McCain returning home to Arizona, will likely miss tax vote

The fourth-largest wildfire in California history continues to grow and threaten thousands of homes despite armies of fire crews and fleets of bulldozers and aircraft. President Trump is poised to bask in the triumph of his first major legislative victory with the likely passage of tax legislation this week.

Sen. Ted Cruz just got in a Twitter battle with Mark Hamill

Registration will allow you to post comments on timesunion.com and create a timesunion.com Subscriber Portal account for you to manage subscriptions and email preferences. Mark Hamill and Ted Cruz got into a Twitter battle Sunday, but Cruz lost terribly.

The government is seriously investigating UFOs, New York Times finds

Science fiction fans won't see their suspicions of extraterrestrial life confirmed; but the U.S. is looking into it That's the takeaway from two investigations, published in the New York Times and Politico , which found that the Pentagon was, for a few years, doing research into UFO sightings. The program was pushed by former Nevada Sen. Harry Reid.

Sanders calls GOP tax bill a “massive attack” on middle class

"At the end of the day what you had is people like [Treasury Secretary Steven] Mnuchin, who himself is worth $300 or $400 million dollars, or the president of the United States who is worth several billion dollars, as you mentioned, some 4,000 to 5,000 lobbyists doing everything that they could to write a bill which significantly benefits the wealthiest people in this country and the largest corporations," Sanders said on CBS News' "Face the Nation" on Sunday. Sanders said that Republicans will turn to cutting "Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid" to offset upwards of $1 trillion in lost revenue, a scenario he said was "grossly unfair" to middle class families.

Texas Sen. John Cornyn faults Democrats griping about tax bill for refusing participate in process

Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn pushed back Sunday against Democrats griping about the tax reform bill, saying they have refused to participate despite being invited to do so by Republicans. "Our Democratic colleagues simply refused to participate in the process," Mr. Cornyn, Texas Republican, said on ABC's "This Week."

A multi-billion-dollar a mega measurea to fix Bay Area traffic for good heading your way

A proposed "Southern Crossing" would carry more than just cars in this architectural rendering of a proposed new bridge, just one of several transportation improvements imagined as part of a "mega" funding measure. Imagine a Bay Area with highways that flow instead of grind to a halt.

Trump defends tax plan as ‘great Christmas gifts’ to middle class

With a vote on the biggest tax rewrite in three decades set for Tuesday, Republicans were working to ensure party members were holding the line in favor of the legislation against entrenched Democratic opposition. The plan was finalized on Friday after Republican Senators Marco Rubio and Bob Corker pledged their support.

Sen. Schumer: Bomb-detection units needed at transit hubs

Screening devices that detect suicide vests like the one that exploded in a New York City subway tunnel are being tested in a Los Angeles transit station, but U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer said Sunday the Transportation Security Administration should speed up plans to deploy the technology nationally. "The fact that we have this new, potentially life-saving technology at our fingertips - an ability to detect concealed explosives worn by cowards looking to do us harm - demands the federal government put both the testing and the perfecting of this technology on the fast-track," Schumer said.

New England Council urges immigration reform

An organization that represents businesses across New England is urging action to prevent the loss of thousands of immigrant employees from the already tight labor market. Jim Brett of the New England Council joined with the New American Economy last week in a media teleconference as a display of united support for immigrants, including an estimated 15,000 covered under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA.

GOP betting that its fix for US economy will defy warnings

The tax overhaul of 2017 amounts to a high-stakes gamble by Republicans in Congress: That slashing taxes for corporations and wealthy individuals will accelerate growth and assure greater prosperity for Americans for years to come. A wide range of economists and nonpartisan analysts have warned that the bill will likely escalate federal debt, intensify pressure to cut spending on social programs and further widen America's troubling income inequality.

Pentagon study of UFOs revealed

Beyond preparing for the next field of battle, or advancing a massive arsenal that includes nuclear weapons, the Pentagon has also researched the possible existence of UFOs. The New York Times reported Saturday on the once completely classified project that began because of the intense interest in the subject by former Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada.

NAFTA prospects through the lens of Mexico

In this Aug. 16, 2017 photo, the national flags of Canada, the U.S. and Mexico are lit by stage lights before a news conference, at the start of the North American Free Trade Agreement renegotiations in Washington. Mexico is taking U.S. President Donald Trump's threats to leave NAFTA more seriously as a second round of talks opens Friday, Sept.