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Many companies prioritize advancing diversity and inclusion, but successful implementation in the workplace often remains a challenge. Recent heightened social and political movements propelled diversity and inclusion to the forefront and, now more than ever, employees expect action to address complex issues. Here are some of the best practices HR leaders are putting into place to advance workplace diversity and inclusion (D&I) programs and bring meaningful results to their organizations.

Defining Diversity & Inclusion in the Workplace

D&I in the workplace is multi-faceted...

Yosemite National Park will reopen Friday, with a gradual reopening of visitor services over the weekend.

The move, announced Wednesday, follows a Sept. 17 closure because of unhealthy air quality. National Park Service officials said campsites in Yosemite Valley will be available for campers beginning Friday. (The campground takes bookings at recreation.gov.)

The park will still require day-use reservations to enter, a measure adopted earlier this year to reduce risk of COVID-19 infection through crowding.

Meanwhile, the nearby Creek fire continues to burn. As of Wednesday morning, it has covered more than 289,000 acres, blackening large portions of Sierra National Forest and drawing within 14 miles of Mammoth Lakes. Authorities said the fire was 42% contained.

Nearby...

New York (AP) — U.S. stock indexes are falling Wednesday morning, as Wall Street’s tumultuous month continues to churn.

The S&P 500 was 0.6% lower after giving up an earlier gain, the latest erratic trading for a market dominated by several sudden turns of momentum recently. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 59 points, or 0.2%, to 27,228, as of 11:36 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was down 1%.

This week alone, a Monday swoon brought the S&P 500 near the edge of a 10% drop from its record high set on Sept. 2. It rebounded the following day to snap its first four-day slide since stocks were selling off in February, though momentum has been quick to shift even by the hour.

Nike jumped 9...

Federal officials are focusing on utility equipment around Cogswell Dam as part of their investigation into what sparked the massive Bobcat fire, according to paperwork filed with state utility regulators.

In an incident report filed with the California Public Utilities Commission last week, Southern California Edison indicated its grid experienced an issue near the area where the Bobcat fire started. The report was made after U.S. Forest Service investigators requested some of the utility’s equipment for inspection, the report states.

Ignition of the Bobcat fire was reported near the dam at 12:21 p.m. Sept. 6, the utility wrote in its filing.

Five minutes earlier, at 12:16 p.m...

MIAMI (0-2) at JACKSONVILLE (1-1)

Thursday, 8:20 p.m. ET, NFL Network

OPENING LINE – Pick-em

RECORD VS. SPREAD – Dolphins 1-1; Jaguars 2-0

SERIES RECORD – Jaguars lead 5-4

LAST MEETING – Jaguars beat Dolphins 17-7 on Dec. 23, 2018, in Miami Gardens, Florida

LAST WEEK – Dolphins lost to Bills 31-28; Jaguars lost at Titans 33-30

AP PRO32 RANKING – Dolphins No. 27; Jaguars No. 19

DOLPHINS OFFENSE – OVERALL (22), RUSH (27), PASS (17).

DOLPHINS DEFENSE – OVERALL (30), RUSH (29), PASS (26).

JAGUARS OFFENSE – OVERALL (20), RUSH (12), PASS (21).

JAGUARS DEFENSE – OVERALL (23), RUSH (10), PASS (30).

STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES — Six of the teams’ nine meetings have been decided by 10 points or more. … The Jaguars have won the last two. … Jacksonville (average age 25...

Emphasizing that California must stay at the forefront of the fight against climate change, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday issued an executive order to restrict new car sales in the state to only zero-emission vehicles by 2035 and threw his support behind a ban on the controversial use of hydraulic fracturing by oil companies.

Under Newsom’s order, the California Air Resources Board would implement the phase-out of new gas-powered cars and light trucks and also require medium and heavy-duty trucks to be zero-emission by 2045 where possible. California would be the first state in the nation to mandate 100% zero-emission vehicles, though 15 countries already have committed to phasing out gas-powered cars.

Newsom did not take executive action to ban the controversial oil extraction metho...

PODGORICA, Montenegro (AP) — Montenegro’s new parliament has convened for the first time since last month’s election, with lawmakers from formerly opposition groups set to form a new governing majority and oust from power a party that has ruled the Balkan country for some 30 years.

Although the pro-Western Democratic Party of Socialists won most votes in the Aug. 30 vote, a coalition of three other parties together garnered a majority of 41 seats in the 81-member assembly. The coalition leaders said Wednesday they have agreed on who will be the new parliament speaker and the future prime minister.

There have been fears that the new government could push Montenegro off its pro-Western course because it includes parties advocating closer ties with traditional allies Serbia and Russia...

Joseph I. Castro, the grandson of Mexican immigrants and a first-generation college student who rose during a career in higher education to lead Fresno State, has been named chancellor of the California State University system, trustees announced Wednesday.

Castro, 53, will be the first chancellor of color to lead CSU, the nation’s largest four-year system, serving 480,000 students, nearly two-thirds of whom identify as Latino, Asian American or Black.

He will succeed Timothy P. White, who is retiring after eight years on the job.

“There is no other institution that makes this great of an impact on the entire state — the CSU is key to a growing and thriving California,” Castro said in a statement. “I am truly grateful for and excited about this unique and wonderful opportunity...

BERLIN — Germany’s foreign minister is quarantined after a bodyguard tested positive for the coronavirus.

Heiko Maas’ ministry says an initial test on the minister was negative. The ministry says it is working with local authorities to establish whether other people need to take measures.

Germany has seen a rise in new infections in recent weeks, though its numbers remain well below those in some other European countries. Germany has reported more than 278,000 cases and 9,400 confirmed deaths.

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HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VIRUS OUTBREAK

— More virus-related restrictions in store for hard-hit Madrid

— 200,000 dead in the US as Trump vilifies science, prioritizes politics

— India adds 83,347 new coronavirus cases in past 24 hours

— Johnson & Johnson to begin hu...

A magnitude 3.2 earthquake was reported Wednesday at 7:17 a.m. seven miles from Ridgecrest, Calif., according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The earthquake occurred 27 miles from California City, Calif., 56 miles from Barstow, 62 miles from Tehachapi, Calif., and 62 miles from Rosamond, Calif. In the last 10 days, there has been one earthquake of magnitude 3.0 or greater centered nearby.

The shaker followed an earlier 3.2 quake, at 5:24 a.m., two miles from Rancho Cucamonga, a city about 15 miles northeast of Riverside.

An average of 234 earthquakes with magnitudes of 3.0 to 4.0 occur each year in California and Nevada, according to a recent three-year data sample.

The 7:17 a.m. earthquake occurred at a depth of 4.5 miles...