World

WASHINGTON — Two House Republicans launched an investigation on Wednesday that will, in part, examine how a California charitable organization used a $500,000 grant that was meant to support victims of the deadly Palisades and Eaton fires, a move that is expanding congressional scrutiny over the response to the disaster. Reps. Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin) and Jim Jordan…

Former Rep. Katie Porter, the 2026 gubernatorial candidate who has a narrow edge in the polls, raised eyebrows Tuesday when footage emerged of her apparently ending a television interview after becoming irritated by a reporter’s questions. The footage shows CBS Sacramento reporter Julie Watts asking Porter, a Democrat, what she would say to the nearly…

BEERI, Israel  — Little has changed in the house of Miri Gad Messika’s parents from two years ago, when Hamas-led militants blitzed into this tiny community less than three miles from Gaza’s eastern edge, killing more than 100 people and kidnapping 32 others. The scorch marks from the fighting that day still mar the walls, and…

Last week, David Adler posted what he said would be his final communication from aboard a boat sailing toward Gaza carrying medical supplies, food and other aid. The Southern Californian wrote that the previous night several Israeli naval ships had “menaced” the convoy of some 40 boats. “They attacked our vessels, intimidated our crew, and…

President Trump has often locked horns with the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, with the once left-leaning court putting a persistent drag on his first-term agenda. And now, even after remaking the bench with his own appointees, the president is still tangling with the West Coast’s federal appellate court — a situation poised to…

Former Rep. Katie Porter of Irvine received the endorsement of a prominent Democratic women’s group on Monday that backs candidates who support abortion rights. The organization could provide significant funding and grassroots support to boost Porter’s 2026 gubernatorial campaign. “Katie Porter has spent her career holding the powerful accountable, fighting to lower costs and taking…

JERUSALEM — As Israel seeks to excise Hamas from Gaza, it’s empowering militias led by the Palestinian group’s enemies, assisting and providing them with military support in an attempt to present them as an alternative to Hamas’s rule in the enclave. The policy appears to date back to late last year, when Israel targeted local police forces…

Gov. Gavin Newsom said Sunday that he intends to seek a court order in an attempt to stop President Trump’s deployment of California National Guard troops to Oregon. Calling the president’s action a “breathtaking abuse of power,” Newsom said in a statement that 300 California National Guard personnel were being deployed to Portland, Ore., a…

BEIRUT — The ad was straightforward: Sign up for one year to fight on Russia’s side in “the special military operation zone” — i.e. the war in Ukraine — and get citizenship, free healthcare, money and land. It was one of many promotions cropping up on the messaging platform Telegram beginning in 2024, shortly after Russian President…

TEL AVIV — With a heart-shaped balloon in her hand, Gili Coheb-Taguri, a 49-year-old material scientist wearing a Trump mask and a suit matching the president’s sartorial tastes, posed for the array of cameras and smartphones. “This? It’s an origami mask,” she said to an inquiring passerby. “And yes, I made it myself.” Coheb-Taguri was one of…