Fresno County, the most populous county in the region, also had the largest number of people who want to work but don’t have jobs. In 2024, monthly unemployment averaged about 37,250 people. Almost 23,000 people were out of work in Tulare County, followed by about 11,700 in Merced County, 5,200 in Madera County and about 5,140 in Kings County.

After the holiday season and an uptick in travel, California faces a rise in respiratory illnesses, prompting health experts to talk of a “quad-demic.” The term refers to the simultaneous spread of four major viruses: COVID-19,

A pandemic is not inevitable, scientists say. But the outbreak has passed worrisome milestones in recent weeks, including cattle that may have been reinfected.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, families have also increasingly ... and fewer students mean fewer dollars. But during the pandemic, California’s public schools got a windfall of federal relief ...

The CIA says it has "low confidence" in its assessment that a "research-related origin of the COVID-19 pandemic is more likely" and notes in its statement that both scenarios - lab origin and natural origin - remain plausible. The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In May 2024, Shams was also sentenced to five years in prison in connection with a 2017 plea in New York to conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks, and defrauding the United States by obstructing the lawful functions of the IRS. Three years of that sentence will run consecutively to his California sentence.

Newsom’s optimistic state budget is already outdated, since fires will heavily impact both income and spending.

MONDAY, Jan. 27, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- After years of speculation, the CIA has weighed in yet again: A lab leak is now considered the likely origin of the COVID pandemic. However, the agency admits it has "low confidence" in its conclusion and says both a natural origin and a research-related incident are still possible.