Whether it be housing or commercial real estate, economic slowdowns stifled growth in Fresno County in 2024. But after years of declines, experts expect a turnaround soon. The Fresno County Economic Development Corporation brought out a panel of experts to discuss housing construction and sales, major commercial real estate purchases,...
First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close
California's effort to have no new gas-powered vehicles sold in the state by 2035 is beginning, and it requires 35% of all 2026 models sold this year to be zero-emission. Dealers say they aren't close to fulfilling the mandate for zero-emission vehicles and are nervously wondering what the future holds...
CA’s Retirement Fund Committed $282M To Chinese Firm Probed for Human Rights Abuses
Since 2022, California’s main state pension fund has committed hundreds of millions of dollars to a Chinese venture capital firm that has been investigated by Congress for its close ties with the Chinese Communist Party. Experts warn these investments are not only risky, given China’s record on property rights and...
US House Push To Force Epstein Files Vote Secures 218th Signature, Enough To Move Forward
Democratic U.S. Representative Adelita Grijalva in her first day in office on Wednesday signed the discharge petition to start the process for a vote on directing the Justice Department to release files related to deceased convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. It remained possible that one of the Republicans who had...
OpenAI Fights Order to Turn Over Millions of ChatGPT Conversations
OpenAI asked a federal judge in New York on Wednesday to reverse an order that required it to turn over 20 million anonymized ChatGPT chat logs amid a copyright infringement lawsuit by the New York Times and other news outlets, saying it would expose users' private conversations. The artificial intelligence...
Justice Department to Investigate Protests at Turning Point Event at Berkeley
The Department of Justice said Tuesday that it will investigate the University of California, Berkeley, after protesters confronted attendees of a campus event hosted by Turning Point USA, the conservative group founded by Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated in September. Harmeet Dhillon, who leads the department’s civil rights division, wrote...
Trump Is Committed to a $2,000 Dividend to Americans Using Tariff Income, Says White House
President Donald Trump is committed to providing Americans a $2,000 check using money that has come into government coffers from Trump's tariffs, the White House said on Wednesday. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump's staff is exploring how to go about making the plan a reality....
Newsom’s Former Chief of Staff Indicted on Federal Corruption Charges
Dana Williamson, who served as Gov. Gavin Newsom’s chief of staff from 2022 to 2024, has been indicted on federal public corruption charges, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, Politico reported Wednesday. Williamson, who also served as Cabinet secretary under former Gov. Jerry Brown, is accused of...
Just Release the Frickin’ Epstein Files
We’re tired. Bone-deep, eye-roll exhausted tired. Tired of being strung along in this political theater where the government teases us with tiny, carefully curated bits of “the documents” like some sort of cruel game. Enough. Just release the frickin' files already. (Disclosure: My editor will only let me use PG-13...
Factbox-What’s in the Deal to End the Longest US Government Shutdown?
Congress is poised to approve a deal that would end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, which began when lawmakers allowed funding to expire on Oct. 1. Here is a summary of the package: Temporarily Restores Government Funding The bill would restore funding for government agencies at existing levels...
White House Declines to Disclose Specific Details of Trump’s Health Imaging
The White House on Wednesday declined to provide specific details of medical images that doctors took of President Donald Trump's body during a physical a month ago, but said the exam showed he was in exceptional health. Trump, 79, had previously disclosed that he underwent a magnetic resonance imaging exam...
Wall Street Regulator to Consider Crypto Token Classification, Chair Says
The head of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Wednesday the agency would soon consider establishing a classification for digital assets to help determine when they can be considered securities. "In the coming months, I anticipate that the Commission will consider establishing a token taxonomy" anchored in legal...