A Bakersfield man pleaded guilty Monday to aiming a laser pointer at a Kern County Sheriff’s Office helicopter, federal prosecutors said. Brett Curtis Hair, 23, admitted to striking the aircraft with a green laser beam on Sept. 11, 2024, as the helicopter conducted a routine patrol shortly after midnight, according...
Erika Sandoval Faces Life Sentence for Murder of Former Exeter Police Officer
A Tulare County jury convicted Erika Sandoval on Thursday of first-degree murder in the 2015 shooting death of her ex-husband, former Exeter police officer Daniel Green. Sandoval, 38, was found guilty of killing Green in his Goshen home on Feb. 6, 2015, the Tulare County District Attorney's Office said in...
US Car Prices Higher in April After Tariffs Hit
DETROIT (Reuters) - U.S. new-vehicle prices surged in April, data released on Monday showed, a sign that the effects of President Donald Trump's auto-tariff measures are rippling through the car market. The average price consumers paid, after discounts and promotions, rose 2.5% from March, more than double the typical 1.1%...
Fresno County School Boards Need Ethics Training: Grand Jury
The Fresno County Civil Grand Jury says elected school board trustees need more training on ethics law, especially as it concerns leaks about confidential information. The grand jury received citizen complaints about information given out during a closed session meeting of the Fresno Unified School District Board of Education and...
Pentagon Halting Gender-Affirming Healthcare for Transgender Troops, Memo Says
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon is halting gender-affirming healthcare for transgender troops as it moves to kick them out of the U.S. military, according to a memo seen by Reuters on Monday. "I am directing you to take the necessary steps to immediately implement this guidance," Stephen Ferrara, the acting...
Fresno County Traffic Stop Leads to $250K Cocaine Bust
A traffic stop on Interstate 5 in Fresno County led to the seizure of roughly $250,000 worth of cocaine and the arrest of a driver on multiple drug charges, the California Highway Patrol said in a statement. The stop happened around 3:44 p.m. on Sunday when a Central Division California...
Top Justice Department Official Is Now Also Acting Librarian of Congress
WASHINGTON — The No. 2 official at the Justice Department has also been temporarily put in charge of the Library of Congress, a department official said Monday. Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general for the past two months, is the latest Trump administration official to take on interim, but additional,...
Trump Tower Damascus? Syria Seeks to Charm US President for Sanctions Relief
DAMASCUS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A Trump Tower in Damascus, a detente with Israel and U.S. access to Syria's oil and gas are part of Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa's strategic pitch to try to get face time with U.S. President Donald Trump during his trip to the Middle East, according to several sources...
How Real ID Can Exclude ‘Real’ Americans From Flying, Voting and More
This commentary was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. At 98, my father’s paper trail was long — in addition to his U.S. birth certificate, there were his discharge papers from his service in the Army Air Corps during World War II, his house deed, his children’s...
Fresno Police Cite 140 During 10-Hour Weekend Operation
The Fresno Police Department issued 140 citations during a city-wide bicycle and pedestrian safety operation on Saturday. The operation, which ran from 12:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., resulted in 74 citations for drivers. Violations included driving under the influence, failure to yield to pedestrians, unsafe speed, driving while using a...