Four people were arrested Wednesday in Bakersfield during the execution of a search warrant tied to a copper wire theft investigation, authorities said. The Kern County Sheriff’s Office Rural Crimes Investigation Unit, with Lamont deputies and assistance from KERNCATT, Kern County Probation, and Code Compliance, served the warrant in the...
US Judge Tosses Most of Blake Lively’s Lawsuit Against Justin Baldoni
A federal judge on Thursday dismissed most of Blake Lively's claims in her lawsuit accusing Justin Baldoni of sexual harassment in connection with the filming of their 2024 romantic drama "It Ends With Us." The decision was issued by U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman in Manhattan. It followed more than...
ICE Detains Islamic Society of Milwaukee President Salah Sarsour, Mosque Says
Islamic Society of Milwaukee President Salah Sarsour, who is a Palestinian American, has been detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, the mosque said on Thursday. ISM, which is Wisconsin's largest mosque, said Sarsour, 53, is a legal permanent resident who has lived in the U.S. for over...
Rapper Pooh Shiesty, 7 Others Arrested, Charged With Robbing, Kidnapping
American rapper Pooh Shiesty and seven others were arrested on charges of robbery and armed kidnapping of music industry figures, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday. The DOJ listed the initials R.D. as one of the victims, feeding speculation that rapper Gucci Mane, whose real name is Radric Davis,...
US Sues Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois to Stop Regulation of Prediction Markets
The Trump administration sued Arizona, Connecticut, and Illinois on Thursday to stop what it called their unlawful efforts to regulate prediction markets because they may violate state gambling laws. Attempts by states to shut down efforts by companies such as Kalshi, Polymarket, Crypto.com, and Robinhood to provide "event contracts" violated...
US Agencies to Monitor Drinking Water for Microplastics, Pharmaceuticals
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday announced that they will monitor the impact of microplastics and pharmaceuticals on drinking water, the first step toward assessing their health risks and shaping new policies. The joint announcement was hailed by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and...
Fresno Unified Halts Competition Funding for Academic Teams
Some Fresno Unified academic competition teams have lost formerly guaranteed coverage for out-of-county competitions, placing a financial burden on the programs. Fresno Unified has been scrambling to fill a massive $77 million budget hole left in the wake of lower enrollments and reduced average daily attendance, making cuts across the...
An Adorable Stowaway Joins the Artemis II Mission to the Moon
When the engines of the Artemis II rocket cut off about eight minutes after liftoff Wednesday, observers could look for a little stuffed toy floating in the cabin of the Orion crew capsule. That signaled that the astronauts, after the intense acceleration of leaving Earth, entered the weightless part of...
Oil Prices Surge, as Stocks Tumble on Iran War Worry
Oil prices surged on Thursday and global equity markets retreated after remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump dashed hopes of a swift resolution to the Iran war. Still, European shares trimmed losses and U.S. bond prices clawed back gains on renewed hopes of a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz....
Squarespace Goes Down for Thousands, Downdetector Reports
Squarespace experienced a possible outage Thursday, according to Downdetector.com. More than 2,000 users had reported problems with the platform as of 12:15 p.m. PT, according to Downdetector, which tracks outages by collecting status reports from multiple sources. Most users who reported an issue to Downdetector said that they had issues...