For most Californians, the recent end of a six-year drought means guilt-free baths; but prospectors see more at the end of the rainbow. Drawn by the lingering appeal of the Mother Lode, thousands of gold diggers have poured into old mining regions with hopes in their hearts and metal detectors in their hands. Some are retired folks; others are unemployed plumbers and builders fleeing the recession. The ninety-three’ers believe the run-off from heavy winter snows will wash down more gold from the Sierra Nevada mountains than usual....

The B.1.1.7 variant was first detected in the United Kingdom at the end of last year but it has now spread to several countries. The variant appears to be significantly more transmissible than the original—perhaps by around 50 percent—although it does not seem to cause more severe illness, scientists have said. Last week, the variant was identified in the United States for the first time after public health officials in Colorado picked up a case....

The previous record of 4,158 was set in the spring when the state’s vaccination rate was much lower, with over 20 percent of those hospitalized in intensive care units. State officials continued their plea for residents to get vaccinated and wear masks to mitigate the spread as cases surge across the country approaching the holiday season. “Our COVID numbers are too high. They’ve always been too high, even when they were small,” Gov....

Among those 13,000, Reuters found there were at least 400 infants who had been forced to wait south of the border, with many babies and their families staying in crowded shelters and tents by ports of entry or on the streets for weeks, if not months. While unaccompanied minors cannot be turned back to Mexico under the Migrant Protection Protocols, or “Remain In Mexico” policy, which has seen tens of thousands of asylum seekers forced to wait in Mexico while their immigration cases in the U....

The report said the crisis “paralyzed the economy and slammed the labor market,” according to the Associated Press. Many people lost their jobs or are not receiving wages. It estimated that 700,000 to 900,000 jobs could be lost by June. The Taliban seized power as U.S. and NATO troops withdrew, leading to the international community freezing assets in Afghanistan and halted funding as a result of the Taliban’s reputation for brutality during its rule 20 years earlier....

The campaign was created one month ago, soon after Rittenhouse was taken into custody in Antioch, Illinois, and charged in a shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin, that left two people dead and a third seriously injured. The campaign surpassed its original goal to raise $500,000 during the past three weeks. Rittenhouse, 17, is accused of shooting the three victims during protests that erupted late last month after the Kenosha police shooting of Jacob Blake....

The poll found that 73 percent of respondents are in support of resettling the Afghan refugees in other countries, and while 69 percent said they are supported resettling the refugees in the United States. Of that group, 80 percent of Democrats polled said they were in favor of resettling refugees in the U.S., as were 64 percent of both Republicans and Independents. The poll surveyed 1,299 people between September 1 and September 2, days after the final U....

And just over a month since he was brought in to replace Joe Hart, hitherto the undisputed No. 1 for both City and England, Bravo is still regarded as very much a foreign presence in the Premier League. Pep Guardiola went to a lot of effort to bring him in, ousting a perfectly good goalkeeper to sign, essentially, a better passer. And there are those - including City fans - who are still unsure of the benefits, whether Hart would be just as good an option....

The NCAA made a major push in the offseason to have officials enforce rules more tightly this year. The goal is to improve scoring by increasing the freedom of movement and reducing physical play. It's working so far as points are up — and so are fouls. "I think the officials are doing what they're supposed to do," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said after his fourth-ranked Blue Devils lost to No....

Solo explains cowards comments Morgan and Co. will come up against their former teammate for the first time since Kante’s switch to Chelsea when Leicester travel to Stamford Bridge on Saturday. Kante was crowned Leicester’s Player of the Season as the Foxes defied the odds to hoist the Premier League trophy last term. And while Morgan said the France international is missed, he insists it is time to move on....

The Atlas Lions needed goals from Younes Belhanda, Hakim Ziyech and Youssef En-Neysri to beat Estonia in their fifth and final friendly in preparations for the World Cup to be held in Russia. Morocco defeated Serbia, Uzbekistan, and Slovakia and drew with Ukraine. Throughout their friendlies, Morocco scored nine goals and conceded three. Morocco’s last defeat came on June 10th 2017 in an Africa Cup of Nations qualification game away at Cameroon, following a disappointing start to the year that saw them lose a friendly to the Netherlands and exit the Africa Cup of Nations prematurely thanks to Kahraba’s goal in the quarter finals....

Madison Acor has been posting clips to TikTok sharing aspects of her course at the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science (PIMS). Acor posted a clip to her account, @madi_acor, showing the day 3 syllabus, her class learned facial reconstruction on what 3D models they called “headzos.” The clip, posted on Sunday, garnered more than 4 million views, as Acor captioned it: “I cant wait to show you guys the other headzos soon!...

The Czech request might further escalate a diplomatic conflict with Russia over the alleged involvement of Russian spies in a massive ammunition depot explosion. New Czech Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhanek gave the Russians a deadline of noon Thursday “to enable the return of all [Czech] expelled diplomats to the Czech embassy in Moscow.” If not, he warned, “I will decide tomorrow afternoon to reduce the staff of the Russian embassy in Prague so their number equals the current number of staff at the Czech embassy in Moscow....

Isco: I’m not joining Barca! A calf injury kept Nigeria international Moses out of the shock 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace last Saturday and the 2-1 win over Manchester City on Wednesday. Conte experimented with Pedro at the right wing-back position against Palace before moving Cesar Azpilicueta into the role for the visit of Pep Guardiola’s men, with Kurt Zouma returning to the centre of the defence. And, although he hopes to have Moses fully fit for the match at Vitality Stadium, Conte has praised his squad for ensuring that the loss of regular members of the starting line-up has not been damaging to their title charge....

Thirty-seven percent of voters trust President Donald Trump on when the guidelines that have shuttered businesses, schools and restaurants nationwide should be loosened, a Morning Consult/Politico poll showed Wednesday. Thirteen percent of Democrats trust the president, compared with 70 percent of Republicans. Initially hoping to relax guidelines in certain states by Easter, Trump has since extended the national social distancing regulations through April 30 as health officials warn the worst is yet to come....

The findings are part of an Axios/Survey Monkey poll of over 2,800 U.S. adults from around the country. The survey was conducted from October 17 to October 20 and has a modeled error estimate of 2.5 percentage points. Overall, 60 percent of adults polled said they agreed with the statement that “things have changed so much that I often feel like a stranger in my own country.” Twenty-four percent of respondents said they “completely” agreed with the declaration and 34 percent said they “mostly” agreed with it....

A new study by FinanceBuzz notes that throughout 2021, travelers have encountered issues renting cars, including lack of inventory leading to increased prices, yet another side effect of the pandemic. These issues are likely to be exacerbated as travel picks up, especially this holiday season. The financial independence company used data provided by Kayak, a travel agency, to determine the 100 most popular cities to travel during the holiday season....

The Sabres center erupted for four goals in the first period against the Blue Jackets, tying an all-time NHL record for most goals in one period. Thompson added an assist, powering Buffalo to a quick 6-0 lead. He secured a hat trick less than 13 minutes into the period, his second of the season. Thompson wasn’t done there. He added a fifth goal in the second period to help the Sabres pile on....

There will be just 170 in-person polling stations across the Commonwealth on June 23—a major drop from the standard 3,700 sites usually made available for voters. The decrease comes as state officials heavily encourage residents to vote by mail amid the coronavirus health crisis. The result is that most of the state’s most populous areas will have just one polling location available. That list includes Jefferson County, the largest county in Kentucky and home to half of its Black residents....