The Desert Sun
Review: Shakira got all the she wolves on their feet
If Shakira’s performance at Acrisure Arena was her audition tape for headlining a future Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, consider her at the top of our list. The Colombian superstar took the Palm Desert stage by storm on Wednesday, June 17,...
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Desert stories get their spotlight
Move over, Hollywood, the Coachella Valley is ready for its closeup. h The upcoming Palm Springs International ShortFest, which runs June 23-29, will feature more than 300 short films from all around the world. Screenings will take place at Festival...
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New restaurants wrap
The new restaurant at Indian Wells’ Renaissance Esmerelda Resort & Spa takes its name — and guiding ethos — from the seven gallons of olive oil sourced from the first harvest of the resort’s on-site olive trees. As the website explains, those gallons...
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A new desert event?
The WTA Finals is scheduled to be played in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in November as the third year in a three-year contract, but according to reports the WTA may be looking to move the end-of-year event and Indian Wells could be a possible a potential...
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America turns 250: How to celebrate in the desert
This Land of Liberty has a big birthday coming up. The 250th anniversary of the United States will be recognized on July 4, marking 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. That means that every fireworks show, barbecue and...
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SUDOKU
Insert numbers 1-9 in each box with every row, column and 3x3 box containing the digits just once. Difficulty level ranges from Bronze (easiest) to Silver to Gold (hardest) RATING: BRONZE SATURDAY’S ANSWER
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‘You can overcome anything’
History books may not dive into the extraordinary life of Lee F. Simmons, who served four presidents as the first African American steward on Air Force One from 1963 to 1977, but a new children’s book by his son aims to tell his story. h “The Lee F....
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25 million people lost Medicaid after pandemic
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of people covered by Medicaid rose month after month – an unusual pattern for the government’s insurance program for people with low incomes and disabilities. Why? A policy of continuous coverage during the...
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Artists drop out; California stays in
Artist after artist has canceled performances during the Great American State Fair in Washington, D.C., with some raising concern that the nation’s 250th birthday party, backed by President Donald Trump, has become too partisan. But the exodus hasn’t...
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7 unique ways to spend your summer in the desert
It’s no secret that the Coachella Valley slows down during the summer, but that doesn’t mean you can’t cross off a few things from your bucket list. Whether you’re an adrenaline seeker, an animal lover or just looking for a fun weekend adventure,...
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ONWARD
TOP: Desert Hot Springs High School graduates listen to the evenings speakers as a nearly full moon rises to over the commencement ceremony in Desert Hot Springs on May 29. RIGHT: Graduates watch the drone show after the Class of 2026 commencement...
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Joshua trees face grim odds even as soil life survives fire
When the Dome Fire swept across California’s Mojave Desert in August 2020, it left behind a landscape few thought possible. h The lightning-caused wildfire burned more than 43,000 acres through the Mojave National Preserve, killing an estimated 1.3...
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Ads for GLP-1 drugs flooding the internet
If you watched the Super Bowl in 2026, you likely saw Serena Williams share her weight-loss journey on GLP-1 medications in a commercial. h Like millions of others around the country, if you’ve ever considered taking one of these drugs, you probably...
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Matzner’s family friend purchases Spencer’s Restaurant
Local entrepreneur Nachhattar Singh Chandi will buy Spencer’s Restaurant in downtown Palm Springs from the estate of his friend and colleague, Harold Matzner. The two parties announced the sale of the upscale eatery the morning of Thursday, June 4....
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Hilton, Becerra lead, but race too close to call; vote count goes on
California’s crowded 2026 gubernatorial race captivated the nation as the state’s jungle primary system left many wondering which candidates would appear on the November ballot — a question many are still asking the morning after the primary. As of...
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‘I’ve been on the right path’
When Ethan Lee graduated from Palm Desert High School recently, he had a long list of people on his mind who helped him get there. There were the classmates he led through rallies and homecoming events as president of the student council, then the...
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Teacher honored for a career of inspiring students
Nanette Davis-Kirchhevel teaches her eighth graders at Palm Desert Charter Middle School that history is not just a list of dates, names or events to memorize and regurgitate. In her classroom, the humanities are a way to reflect on the choices people...
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Marilyn Monroe lookalikes shatter world record
It doesn’t get much more Palm Springs than that. h On Saturday, 1,037 people—the official total verified by Guinness World Records officials, though it’s entirely possible a few went uncounted—descended on downtown Palm Springs to set a new world...
