State investigated claims of bear attacks on cars, unconvincingly backed up by video of person in bear suit
When it comes to the California department of insurance, don’t poke the bear.
That is the lesson three individuals in Los Angeles learned recently when they were sentenced to jail time for an insurance fraud scheme in which they staged attacks on high-end vehicles by having a person dress up in a bear costume – then pretending that person was an actual bear.
Continue reading...Democratic representative from California has suspended gubernatorial campaign and resigned from Congress
The US Department of Justice (DoJ) has opened an investigation into Eric Swalwell following his resignation from Congress, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The news of a federal investigation comes days after the Democratic representative from California stepped down due to multiple allegations of sexual misconduct.
Continue reading...Animals were used legally as fishing bait, sheriff’s office confirms after incident shook locals in Guemes Island
A Washington state sheriff’s office says it has solved the mystery of nearly two dozen dead canines who washed ashore recently.
The animals were foxes being used legally as bait for fishing operations, the Skagit county sheriff’s office said on Friday.
Continue reading...Attorney general says court ruling against Chad Bianco ‘reins in the destabilizing actions of a rogue sheriff’
The California supreme court on Wednesday ordered a county sheriff and gubernatorial candidate who seized more than half a million 2025 election ballots to pause his investigation into election fraud allegations while the judges review the legal challenge against it.
The order came after the California attorney general, Rob Bonta, last month asked the court to step in, arguing the sheriff has no authority over election materials. A voting rights group is also challenging the ballot seizure.
Continue reading...Two fatalities reported in southern California so far, with warmer spring bringing reptiles out on trails earlier
A sixth person has been bitten by a rattlesnake in southern California’s Ventura county in just under a month, two-thirds of the number of people bitten in all of 2025.
Andrew Dowd, a Ventura county fire department spokesperson, said paramedics responded to a call on Sunday for a man who had been bitten by a rattlesnake. The victim said he had been bitten near California State University Channel Islands.
Continue reading...Jackie and Shadow’s eaglets emerged from eggs on Easter weekend in Big Bear Valley as watched by thousands online
Over Easter weekend, thousands of people tuned in to celebrate something spectacular unfolding 145 feet up a pine tree in southern California’s San Bernardino national forest – the hatchings of two bald eagle chicks.
Two eaglets were born to Jackie and Shadow, the southern California pair that have become avian celebrities thanks to the webcam that has livestreamed their activities since 2018.
Continue reading...Springs fire, which had spread quickly by windy conditions, at least 45% contained on Saturday, say fire officials
California fire protection crews on Saturday were getting a handle on the wildfire that broke out the previous evening in Riverside county, fanned by high winds that quickly spread the flames to more than 4,100 acres.
The Springs fire, about 64 miles (103km) east of Los Angeles, was at least 45% contained on Saturday, a fire department spokesperson said. It was 25% contained late on Friday evening.
Continue reading...Footage shows a man windsurfing being forcefully thrown from his board as a whale breaches off the California coast
An unsuspecting windsurfer collided with a gray whale on the San Francisco Bay in a startling and rare encounter captured on video.
The footage shows the moment the surfer is forcefully thrown from his board as a gray whale breaches off the California coast, plunging him into the water.
Continue reading...Lawmakers earlier passed bill to rename 31 March holiday following sexual abuse allegations against labor leader
California governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation Thursday renaming Cesar Chavez Day to Farmworkers Day in the wake of shocking allegations that the labor leader sexually abused women and young girls.
The bill, passed by the state senate earlier on Thursday, authorized the renaming ahead of the state holiday on 31 March. The state has observed the holiday honoring Chavez, who in the 1960s built a major farm-worker labor rights movement California’s agricultural heartland, for more than two decades.
Continue reading...Panel denies attorney general’s bid after Riverside county sheriff Chad Bianco seized 650,000 special-election ballots
A three-judge panel has denied a filing by California’s attorney general, Rob Bonta, seeking a court order to stop the Riverside county sheriff’s department from continuing its recount of ballots from the November 2025 special election.
The LA Times reported that Bonta filed a petition with the fourth appellate district on Monday, writing that “the sheriff’s misguided investigation threatens to sow distrust and jeopardize public confidence” in upcoming elections.
Continue reading...Panel denies attorney general’s bid after Riverside county sheriff Chad Bianco seized 650,000 special-election ballots
A three-judge panel has denied a filing by California’s attorney general, Rob Bonta, seeking a court order to stop the Riverside county sheriff’s department from continuing its recount of ballots from the November 2025 special election.
