The Fresno Planning Commission went along with city staff recommendations to approve two mini-marts in the city, but without the rights to sell liquor. The developers of a refurbished 76 station in central Fresno and a new 7-Eleven in southeast Fresno wanted to open with the ability to sell bottled...
Report Rips Expensive Decisions in California Wildfire Fight
LOS ANGELES — When a wildfire burned across Big Sur two years ago and threatened hundreds of homes scattered on the scenic hills, thousands of firefighters responded with overwhelming force, attacking flames from the air and ground. In the first week, the blaze destroyed 57 homes and killed a bulldozer...
White House Closer to Partial Shutdown With Wall Demand
WASHINGTON — Pushing the government to the brink of a partial shutdown, the White House is insisting that Congress provide $5 billion to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border despite lawmaker resistance from both parties. Without a resolution, parts of the federal government will shut down at midnight Friday....
With OK from Congress, US Hemp Market Set to Boom
PORTLAND, Ore. — Hemp is about to get the nod from the federal government that marijuana, its cannabis plant cousin, craves. A provision of the farm bill that received final approval in Congress on Wednesday removes hemp from the list of federally controlled substances and treats the low-THC version of...
Pledge to Limit Tenure as Speaker Wins Over Pelosi Critics
WASHINGTON — Rep. Nancy Pelosi shrugged off suggestions Thursday that she weakened herself by agreeing to limit her tenure as next House speaker to a four-year maximum, a deal that clears the way for her to be elected to the post for the new Congress. "That's a long time," she...
Trump Says Military to Build Border Wall if Democrats Refuse
WASHINGTON — Arguing heatedly in public with Democratic leaders, President Donald Trump threatened repeatedly on Tuesday to shut down the government if Congress doesn't provide the money he says is needed to build a wall at the Mexican border. Trump's comments came as he opened a contentious meeting with Democratic...
Want To Fix The U.S. Government? Abolish The Senate, says John Dingell
Abolish the Senate and publicly fund elections. Those are two of several suggestions John Dingell provided in his article in The Atlantic on how to fix the U.S. government. Why does it need fixing? Dingell cites the decline in the percentage of Americans who trust the federal government as the...
Michael Cohen Pleads Guilty to Lying to Congress
NEW YORK — Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former lawyer, made a surprise appearance before a federal judge in New York on Thursday and pleaded guilty to lying to Congress to cover up that he was negotiating a real estate deal in Moscow on Trump's behalf during the heat of...
Going, Going, Gone? Democrat Cox Now Leads Valadao.
Nearly three weeks after election night, Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford) now trails Democratic challenger TJ Cox for California's 21st district seat in Washington. Despite trailing by nearly 8 percentage points after the returns reported on Nov. 6, Cox took over the lead Monday as the vote-by-mail and provisional ballots continued to break...
Andrew Janz on Nunes, Politics and His Future
Andrew Janz is back on the job as a violent crimes prosecutor in the Fresno County District Attorney’s office. For a better part of the last 18 months, he campaigned for Congress, hoping to unseat 16-year incumbent Devin Nunes (R-Tulare). Although the vote results aren’t final, it appears Janz fell...