The Merced Police Department has identified Moises Reyes as a suspect in the fatal shooting of an 18-year-old Hispanic male on Sunday. Police said the victim suffered a gunshot wound and died at the scene despite life-saving efforts. The shooting reportedly followed an altercation in the 1300 block of Stuart...
New Friant Water Authority Chief: ‘I Promise I Will Not Let You Down’
Johnny Amaral, a veteran of California water politics, was named as Friant Water Authority’s new chief executive officer at its Jan. 22 meeting. His appointment is effective immediately. Amaral, a native of Tulare, has worked at Friant since 2019, first as chief of external affairs, and then as chief operating...
US to Send Largest Winter Games Team to Milano Cortina With 232 Athletes
A group of 98 veteran Olympians such as Mikaela Shiffrin will anchor the U.S. team in Milano Cortina, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee said on Monday, as it prepares to send 232 athletes to the Winter Games that kick off next month. It will be the largest U.S. Winter...
Mexico President Asks Korean Counterpart for More BTS Concerts
Huge demand to see K-pop boy band BTS, among the world's most popular artists, has led Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to formally request of her counterpart, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, that he help arrange more concerts in Mexico. "Everyone wants to go," Sheinbaum said at her daily morning...
Nike Says It Is Investigating Possible Data Breach
Nike says it is investigating a potential data breach, after a group known for cyber attacks reportedly claimed to have leaked a trove of data related to its business operations. "We always take consumer privacy and data security very seriously," Nike said in a statement. "We are investigating a potential...
Israel Says It Will Reopen Gaza-Egypt Border, a Palestinian Lifeline, in Days
JERUSALEM — Israel has said that it will reopen the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt within days for travelers on foot, a move that would allow Palestinians who fled the enclave during the two-year war to return home for the first time. Aid officials said they hoped that...
Farmers Nationwide Unite to Say Federal Help Not Fast Enough to Stop Industry Collapse
In a desperate plea, growers of the nation's fruits, vegetables, nuts, and flowers came to together to say they face the same existential threats and the federal government needs to step in before it's too late. Fifty-six trade groups co-signed a letter to U.S. congressmembers saying that while "significant investments"...
Merced Man Arrested for DUI After Major Injury Crash on Highway 140
A suspected drunk driver caused a head-on crash on Highway 140 Sunday evening, injuring three people, the California Highway Patrol said. The crash occurred around 7:29 p.m. east of Rogers Road, when Francisco Nicholas Juan, 46, of Merced, was driving a 2011 Toyota Prius eastbound and crossed into the westbound...
Merced Police Ramp Up Gang Violence Prevention Unit After Fatal Shootings
Merced officials pledged to increase gang violence prevention resources after a string of killings in the city in recent weeks. Merced Police Department will operate its Gang Violence Suppression Unit full-time and with more officers, until further notice, the agency announced on social media. On Saturday, Jan. 17, police found...
Is OpenAI’s ChatGPT Down? Here Is the Latest
OpenAI may have experienced a service outage Monday morning, according to Downdetector.com. By 9:14 a.m. PT, about 1,000 users had reported issues with the platform, which tracks outages by collecting user reports from multiple sources. OpenAI’s status page indicated that ChatGPT availability had degraded for free and logged-out users and...