Devin Nunes

Congressman Devin Nunes is at the center of another social media fray, after filing a lawsuit that inspired the trending hashtag #yachtcocaineprostitutes.

A few weeks ago, you might have heard our interview with Vice News reporter Alexandra Jaffe about the ongoing contention between Tulare County Congressman Devin Nunes and The Fresno Bee. After The Bee published a handful of stories about Nunes’s investments and public image, he responded by calling the paper a “left wing rag.” He also aired a 2-minute television and radio ad claiming the Bee is on a “crusade” against him.

A new survey released last week by the Poynter Institute suggests that Americans trust their local media more than many national news outlets. But charges of "fake news" aren't the exclusive domain of President Donald Trump. In fact, attacks on news coverage are becoming more common at the local level.

California's June Primary is around a month away, and some local races are starting to heat up. One of them is in a congressional district that hasn’t seen a close race in years, and now the 22nd Congressional District is drawing renewed national and local attention.

One of the nation’s top political forecasting groups has announced that the forecast for one Central Valley district is shifting.

Will House Republicans warm up to Kevin McCarthy as he seeks to become the next Speaker of the House? Or will members of the "Freedom Caucus" stage their own fight for the spot? Why is Democratic congressional candidate Andrew Janz focusing on Clovis in his messaging to unseat incumbent Devin Nunes in the 22nd Congressional District? And what do recent legal battles over local redistricting and Latino voter rights mean for valley politics? We talk politics and seek answers to those questions and more with Fresno State Political Science Professor Thomas Holyoke on Valley Edition.

This week on Valley Edition, we learn about plans from a Canadian company to mine for gold in Mariposa. We also talk about the local political impact of the "Nunes Memo" and learn why the Delta smelt had a bad year, despite the end to California's drought. Plus we talk with Madera DA candidate Sally Moreno and learn about a new exhibit in Kingsburg. 

Tulare Republican Congressman Devin Nunes may be one of the most unlikely national political figures of the past year. The chair of the House Intelligence Committee was already in the news for his role in the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Now with his controversial classified memo about alleged wrongdoing by FBI officials in a FISA warrant for Trump aide Carter Page, Nunes is back in the headlines. Is it a real scandal, as House Republicans have claimed?

The 2018 mid-term election is a year-and-a-half away, but Republican Congressman Devin Nunes has already drawn a challenger in the race for the 22nd Congressional District, Democrat Andrew Janz. The political newcomer and current Fresno County Deputy District Attorney faces a tough challenge. Republicans have a double-digit voter registration edge in the district, and Nunes has easily defeated Democratic opponents in each of the last three election cycles.

Local Republicans played a big role in today’s passage American Health Care Act in the U.S. House Representatives.

During a victory press conference in the White House Rose Garden, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield said repealing the Affordable Care Act will be a positive for the American people.

Valley congressman Devin Nunes is at the center of a political storm in Washington D.C. Politicians on both sides of the aisle have asked him to step aside from the investigation into potential connections between President Donald Trump and Russia. Some are worried that Nunes is too close to the president. But will the scandal will harm Nunes’ popularity?

For most of his seven terms in office, a public appearance by Congressman Devin Nunes would not be big news.

That is not the case anymore.

Following November's election, congressional representatives from the San Joaquin Valley are becoming increasingly influential in Washington. From House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy's efforts to pass a bill that aims to divert more water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and deliver it to valley farmers, to Rep. Devin Nunes' role in President-elect Donald Trump's transition team, local leaders are in the national headlines. 

We talk politics in a special post-election Valley Edition this week. Should the media and political establishment put so much emphasis on predictive polling? What does a Trump administration mean for the Central Valley, and for local GOP leaders like Kevin McCarthy and Devin Nunes? And what do local races and voter turnout tell us about future campaigns?

When it comes to California drought relief legislation, it’s been a dry year so far on Capitol Hill. As Kitty Felde reports from Washington, Central Valley politicians and farm interests have been in Congress this week to remind lawmakers about the dire situation back home.

Drought relief legislation this year has gotten off to a slow start on Capitol Hill - unlike last year, when bills were floated in both the House and the Senate.

Mendota Mayor Robert Silva, who spent the week meeting with members of Congress, says things are moving…underground. 

Valley congressional leaders and House Speaker John Boehner met in a dusty cotton field outside Bakersfield today to announce a plan for emergency legislation in response to California’s drought.

Boehner, who was joined by valley Republicans Devin Nunes, David Valadao and Kevin McCarthy told the crowd that the water shortage requires action, and blamed environmental laws for part of the problem.