Lael Wilcox hopped on her bicycle in Chicago in May. Three and a half months later, she was back, having ridden 18,000 miles around the world and set what is being hailed as a women’s record. Wilcox, 38, of Tucson, Arizona, rode east to New York, flew to Portugal and...
Meet Bentley: The Athletic, Snuggly, Bright Eyed Supermutt Ready for Adoption
Meet Bentley, the 25-pound, bright-eyed ball of energy who’s turning heads and melting hearts. At about 5 years old, Bentley has an origin story as unique as his personality. After a DNA test left his rescuers scratching their heads, they finally got an answer: Bentley is officially a supermutt —...
How Hamas Uses Brutality to Maintain Power
This summer, Amin Abed, a Palestinian activist who has spoken out publicly about Hamas, twice found bullets on his doorstep in the Gaza Strip. Then in July, he said he was attacked by Hamas security operatives, who covered his head and dragged him away before striking him with hammers and...
A College Degree While Still in High School? More Valley Students Are Doing It
Katie Escobar and her sister, brother, parents, boyfriend and four dogs squeezed around a dark wooden dining room table on a recent Sunday night. Conversation flowed with weekly updates, favorite TV shows and an almost constant banter between the family members. The Escobars certainly don't agree on everything, but they...
CHP Traffic Stop Bust Yields $1.3 Million Cocaine Seizure
A California Highway Patrol officer seized about 37 pounds of cocaine with an estimated street value of $1.3 million during a traffic stop on Interstate 5 in Merced County on Sept. 7, according to the CHP's social media post on Friday. The seizure led to the arrest of two suspects,...
Nelson Mandela Monument Unveiled in Fresno State Peace Garden
The joyful sounds of the African Drum Interactive beat through the Fresno State Peace Garden like a chorus of exuberant heartbeats on Thursday, kicking off the unveiling ceremony for the latest addition to the monument statues honoring peacemakers from around the globe. A life-sized bronze statue of anti-apartheid activist, former...
Southern California Wildfire Generates Rare ‘Fire Clouds,’ Visible from Space
A massive wildfire in Southern California is creating its own weather system, as reported by NASA's Earth Observatory. The Line fire, burning amid a record-breaking heat wave, has generated pyrocumulus clouds, also known as "fire clouds," which are visible from space. These unique cloud formations occur when intense heat from...
Canning Makes a Comeback: New Interest in Old-Time Food Preservation
There's been a recent noticeable resurgence in home canning, a method of preserving food that was once a staple in American households. This renewed interest is particularly strong among individuals who've never tried canning but like gaining self-sufficiency skills and control over their food supply. From young urbanites to rural...
NFL Tries to Tackle Tackling with a New Next Gen Statistic
Every offensive play in the NFL provides a trove of statistics accounting for the yards gained or lost on every throw or run. Quantifying defensive performance has always been a more difficult proposition outside of splash plays like sacks and takeaways. The official tackle stats tracked by statisticians with binoculars...
Three Killed in Single-Vehicle Crash Near Fresno Identified
Three Kerman residents died early Friday morning after their vehicle crashed into a palm tree and caught fire on Kearney Avenue, according to the California Highway Patrol. Dario Urena, 25, of Kerman, was driving a Honda Civic eastbound on Kearney Avenue just before 2:45 a.m. when he lost control of...