Explorers sent a robot 2 miles under the ocean near Alaska to look for odd creatures, and unexpectedly struck gold. To be more specific, they found a golden blob, smooth and shiny with a perplexing hole in it, stuck to a rock on the seafloor. Was it coral? A sea...
Kitchen Fire in Visalia Duplex Spreads to Attic
A kitchen fire in a Visalia duplex spread to the attic Thursday afternoon before firefighters brought the blaze under control, authorities said. Visalia firefighters responded at about 3:30 p.m. to a structure fire in the 2900 block of West Walnut Avenue, according to the Visalia Fire Department. The fire originated...
Doug Allan, Polar Cameraman for David Attenborough’s Films, Dies at 74
Doug Allan, a cameraman whose skill at capturing candid scenes of penguins, bears, walruses and other animals that populate the Earth’s polar extremes — both above and below the ice — earned him a brace of awards and the unbounded admiration of renowned nature documentarian David Attenborough, who worked with...
Justice Department Readopts Firing Squads in US Federal Executions
The U.S. Department of Justice said on Friday it is taking actions to strengthen the federal death penalty, including firing squads and readopting the lethal injection protocol. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has authorized seeking death sentences against nine people after the Justice Department rescinded a Biden-era moratorium on federal...
News Is Blocked on Meta’s Feeds in Canada. Here’s What Fills the Void.
TORONTO — Mark Carney was just days away from announcing his bid to lead Canada’s Liberal Party in January when his face popped up on a viral right-wing Facebook page. Two photographs showed Carney, who became prime minister last month, at a garden party beside Ghislaine Maxwell, a convicted sex...
Visalia Police Cite Riders, Impound Vehicles in off-Road Enforcement Operation
Officers issued citations and impounded multiple vehicles during an enforcement operation targeting the illegal use of off-road motorcycles in Visalia, police said late Thursday. The Visalia Police Department said its patrol and traffic units conducted the proactive effort in response to ongoing community safety concerns. The operation focused on areas...
9th Circuit Blocks California Limits on Anonymous Immigration Agents
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. A federal appeals court on Wednesday struck down California’s requirement that masked federal agents identify themselves, a blow to the state’s ongoing resistance to the Trump administration’s deportation program. A 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel handed...
ICE Quietly Opens Another Detention Center in a Former California Prison
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Immigration and Customs Enforcement again has expanded in California’s Central Valley, activating a new 700-bed detention facility operated by the for-profit prison company GEO Group. Advocates say the agency began transferring immigrant detainees to the McFarland facility last...
Pentagon Fires Stars and Stripes’ Advocate for Independence
In a blow to independent coverage of the military, the Pentagon has fired the ombudsman for Stars and Stripes, a newspaper that covers the U.S. armed forces and is partly funded by the Defense Department. “Apparently the Pentagon also doesn’t want you to hear from me anymore about threats to...
Hezbollah Says Ceasefire ‘Meaningless’ as Fighting Continues in South
Lebanon's Hezbollah said a U.S.-mediated ceasefire in the war with Israel was meaningless a day after it was extended for three weeks, as Lebanese authorities reported two people killed by an Israeli strike and Hezbollah downed an Israeli drone. U.S. President Donald Trump announced the three-week extension on Thursday after...