Chris Marquette and Michael Macagnone | CQ-Roll Call (TNS) WASHINGTON — A deep unease trickled through Jacob Glick’s entire body. He had started a virtual deposition of Jim Watkins, the large, scruffy QAnon conspiracy theorist who runs 8kun, a website filled with hateful, racist content that included calls for violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Glick, then an investigative counsel for the House select committee probing the Jan. 6 attack, made the customary introductions of his colleagues. Watkins jotted down all the names. “It already felt creepier — and I’ve been in some creepy ones,” G ..read more

By Sharyn Jackson, Star Tribune LAS VEGAS — The most common refrain you’ll hear from anyone who’s been to Las Vegas — besides “what happens there stays there” — is how it’s nothing like it used to be. Vegas has been evolving since the very first pair of dice rolled down a craps table like desert tumbleweed. And it just keeps changing, so much so that it’s virtually impossible for a Vegas experience to repeat itself. Just since my visit in February, I can count on two hands the restaurants and bars that have opened, and at least one iconic resort, Tropicana, has closed. Vegas is the Snapchat of ..read more

By Tom Krisher | The Associated Press In the not-too-distant future, automatic emergency braking will have to come standard on all new passenger vehicles in the United States, a requirement the government says will save hundreds of lives and prevent thousands of injuries every year. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration unveiled the final version of the new regulation on Monday, calling it the most significant safety rule in the past two decades. It’s designed to prevent many rear-end and pedestrian collisions and reduce the roughly 40,000 traffic deaths that happen each year. “We ..read more

By Lauren Clason, CQ-Roll Call WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration on Monday finalized a rule to regulate most tests developed in a lab, in a move that observers expect will face legal challenges and prompt intervention from Congress. The rule effectively reclassifies tests developed and performed in a lab as medical devices for the purposes of FDA regulation. It’s a controversial strategy, but in the wake of the testing debacle during the COVID-19 pandemic, the FDA is clearly done waiting for Congress to act. FDA Commissioner Robert Califf has repeatedly made comments to that effect ..read more

The CIF Southern Section softball playoffs have finally arrived, and so have our predictions of San Gabriel Valley teams with chances of making deep playoff runs, and championships. DIVISION 1 Top four seeds: 1. Orange Lutheran (18-3), 2. Pacifica (20-2), 3. Norco (22-3), 4. Murrieta Mesa (23-3). SGV angle: It’s super difficult to win any games in Division 1, but Gateway League champion La Mirada (19-4-2) has a chance to be a surprise. It gave top-seed Orange Lutheran all it could handle in a 3-2 February loss, and with confident pitcher Montse Reyes-Cardenas and a strong enough offensive line ..read more

By Kimberly Palmer | NerdWallet Sometimes, climbing out of a money rut starts with a pep talk — to yourself. “I like affirmations and speaking out loud,” says Giovanna Gonzalez, a financial educator and author of “Cultura & Cash.” Her favorite affirmations are statements like, “I am not a reflection of my money mistakes,” “I can improve my financial situation,” and “My finances are within my control.” If you find yourself repeating frustrating money patterns, such as overspending or struggling to pay off debt, that kind of attitude shift can help get you on a different path, Gonzalez says ..read more

By Christopher O’Donnell, Tampa Bay Times and KFF Health News Monica Kelly was thrilled to learn she was expecting her second child. The Tennessee mother was around 13 weeks pregnant when, according to a lawsuit filed against the state of Tennessee, doctors gave her the devastating news that her baby had Patau syndrome. The genetic disorder causes serious developmental defects and often results in miscarriage, stillbirth, or death within one year of birth. Continuing her pregnancy, doctors told her, could put her at risk of infection and complications that include high blood pressure, org ..read more

By Zeke Miller, Joshua Goodman, Jim Mustian and Lindsay Whitehurst | Associated Press WASHINGTON — The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will move to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, The Associated Press has learned, a historic shift to generations of American drug policy that could have wide ripple effects across the country. The DEA’s proposal, which still must be reviewed by the White House Office of Management and Budget, would recognize the medical uses of cannabis and acknowledge it has less potential for abuse than some of the nation’s most dangerous drugs. However, it ..read more

US home-price gains accelerated in February, extending a streak of increases that has pushed many would-be buyers to the sidelines. Prices nationally climbed 6.4% from a year earlier, an S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller index shows. That’s larger than the 6% annual gain in January. Purchasing a home is more expensive than ever in many areas of the country after run-ups in both prices and mortgage rates over the past couple of years. While new listings have ticked up recently, giving buyers more choices, inventory is still stuck well below historic levels, so competition remains intense. “Followi ..read more

John T. Bennett | CQ-Roll Call (TNS) WASHINGTON — White House officials remain mum about a purported Israeli counterstrike on Iranian soil, the continuation of a stark message shift about American and allied intelligence capabilities in the Middle East over just a few short days. The episode shows how Biden administration officials employed silence at they tried to avoid the outbreak of a broader war. But it also raises questions about transparency at a time U.S. officials continue to be publicly critical of a key ally’s handling of civilians in a conflict zone and humanitarian aid trying to r ..read more