Here are the morning’s top stories on Tuesday, July 29, 2025…
- On a recent night in the town of Kerman in Fresno County, hundreds of people gathered at the local football field. They were there for an event that has happened in Kerman only twice before. And it left the community star-struck.
- California will deploy almost $2 million to prevent thousands of people from losing their health insurance, as White House cuts hit the Affordable Care Act marketplace.
Under A Dark Sky, Small-Town Kerman Gets To Witness The Vast Galaxies
On a recent night, Luke Lopez looked up at the vast dark sky and his imagination got to work. “I saw one yellow star and one blue star,” Lopez said. “One thing that automatically went to my mind: Sonic and Tails. They’re in the sky.”
More than 400 people including Lopez gathered for a rare event called a “star party.” It took place on the Kerman High School football field. The lights were off, because the real show was up above.
With the help of the Central Valley Astronomers, families, students, and stargazers of all ages were getting the chance to look deep into space through powerful electronic telescopes. “We can point the telescope to somewhere in the sky that you think is completely empty and sure enough, you can see some amazing things,” said Brian Bellis, vice president and event coordinator of the Central Valley Astronomers organization. “Star clusters, nebulas, other galaxies, it’s really fabulous.”
Bellis and other volunteers from the group helped visitors view sights like the moon, Mars, and the Hercules Cluster, a tight group of about a quarter of a million stars. Many of the telescopes were the size of cannons, guided precisely by maps on tablets. Typically, star parties are hosted in places with less light pollution, like Millerton Lake, or more people, like Fresno’s River Park shopping center. But for many in Kerman, this was their first time being able to see stars this way.
Covered California Prepares For Cuts From Federal Government
Nearly two million people get their health insurance through Covered California, many of them using federal subsidies like tax credits. But the White House will now allow these credits to expire at the end of the year, meaning Covered California premiums could jump as much as $190 a month for lower-income enrollees.
