As wildfires swept through Los Angeles County last month, the New York Times published a commentary by former insurance commissioner Dave Jones, who suggested that oil companies should pay for the disaster's immense losses of human life and property, not insurance companies. "Major oil and gas companies have known for...
Yankees End 49-Year Beard Ban Imposed by Owner George Steinbrenner
TAMPA, Fla. — The New York Yankees dropped their ban on beards Friday, 49 years after it was imposed by owner George Steinbrenner, in a move aimed to improve player recruitment as the team tries to win its first World Series title since 2009. Current owner Hal Steinbrenner, son of...
High Mortgage Rates, Prices Dampen January Home Sales
LOS ANGELES — Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell in January as rising mortgage rates and prices put off many would-be homebuyers despite a wider selection of properties on the market. Sales fell 4.9% last month from December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.08 million units, the...
Muslim Community Unites for Ramadan After Wildfire Destroys Mosque
PASADENA — All that remains of Masjid Al-Taqwa is a sign that bears its name. The mosque in Altadena, which served a tight-knit Muslim community for 42 years, burned to the ground in one of the Los Angeles area's deadliest fires in January — leaving the congregation heartbroken and without...
Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Ryan Andrew Kitchener
Update on March 11, 2025 The Fresno County Sheriff's Office said that Andrew Kitchener was arrested by their office on Monday. Original Story Feb 21, 2025 Most Wanted Person of the Day Suspect Name: Ryan Andrew Kitchener Suspects Date of Birth: November 10, 1993 Physical Description: White Male, 6’ 2,...
Trump’s Forest Service Cuts Raise Wildfire Concerns in Western US
SEATTLE — The termination letters that ended the careers of thousands of U.S. Forest Service employees mean fewer people and less resources will be available to help prevent and fight wildfires, raising the specter of even more destructive blazes across the American West, fired workers and officials said. The Forest...
Bullard Teacher Arrested for Inappropriate Behavior With a Minor, Principal Says
Police arrested 37-year-old Bullard High teacher Ray Waller Thursday on suspicion of having sex with a minor and making or selling pornography, according to a news release from the Fresno Police Department. The victim was a juvenile student at the high school. The teacher has been put on administrative leave...
Netanyahu Vows Revenge as Hamas Releases Wrong Body, Threatening Ceasefire
JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed revenge Friday for what he described as a "cruel and malicious violation" of the ceasefire agreement after authorities determined that a body released by Hamas as part of the deal was not an Israeli mother of two small boys, as the militant...
Global Glacier Melt Accelerates, Losing 7 Trillion Tons Since 2000
Climate change is accelerating the melting of the world's mountain glaciers, according to a massive new study that found them shrinking more than twice as fast as in the early 2000s. The world's glaciers lost ice at the rate of about 255 billion tons (231 billion metric tons) annual from...
Trump Expands Immigration Enforcement Across Nearly Every Major Department
WASHINGTON — Drug Enforcement Administration agents touting immigration arrests, IRS agents poring over documents, the military escorting deportation flights. As the Trump administration works on the president's pledge to crack down on illegal immigration and carry out mass deportations, the flurry of activity has stretched across the federal government —...