A Fresno man was sentenced on Monday to seven years and six months in prison for defrauding lenders and financial institutions out of more than $30 million, federal authorities said. Matthew Dane Billingsley, 40, former manager of Fresno's Dog House Grill, was convicted of wire fraud for a scheme that...
How Wife’s COVID Bioweapon Theory Tore Apart These Married Scientists
One morning in April 2020, Ranawaka Perera cooked fried eggs and tomatoes for his wife, Li-Meng Yan. When she said she wasn’t hungry, he pressed her to eat anyway. Lately, Yan had been so anxious that at times she felt she could barely breathe, and Perera was worried about her...
Fresno-Area Executive Gets Prison Time in Multi-Million Dollar Fraud
A former Clovis corporate manager was sentenced Monday to 18 months in federal prison for helping steal nearly $5 million worth of canola used in livestock feed from international food processors, federal prosecutors said. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, 49-year-old Shawn Sawa was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jennifer...
Twelve Ex-FBI Agents Who Kneeled to Quell 2020 Protests Sue for Unlawful Firings
Twelve former FBI agents sued senior FBI and Justice Department leaders on Monday, saying they were unlawfully fired for taking a knee in an effort to quell racial justice protests in 2020 spurred by the police killing of George Floyd. In the lawsuit, the former agents said they believed their terminations...
App That Tracks ICE Raids Sues US, Saying Officials Pressured Apple to Remove It
SAN FRANCISCO — For six months, Apple distributed an app called ICEBlock that allowed users to alert people when they saw Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. But after the Trump administration complained that the app endangered officers, Apple removed it. On Monday, the app’s developer, Joshua Aaron, sued top Trump...
Trump Attacks New CBS Owners Over Marjorie Taylor Greene Interview
President Donald Trump on Monday attacked the new owners of CBS over a “60 Minutes” interview with his former ally Marjorie Taylor Greene, on the same day that CBS owners Paramount Skydance launched a hostile bid for media giant Warner Bros. Discovery. The CBS news program “60 Minutes” on Sunday...
Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Dax Walker Emery
December 8, 2025 Most Wanted Person of the Day Suspect Name: Dax Walker Emery Suspects Date of Birth: September 22, 1994 Physical Description: White Male, 6’ 3, 200 lbs., Brown Hair, Brown Eyes. Charges: Assault Warrant Number: F25908470 Synopsis of the Case: Dax Walker Emery is wanted on a felony,...
US Supreme Court Turns Away Appeal of Texas Library Book Ban
The U.S. Supreme Court in a free speech case on Monday opted not to hear an appeal by a group of residents of a rural Texas county of a judicial decision allowing local officials to remove 17 books that these officials deemed objectionable from public libraries. The justices let stand...
Fresno State to Face Miami of Ohio In Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl
Fresno State learned its postseason football assignment on Sunday — the Arizona Bowl against Miami of Ohio. That is the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl, scheduled for Dec. 27 at 1:30 p.m., PT, at Camino Del Sol Stadium — the new name of Arizona Stadium — in Tucson. And yes, the...
‘One Battle After Another’ Leads Hollywood’s Golden Globe Nominations
Dark comedy "One Battle After Another" racked up a leading nine Golden Globe nominations on Monday, positioning the Leonardo DiCaprio thriller as an early favorite on Hollywood's road to the Academy Awards. The movie directed by Paul Thomas Anderson stars DiCaprio as a washed-up revolutionary who springs into action when...