California’s primary on Tuesday will set the stage for a November election where a handful of U.S. House seats in the Los Angeles area and Central Valley will help determine which party controls Congress. Democrats dominate California politics but the Republican Party retains pockets of strength in a sprinkle...
Employers Nervously Hope Teens Jump at Summer Job Offers
Mary Jane Riva, CEO of the Pizza Factory, has a cautionary message for her customers this summer: Prepare to wait longer for your Hawaiian pie or calzone. The Pizza Factory's 100 West Coast locations are desperately short of workers. With about 12 employees per store, they're barely half-staffed —...
Legislature’s Bid to Create Legal Drug Injection Sites Advances
The state Legislature moved a step closer Wednesday to creating sites where people could legally use drugs under supervision designed to save them from dying if they overdose, over the objections of opponents who said the state would be enabling dangerous and illegal activity. The full Assembly will now...
Fresno Vocational School Students Get Debt Canceled in Notorious Fraud Case
Hundreds of thousands of students who attended the for-profit Corinthian Colleges chain will automatically get their federal student loans canceled, the Biden administration announced Wednesday, a move that aims to bring closure to one of the most notorious cases of fraud in American higher education. Corinthian operated Heald College...
After Decades in Prison, California Man Declared Innocent in Gang Murder
A California man who spent 21 years in prison for a gang murder he said he didn't commit has been declared factually innocent by a judge, authorities announced Wednesday. Alexander Torres appeared at a news conference with Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón and members of the California...
Depp Awarded $10M, Heard $2M in Split Libel Lawsuit Verdict
FAIRFAX, Va. — A jury awarded Johnny Depp more than $10 million on Wednesday in his libel lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard, vindicating his stance that Heard fabricated claims that she was abused by Depp before and during their brief marriage. The jury also found Heard was defamed by...
With Roe in Doubt, States Weigh Letting Nurses Do Abortions
Abortion rights advocates saw a problem: There's a limited pool of medical providers who can legally perform abortions. In some states, one solution has been to authorize more providers beyond just physicians. But to allow other providers — such as advanced practice registered nurses, physician assistants and certified nurse...
West Promises Ukraine More, Better Arms to Fend off Russia
The U.S. and Germany pledged to send Ukraine some of the most advanced weapons yet for shooting down aircraft and knocking out artillery as Russian forces waging a grinding offensive in the east Wednesday closed in on capturing a key city. Germany said Wednesday it will supply Ukraine with...
Uvalde School Police Chief Says He’s Still Cooperating
The school district police chief who served as on-site commander during last week's deadly shooting in Uvalde, Texas, said Wednesday that he's talking daily with investigators, contradicting claims from state law enforcement that he has stopped cooperating. In a brief interview, Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo told CNN...
California Child Abuse Database Lacks Half of County Reports
More than half of substantiated California child abuse reports in recent years were not in the state's database, which could result in child abusers being allowed to care for children, state auditors said Tuesday. The unreliability of the database “puts children at risk,” auditors said. The database is used...