By Lawrence Hurley and Jan Wolfe | Reuters WASHINGTON – Siding with Wisconsin’s Republican-led legislature, the conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court refused on Monday to allow an extension ordered by a federal judge in the deadline for returning mail-in ballots in the state, dealing a setback to Democrats. The court, with three liberal justices dissenting, left in place a lower court’s Oct. 8 decision that blocked U.S. District Judge William Conley’s ruling that would have let officials count ballots that were postmarked by the time polls close on Election Day on Nov. 3 but arrived up to six days later. The high court’s action keeps in […]Read full article >

By Taylor Barnes | CNN Chile’s President Sebastian Piñera hailed the results of a national referendum held to scrap a dictatorship-era constitution as a “triumph” for democracy. Preliminary results late Sunday showed Chileans overwhelmingly backed drafting a new constitution. With nearly 87% of votes counted, more than 78% voted in favor of the measure, according to the country’s electoral service. A new governing charter was a central demand of energetic anti-government demonstrations over economic inequality that erupted last year. “This triumph of democracy should fill us with joy and hope,” Piñera said Sunday night. “Up until now, the […]Read full article >

Bay Area technology giants HP and Hewlett Packard Enterprise will together pay $1.45 million after the U.S. Department of Labor accused them of “systemic pay discrimination” affecting female employees. The money will cover back pay for 391 women in California and three other states, plus interest, the Labor Department said Monday in a news release. Under the settlement, the companies also agreed to analyze compensation and take steps to ensure their employment practices, including record-keeping and internal auditing, are legal, the department said, adding that the firms had cooperated. HPE said it disagreed with the allegations, “but have […]Read full article >

Powerful Santa Ana winds with gusts between 50 to 80 mph are pounding Los Angeles and Ventura counties. Flights out of LAX are reporting “extreme” turbulence and neighborhood streets and restaurants pods are rocking. A red flag warning is in effect in the region through Tuesday and the intense winds are also expected to dampen efforts to battle existing wildfires. Here’s what some have already reported. Here’s something you don’t see everyday – check out this pilot report from SoCal #cawx pic.twitter.com/smuve6tA2a — NWS Bay Area (@NWSBayArea) October 26, 2020 In other words: don’t expect much in terms of air support today […]Read full article >

SAN JOSE — One firefighter and one civilian were injured in a house fire Monday morning that engulfed a single-family home in East San Jose, authorities said. Just after 11 a.m., the San Jose Fire Department was called to the 100 block of Laumer Avenue off of Alum Rock Avenue, where a one-story home caught flame, the department said in a series of tweets. Crews worked to knock down the two-alarm fire over the next hour and a half, declaring it under control by about 12:45 p.m. One firefighter and one other person were transported to the hospital with injuries; an update on their conditions was not immediately available. Seven residents in […]Read full article >

By Sandee LaMotte | CNN If your heart goes pitter-patter for diet beverages, it may not be due to love. Artificially sweetened beverages, a new study has found, may be just as bad for your heart as the sugar-laden kind. “Our study suggests artificially sweetened beverages may not be a healthy substitute for sugar drinks, and these data provide additional arguments to fuel the current debate on taxes, labeling and regulation of sugary drinks and artificially sweetened beverages,” said lead author Eloi Chazelas, a doctoral student and member of the nutritional epidemiology research team at the Sorbonne Paris Nord University, in a statement. […]Read full article >