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Council to vote on data center moratorium
The Coachella City Council called for a data center moratorium after hundreds of people protested outside city hall — and scores spoke before the council — in opposition to a controversial data center project. The move came near the end of its marathon...
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Cannabis legalization spurs innovation
Innovation in health care saves lives. But not all health innovations have enough evidence to actually benefit patients. Barriers to innovation are often higher in illicit or restricted markets, including cannabis, stem cells and cryptocurrencies....
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‘He’s a Hall of Fame journalist in every sense’
Most people dream of having their story told in the newspaper. h Desert Sun golf columnist Larry Bohannan is not most people. h For more than 40 years, he has held onto one hard and fast rule he learned in his college journalism classes: Never be part...
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Staying local, giving back
Brenda Franco Alcala could have graduated from college early. Instead, she added a second concentration, extending her time at the California State University, San Bernardino Palm Desert Campus by a year as she continues the work that helped her grow...
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Evacuations remain for 16K over chemical tank
The worst threats from a damaged chemical tank in Southern California have passed, with authorities saying a major explosion was no longer imminent, but fire officials said evacuation orders remained in place for about 16,000 residents May 26 amid...
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Threat of massive chemical tank explosion ‘has been eliminated’
A chemical tank in California that appeared at risk of exploding has stabilized, local fire officials said on May 25, resolving what authorities said could have been a “worst-case catastrophic event.” “The threat of [an explosion] is now off the...
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Rural hospitals close in increasing numbers
Some Pennsylvania hospitals are being pushed beyond the brink of closure. Taylor Hospital in Ridley Park closed in April 2025, Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Upland closed in May 2025, and Heritage Valley Kennedy Hospital, formerly the Ohio Valley...
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Graduation season kicks off
RIGHT: Oliver Martinez pops open a confetti container at the conclusion of the Palm Valley School commencement ceremony at the private school in Rancho Mirage on May 21.
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Thousands of rainbow trout rescued in NorCal
Thousands of trout were rescued after becoming stranded in a creek, marking the largest recovery effort for the rare species in more than a decade, California wildlife officials say. About 5,800 Eagle Lake rainbow trout at risk of becoming stranded in...
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Same Same But Different fest lives up to its name
In an industry dominated by corporate music promoters and brands that attract social media influencers, the Same Same But Different music festival took another approach. The founders asked their fans to become investors, and they raised $750,000 on...
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Misinformation spurs vitriol and vandalism
When vandals did thousands of dollars worth of damage to a local contractor’s equipment at a Cathedral City construction site, company leaders went public to try to find the culprits. But many online commenters offered hate instead of...
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AMP pauses operations; future is uncertain
The Academy of Musical Performance in Indio, a nonprofit program that offers hands-on “rock band” style music education for youth, announced on Thursday that it has temporarily paused operations after 11 years. This decision was described as due to a...
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Capital Grille steakhouse may come to former Roy’s
An upscale steakhouse with a nationwide footprint could soon be coming to the space that used to be Roy’s restaurant in Rancho Mirage. h The Capital Grille, which offers a wide range of dry-aged steaks and other specialties, has started to work on...
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Charting his own path
It’s been nearly 1,000 years since King Henry IV stood barefoot in the Italian snow to beg forgiveness after clashes with Pope Gregory VII, and over two centuries since Napoleon imprisoned Pope Pius VII in France. Now, a battle is underway between a...
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AI-integrated cameras raise alarms
For decades, cars dictated urban planning in the United States. h Few could have predicted that they would one day also double as nodes for surveillance. h In thousands of towns and cities across the United States, automatic license plate readers have...
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MUST WIN?
The Coachella Valley Firebirds had their playoff momentum snuffed in Game 1 against Colorado as the Eagles came into Acrisure Arena on Wednesday night and shut out Coachella Valley 3-0 to open the Pacific Division Finals. h Game 2 is set for Friday...
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MARINE HEAT WAVE
The ocean off California’s coast is heating up again — and this time, the impacts are showing up on shore. The marine heat wave has developed across much of the West Coast, stretching from Washington to California. In some areas, ocean temperatures...
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Residents blast data center at heated town hall
A town hall meant to explain Coachella’s plan for a municipal utility and the approval process for a proposed data center instead became a heated two-hour public debate over whether the city should even let the project move forward. At least 100...
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HEAT WAVE
Families avoid the hottest parts of the day by playing just before sunset at Panorama Park in Cathedral City on May 10. A heat warning was in effect from Sunday to Monday.
