Dec 31 Illinois governor clears thousands of marijuana convictions By Kathleen Foody, Associated Press Illinois' governor granted more than 11,000 pardons for low-level marijuana convictions on Tuesday, describing the step as a first wave of thousands of such expungements anticipated under the state's new marijuana legalization law. Continue reading
Dec 31 Why internet stops once school ends for many rural California students By Sydney Johnson, EdSource The divide between students who have access to internet and computers required to do assignments at home and those who don’t threatens to slow down efforts to close the gap in educational opportunities between students in rural regions of California… Continue reading
Dec 31 DHS reviews how DMV laws affect immigration enforcement By Colleen Long, Associated Press The acting secretary of Homeland Security is taking aim at new laws in New York and New Jersey that allow immigrants to get driver's licenses without proof they are in the U.S. legally. Chad Wolf is directing his enforcement agencies… Continue reading
Dec 31 Judge orders Alex Jones to pay $100,000 in Sandy Hook case By Paul J. Weber, Associated Press Jones is being ordered to pay the legal fees in a defamation lawsuit brought by the parents of a 6-year-old who was among the 26 people killed in the Newtown, Connecticut, attack at an elementary school. Continue reading
Dec 31 Warren blasts billionaires as 2020 candidates ring in the new year By Will Weissert, Associated Press Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren is marking one year of running for president by slamming billionaires who she says put corporate interests above the needs of the rest of the country. Continue reading
Dec 31 PHOTOS: New Year's celebrations around the world usher in a new decade The new year of 2020 is being rung in around the globe, and each nation has their own special reason to celebrate. Continue reading
Dec 31 In 2019, the box office belonged to Disney By Jake Coyle, Associated Press Disney dominated American moviegoing more than any studio ever has before in 2019. The Walt Disney Co. accounted for about 38% of domestic moviegoing, easily the largest market share ever for one studio — a whopping $13 billion in worldwide… Continue reading
Dec 31 Lawsuit says famous Jesuit abused boy 1,000 times around world By Michael Rezendes, Associated Press A lawsuit filed Monday in state court in San Francisco alleges that a Jesuit priest sexually abused an American boy "more than 1,000 times, in multiple states and countries." In interviews with The Associated Press, Robert Goldberg describes sexual abuse… Continue reading
Dec 31 3 years in, no sign of Trump's replacement for Obamacare By Aamer Madhani, Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Associated Press As a candidate for the White House, Donald Trump repeatedly promised that he would replace President Barack Obama's health care law with a plan of his own that would provide "insurance for everybody." Nearly three years after taking office, Americans… Continue reading
Dec 31 Officials say suspect in Hanukkah attack researched Hitler online By Ryan Tarinelli, Jim Mustian, Larry Neumeister, Associated Press A man charged with federal hate crimes Monday in a bloody attack on a Hanukkah celebration had handwritten journals containing anti-Semitic references and had recently used his phone to look up information on Hitler and the location of synagogues, authorities… Continue reading