Jose Leon Barraza and Brandon Vang have similar stories, emanating from opposite sides of the world. Both immigrated to America, seeking a better life. Both came to the country speaking no English, but learned, believed in education and succeeded. Both want to be the next city councilmember representing southeast Fresno....
Justice Department Won’t Release Names of FBI Agents Who Worked on Jan. 6 Riot Cases
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has agreed to refrain from publicly identifying any FBI agents whose conduct is under review as President Donald Trump's administration examines the investigations into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters, according to a court filing Friday....
Aliens, Sloths and Silliness: Super Bowl Ads Offer Laughs, Celebs and Surprises to Win Over Viewers
NEW YORK — Eugene Levy's trademark eyebrows fly off for Little Caesars. A tongue dances to Shania Twain to promote Nestle's Coffee Mate Cold Foam. And Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal reunite at Katz's Deli in an ad for Hellmann's. A frenzied mix of silliness and celebrities is hitting the...
Mother Pleads for Britain’s Help in Freeing Son From Egyptian Prison
LONDON — Laila Soueif is a mathematician, a university professor, a political activist. But as she slumped in a folding chair outside the gates of the British prime minister's office on day 129 of a hunger strike, she was just a mother — a mom trying to win freedom for...
Clean Energy Interests Shift Focus to Money and Jobs
WASHINGTON — Saving the planet is so 2024. Clean energy leaders across the globe are now tailoring their messages to emphasize the greener side of green: wealth-building. It's an idea that sells far better in the new world of nationalism and tycoon leaders. Messaging from the U.S. renewable energy industry...
Russia Claims Capture of Eastern Ukraine Town; Kyiv Officials Silent
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia's Defense Ministry claimed on Friday that its forces had captured the coal mining town of Toretsk in their latest breakthrough in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region, where Ukrainian defenses are creaking. Ukrainian officials did not immediately make any comments on the Russian claim. A Ukrainian officer in...
Search Underway Along Alaska’s Western Coast for Plane Carrying 10 People
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Rescuers searched Friday for any sign of a plane that went missing while carrying 10 people across Alaska’s Norton Sound south of the Arctic Circle. The U.S. Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules crew searched the area between White Mountain and Nome but did not find the missing plane,...
Stock Market Today: Wall Street Slips as Consumers Worry About Inflation
U.S. stocks are falling Friday after a discouraging report suggested U.S. consumers are bracing for much higher inflation, while a separate update gave a mixed picture of the U.S. job market. The S&P 500 was 0.6% lower and close to wiping out what had been a modest gain for the...
What Is the International Criminal Court and How Will Trump’s Sanctions Impact It?
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court could jeopardize trials and investigations at the world’s only permanent global tribunal for war crimes and genocide. The order Trump signed Thursday accuses the ICC of “illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and...
The Slash-and-Burn Tactics Musk Brings to Washington Often Backfired at Twitter
When Elon Musk bought Twitter in 2022, he laid off thousands of employees, stopped paying rent and auctioned off coffee makers and office chairs in hopes of a big turnaround. Now the world's richest man has brought the same slash-and-burn strategy to the federal government, and some people who experienced...