Author: rpnadmin

GARDEN GROVE, Calif. — For many Southern California residents who were evacuated after a chemical tank overheated, the relief of finally being allowed to return home has been overshadowed by lingering fears of living near the aerospace plant that has faced problems. A valve on the tank’s cooling system failed and forced 50,000 people to evacuate in and around the Orange County city of Garden Grove last week as officials warned of the potential for a catastrophic explosion. The tank cracked by chance, relieving pressure and eventually allowing residents to return home after the temperature remained stable without intervention. Bobbi-Lee…

NEW YORK — A former truck and bus driver charged in an assassination plot against an Iranian American writer who authorities said was targeted for death by the Iranian government was given a 10-year prison sentence on Wednesday by a federal judge. The judge, Lewis J. Liman, sentenced Jonathan Loadholt, 37, of Staten Island, in Manhattan federal court after he pleaded guilty to conspiracies to commit stalking and launder money in an attack plot that targeted Masih Alinejad in Brooklyn in 2024. James Barnacle, head of New York’s FBI office, said in a release that Loadholt was tasked by the…

Fair housing organizations filed a lawsuit Wednesday over a federal rule change that they say would reverse decades of lending protections and open the door to discrimination against Black people, Latinos and other minorities. The federal lawsuit, filed in Washington, D.C., takes aim at a change made earlier this year by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, which bars lenders from discriminating against credit applicants. Among the changes being challenged is that lenders will no longer have to consider “disparate impact” – policies that appear neutral but tend to cause disproportionate harm to certain groups.…

A South Carolina jury heard opening statements Wednesday in the trial of a store owner charged with murder in the 2023 fatal shooting of a Black 14-year-old, which a prosecutor called unprovoked and a defense lawyer insisted was an act of defense. Chikei Rick Chow, 61, who is Asian, shot Cyrus Carmack-Belton in the back during a foot chase in Columbia, believing – wrongly, prosecutors say – that he had stolen four bottles of water from the gas station convenience store. The killing sent waves of anguish and grief through the African American community in Richland County, where nearly half…

Planned Parenthood has begun prescribing abortion pills to women before they get pregnant, defying the Food and Drug Administration’s safety protocol and heightening concerns about the drugs being used by bad actors to induce non-consensual abortions. The Seattle-based Planned Parenthood affiliate launched the “Just in Case” program last week in Hawaii and Washington, saying the service is intended to “offer peace of mind for patients who are not currently pregnant and want to keep abortion medication on-hand.” “At Planned Parenthood, we are committed to getting patients the care they need, when — and before — they need it,” said Rebecca…

NEW YORK — Blocking someone from entering a house of worship, or acting in a way that makes worshippers entering the building fear for their safety, is now a crime in New York under a law approved after a series of raucous demonstrations outside synagogues. The law, signed Tuesday by Gov. Kathy Hochul, also expressly allows police to establish 50-foot security perimeters outside houses of worship where protests are not allowed. “Every New Yorker should be able to enter their house of worship and practice their religion without fear,” Hochul, a Democrat, said in a statement. Critics worry that the…

DURHAM, N.C. — A robot being developed at Duke University is almost ready to face the world, in any direction. Instead of trying to copy symmetrical shapes from nature by building robots that look like people, dogs or insects, engineering professor Boyuan Chen and his team focused on uniformity in action, or what he calls “dynamic symmetry.” The result was Argus. The roly-poly robot named after a mythological many-eyed giant has depth-sensing cameras attached to 20 telescoping legs that radiate from a central core. With no front, back, top or bottom, it can see and move in any direction instantly.…

NEWARK, N.J. — Democratic members of Congress on Wednesday said they observed dire conditions within a federal immigration detention center in New Jersey where protesters have been demonstrating for days and asserting that detainees are on a hunger strike. U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler, a Manhattan Democrat, said detainees at Delaney Hall in Newark are being given small portions of food that “very often” contain maggots and that the only medication they receive is Tylenol. One woman, he said, had a lump in her breast but was still waiting on a mammogram more than a month into her detention. Another detainee…

High costs for beef products have taken a toll on the barbecue industry in Texas, leading some restaurants to close. The price of beef for producers last month was 14.2% higher year over year, according to the National Restaurant Association. Meanwhile, the total amount of restaurant sales nationwide in April was lower than the year prior when adjusted for inflation. Brisket, a popular item in Texas barbecue, is part of the problem for the restaurant owners. “The brisket for us barbecue restaurants specifically, it’s everyone’s most popular, it’s everyone’s most expensive, and it’s our worst yield. … To have a…

NASA is paying two companies millions to provide specialized lunar vehicles to help support the agency’s moon base missions. The agency said Tuesday it’s paying Astrolab $219 million and Lunar Outpost $220 million for their work on the first phase of the moon plans. The Astrolab Crewed Lunar Vehicle, or CLV-1, will move astronauts and supplies in support of remote operations on the moon, NASA said. The CLV-1 will weigh about 2,000 pounds and go as fast as 6 mph on level terrain. Lunar Outpost’s Pegasus rover will be lighter and drive up to 9 mph. Astronauts will be able…