Though the 2022 midterm elections haven’t happened yet, this summer has seen an unusual amount of activity on the 2024 front. Namely, many Americans, including Democrats, are really down on the idea of President Biden seeking a second term, while former President Donald Trump continues to dominate the news cycle. A sizable portion...
Explainer: How Does a Small Nuclear Reactor Work?
The global threat of climate change is making the need for clean energy more urgent than ever. In the race to reach net-zero emissions and reduce reliance on fossil fuels, nuclear power is gaining increasing support. Like conventional reactors, the smaller versions use nuclear fission technology, harnessing the thermal energy this produces...
Is Biden Headed Toward ‘Surrender’ on Iran Talks?
Not for the first time since the Biden administration opened indirect discussions with Tehran about reentering the 2015 nuclear deal, it seems as though negotiators might be approaching a breakthrough. Several days after reports that the European compromise plan has gained traction among Western officials, the U.S. and Iran...
Save Mart Set to Close All Pharmacies After Private Equity Purchase
The Save Mart Companies announced this week they are shutting down all in-store pharmacy departments and moving those services to Walgreens. Save Mart, headquartered in Modesto, operates 89 full-service pharmacies, according to its website. The move comes nearly six months after Los Angeles-based private-equity firm Kingswood Capital Management acquired The Save...
California Appeals Court Rejects COVID-19 Fines for Church
A California church that defied safety regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic by holding large religious services won't have to pay about $200,000 in fines, a state appeals court ruled. Calvary Chapel San Jose and its pastors were held in contempt of court and fined in 2020 and 2021 for...
Recall of Drinks Made by Fresno-Based Company Expands Over Possible Botulism Contamination
Lyons Magnus, a Fresno-based maker of coffee and nutritional drinks, is expanding a recall of dozens of different products over potential bacterial contamination that could cause botulism poisoning. The Food and Drug Administration said the items, which were distributed starting April 2021, are potentially contaminated with the bacteria Cronobacter...
Iran Denies Involvement but Justifies Salman Rushdie Attack
An Iranian official Monday denied Tehran was involved in the stabbing of author Salman Rushdie, though he sought to justify the attack in the Islamic Republic's first public comments on the bloodshed. The remarks by Nasser Kanaani, the spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, came three days after Rushdie was wounded...
What Takes Years and Costs $20K? A San Francisco Trash Can
What takes four years to make and costs more than $20,000? A trash can in San Francisco. That costly, boxy bin is among six trash cans hitting San Francisco's streets this summer in the city's long saga in search of the perfect can. Overflowing trash cans are a common...
What the U.S. Gets Wrong About Iran
Multiple U.S. administrations have attempted to coerce or persuade Iran to reconsider its revolutionary ethos, but have failed. The reason is simple: U.S.-Iran normalization could prove deeply destabilizing to a theocratic government whose organizing principle has been premised on fighting American imperialism. The United States has sought to engage...
Could the EV Boom Run out of Juice Before It Really Gets Going?
Electric vehicles seem unstoppable. Carmakers are outpledging themselves in terms of production goals. Industry analysts are struggling to keep up. Battery-powered cars could zoom from less than 10% of global vehicle sales in 2021 to 40% by 2030, according to Bloomberg. But Western car companies, desperate to reduce their dependence on...