World

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom has threatened to tax 100% of the money Californians receive from President Trump’s “anti-weaponization” fund for his political allies. Trump’s Justice Department had announced last week that it would establish a $1.776-billion fund to compensate allies of the president who claim they have “suffered weaponization and lawfare” under the Biden administration’s Justice…

President Trump has made no secret of his desire for a change of governments in Cuba. His administration has declared Cuba a national security threat and has threatened military action against the communist-run island, stationing naval warships off its shores. For months, the U.S. has blocked oil from reaching Cuba, triggering crippling blackouts. Last week,…

The catalog of unrequited hopes and hearts is a long one. Captain Ahab went mad in his vengeful search for “Moby Dick.” Jay Gatsby’s ostentatious fortune failed to win the love of Daisy Buchanan. Charlie Brown never kicked the football. Then there’s Texas, the land of broken Democratic dreams. It’s been half a century since…

Is Paramount making a Tony Soprano move? David Ellison’s media company appears to be girding for a big battle with California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and fellow state attorneys general who may team up to file a lawsuit aiming to block Paramount’s proposed $111-billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. Last week, Paramount hired powerhouse antitrust…

WASHINGTON — Last June 16, armed immigration agents broke the locks to forcibly enter an Oxnard auto body shop. Juan Carlos Ramirez, a U.S. citizen, filmed as they arrested his father. Then the agents pepper-sprayed Ramirez, slammed him onto the hoods of two vehicles, punched his face and kneed him in the side, according to a legal…

Hotel rooms in Los Angeles and other FIFA World Cup host cities could sit empty, despite high expectations that the global sporting event would be a boon to the city. The soccer tournament, which has sold more than 5 million tickets so far, has historically triggered a surge of international and domestic tourism and infused…

Iran is moving its World Cup training base from Tucson to Tijuana, the president of the country’s soccer federation said Saturday, removing one of the final hurdles to its participation in this summer’s tournament. Iran is scheduled to open World Cup play at SoFi Stadium, facing New Zealand on June 15. It will play Belgium…

WASHINGTON — In the 2024 election, hundreds of social media influencers were credentialed for the first time to attend the Democratic and Republican conventions. They have been invited to holiday parties in the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion, to political rallies in Texas and to events at the White House by both the Biden and Trump administrations. The role…

Sometimes it seems as though the only thing that stands between a functioning democracy and a full-on Trump autocracy is a thin, black-robed line. Although the Supreme Court, in general, and conservative appellate courts, in particular, have bowed and granted President Trump permission to do pretty much anything he wants, they haven’t thoroughly capitulated to…

OBEID, Sudan — The first drone arrived around 3 a.m., its presence announced by a rip of antiaircraft fire drumrolling through blacked-out boulevards. More drones followed, once more plunging the residents of this besieged city into a 21st century version of the Blitz. This is the civil war in Sudan as the conflict enters its fourth year:…