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California governor vetoes bill to make free condoms available for high school students, citing cost

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California governor vetoes bill to make free condoms available for high school students, citing cost


SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom rejected a bill on Sunday that would have made free condoms available all public high school students, arguing it was too expensive for a state with a budget deficit of more than $30 billion.

California had about 1.9 million high school students enrolled in more than 4,000 schools last year, according to the California Department of Education.

“This bill would create an unfunded mandate to public schools that should be considered in the annual budget process,” Newsom wrote in a message explaining why he vetoed the bill, known as Senate bill 541.

The bill is one of hundreds passed by California’s Democratic-dominated state Legislature before lawmakers adjourned last month. Newsom has been signing and vetoing legislation since then, including rejecting bills on Saturday to ban caste-based discrimination, limit the price of insulin and decriminalize possession and use of some hallucinogens.

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The bill would have required all public schools that have grades nine through 12 to make condoms available for free to all students. It would have required public schools with grades seven through 12 to allow condoms to be made available as part of educational or public health programs.

And it would have made it illegal for retailers to refuse to sell condoms to youth.

State Sen. Caroline Menjivar, a Democrat from Los Angeles and the author of the bill, had argued the bill would have helped “youth who decide to become sexually active to protect themselves and their partners from (sexually transmitted infections), while also removing barriers that potentially shame them and lead to unsafe sex.”

Newsom said programs increasing access to condoms are “important to supporting improved adolescent sexual health.” But he said this bill was one of several measures lawmakers passed this year that, when added together, would add $19 billion in costs to the state budget.

“With our state facing continuing economic risk and revenue uncertainty, it is important to remain disciplined when considering bills with significant fiscal implications, such as this measure,” Newsom said.

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Also on Sunday, Newsom signed a law aimed a electrifying the state’s fleet of school buses. Starting in 2035, the law will require any new bus purchased or contracted by school districts to be zero-emission.

California’s public school districts that provide their own transportation own about 15,800 school buses, of which 10,800 are powered by diesel fuel, according to a 2022 report from the Legislative Analyst’s Office.

The law is part of California’s plan to phase out the use of fossil fuels. State regulations will ban the sale of new gas-powered cars in California by 2035.





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Eagles’ Don Henley Files Lawsuit for Return of Handwritten ‘Hotel California’ Lyrics

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Eagles’ Don Henley Files Lawsuit for Return of Handwritten ‘Hotel California’ Lyrics


Eagles singer Don Henley filed a lawsuit in New York on Friday (June 28) seeking the return of his handwritten notes and song lyrics from the band’s 1976 album Hotel California.

The civil complaint filed in Manhattan federal court comes after prosecutors in March abruptly dropped criminal charges midway through a trial against three collectibles experts accused of scheming to sell the documents.

The Eagles co-founder has maintained the pages were stolen and had vowed to pursue a lawsuit when the criminal case was dropped against rare books dealer Glenn Horowitz, former Rock & Roll Hall of Fame curator Craig Inciardi and rock memorabilia seller Edward Kosinski.

“These 100 pages of personal lyric sheets belong to Mr. Henley and his family, and he has never authorized defendants or anyone else to peddle them for profit,” Daniel Petrocelli, Henley’s lawyer, said in an emailed statement Friday.

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According to the lawsuit, the handwritten pages remain in the custody of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office, which declined to comment Friday on the litigation.

Lawyers for Kosinski and Inciardi dismissed the legal action as baseless, noting the criminal case was dropped after it was determined that Henley misled prosecutors by withholding critical information.

“Don Henley is desperate to rewrite history,” Shawn Crowley, Kosinski’s lawyer, said in an emailed statement. “We look forward to litigating this case and bringing a lawsuit against Henley to hold him accountable for his repeated lies and misuse of the justice system.”

Inciardi’s lawyer, Stacey Richman, said in a separate statement that the lawsuit attempts to “bully” and “perpetuate a false narrative.”

A lawyer for Horowitz, who isn’t named as a defendant as he doesn’t claim ownership of the materials, didn’t respond to an email seeking comment.

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During the trial, the men’s lawyers argued that Henley gave the lyrics pages decades ago to a writer who worked on a never-published Eagles biography and later sold the handwritten sheets to Horowitz. He, in turn, sold them to Inciardi and Kosinski, who started putting some of the pages up for auction in 2012.

The criminal case was abruptly dropped after prosecutors agreed that defense lawyers had essentially been blindsided by 6,000 pages of communications involving Henley and his attorneys and associates.

Prosecutors and the defense said they received the material only after Henley and his lawyers made a last-minute decision to waive their attorney-client privilege shielding legal discussions.

Judge Curtis Farber, who presided over the nonjury trial that opened in late February, said witnesses and their lawyers used attorney-client privilege “to obfuscate and hide information that they believed would be damaging” and that prosecutors “were apparently manipulated.”



