VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, has died, the Vatican said on Monday, ending an often turbulent reign marked by division and tension as he sought to overhaul the hidebound institution. He was 88, and had suffered a serious bout of...
Chargers in Need of Help at Wide Receiver and Tight End in the NFL Draft
EL SEGUNDO — In their first season together, Los Angeles Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz and coach Jim Harbaugh rebuilt the team enough to get into the playoffs. Now they're looking to take the next step. The Chargers won 11 regular-season games — six more than in 2023 — before...
Magic Happens When Kids and Adults Learn to Swim. Tragedy Can Strike if They Don’t.
At a swim meet just outside St. Louis, heads turned when a team of young swimmers walked through the rec center with their parents in tow. A supportive mom kept her eye on the clock while the Makos Swim Team athletes tucked their natural curls, braids, and locs into yellow...
Big Fresno Fair Board Will Be Led by an American Sikh for 1st Time
Residents are gearing up for the beloved Big Fresno Fair, which has a new look atop its governing board. At the top of the board are Gary Chahil, president; Frank Flores, vice president; and Jerry Pacheco, secretary/treasurer. Chahil succeeds Terry Gonsalves as president. “I am profoundly appreciative of the trust...
AI ‘Friend’ for Public School Students Falls Flat
An AI platform named Ed was supposed to be an “educational friend” to half a million students in Los Angeles public schools. In typed chats, Ed would direct students toward academic and mental health resources, or tell parents whether their children had attended class that day, and provide their latest...
Is a ‘Friend-Apist’ What We Really Want From Therapy?
(THE CONVERSATION) When I read the recent New York Times article "Therapy Is Good. These Therapists Are Bad," I couldn't help but think of the Apple TV+ series "Shrinking." The article details the troubling prevalence of ethical and legal boundary violations by therapists: riding an exercise bike during appointments, bringing...
Yemen’s Houthi Rebels Report US Strikes in the Capital and a Coastal City
CAIRO — Yemen's Houthi rebels said Saturday that the U.S. military launched a series of airstrikes on the capital, Sanaa, and the Houthi-held coastal city of Hodeida, less than two days after a U.S. strike wrecked a Red Sea port and killed more than 70 people. The Houthis' media office...
Progressive Icon and Ex-US Rep. Barbara Lee Wins Race for Mayor of Oakland
SAN FRANCISCO — Progressive icon and former U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee declared victory Saturday as the new mayor of troubled Oakland, a San Francisco Bay Area city reeling from economic stagnation, crime and homelessness. Lee issued a statement Saturday as mayor-elect, saying that her chief opponent, Loren Taylor, had called...
Humanoid Robots Run a Chinese Half-Marathon Alongside Human Competitors
BEIJING — In one small step for robot-kind — thousands of them, really — humanoid robots ran alongside actual humans in a half-marathon in the Chinese capital on Saturday. The bipedal robots of various makes and sizes navigated the 21.1-kilometer (13.1-mile) course supported by teams of human navigators, operators, and...
Bakersfield Push to Restore Kern River Seeks to Revitalize City
To improve Bakersfield’s image and quality of life, a group of residents is working to restore water to the city’s long‑dry Kern River, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Led by the nonprofit Bring Back the Kern, the project would return a flowing river to the heart of California’s ninth‑largest city. Long‑time resident Bill Cooper...