WASHINGTON — Gay Americans celebrated a decade ago when the Supreme Court established a constitutional right to same-sex marriage in a landmark decision. But the community was shaken several years later when the court’s conservative majority eliminated the constitutional right to abortion, showing its willingness to revisit long-standing precedent. Justice...
Tulare County Authorities Arrest Wanted Felon in Terra Bella
Tulare County sheriff’s detectives arrested a wanted felon Thursday afternoon in Terra Bella, authorities said. Around 3:30 p.m., detectives went to the 400 block of East Terra Bella Avenue in Pixley to contact Julian “Tommy Gunz” Villa, who was wanted on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a...
With US Aid in Limbo, More States Start Paying Full Food Stamp Benefits
WASHINGTON — A growing roster of states including New York, Kansas, Pennsylvania and Oregon said Friday that they had started to send full food stamp benefits to low-income Americans, restarting the critical aid program even as a legal battle with the White House remained unresolved. As benefits started to reach...
No Immediate Threat to US, Allies From North Korea’s Missile Launch, US Military Says
The U.S. military said that North Korea's launch of a ballistic missile earlier on Friday does not pose an immediate threat to the United States or its allies, but it "highlights the destabilizing impact" of Pyongyang's actions. "We are aware of the missile launch and are consulting closely with our...
Sen. John Kennedy Says Congress Shouldn’t Get Paid During Shutdown
Sen. John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana with old-school values about right and wrong, is authoring two bills that would stop paychecks to members of Congress during the federal shutdown. His "No Shutdown Paychecks to Politicians Act" calls for lawmakers to lose their pay for every day of a shutdown....
Crew of Fatal UPS Cargo Flight Tried to Control Aircraft Before Crash, NTSB Says
As a bell sounded in the cockpit, three UPS pilots tried to control a cargo flight that crashed this week in Louisville, Kentucky, killing at least 13 people, the National Transportation Safety Board said on Friday. While UPS flight 2976 started uneventfully, a repeating bell was heard on the aircraft's...
Gov. Newsom Pardons Detained Immigrant Fresno Restaurant Manager
Federally incarcerated Fresno restaurant manager Psalm "Sam" Behpoor's case for being released from a Kern County immigrant detention facility received a big boost Friday. Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a "full and unconditional pardon" for a residential burglary Behpoor committed when more than two decades ago when he was 18 years...
Israeli Settler Attacks Against Palestinians Reach Record Number in October, UN Says
UNITED NATIONS — Israeli settlers carried out at least 264 attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank during October, marking the biggest monthly total since United Nations officials began tracking such incidents in 2006, the U.N. said on Friday. In a statement warning against the sharp rise in violence,...
US Says Trump’s Hush Money Conviction Should Be Thrown Out
The U.S. government said President Donald Trump's hush money criminal conviction in New York should be thrown out, because it was based on improper evidence and a legal theory preempted by federal law. In a Friday filing with a state appeals court in Manhattan, the Department of Justice adopted Trump's...
James Watson, Co-Discoverer of DNA’s Double Helix, Dead at 97
James D. Watson, the brilliant but controversial American biologist whose 1953 discovery of the structure of DNA, the molecule of heredity, ushered in the age of genetics and provided the foundation for the biotechnology revolution of the late 20th century, has died at the age of 97. His death was...