More Americans applied for refugee status in Canada in the first half of 2025 than in all of 2024, and more than in any full year since 2019, according to data published on Thursday by Canada's Immigration and Refugee Board. Their share of total refugee claims - 245 of about...
US Supreme Court Lets Trump Cut Diversity-Related NIH Grants
The U.S. Supreme Court let President Donald Trump's administration on Thursday proceed with sweeping cuts to National Institutes of Health grants for research related to racial minorities or LGBT people, part of his crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and transgender identity. The justices granted the Justice Department's request...
CARB Executive Leader Rips Trump’s EPA for Seeking to Kill Proven Climate Science
Dr. Steven Cliff, executive officer of the California Air Resources Board, didn't mince words when testifying Thursday before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in opposition to the agency’s proposal to reject its 2009 endangerment finding. Cliff spoke plainly, saying the Trump administration's EPA is a "laughingstock," the rejection of proven...
California Lawmakers Advance First Two Bills in Democrats’ Redistricting Plan
The California Senate on Thursday approved a redrawn political map aimed at giving Democrats five more seats in the U.S. Congress, countering the partisan advantage President Donald Trump hopes to gain from a Republican redistricting plan in Texas. California Democrats, led by Governor Gavin Newsom, are pushing for fast-track passage...
US State Department Says Continuous Vetting Covers 55 Million Visa Holders
The U.S. State Department's continuous vetting applies to "all of the more than 55 million foreigners who currently hold valid U.S. visas," a department official said on Thursday, including those who have already been admitted to enter the country. "The State Department revokes visas any time there are indications of...
Judge Rules Alina Habba Was Unlawfully Appointed as US Attorney in New Jersey
WASHINGTON — A U.S. judge on Thursday sided with two New Jersey criminal defendants who sought to block a former personal lawyer to President Donald Trump, Alina Habba, from prosecuting them based on a claim she was unlawfully appointed as the state's top federal prosecutor. The ruling is a setback...
Fresno Man with Prior Felonies Charged with Meth, Fentanyl, and Ammunition
A Fresno man with prior drug trafficking convictions is facing federal charges for possessing methamphetamine, fentanyl, and ammunition, officials reported. Manuel Cisneros, 48, is scheduled for arraignment Thursday after a federal grand jury indicted him on counts of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl, as well as being...
Fresno Goes to Court to Fight Trump Rule Stripping Grants Over Woke Language
Fresno wants its federal funds without Trump administration interference. Along with several other jurisdictions, the city filed a federal lawsuit in San Francisco on Wednesday seeking to keep grant money unfettered. In a news release, the city said it receives nearly $12 million in housing grants, and nearly $250 million...
‘Where’s the Humanity in This?’ Hear ICE Detainee Describe Being Ripped From Family
Long-time Pismo's Coastal Grill general manager Psalm Behpoor was detained by ICE in Fresno on June 23 and has been incarcerated in a facility in Bakersfield since. He committed burglary when he was 18 years old but got his sentence reduced and is cleared for green card restoration on the...
Trump Administration Cuts California Grant Over Transgender Policies
The Trump administration on Thursday terminated a grant for a program in California intended to prevent teenage pregnancy and childhood sexually transmitted infections, saying the state refused to remove "radical gender ideology" from its curriculum. The Personal Responsibility Education Program educates young people on abstinence and contraception to prevent pregnancy...