A former junior high school teacher in Los Banos has been indicted on federal charges related to the sexual exploitation of minors and possession of child pornography, federal prosecutors said Thursday. Christian Banuelos, 30, was charged by a federal grand jury with one count of sexual exploitation of a minor...
C for Chaos? Ashjian Kicked Off Measure C Committee
Members of the Fresno City Council and mayor's administration are incensed that Measure C executives removed a Fresno resident from an advisory committee. During a presentation on the countywide transportation tax at Thursday's council meeting, Fresno Council of Governments Executive Director Robert Phipps and consultant Kendall Flint revealed they had...
Israel Demands UN Scrap Investigation Body for Palestinian Territories
GENEVA - Israel has demanded the U.N. Human Rights Council scrap a commission investigating rights violations in the Palestinian territories and Israel, accusing the body of bias, in a letter seen by Reuters. In the message sent on Wednesday, Israel's ambassador to the UN, Daniel Meron, said The Independent International...
Trump Signs Executive Order Creating New Classification of Non-Career Federal Workers
President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order creating a new classification of non-career federal workers, the White House said. The new classification will be for employees expected to leave their positions when the president who appointed them leaves office, White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said on X. —...
Judge Rules Trump’s Firing of FTC Commissioner Was Illegal
WASHINGTON - A federal judge on Thursday ruled that the firing of U.S. Federal Trade Commission member Rebecca Slaughter by President Donald Trump earlier this year was illegal. U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan said the Trump administration’s attempt to remove Slaughter did not comply with removal protections in federal law....
US House Passes Stablecoin Legislation, Sending Bill to Trump
The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill to create a regulatory framework for U.S.-dollar-pegged cryptocurrency tokens known as stablecoins, sending the bill to President Donald Trump, who is expected to sign it into law. The vote marks a watershed moment for the digital asset industry, which has...
US Health Department Hands Over Medicaid Personal Data to ICE
WASHINGTON - The U.S. health department is giving Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials access to the personal data of 79 million Medicaid enrollees to help them track down immigrants who may not be living legally in the country, it said on Thursday. Giving ICE access to the personal data of...
Fresno Grass Fire Near Woodward Park Prompts Brief Evacuations
A grass fire that broke out near the San Joaquin River bottom west of Woodward Park in prompted temporary evacuations Thursday afternoon before crews brought the flames under control, Fresno officials said. The Fresno Fire Department responded to the blaze around 11:40 a.m., with assistance from Fresno police. Firefighters estimated...
Behind the Masks: Who Are the People Rounding Up Immigrants in California?
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. They appeared in plain clothes outside a San Diego hotel, wore camouflage as they raided a Los Angeles factory and arrived with military gear at a Ventura County farm. The presence of thousands of hard-to-identify federal agents is...
Homeowners With Solar Rise Up to Defang Bill Authored by Former Utility Executive
Vocal opposition to a California bill canceling rooftop solar contracts for people who sell their homes resulted in major amendments to the proposal last week. The changes effectively neutralize the legislation's negative impacts on solar panel owners. Assemblymember Lisa Calderon (D-Whitter), a former executive for Edison International, agreed to changes...