SACRAMENTO — A conservative organization is asking the California Supreme Court to block the state's first-in-the-nation plan to give money to immigrants living in the country illegally who are hurt by the coronavirus. The Center for American Liberty argued on behalf of two long-shot Republican legislative candidates that the $75...
Somber Congress Delivers Nearly $500B More in Virus Aid
WASHINGTON — Congress delivered a nearly $500 billion infusion of coronavirus spending Thursday, rushing new relief to employers and hospitals buckling under the strain of a pandemic that has claimed almost 50,000 American lives and one in six U.S. jobs. The measure passed almost unanimously, but the lopsided tally belies...
Bicycle Shops Face ‘Tidal Wave’ of Customers in COVID-19 Era
If there's a silver lining to the dark cloud that is the COVID-19 pandemic, it's the greenbacks spent at area bicycle shops on new bikes or to recondition old two-wheelers gathering dust in the garage. Bicycle shop owners in Fresno and Clovis say they've been scrambling to keep up with...
Virus Pushes US Unemployment Toward Highest Since Depression
NEW YORK — Unemployment in the U.S. is swelling to levels last seen during the Great Depression of the 1930s, with 1 in 6 American workers thrown out of a job by the coronavirus, according to new data released Thursday. In response to the deepening economic crisis, the House passed...
COVID-19 Brings a New Kind of Ramadan for Muslim Community
Muslims in the Fresno area will cast their eyes skyward Friday morning in search of the crescent moon that will signal the start of Islam's holy month of Ramadan. As happens every year, there will be prayers, fasting, and feasting for the next 30 days. But because of the COVID-19...
Africa’s 43% Jump in Virus Cases in 1 Week Worries Experts
CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Africa registered a 43% jump in reported COVID-19 cases in the last week, highlighting a warning from the World Health Organization that the continent of 1.3 billion could become the next epicenter of the global outbreak. Africa also has a "very, very limited" and “very,...
US Judge Denies Bid to Open California Churches in Pandemic
SACRAMENTO — A federal judge on Wednesday said he will deny a bid by three Southern California churches to hold in-person church services during the pandemic, saying that government's emergency powers trump what in normal times would be fundamental constitutional rights. U.S. District Judge Jesus Bernal in Los Angeles said...
DeVos Excludes DACA Recipients, Foreign Students From Grants
The Trump administration is barring most international students and all students who entered the U.S. illegally from receiving emergency college grants approved by Congress as part of nearly $2 trillion coronavirus rescue package. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos issued the restriction in new guidelines released Tuesday telling colleges how to distribute more than...
26 Million Have Sought US Jobless Aid Since Virus Hit
WASHINGTON — More than 4.4 million laid-off workers applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week as job cuts escalated across an economy that remains all but shut down, the government said Thursday. Roughly 26 million people have now filed for jobless aid in the five weeks since the coronavirus outbreak began...
Clovis Unified Trustees Vote To Keep Schools Closed through May 22
Clovis Unified School District trustees voted unanimously Wednesday night to keep schools closed through May 22 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and to maintain distance learning until then. The May 22 date was a revision of an initial recommendation to keep schools closed through June 5, the end of the...