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AN ‘OASIS’ IN NORTH INDIO
The City of Indio is set to consider a developer’s proposal to turn 183 acres of mostly vacant land just north of Interstate 10 into a major mixed-use development that could include thousands of homes, a hotel and 1.8 million square feet of “light...
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Detained by ICE and telling her story
Milena Araya-Davis went to her green card interview in San Diego expecting to take the next step toward becoming an American citizen. Instead, she left in handcuffs. h Ten days before Christmas, what began as a routine appointment for the Palm Springs...
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‘MORE LIKE A PIECE OF ART’
Bob Arzano spent his teenage years hanging out at his father’s gas station — which doubled as a hot rod club called “Connecting Rods” — after school in Queens, New York. h He was the club’s youngest member. h “It was a bunch of older guys that restored...
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A DOZEN DINING DELIGHTS
When Greg and Eleanor Rivers learned in 2025 that their lease for the Palm Canyon Roadhouse wouldn’t be renewed after 19 years, the couple decided the time was right to do something different than the rock-and-roll-oriented bar, which had become a...
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‘This is our home’
Nearly a year after a man detonated a car bomb, destroying the American Reproductive Centers fertility clinic in Palm Springs, the clinic dedicated its new home at the same site on Monday, May 4. Despite the bomber’s attempt, none of the embryos at...
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WINDS COOL VALLEY BEFORE HEAT RETURNS
Palm Springs city employees secure road closed signs to North Indian Canyon Drive in Palm Springs on May 3. Wind and cooler temperatures rolled into the valley on Sunday and will stick around for a few days until triple-digit heat returns later in the...
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New bronze sculptures on display in downtown
Two new sculptures have been added to downtown Palm Springs’ ever-growing art scene. h “Resonance” and “Family Group,” two bronze sculptures that reach around 10-feet-tall, have been installed in front of the Kimpton Rowan Palm Springs Hotel, giving...
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1.1 million-square-foot warehouse coming soon
Plans for a large cannabis development along Interstate 10 in Desert Hot Springs have been cancelled, and the project could now become a 1.16 million-square-foot distribution warehouse. This change comes at a time when the cannabis industry is...
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Bet on an election — or Taylor Swift’s wedding
Though prediction markets have been legal in the United States for less than 18 months, they can’t stop making news and making money. On prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket, users can stake real money on just about anything, from the...
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Coping in crisis. How did it go?
The temporary evacuation of thousands of people from the Stagecoach country music festival amid high winds provided new insight into how the festival organizers and public safety officials react in a crisis. It was the first such evacuation in the...
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An inspired experience
Not many restaurants in Palm Springs can claim a connection to Barrack Obama, but Canopy Palm Springs might not have happened without the former president. The restaurant and wine lounge was opened in 2023 by former U.S. Ambassador to Argentina Noah...
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MAGA-esque politics popular in the U.K.
LONDON− King Charles III isn’t an elected politician. But his trip to the United States has political implications. And with extreme movements on the rise in the United Kingdom, echoing divisions among Americans, the monarch’s state visit to mark the...
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FESTIVAL FINALE
TOP: Fans in the front row of the Mustang Stage enjoy Third Eye Blind’s set during the Stagecoach Festival on April 26 in Indio. RIGHT: Sometimes you just need a short break as this woman does at the Stagecoach Festival on
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Lainey Wilson turns chaos into a commanding set
Lainey Wilson’s headlining set at Stagecoach 2026 looked doomed after high winds forced an evacuation around 7:45 p.m. Saturday, April 25. After the chaos subsided and guests were allowed back into the festival, Wilson’s performance was the set...
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Desert Hot Springs’ new approach to homelessness
A couple is living in an RV parked in an open desert patch of Desert Hot Springs. h Two police officers speak with the husband, who says he’s been there for almost a year. They ask if he’s spoken with the social workers the city partners with to...
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World’s great fish migrations collapsing
Hidden beneath the surface of the world’s rivers, some of Earth’s great animal movements unfold – migrations that rival, in sheer biomass, the famous mass movements of zebra and wildebeest across the Serengeti. h For centuries, fish migrations were as...
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Rolling out for Stagecoach
ABOVE: The Budweiser Clydesdales visited several businesses along El Paseo in Palm Desert on April 22. The famous hitch traditionally parades in Palm Desert ahead of appearances at Stagecoach country music festival, which is this weekend at the Empire...