The LA Times reported that Bonta filed a petition with the fourth appellate district on Monday, writing that “the sheriff’s misguided investigation threatens to sow distrust and jeopardize public confidence” in upcoming elections.
Continue reading...Experts say brutal temperatures in west threaten to melt sparse snowpack – and warn hot, dry conditions here to stay
A stunning heatwave that shattered records in the US west is threatening to rapidly melt the sparse snowpack and ramp up wildfire risks in the seasons ahead.
March has already been historically hot, but the early onset of summer weather across the region may be here to stay. There’s little reprieve in forecasts, which show more heat records may fall this spring.
Continue reading...Cheddar cheese from California-based Raw Farm identified as ‘likely source’ of infections across multiple states
Cheese from the country’s largest raw milk distributor have been linked to a multistate E coli outbreak.
Raw cheddar cheese from the California-based company Raw Farm has been identified as the “likely source” of several E coli O157:H7 infections in California, Florida and Texas, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), PBS News reported, though no Raw Farm products have tested positive for E coli.
Continue reading...The American propelled ahead of frontrunner Michael Kimani Kamau by a fraction of a second
In the final moments of the Los Angeles marathon last weekend, the announcers were already narrating frontrunner Michael Kimani Kamau’s finish when Nathan Martin suddenly propelled forward, shocking newscasters and spectators.
The 36-year-old Martin prevailed in a single stride, stepping across the finish line an almost imperceptible fraction of a second before Kamau and becoming the first Black American to win the contest. He had challenged himself in the final miles of the race to keep putting his all into it, despite physical exhaustion, and finished the 26.2-mile race in 2 hours, 11 minutes and 18 seconds.
Continue reading...Musician behind Vietnam war protest hit I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-To-Die Rag dead from Parkinson’s complications, his wife confirms
“Country Joe” McDonald, a hippy rock star of the 1960s whose protest track I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-To-Die Rag rebuked the Vietnam war and became a highlight of the Woodstock music festival, died on Sunday. He was 84.
McDonald died in Berkeley, California. His death from complications of Parkinson’s disease was reported by Kathy McDonald, his wife of 43 years, in a statement issued by his publicist.
Continue reading...California state superintendent says mother and sons arrested during ICE check-in and deported to Colombia
California’s superintendent is calling for the return of a hearing-impaired six-year-old after he, his mother and his five-year-old sibling were detained on Tuesday while reporting for their check-in at an ICE office in San Francisco and deported to Colombia.
Lesly Rodriguez Gutierrez and her sons were arrested during their visit to ICE’s Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (Isap), said Alameda County Immigration Legal and Education Partnership (ACILEP). A relative who was waiting outside for Gutierrez and her sons was unable to hand off the assistive devices necessary for the six-year-old, who is deaf and has a cochlear implant.
Continue reading...Former US representative who broke barriers as first woman president of state senate dies after five-month cancer battle
Former US representative Colleen Hanabusa, who was the first woman to serve as president of the Hawaii state senate, has died. She was 74.
Hanabusa died early on Friday after a five-month battle with cancer, said Mike Formby, her friend and former chief of staff in the US House.
Continue reading...California governor, promoting his memoir in LA, was asked if US should rethink military partnership with Israel
Gavin Newsom, the Democratic California governor, likened Israel to “an apartheid state” on Tuesday in comments sharply critical of the country’s joint war with the US against Iran.
Newsom, seen as a frontrunner for his party’s presidential nomination in 2028, made the comment during an appearance in Los Angeles to promote his book, Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery. He was asked if the US should rethink its military partnership with Israel.
Continue reading...State laws had limited sharing of information with parents about gender identity of trans students in public schools
The US supreme court has decided to block a series of California laws that can limit the sharing of information with parents about the gender identity of transgender students in public schools. This ruling marks a victory for parents who challenged these protections on religious and due process grounds.
The emergency request was granted on Monday and the decision was made along party lines, with the three liberal justices dissenting.
Continue reading...Trustees unanimously voted to place Alberto Carvalho on leave and appointed Andres Chait in the interim
Two days after the FBI searched the headquarters of the Los Angeles unified school district and the home of its superintendent, the district board of education placed Alberto Carvalho on administrative leave.
The board met in closed session meetings for several hours on Thursday and Friday to discuss Carvalho’s employment with the nation’s second largest school district. The trustees unanimously voted Friday to place Carvalho on paid leave, and appointed another high ranking district official, Andres Chait, to serve as interim superintendent.
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