A wildfire named the Blue Fire is burning approximately 15 acres west of Blue Mountain Road along Highway 155 in Kern County on Monday, CalFire reported. The fire, which remains fully uncontained, has prompted an active response from the Kern County Fire Department. No structures or injuries have been reported,...
Fresno Unified Weighs Whether to Remove All César Chávez Representations
The Fresno Unified School Board is moving to address concerns regarding facility names and murals honoring the late César Chávez after his alleged history of sexual abuse came to light. On Wednesday, trustees will consider a resolution that aims to engage the community and determine next steps. The item sits...
Sanger Police Arrest Convicted Felon with Gun, Drugs
Sanger Police Department officers arrested a convicted felon and alleged gang member after finding him in possession of a loaded firearm and illegal narcotics during a patrol stop last week. According to police, officers on routine patrol at about 10:05 p.m. Thursday contacted George Sanchez while he was riding a...
Arizona Man Sentenced to More Than 13 Years for Attempted Enticement of Minor
A 44-year-old Arizona man was sentenced Monday to more than 13 years in federal prison for attempting to coerce or entice a minor after communicating with an undercover federal agent posing as a mother with a 7-year-old daughter. Anthony Dalton Wolff, of Surprise, Arizona, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge...
Amazon Strikes Deal With USPS That Maintains 80% of Package Volume
Amazon.com on Monday announced it reached a new agreement with the U.S. Postal Service on package deliveries, and sources said the cash-strapped mail system would retain about 80% of its existing deliveries from its biggest customer. That 20% cut is a dramatically better outcome for the postal agency than the...
US Finalizes 2.48% Medicare Advantage Payment Hike, Insurance Stocks Surge
The U.S. government has finalized a 2.48% average increase in payments to private insurers offering Medicare Advantage plans to older adults in 2027, a much steeper rise than the near-flat increase it proposed in January. Shares of UnitedHealth, CVS and Humana rose between 8% and 14% in extended trading, as...
Merced County Authorities Arrest Woman on Attempted Murder Charge After Hilmar Stabbing
A woman was hospitalized after being stabbed multiple times Saturday night in Hilmar, and a 22-year-old woman was later arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, the Merced County Sheriff's Office said. Deputies responded about 9:30 p.m. to a residence on Dayton Avenue in Hilmar for a report of a stabbing....
Supervisors to Consider Human Compost Bans on Fresno County Farms and Public Land
Supervisors on Tuesday will consider a ban on the application of human compost as fertilizer on farm and public land in Fresno County. As California law opens up the usage of human compost in 2027, supervisors Garry Bredefeld and Nathan Magsig say there's insufficent science examining the impact that decomposed...
The California Lake Billed as the ‘Saudi Arabia of Lithium’
CALIPATRIA, Calif. — Beneath California’s Salton Sea, there is so much metal essential to rechargeable batteries that Gov. Gavin Newsom calls the vast lake “the Saudi Arabia of lithium.” An estimated $500 billion worth of lithium here could help power our smartphones, electric cars and electricity grids. And a so-called...
Merced County Jury Acquits Driver in Crash That Killed Two Sisters
A Merced County jury has acquitted a driver of two counts of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter in a 2022 Atwater crash that killed two women. The women’s family told The Merced FOCUS they’re disappointed in the outcome. But the defense attorney in the case says a medical episode suffered by the...