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WHIMSICAL SPACES
When Danielle Ulian moved to La Quinta from Los Angeles about five years ago to be closer to family, she quickly fell in love with the community’s unique charm and natural beauty. It soon became apparent to her, however, that something was missing...
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CHANGING OPINIONS
About a decade after opting out of the CV Link, the city of Indian Wells may soon revisit whether to join the bike and pedestrian path, which spans most of the Coachella Valley. Discussions are in early stages, but members of the Indian Wells City...
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Latino vote shifting away from Trump, GOP
In the 2024 election, President Donald Trump dramatically improved his performance among nearly all groups of voters from four years earlier. Trump’s growth among Hispanic voters was especially notable, increasing by more than 10 points from 2020 to...
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THEY’RE THE BELIEBERS
ABOVE: Justin Bieber fans secure their spot near the front of the Coachella Stage before Bieber’s headlining performance Saturday, April 18, at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio. RIGHT: One fan sports a T-shirt with an image of a...
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Mariachi Reyna reflects on performance with Karol G
During Karol G’s historic Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival headlining set, which was all about female empowerment and Latino pride, one of the most memorable moments was when the Colombian star brought out an all-female mariachi band. h Twelve...
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The high cost of U.S. health care
In announcing its “Great Healthcare Plan” in January, the Trump administration became the latest in a long history of efforts by the U.S. government to rein in the soaring cost of health care. h As a physician and professor studying the intersection of...
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Take advantage of best time to hit the trails
Sunrise is the best time to hit the trails in the greater Palm Springs area, and it’s not just about the toughto-beat-views. It’s because it lines up perfectly with the desert’s ideal climate, lighting and is great for avoiding the crowds. Factor in...
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Snow drought presents climate stress test
Across much of the Western United States, winter 2026 was the year the snow never came. Many ski resorts got by with snowmaking but shut down their winter operations early. Fire officials and water supply managers are worried about summer. Where I...
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A sandy challenge
David McLay Kidd has designed and built famous courses on the coastline of Oregon, on an old potato field in St. Andrews in his native Scotland and in locations as diverse as Hawaii and South Africa. Now Kidd says he’s excited about the chance to...
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HISTORIC WEEKEND 1 AT COACHELLA
Coachella 2026 Weekend 1 wrapped up Sunday night with an historic performance from Karol G. Read more about the weekend highlights and Justin Bieber’s controversial comeback set on 2A and 3A. Above, Karol G performs “Oki Doki” during her headlining set...
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Results from the Desert Pickleball League playoffs
Women's Elite 3.5 Division Playoffs:
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Iconic moments from 25 Coachella fests
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is celebrating its 25th iteration this month, and boy has this annual gathering given us plenty to talk about. What started as a modest idea at the end of the 20th century morphed into the hottest event of...
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Pulling some strings
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival lineup boasts a robust variety of artists, including pop princesses, música urbana stars, moody male performers and a loveable troupe of marionette puppets. h No, you don’t need to get your eyes checked. h...
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‘Open to anybody who needed help’
A Palm Springs-based nonprofit that provides social services to transgender people has filed a civil rights complaint accusing Riverside County of discrimination for withholding $132,000 in federal funding. The county says it withheld the funds because...
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SIGNS OF FESTIVAL SEASON
It's almost time for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, which can only mean one thing: Artist billboards have taken over Interstate 10. As has been tradition for several years, drivers on I-10 east and west can now spot several colorful,...
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Artemis II photos show views before lunar flyby
More breathtaking images released over the weekend from NASA’s Artemis II mission showed both the moon and Earth in all their cosmic glory as four astronauts headed toward our celestial neighbor. The three Americans and one Canadian have captured some...
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EXPANSION STILL UP IN THE AIR
As local officials ramp up their effort to expand the Palm Springs International Airport, questions on how the growth in visitors will impact the community are arising. The $2.2 billion endeavor, meant to facilitate a predicted increase in the number...
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WAGE GAP WIDENS
From manicured golf courses and luxury resorts to internationally attended events like the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, tourism powers much of the Coachella Valley’s economy. h And that economy mostly runs on Latino labor — workers who...
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Public defender shortage ripples across legal system
The Oregon Supreme Court on Feb. 5 issued a ruling that will have a wide impact. More than 1,400 criminal cases had to be dismissed, the justices ruled, due to lack of adequate counsel available for defendants. Like other states, Oregon must provide...
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