A Merced County man was sentenced Thursday to 20 years in federal prison for receiving and distributing child sexual abuse material, authorities said. Joel Damian Ortega, 36, of Merced, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kirk E. Sherriff, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced. According to court documents, Ortega used a...
Fresno Man Sentenced to More Than 6 Years for Ammunition in Ghost Gun
A Fresno man was sentenced Thursday to more than six years in federal prison for illegally possessing ammunition loaded in a “ghost gun,” federal prosecutors said. Felipe Macias, 28, was sentenced to six years and five months in prison by U.S. District Judge Kirk E. Sherriff for being a felon...
Club Darc Announces Final Shows of Inaugural Season at San Francisco’s Pier 48
Club Darc has announced the final slate of performances for its inaugural season, adding five weekend shows to its schedule at San Francisco's Shed A at Pier 48 from April 17 through May 16. The seasonal club experience, presented by Goldenvoice, will feature electronic music artists including Kaskade, Chris Lake,...
Costa Rican Ex-Supreme Court Judge Sent to US in First-Ever National Extradition
Costa Rica on Friday extradited former top judge and security minister Celso Gamboa to the United States, where he is wanted on charges of international drug trafficking, marking the Central American nation's first-ever extradition of its own nationals. "Costa Rica is sending a strong message: no one can use our...
TSA Absences at Airports Remain Steady Thursday as Shutdown Continues
Absences among Transportation Security Administration airport security officers fell slightly on Thursday to 9.8% nationwide but was much higher at some major airports, the government said on Friday. The absenteeism rate among the 50,000 TSA officers fell from 10.2% on Wednesday but was significantly higher at major airports on Thursday...
Trump Friend Asked ICE to Detain the Mother of His Child
Last June, the man credited with introducing President Donald Trump to his wife asked the administration for a favor. Paolo Zampolli, a former modeling agent turned presidential special envoy, had learned that his Brazilian ex-girlfriend was in a Miami jail, arrested on charges of fraud at her workplace. They had...
Easter Egg Prices to Stay High Despite Cocoa Price Crash, Report Says
Prices for chocolate eggs and bunnies will remain high this Easter in the United States despite the fact that prices for the main raw material used to make them - cocoa beans - have gone sharply down over the last year, a report said on Friday. "Even though cocoa futures...
New Jersey Sues Trump Administration Over Proposed ICE Facility
New Jersey sued the Trump administration on Friday over a proposed federal immigration detention center in its state. The move follows Maryland, which sued the U.S. Department of Homeland Security last month to stop construction of a similar facility in the state. New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill and Attorney General...
Tesla in Talks With Chinese Firms to Buy $2.9 Billion Worth of Solar Equipment, Sources Say
Tesla is looking to buy equipment worth $2.9 billion for manufacturing solar panels and cells from Chinese suppliers including Suzhou Maxwell Technologies, two people familiar with the matter said, as CEO Elon Musk aims to add 100 gigawatts of solar capacity in the United States. Musk said in January that...
Fresno Polar Plunge Set to Bring Crowds to Millerton Lake in Support of Special Olympics
Participants are expected to trade dry land for chilly waters this weekend as Special Olympics Northern California hosts its annual Polar Plunge fundraiser at Millerton Lake. The Fresno Polar Plunge is scheduled for Saturday, beginning at 10 a.m. at the Crow’s Nest Boat Launch, with participants set to jump into...