Hundreds mourned the death of longtime Valley labor leader Randy Ghan at a ceremony Monday (Jan. 14) at the Clovis Veterans Memorial Hall. At the same time, the state Senate adjourned its meeting in honor of Ghan. Sen. Anna Caballero (D-Salinas), Sen. Melissa Hurtado (D-Sanger) and Sen. Andreas Borgeas (R-Fresno) all...
Judge Bars Citizenship Question From 2020 Census
NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York has barred the Trump administration from adding a question about citizenship to the 2020 census. U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman said Tuesday that while such a question would be constitutional, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross had added it arbitrarily and not...
Broadway Mourns Death of ‘Hello, Dolly!’ Icon Carol Channing
NEW YORK — Carol Channing, the lanky, ebullient musical comedy star who delighted American audiences with over 5,000 performances as the scheming Dolly Levi in "Hello, Dolly!" on Broadway and beyond, has died. She was 97. Publicist B. Harlan Boll said Channing died of natural causes at 12:31 a.m. Tuesday...
Newsom Vows Energy Will Flow Despite PG&E Bankruptcy
SAN FRANCISCO — The nation's largest utility said Monday it is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy because it faces at least $30 billion in potential damages from lawsuits over the catastrophic wildfires in California in 2017 and 2018 that killed scores of people and destroyed thousands of homes. The move...
Judge Blocks Trump Birth Control Coverage Rule in 13 States
OAKLAND — A U.S. judge in California on Sunday blocked Trump administration rules, which would allow more employers to opt out of providing women with no-cost birth control, from taking effect in 13 states and Washington, D.C. Judge Haywood Gilliam granted a request for a preliminary injunction by California, 12...
Man Who Killed Officer Said He Was Hit by Ultrasonic Waves
DAVIS — The man who shot and killed a rookie California police officer left a letter on the bed in the home where he lived claiming police bombarded him with ultrasonic waves, officials said. Police in the college town of Davis near Sacramento on Saturday made public the one-paragraph letter...
PG&E, Facing Colossal Liability, Seeks Bankruptcy Protection
Pacific Gas and Electric said it plans to file for bankruptcy protection amid potentially massive liabilities resulting from the deadly California wildfires. The announcement Monday follows the resignation of the power company's chief executive Geisha Williams a day earlier. John Simon, the company' general counsel since 2017, will serve as...
Oregon Begins Killing Sea Lions After Relocation Fails
PORTLAND, Ore. — Oregon wildlife officials have started killing California sea lions that threaten a fragile and unique type of trout in the Willamette River, a body of water that's miles inland from the coastal areas where the massive carnivorous aquatic mammals usually congregate to feed. The state Department of...
California Pot Taxes Lag as Illegal Market Flourishes
LOS ANGELES — Deep in Gov. Gavin Newsom's new budget is a figure that says a lot about California's shaky legal marijuana market: The state is expecting a lot less cash from cannabis taxes. The Democrat's proposed spending plan, released Thursday, projects the state will bank $355 million in marijuana...
Brother of Slain Police Officer Tells Trump: 'It Breaks My Heart'
The brother of slain Newman police Cpl. Ronil Singh sat side by side with Donald Trump during the president's visit to the border city of McAllen, Texas, and shared his family's anguish Thursday. “The way he was killed, what my family’s going through right now, I do not want any...