More than 330 million visitors explored national parks last year - a new record number. Parking is often at a premium in many of the most popular parks, and bikes are a smart way to skip the traffic, slow down and enjoy the scenery. May is National Bike Month, and...
NASA Office Above ‘Seinfeld’ Diner Is a Target of Trump Budget Shrinkage
NEW YORK — Upstairs from the diner made famous by "Seinfeld," teams of NASA scientists have spent nearly six decades expanding human knowledge about Earth's climate and the atmospheres of other planets. But now, those researchers are about to be displaced to an uncertain future. NASA has told the more...
Big Fresno Fair Announces First Five Shows in Its Concert Lineup
The Big Fresno Fair has unveiled the first five shows for its 2025 Table Mountain Concert Series. It's a diverse lineup of musical acts spanning multiple genres. The concert series will kick off with rock legend Joan Jett and The Blackhearts on Oct. 1, followed by: Oct. 4: Alt-Rock Rewind...
Ed Smylie, Who Saved the Apollo 13 Crew With Duct Tape, Dies at 95
Robert "Ed" Smylie, the NASA official who led a team of engineers that cobbled together an apparatus made of cardboard, plastic bags and duct tape that saved the Apollo 13 crew in 1970 after an explosion crippled the spacecraft as it sped toward the moon, died April 21 in Crossville,...
Moody’s Downgrades US Credit Rating Amid Rising Federal Deficit Concerns
WASHINGTON — Moody's Ratings stripped the U.S. government of its top credit rating Friday, citing successive governments' failure to stop a rising tide of debt. Moody's lowered the rating from a gold-standard Aaa to Aa1 but said the United States "retains exceptional credit strengths such as the size, resilience and...
Sheriff Says There Are Indications 10 Escapees From New Orleans Jail Had Inside Help
NEW ORLEANS — Ten men broke out of a New Orleans jail Friday in an audacious overnight escape by fleeing through a hole behind a toilet and scaling a wall, setting off an urgent manhunt to arrest the fugitives. Nine of the escapees, which include suspects charged with murder, remain...
DHS Asks for 20,000 National Guard Troops for Immigration Roundups
WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security has asked for 20,000 National Guard troops to assist with immigration roundups across the country, and the Pentagon is reviewing the unusual request, a U.S. official confirmed to The Associated Press. DHS asked for the troops to help carry out President Donald Trump's...
Two Killed in Fresno County Crash Are Identified
A 22-year-old Fresno man and his passenger were killed Thursday night when their vehicle was struck at a Fresno County intersection after running a stop sign, authorities said. The crash happened around 9:05 p.m. at the intersection of Westlawn and McKinley avenues, according to the California Highway Patrol. Isac Gomez,...
Supreme Court Rejects Trump Bid to Resume Quick Deportations of Venezuelans
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Friday barred the Trump administration from quickly resuming deportations of Venezuelans under an 18th-century wartime law enacted when the nation was just a few years old. Over two dissenting votes, the justices acted on an emergency appeal from lawyers for Venezuelan men who...
Brock Purdy Agrees to 5-Year, $265 Million Extension With the 49ers
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Brock Purdy agreed to a five-year contract extension worth $265 million with the San Francisco 49ers, going from the NFL’s biggest bargain to one of the league’s highest-paid players. A person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press that the sides reached agreement Friday on...