Locals looking to travel abroad can obtain a passport this weekend at the Exeter Post Office. The post office will hold a passport fair from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday — no appointment necessary. Workers will help attendees obtain a U.S. passport, guiding them through the process. There...
‘Brutal’ Groundwater Plan May Be Lone Path for Tulare County Growers
Farmers in southeastern Tulare County left hanging after their old groundwater agency disintegrated have new leadership but their path forward will not be easy. “We’ve got some serious issues to deal with and our groundwater sustainability plan will be brutal,” said Mike George, chairman of the new Tule East Joint Powers Authority...
‘ChatGPT, What Stocks Should I Buy?’ AI Fuels Boom in Robo-Advisory Market
LONDON — As ChatGPT nears its third birthday, at least one in 10 retail investors is using a chatbot to pick stocks, fueling a boom in the robo-advisory market, but even fans say it is a high-risk strategy that cannot replace traditional advisors just yet. Thanks to artificial intelligence, anyone...
Wall Street Indexes Hit One-Week Low as Investors Reassess Rate-Cut Expectations
Wall Street's main indexes fell to their lowest in a week on Thursday, as fresh economic data and remarks from a Federal Reserve official tempered optimism around further rate cuts. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 218,000 for the week ended September 20, data...
Palestinian President Abbas Affirms Readiness to Work With Trump and Others to Implement Gaza Peace Plan
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he was ready to work with U.S. President Donald Trump, Saudi Arabia, France and the United Nations to implement a Gaza peace plan adopted at a September 22 conference, which he said could pave the way for a just peace and broader regional cooperation. Abbas...
Fresno State Men’s Basketball Takes the International Route
Sacre bleu! Eleven new Fresno State Bulldogs men's basketball players joined the team at its first practice this week, marking another wholesale roster turnover — a common theme in the new era of college athletics. Second-year coach Vance Walberg recruited six international players, including three from France — Bastien Reiber,...
CA Insurance Commissioner Targets Consumer Watchdog Fees
This commentary was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. The horrific string of wildfires that has plagued California in recent years, taking dozens of lives and destroying many billions of dollars in property, also created a crisis in property insurance. Some insurers have abandoned California altogether, some...
Trump Says Secret Service Probing ‘Sabotage’ of Escalator at UN
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the Secret Service was investigating what he described as “sabotage” at the United Nations, alleging that an escalator malfunction, a teleprompter failure and sound problems disrupted his appearance at the world body a day earlier. Trump, in a post on his Truth Social platform,...
Trump Says He Will Sign Executive Order to Dismantle Left-Wing Groups He Claims Incite Violence
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he will sign an executive order this week to dismantle "domestic terrorism networks," which he has previously alleged are funded by left-wing groups inciting violence against conservatives. "The continuing violence from Radical Left Terrorists, in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk's assassination, must...
Figures Show California Is State With Highest Unemployment
Despite Gov. Gavin Newsom bragging about California being the world’s fourth-largest economy, the Golden State isn't striking gold for jobs. California continues to have the highest unemployment rate of any state and is among a handful of states with rates at 5% or higher, according to a review of statistics...