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Lancaster is California’s most desirable Fourth of July destination, Airbnb says

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Lancaster is California’s most desirable Fourth of July destination, Airbnb says


When thinking about vacations in Southern California, destinations such as Los Angeles, San Diego and Palm Springs may come to mind. 

However, according to Airbnb, none of the three – or maybe any SoCal city you are thinking of – ranked among their top ten trending destinations for this year’s Fourth of July weekend. 

That would be Lancaster. 

The short and long-term rental service’s list of trending July 4 weekend destinations includes locations renowned for scenic landscapes (such as Cle Elum, Washington and Saratoga Springs, New York) and others known for significant Fourth of July celebrations (Marshfield, Massachusetts and Sanibel Island, Florida) in addition to desirable locations as picked by potential renters themselves. 

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An Airbnb listing in Joshua Tree, California. (Photo courtesy Airbnb)

Airbnb’s top ten trending destinations for Fourth of July 2024 are: 

  • Pocono Township, Pennsylvania
  • Saratoga Springs, New York
  • Marshfield, Massachusetts
  • Leadville, Colorado
  • Bangor, Maine
  • Lancaster, California
  • Cle Elum, Washington
  • Wenatchee, Washington
  • Sanibel-Sanibel Island, Florida
  • Fort Myers Beach, Florida

Breaking it down further, Airbnb found the “most wishlisted” home in each state; California’s was the Invisible House, located within Joshua Tree National Park.

A one-night stay at the Invisible House from July 7 to July 8 will cost $2,934 before taxes.

To view Airbnb’s list of trending towns and “most wishlisted” homes, click here.



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California cities dominate list of places with worst commutes

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California cities dominate list of places with worst commutes


(NEXSTAR) – If you’re stuck in traffic every morning and every evening, is it comforting to know you’re not alone? The average American adult spends 219 hours a year – or more than nine full days – commuting every year, a new analysis by MoneyGeek found.

The personal finance site used data from the Census, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, TomTom, plus gas prices to determine where residents have the best and worst commutes.

Six of the 10 worst places for commuters are in California, MoneyGeek found.

It’s not just that drivers in Vallejo, San Jose, Stockton, Modesto and other California cities have to sit in traffic for a long time – though they do – but they have to pay out the nose to do so. Gas prices are high all around California, and residents in further suburbs (like Vallejo and Fairfield) are often driving longer distances to get into the office. (MoneyGeek factored in the cost of gas, but not the cost of public transit, in its report.)

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To make matters even worse, commuters who drive to work risk damage to their car – or their own safety – every time they get behind the wheel. Crash rates weren’t highest in California cities, however. Drivers in Jacksonville, Florida; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Albuquerque, New Mexico; and San Antonio, Texas, were more likely to experience a crash during their commute, MoneyGeek found.

The study combined these factors – commute time, rush-hour speed, crash rates and gas costs – to give of the country’s 124 largest metro areas a score. The 20 worst communities for commuters are:

Rank Metro area Score Avg. 1-way commute (minutes) Avg. rush-hour speed (mph) Morning commute crash rate Annual gas cost
1. Vallejo-Fairfield, CA 0.0 34 28 0.31 $1,792
2. Stockton-Lodi, CA 5.2 35 28 0.20 $1,791
3. Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL 14.3 32 27 0.32 $1,099
4. Modesto, CA 15.0 31 28 0.18 $1,582
5. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 15.5 35 31 0.12 $1,931
6. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 19.5 28 26 0.27 $1,367
7. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 20.1 32 18 0.16 $1,042
8. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ 21.3 28 31 0.35 $1,243
9. Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL 21.6 33 27 0.15 $1,133
10. Jacksonville, FL 23.0 28 34 0.54 $1,202
11. San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX 24.9 29 30 0.45 $1,015
12. Birmingham-Hoover, AL 25.1 29 32 0.25 $1,161
13. Baton Rouge, LA 25.3 29 29 0.48 $1,028
14. Charleston-North Charleston, SC 25.6 30 26 0.36 $941
15. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 27.5 33 23 0.21 $918
16. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 28.1 33 30 0.06 $1,492
17. Albuquerque, NM 28.4 27 34 0.45 $1,167
18. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 28.5 31 20 0.10 $1,066
19. Worcester, MA-CT 28.8 31 29 0.10 $1,239
20. Port St. Lucie, FL 29.1 31 27 0.15 $1,078
(Source: MoneyGeek)

If you’re looking for someone to be jealous of, look no further than Madison, Wisconsin. Drivers there benefit from low gas prices, rare crashes and short commute times, earning it the No. 1 spot for best commutes in the ranking.

The shortest average commute time overall was found in Wichita, Kansas. Meanwhile, drivers in the McAllen, Texas, metro area pay the least for gas every year. The award for fewest crashes was a three-way tie between Boulder, Colorado; Lancaster, Pennsylvania; and Trenton, New Jersey.

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