Sly Stone, the influential, eccentric and preternaturally rhythmic singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer whose run of hits in the late 1960s and early ’70s with his band the Family Stone could be dance anthems, political documents or both, died Monday in Los Angeles. He was 82. The cause was “a...
Kennedy Overhauls US CDC Vaccine Panel, Replacing All 17 Members
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has fired all members sitting on a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention panel of vaccine experts and is reconstituting the committee, his department said on Monday. Kennedy removed all 17 members of the CDC's Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices, the...
Health Care Is a Lifeline. The Central Valley Deserves Better.
When I talk about health care, it’s personal. My mother is a two-time cancer survivor, fighting a lifelong battle with leukemia. She’s alive today because she had access to quality, affordable health care — something no family should ever have to fight for, and something far too many still lack...
‘Everybody Stood up’: Why a Union Leader’s Arrest Galvanized California Democrats on Immigration
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. The union leader federal agents detained at an immigration protest in Los Angeles last week is well known to California’s Democratic leadership from his years of activism in and out of the Capitol. That’s one reason so many...
Fresno Inmate Charged in 2022 Killing More Than Three Years After Crime
A man already in custody for an unrelated homicide has been charged in connection with a fatal shooting that occurred in Fresno in January 2022, police said. Michael Cameron Fitch, 35, was charged Wednesday with murder and home invasion in the killing of Ursolo “Frank” Sermeno, 47, according to the...
Fresno Police Arrest Woman Wanted in 2023 Homicide, One Still at-Large
A woman wanted in connection with a 2023 Fresno homicide was arrested Thursday following a police operation involving homicide detectives and undercover tactical teams, authorities said. Aaminah Norman, 27, was taken into custody near Silverado and Corona avenues in northwest Fresno after officers surrounded the location based on tips from...
ICE Protest Scheduled Today in Downtown Fresno
Protesters are scheduled to gather at the federal courthouse in downtown Fresno, opposing the Trump Administration's recent ICE raids, and actions responding to the Los Angeles riots. The protest is scheduled for noon at the Robert E. Coyle Federal Courthouse. Groups such as Fresno Center for Nonviolence, and the Fresno...
Canada Promises to Boost Defense Spending, Meet NATO Target Much Earlier
TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's Liberal government will pour extra billions into its armed forces and hit NATO's 2% military spending target this fiscal year, five years earlier than promised, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Monday. Canada has been under pressure from the United States and other NATO allies for...
China’s Chokehold on This Obscure Mineral Threatens the West’s Militaries
BAOTOU, China — China’s strict controls on the export of heat-resistant magnets made with rare earth minerals have exposed a major vulnerability in the U.S. military supply chain. Without these magnets, the United States and its allies in Europe will struggle to refill recently depleted inventories of military hardware. For...
Israel Seizes Gaza-Bound Aid Ship in International Waters. Can It Legally Do That?
JERUSALEM — Israeli naval forces, far from the country’s shores, intercepted and seized a Gaza-bound ship carrying international activists, including Greta Thunberg, in an early morning raid Monday. The operation sparked accusations that Israel’s actions, apparently in the high seas, were a breach of international law. The activists say their...