Some voters may punish congressional Republicans in next year’s midterm elections if expanded Obamacare insurance subsidies are allowed to expire at the end of this month, a new poll released Thursday suggests. Without the extension of larger subsidies, which lower the cost of health insurance under the Affordable Care Act...
Vatican Commission Says ‘No’ to Women as Catholic Deacons
A high-level Vatican commission voted against allowing Catholic women to serve as deacons, maintaining the global Church's practice of all-male clergy, according to a report given to Pope Leo and released on Thursday. The commission, in a 7-1 vote, said historical research and theological investigation "excludes the possibility" of allowing...
Visalia Police Arrest Two Teens After Assault Near El Diamante High
Visalia police say two juveniles were arrested Wednesday after assaulting a student near El Diamante High School, prompting an investigation into a possible threat circulated on social media. According to the Visalia Police Department, Youth Services Officers arrested the teens for battery after the off-campus assault. During the investigation, officers...
Fresno Leaders Rally Around State Center Chancellor. How Did Trustees Respond?
The heat is being turned up on the State Center Community College District Board of Trustees, who are feeling pressure to dismiss Chancellor Carole Goldsmith immediately because of last month's no-confidence vote by 250 faculty members. However, trustees faced pressure from the other side Tuesday evening at a hastily scheduled...
Venmo Down for Thousands of Users, Downdetector Reports
Venmo experienced a possible outage Wednesday, with thousands of users reporting issues, according to Downdetector.com. More than 4,000 users had reported problems with the platform as of 3:50 p.m. PT, according to Downdetector, which tracks outages by collecting status reports from multiple sources. Most users reporting problems to Downdetector said...
Madera Unified Teachers Say They Are Ready To Strike
Madera Unified teachers, who are contemplating a strike, gathered Wednesday morning to demand competitive wages amidst what they label a “growing retention crisis.” A crowd of Madera Unified Teacher Association members marched in front of Desmond Middle School and Matilda Torres High School, carrying pickets and issuing choice words for...
California Launches Portal for Public To Report Alleged ICE Wrongdoing
California has launched an online portal to allow the public to send videos, photos and other evidence of possible crimes committed by federal immigration agents, joining other states that have launched similar efforts in response to President Donald Trump's nationwide crackdown on undocumented migrants. U.S. immigration agents, often masked and...
Fresno CEO Accused of $7 Million VA Fraud Arrested at San Francisco Airport
The CEO of a Fresno-based home health care company was arrested at San Francisco International Airport while trying to board a flight to Nigeria and is accused of fraudulently obtaining more than $7 million from the Department of Veterans Affairs for care that prosecutors say was never provided, U.S. Attorney...
US Census Bureau Says Implementing Strategies To Bring Economic Data Releases Back on Track
The U.S. Census Bureau said on Wednesday it was adopting several strategies, including shortening the window for Principal Federal Economic Indicators collection, to get economic data back to their original release schedule "as quickly as possible." "For our PFEIs to return to their original release schedules, processing stages must be...
Fresno Commute Snarled After Thousands of Ammo Casings Spill on Highway
Thousands of loose ammunition casings scattered across the westbound Highway 180 transition to southbound Highway 99 made for an unexpectedly slick commute Wednesday morning, authorities said. According to the California Highway Patrol in Fresno, an unknown driver dropped an ammo can that spilled “more than a couple thousand” empty shell...