OBAMA: U.S. WILL REACH REFUGEE GOAL

washington» President Barack Obama says the U.S. can meet his goal of resettling 10,000 Syrian refugees by Sept. 30, the end of the federal budget year.

Obama says the goal he set last year has been challenging, partly because of the need to assure the U.S. public that refugees are being thoroughly checked out.

He says processes are in place to speed up the resettlements.

Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz called for blocking Muslims from being admitted to the U.S. following terrorist attacks last year in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif.

Obama says accepting Syrian refugees is “the right thing to do” because they are victims of terrorism, violence and suffering caused by Syrian President Bashar Assad.

John Wayne Day rejected

B sacramento, calif.» State lawmakers have defeated a resolution intended to honor John Wayne after opponents challenged what they say are racist statements by the late actor.

State sues utility in wildfire B

san francisco» California officials say they will seek more than $90 million in firefighting costs from Pacific Gas & Electric Co. after finding that a deadly 2015 fire was sparked by a tree that came into contact with a power line.

The amount is the largest recovery sought by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, which released a report Thursday detailing the cause of the fire that scorched remote Calaveras and Amador counties, about 125 miles east of San Francisco.

The blaze started Sept. 9 and burned for three weeks, killing two people