A Fresno man was sentenced Monday to 14 months in federal prison for defrauding the Paycheck Protection Program during the COVID-19 pandemic. Gurjeet Bath, 37, was also ordered to pay a $100,000 criminal fine after pleading guilty to theft of government property, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced. “During a time...
Bahrain Proposes UN Security Council Approve Use of Force to Protect Hormuz Shipping
Bahrain has put forward a draft United Nations Security Council resolution that would authorize countries to use "all necessary means" - diplomatic language for force - to protect commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz, according to a text seen by Reuters on Monday. Diplomats said the draft...
What Do Record Heat and Melting Snow Mean for California Reservoirs?
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. A record-breaking heat wave scalded California, with major consequences for the state’s most important reservoir: its snowpack. Providing about a third of the state’s water supply, the Sierra Nevada snowpack is a vital source of spring and summer...
Bill Cosby Ordered to Pay $19.25 Million in Civil Sexual Assault Case, NYT Reports
A California civil jury on Monday found Bill Cosby, 88, liable for drugging and sexually assaulting former waitress Donna Motsinger in 1972, awarding her $19.25 million in damages. The jury sided with Motsinger’s account that Cosby gave her wine and a pill that left her incapacitated before assaulting her. Cosby...
Why Tech Giants Are Ditching the Power Grid
In a few short years, the artificial intelligence industry has transformed places such as central Ohio, where farmland is giving way to data centers and computer chip factories. Companies are so desperate to secure power for these projects that some, like Meta, are looking beyond the electric grid. Developers are...
Iran Denies Talks With US After Trump Postpones Strikes on Power Grid
Iran denied on Monday that it had engaged in negotiations with the United States, after President Donald Trump postponed a threat to bomb Iran's power grid because of what he described as productive talks with unidentified Iranian officials. Trump wrote early in the U.S. morning on his Truth Social platform...
Fresno Police Arrest 10 for DUI at Saturday Checkpoint
Fresno police arrested 10 drivers for suspected impaired driving during a DUI checkpoint on Saturday night. The checkpoint ran from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. at Clinton and Weber avenues, where officers contacted 322 vehicles. In addition to the DUI arrests, 34 drivers were cited for operating a vehicle without...
Merced Police Arrest 12 in Multi-County Online Child Predator Operation
Merced police and partner agencies arrested 12 individuals in a multi-agency online child predator operation targeting people seeking sexual contact with minors, authorities said. The operation, conducted on Thursday and Friday, involved the Merced Police Department, Merced County Sheriff’s Department, Merced County District Attorney’s investigators, and the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s...
Gas Prices Have Jumped More Than 30% in Some States in 2 Weeks
Early Friday evening, Jay Robinson, a Dallas insurance adjuster, pulled into his local QuikTrip gas station for a coffee break. As he filled his cup, drivers stopping at the pumps confronted prices that had spiked more than 30% since the outbreak of war in Iran. Robinson, 42, has been hit...
Why Did Clovis Shut Down Planet Fitness?
Planet Fitness may have a "judgement free zone" (the misspelling is part of the brand). But the city of Clovis has judged the gym franchise closed until further notice. The gym in the shopping center at Shaw and Clovis avenues (634 Shaw Ave.) has been closed since March 17 because...