Fifty future soldiers took the Oath of Enlistment on June 13 during a ceremony marking the 250th birthday of the U.S. Army. The event was held at 11 a.m. at the Clovis Veterans Memorial District Auditorium. Family members, friends and local dignitaries attended to honor the recruits as they formally...
Trump Faces Uproar From MAGA Base Over Possible Iran Strike
WASHINGTON - The prospect of a U.S. strike against Iran has exposed divisions in the coalition of supporters that brought President Donald Trump to power, with some of his base urging him not to get the country involved in a new Middle East war. Some of Trump's most prominent Republican...
Iran Would Accept Trump’s Offer to Meet Soon, New York Times Reports
WASHINGTON -Iran would accept U.S. President Donald Trump's offer to meet soon, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing a senior Iranian official. The newspaper, citing the official, added that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi would accept such a meeting to discuss a cease-fire with Israel. Trump, who has...
Meta in Talks to Hire Former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman to Join AI Efforts, The Information Reports
Meta Platforms is in talks to hire former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman to join the Facebook parent's AI efforts, The Information reported on Wednesday, citing a person familiar with the matter. The social media giant is also in discussion with Daniel Gross, Friedman's partner in the investment fund NFDG, about...
Fed Keeps Rates Steady but Pencils in Two Cuts by End of 2025, Warns of Inflation Ahead
WASHINGTON - The U.S. central bank held interest rates steady on Wednesday and policymakers signaled borrowing costs are still likely to fall in 2025, but Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell cautioned against putting too much weight on that view, and said he expects "meaningful" inflation ahead as consumers pay more...
Putin Says He Does Not Want to Discuss the Possible Israeli-US Killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader
ST PETERSBURG, Russia - President Vladimir Putin on Thursday refused to discuss the possibility that Israel and the United States would kill Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and said the Iranian people were consolidating around the leadership in Tehran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has openly speculated that Israel's...
A Little Coffee With Your Whiskey? Downtown Fresno Gets New Craft Cocktail Lounge
Downtown Fresno will get a new craft cocktail lounge Friday with a focus on espresso-flavored drinks. The name? Neat & Noir. It only took owner Eric Santos 45 days to buy the former Saint Joaquin and get the space ready for its grand opening this weekend. Santos said the Neat...
‘Any Illegal Immigrants?’ Trump Quizzes Workers at the White House
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump was halfway through an answer on his shifting deportation policy when a thought apparently occurred to him: Maybe the men standing behind him were immigrants living in the U.S. illegally? The president had asked the members of a work crew putting up a new flagpole...
What Is Juneteenth and When Did It Become a US Federal Holiday?
Juneteenth, a day that marks the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans, is always observed on June 19 each year. It became a U.S. federal holiday in 2021, following the signing of a bill by former President Joe Biden. Long a regional holiday in the South, Juneteenth rose in prominence across...
US B-2 Bombers, Bunker-Busters and Alternatives
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Air Force's B-2 Spirit stealth bomber represents one of America's most advanced strategic weapons platforms, capable of entering sophisticated air defenses and delivering precision strikes against hardened targets such as Iran's buried network of nuclear research facilities. The U.S. military is ready to carry out any...