NEW ORLEANS — California’s ban on selling alligator products probably violates federal laws and the state cannot enforce it while various legal challenges remain in court, a federal judge has ruled. The state of Louisiana and companies in California, Florida and Texas are suing the state of California over its...
GM to Run Robot Cars in San Francisco Without Human Backups
DETROIT — General Motors' Cruise autonomous vehicle unit says it will pull the human backup drivers from its vehicles in San Francisco by the end of the year. Cruise CEO Dan Ammann said in a statement that the company got a permit Thursday from California's Department of Motor Vehicles to...
Child Molester Serving Life Term Killed in California Prison
SACRAMENTO — An inmate serving a life sentence for child molesting has been killed at a Northern California state prison, officials said Thursday, and his cellmate is considered the suspect. Deandre Austin, 46, was found unresponsive Wednesday evening in his cell at Mule Creek State Prison in Ione, southeast of...
California Braces for Renewed Fire Threat From Windy Weather
SAN FRANCISCO — Dry, windy weather posed an extreme wildfire risk Wednesday in Northern California, where massive blazes already have destroyed hundreds of homes and killed or injured dozens of people. The National Weather Service issued a red-flag warning for extreme fire danger from 5 a.m. through Friday morning. With...
With Federal Aid Stalled, No Help for California Budget Cuts
SACRAMENTO — When state lawmakers in July cut $150 million from the California court system, they offered this hope to stressed-out administrators: The cuts would vanish if Congress sent the state more money before Oct. 15. Riverside County Superior Court officials were optimistic. They stopped buying things and halted all...
In Latest Climate Move, Newsom Calls for Keeping 30% of State Land Open
LOS ANGELES — Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order Wednesday to protect nearly a third of California’s land and coastal waters in his latest effort to fight climate change that he has blamed for recent record-breaking wildfires. He directed state agencies to pursue actions that will use the state's...
Group Sues to Block California Boardroom Diversity Law
LOS ANGELES — A conservative legal group announced Monday that it sued to block California’s first-in-the-nation law that requires hundreds of corporations based in the state to have directors from racial or sexual minorities on their boards. Judicial Watch claimed in the suit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court that...
This Is Not the Time to Propose More Tax Increases
This is a year most Californians would like to forget. Plans have been scrapped, the new “normal” is anything but normal, and we all know a coffee shop, deli, bar or restaurant that has closed permanently or may not survive the next six months. With 2.5 million Californians unemployed, many...
California Milestone: 4 Million Acres Burned in Wildfires
SAN FRANCISCO — California is poised to hit a fearsome milestone: 4 million acres burned this year by wildfires that have killed 30 people and incinerated hundreds of homes in what is already the worst fire season on record. Flames have scorched an area larger than Connecticut and fire crews...
Ban on Chokeholds Among California Criminal Justice Reforms
SACRAMENTO — Spurred by the slayings of George Floyd and other Black people in police custody across the country, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday banned certain chokeholds as he approved several new laws designed to increase oversight of the criminal justice system. But amid national calls to defund the police,...