The University of Southern California canceled its main graduation ceremony Thursday and dozens of students were arrested on other campuses as protests against the Israel-Hamas war continued to spread. College officials across the U.S. are worried the ongoing protests could disrupt their plans for commencement ceremonies next month. Some universities called in police to break up the demonstrations, resulting in ugly scuffles and arrests, while others appeared content to wait out student protests as the final days of the semester ticked down. Other approaches taken by schools included rewriting ..read more

The United States will pull the majority of its troops from Chad and Niger as it works to restore key agreements governing what role there might be there for the American military and its counterterrorism operations, the Pentagon said Thursday. Both African countries have been integral to the U.S. militarys efforts to counter violent extremist organizations across the Sahel region, but Nigers ruling junta ended an agreement last month that allows U.S. troops to operate in the West African country. In recent days, neighboring Chad also has questioned whether an existing agreement covered the U ..read more

The Federal Communications Commission has voted to reinstate net neutrality regulations which were first implemented during the Obama administration. According to the FCC, the vote brings back a set of rules across the country that make internet access an essential service again, and it stops providers from blocking, slowing down or favoring certain content for payment. It also keeps a close watch on outages to address any issues. We need broadband to reach 100 percent of us and we need it fast, open, and fair, Jessica Rosenworcel, FCC chairwoman, said before the vote Thursday. Furthermore, th ..read more

NFL teams will look to shape the future of their franchises when Round 1 of 2024 NFL Draft gets underway Thursday night in downtown Detroit. Heading into the night, the draft order is determined by reverse order of how all 32 teams finished last season, with the worst teams making their picks earlier in the night and the best teams choosing later. Three teams the Carolina Panthers, Houston Texans, and Cleveland Browns don't currently have a first-round pick this year due to trades they've made in previous years. Nonetheless, some big college stars are expected to hear their names called early ..read more

Over 100 people have been arrested at Emerson College as pro-Palestinian protesters clashed with police. The Boston Police Department confirmed the arrests of 108 people and said four officers were injured. Three of those officers have minor injuries and one is more serious, police said. The incident happened in the early hours of Thursday morning at an encampment set up by Massachusetts colleges to show solidarity with pro-Palestinian protesters arrested at Columbia University last week, according to local outlet WCVB. Police said no protesters in custody were injured. They will be arraigned ..read more

Lawmakers announced Wednesday they will be investigating the price of Ozempic and Wegovy. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions called the prices of the drugs outrageously high in the United States. The popular Type 2 diabetes medication and weight loss drugs are made by Novo Nordisk. The demand in the U.S. caused a shortage. In an announcement Thursday, the Senate committee said the company charges Americans with Type 2 diabetes $969 a month for Ozempic. The same drug is sold for $155 in Canada and $59 in Germany. Wegovy prices are similar, at $1,349 a month in the U.S ..read more

Here's a look at some of the events taking place across our Central Coast communities from Friday, April 26 through Sunday, April 28. Multi-Day Events Santa Maria Strawberry Festival April 26th through 28th, Santa Maria Fairpark It is time to celebrate the Central Coast's #1 crop, Strawberries! Friday through Sunday the Santa Maria Fairpark will fill with strawberry tastings, art competitions, carnival rides, performances and more. While there don't miss the chalk art display and classic car show! Gates will be open from noon to 10 p.m. all three days. Full details can be found here! Morro Bay ..read more

In March, a New York judge denied a motion to dismiss a wrongful death lawsuit against several social media companies that was brought forward by families of those killed in the Buffalo, New York, grocery store mass shooting. The families allege companies like Meta and Reddit profit off of and indirectly encourage extremist and violent content on their platforms. It's honestly not surprising, said Ashtin Gamblin, a survivor of the Club Q mass shooting in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I think that honestly comes almost hand in hand at this point. The internet is also the perfect place to find tho ..read more

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday took up Donald Trump's bid to avoid prosecution over his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. Trumps lawyers argue that former presidents are entitled to absolute immunity for their official acts. Otherwise, they say, politically motivated prosecutions of former occupants of the Oval Office would become routine and presidents couldnt function as the commander in chief if they had to worry about criminal charges. Lower courts have rejected those arguments, including a unanimous three-judge panel on an appeals court in Washington. A ..read more

A Tesla that may have been operating on the company's Autopilot driving system hit and killed a motorcyclist near Seattle, raising questions about whether a recent recall went far enough to ensure Tesla drivers using Autopilot pay attention to the road. After the crash Friday in a suburban area about 15 miles northeast of the city, the driver of a 2022 Tesla Model S told a Washington State Patrol trooper that he was using Autopilot and looked at his cellphone while the Tesla was moving. The next thing he knew there was a bang and the vehicle lurched forward as it accelerated and collided with ..read more