U.S. stocks oscillated to a mixed close, U.S. Treasury yields climbed and the dollar firmed on Friday, the first trading day of 2026. While all three major U.S. stock indexes seesawed for much of the session, the S&P 500 and Dow posted gains, snapping their four-day losing streaks. The tech-heavy...
North Carolina Man Accused of Planning Potential Terrorist Attack
In the final days of 2025, Christian Sturdivant, a teenager in North Carolina, struck up a conversation online with someone claiming to be a follower of the Islamic State terrorist organization. Sturdivant, federal investigators said, then revealed details of a possible attack. He shared a photo showing a knife and...
Tejon Pass Rest Areas on I-5 Closed Due to Rainfall
The Tejon Pass rest areas on I-5 have closed again due to rainfall accumulation in overflow ponds, Caltrans said. The rest areas are expected to remain closed until after an incoming storm system moves through the area, which is anticipated to last into Thursday, Jan. 8. Caltrans advised motorists traveling...
A Look Inside Trump World’s Pay-to-Play Pardon Scheme
The Wall Street Journal recently delivered a blockbuster investigative story on how allies and lobbyists close to President Donald Trump are getting enormous fees from people hoping to obtain presidential pardons. As the publication has a strict paywall, the story isn't widely available to hundreds of millions of Americans, who...
Fresno County Authorities Seek Public’s Help in Old Fig Garden Package Theft
The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help to identify a suspect accused of stealing packages from a home in Fresno’s Old Fig Garden neighborhood. The theft occurred around 4:30 a.m. on Nov. 26, 2025, according to the Sheriff’s Office. View this post on Instagram ...
California Ban on Openly Carrying Guns is Unconstitutional, Court Rules
A U.S. appeals court on Friday ruled that California's ban on openly carrying firearms in most parts of the state was unconstitutional. A panel of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided 2-1 with a gun owner in ruling that the state's prohibition against open carry in...
Jobs Data Could Jolt Stocks from Holiday Calm as 2026 Kicks Off
The first full trading week of the new year could shake the U.S. stock market out of its winter holiday slumber as the monthly jobs data headlines a busy start to 2026 for investors. Stocks slid in the final session of 2025, with the benchmark S&P 500 falling into a...
Fatal Earthquake Shakes Mexico’s Independence Monument, Roads, and Hospitals
MEXICO CITY — A powerful 6.5 magnitude earthquake shook southern Mexico on Friday, damaging roads and hospitals and briefly interrupting President Claudia Sheinbaum's first press conference of the new year. Local media reported that a 67-year-old man died while going down the stairs in Mexico City as he tried to...
A Study Is Retracted, Renewing Concerns About the Weedkiller Roundup
In 2000, a landmark study claimed to set the record straight on glyphosate, a contentious weedkiller used on hundreds of millions of acres of farmland. The paper found that the chemical, the active ingredient in Roundup, wasn’t a human health risk despite evidence of a cancer link. Last month, the...
Oil Prices Settle Lower After Biggest Annual Loss Since 2020
Oil prices settled lower on Friday on the first trading day of 2026 after registering their biggest annual loss since 2020, as investors weighed oversupply concerns against geopolitical risks, including the war in Ukraine and Venezuela exports. Brent crude futures closed down 10 cents to $60.75 a barrel, while U.S....