California senator removed after criticizing late lawmaker

A California lawmaker was removed from the state Senate floor after refusing to stop delivering a speech criticizing late state Sen. Tom Hayden for his leadership role in the anti-Vietnam War movement of the 1960s. Republican Sen. Janet Nguyen lived in South Vietnam as a child and fled with her family when its U.S.-backed government fell.

Rural California levees besieged by pounding wet winter

Billions of dollars in flood projects have eased fears of levee breaks near California’s capital and some other cities, but state and federal workers are joining farmers with tractors in round-the-clock battles this week to stave off any chain-reaction failure of rural levees protecting farms and farm towns. As the wet winter forces operators of dams to send more water roaring downstream, the struggle to spot and shore up weak spots in nearly 1,600 miles of levees in the Central Valley is unrelenting, said Rex Osborn, spokesman for emergency operations in San Joaquin County, one of the nation’s main farm and dairy counties.

Ukrainian Tycoon Firtash Detained In Vienna On European Arrest Warrant

An Austrian court has approved the extradition of Ukrainian tycoon Dmytro Firtash to the United States to face bribery allegations, overturning an earlier ruling that had said the U.S. request was politically motivated. Firtash, once an ally of former Moscow-backed Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, has rejected the allegations as ‘absurd and unfounded.’

Australians doubt Trump’s commitment to its traditional ally

Some Australians foresee trouble in their country’s traditionally strong alliance with the United States because of what they see as “unpresidential” behavior from President Donald Trump, while others think outspoken businessman-turned-Australian-leader Malcolm Turnbull is a good match for him. Australians have long had an affinity with the United States and absorb American popular culture like blotting paper.

US probe of drone collisions with aircraft points to birds

Investigations into reported collisions by drones with civil aircraft found that they were caused instead by birds, wires and posts, or structural failures unrelated to unmanned aircraft systems , a U.S. regulator said. There has been widespread concern about the risks that the flying of drones close to aircraft can pose , and the Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday that reports of “possible” drone sightings to FAA air traffic facilities continued to increase in fiscal year 2016.

Steven Lindsey’s New Book “C.J. Lincoln, FBI” is a Suspenseful, …

Steven Lindsey’s New Book “C.J. Lincoln, FBI” is a Suspenseful, Page-turner that Delves into the Psyche of a Convicted Criminal and a FBI Special Agent. Recent release “C.J. Lincoln, FBI” from Page Publishing author Steven Lindsey is an emotional and thrilling journey that follows a prison escapee and a detective, depicting a connection of resentment and fear.

Trump says he won’t attend correspondents’ dinner this spring

President Donald Trump, who has been criticizing the news media and is famously thin-skinned, says he won’t be attending the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner – sparing himself the dubious honour of being an in-the-house target of jokes. The annual fundraiser for college scholarships and venue for reporting awards mixes politicians, journalists and celebrities and is typically attended by the president and first lady.

‘Madman Theory’ of foreign policy working – so far

A man watches a TV news program showing a file footage of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un with letters reading: “The North fired a missile” at the Seoul Train Station in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017. At the heart of Donald Trump’s foreign policy team lies a glaring contradiction.

African Americans to Democratic Party: We’re still here

In this Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2013 file photo, from left, President Barack Obama, former President Jimmy Carter, first lady Michelle Obama, and former President Bill Clinton wave after a ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. As an African-American Democrat, I share the core values of my political party.

Vote expected on hotly contested New Jersey pipeline project

New Jersey regulators are set to vote on whether a natural gas pipeline should run through the state’s federally protected Pinelands region, which includes more than a million acres of farms, forests and wetlands. The Pinelands Commission is expected to make a final determination Friday morning on the proposal that has touched off a classic jobs-versus-environment battle in the nation’s most densely populated state.