at Reagan National Airport. But his remarks quickly became a diatribe against diversity hiring and his allegation — so far without evidence — that lowered standards were to blame for the crash.Trump on Thursday variously pointed the finger at the helicopter’s pilot, air traffic control, his predecessor, Joe Biden, and other Democrats including former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, whom he labeled a “disaster.” Buttigieg responded by calling Trump “despicable.”The cause…

PACIFIC PALISADES — There are shocking sights around every corner in the devastated burn areas of Pacific Palisades.But those trying to clean up or just move on with their lives in the area of Fire Station 69 on West Sunset Blvd. were treated to another one Thursday afternoon – three-time MVP Shohei Ohtani acting as the “tillerman,” driving (with assistance) the back of a tiller truck from the station.Ohtani – with a big smile on his face – took the spin around the neighborhood as part of a goodwill visit by himself and Dodgers teammates Emmet Sheehan and Ben Casparius.…

By MATTHEW BROWNWASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate confirmed Doug Burgum as interior secretary late Thursday after President Donald Trump tapped the North Dakota billionaire to spearhead the Republican administration’s ambitions to boost fossil fuel production.The vote was 79-18.Burgum, 68, is an ultra-wealthy software industry entrepreneur who came from a small North Dakota farming community, where he worked at his family’s grain elevator.He served two terms as governor of the oil-rich state and launched a presidential campaign in 2023, but dropped out months later and quickly endorsed Trump.Trump also picked Burgum to chair a new National Energy Council that’s tasked with…

James Harden didn’t need a campaign to state his case. He didn’t need sports pundits to plead as to why he belongs on the NBA All-Star roster. His ré sumé was convincing enough.Harden earned his 11th nod to the NBA All-Star Game on Thursday as a Western Conference reserve, as selected by the league coaches. The game will be played Feb. 15 at Oracle Arena in San Francisco.Harden joins Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves), Anthony Davis (Lakers), Jaren Jackson Jr. (Memphis Grizzlies), Alperen Şengün (Houston Rockets), Jalen Williams (Oklahoma City Thunder) and Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio Spurs) as the Western Conference…

President Trump made nice during a three-hour stopover at the Palisades fire in Los Angeles, possibly the most costly natural disaster in American history, but his longstanding political “War on California” did not abate.He declaimed that “We want to get the problems fixed,” and even embraced Gov. Gavin Newsom, whom he usually calls “New-scum.”But he did not walk back demands to condition federal crisis aid on California adopting a voter ID system like Republicans have used to cement power in states they control, or his demand that much more Northern California water be moved south – even though there are…

By Akayla Gardner and Josh Wingrove | BloombergPresident Donald Trump said he would follow through on his threat to impose 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico on Feb. 1, citing the flow of fentanyl and large trade deficits as among the reasons for his decision.“We’ll be announcing the tariffs on Canada and Mexico for a number of reasons,” Trump told reporters Thursday in the Oval Office as he signed executive actions in response to a deadly airplane collision.Also see: California builders warn of price hikes should Trump tariffs begin Feb. 1“Number one is the people that have poured into…

By STEVEN HERBERTCalifornia on Thursday is observing Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution, remembering the shipyard welder who challenged the constitutionality of the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.The Asian Pacific American Law Students Association at UC Irvine hosted a Korematsu Day Celebration Panel with civil-rights lawyers on Thursday afternoon. The UC Irvine School of Law is the site of the Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality, whose mission is to use legal research, litigation advocacy and clinical education to achieve durable social change related to racial equity and social justice.A conversation with…