Category Archives: California

Gavin Newsom likens Israel to ‘an apartheid state’ and decries war on Iran

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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.

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US supreme court blocks California privacy protections for trans students

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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.

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LA superintendent placed on leave after FBI raid on home and district office

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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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States sue Trump administration over changes to vaccine recommendations for children

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States call move an illegal threat to public health and argue CDC puts children’s lives at risk with new guidance

More than a dozen states, including California, sued the Trump administration over its rollback of vaccine recommendations for children, calling the move an illegal threat to public health.

The states argue that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) put children’s lives at risk when it announced last month that it would stop recommending all children get immunized against the flu, rotavirus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, some forms of meningitis and RSV. Under the new guidance, which was met with criticism from medical experts, protections against those diseases are recommended only for certain groups deemed high risk or when doctors recommend them in what’s called “shared decision-making.”

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Army veteran sues federal government after ICE detains him for three days

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US citizen George Retes was held without access to family, an attorney, or information about the charges against him

An army veteran detained by federal immigration agents in southern California during his work commute in July has filed a lawsuit against the federal government.

According to the lawsuit, filed on Wednesday with the help of the nonprofit law firm Institute for Justice, George Retes was held in a detention center for three days without access to his family, an attorney, or any information about the charges against him, in what the suit argues was an unconstitutional detention.

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Winter storm brings ‘very heavy’ snow and more rain to California

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Avalanche warning for Sierra Nevadas while southern California experiences heavy rain and flooding

California is being blanketed by a winter storm that has brought the coldest air mass in three years to the state – along with heavy snowfall, road closures and power outages.

The University of California Berkeley’s Central Sierra Snow Lab, near Donner Pass, reported 28in of snow on Tuesday, with another 3ft expected in the next two days. I-80 is closed from Colfax to the Nevada state line due to snow.

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Family members identify victims of shooting at toddler’s birthday party in California

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Dead included children, aged eight, nine and 14, and a 21-year-old man who were shot at a banquet hall

Details are beginning to emerge about the victims of the shooting at a toddler’s birthday party in Stockton, California, that left four people dead and at least 11 injured over the weekend.

The dead included children, aged eight, nine and 14, and a 21-year-old man who were shot at a banquet hall in the Central valley city where they had gathered with at least 100 other people to celebrate a two-year-old’s birthday.

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California police plead for details on shooting at child’s party with suspect unknown

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Search continues after four people, including three children, were killed and 11 were injured in Stockton

Authorities in California urged witnesses of a deadly shooting at a child’s birthday party to come forward as the search for a suspect stretched into another day.

Three children ages eight, nine and 14 and a 21-year-old were killed on Saturday when gunfire broke out at a banquet hall in Stockton, in northern California. At least 100 people were gathered at the celebration, said the San Joaquin county sheriff, Patrick Withrow. Detectives believe the gunfire continued outside and there may have been multiple shooters.

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California police search for suspect who killed four including three children at family party

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Victims who died in Stockton attack reportedly between ages eight and 21, while 11 others were wounded

Police are searching for the suspect who killed four people, including three children, and injured 11 in a shooting at a family gathering in Stockton, California, on Saturday night – and they are appealing to the public for any tips people may have.

“If you have surveillance footage, if you’re a local business here, if you’re in the area, live in the area, or maybe you’ve heard rumors – please contact the sheriff’s office,” said Heather Brent, a spokesperson for the San Joaquin county sheriff’s office.

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‘Living an American nightmare’: LA hearing details lasting trauma of ICE raids

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Southern California residents shared disastrous effects of Trump’s immigration crackdown at a congressional hearing

The Trump administration’s ICE raids across southern California have had disastrous effects on the region’s immigrants and swept up US citizens in the process, community leaders and residents said at a congressional hearing in Los Angeles on Monday.

Andrea Velez, an American arrested by US immigration officials over the summer, described how she was accosted by masked agents while on her way to work. She said she was charged with assaulting an officer and held for two days in a federal detention center, where detainees had to pay for a cup in order to have water. The charges against her were ultimately dismissed due to what her attorney described as a lack of evidence.

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‘Living an American nightmare’: LA hearing details lasting trauma of ICE raids

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Southern California residents shared disastrous effects of Trump’s immigration crackdown at a congressional hearing

The Trump administration’s ICE raids across southern California have had disastrous effects on the region’s immigrants and swept up US citizens in the process, community leaders and residents said at a congressional hearing in Los Angeles on Monday.

Andrea Velez, an American arrested by US immigration officials over the summer, described how she was accosted by masked agents while on her way to work. She said she was charged with assaulting an officer and held for two days in a federal detention center, where detainees had to pay for a cup in order to have water. The charges against her were ultimately dismissed due to what her attorney described as a lack of evidence.

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Judge orders Trump administration to provide bond hearings to detained migrants

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District judge in California says detainees who were already living in the US are legally entitled to a bond hearing

A federal judge has ruled that Donald Trump’s administration cannot impose mandatory detention on thousands of migrants held by US immigration authorities without first giving them an opportunity to seek release on bond.

US district judge Sunshine Sykes in Riverside, California, certified a nationwide class of individuals who were already living in the United States when they were detained and are legally entitled to a hearing to determine whether they can be released on bond while their deportation cases proceed.

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‘Queen of the Zoo’: Gramma, tortoise who lived through two world wars, dies aged 141

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Gramma came to San Diego Zoo from Bronx Zoo in 1928 or 1931 and lived through 20 US presidents

After more than a century of munching on her favorite foods of romaine lettuce and cactus fruit, beloved Galapagos tortoise Gramma, the oldest resident of the San Diego Zoo, has died.

Gramma was born in her native habitat and was estimated to be about 141 years old, zoo officials said. She died on 20 November.

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First rebuilt home in wake of LA fires celebrated in Pacific Palisades

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Fire-resistant upgrades are included in replacement structure less than a year after fires destroyed 13,000 homes

Less than a year after the Palisades fire destroyed nearly 7,000 structures in Los Angeles, the first completed rebuilt home is being celebrated in Pacific Palisades.

In a statement, mayor Karen Bass confirmed that the Los Angeles department of building and safety had issued the certificate on Friday, certifying that the home had passed inspection and was ready for occupancy.

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Bay Area’s poverty soared, data shows, as California’s top earners saw windfalls

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Poverty rate jumped from 12.2% to 16.3% in 2023 in state, Tipping Point Community report finds

Newly released data found that the San Francisco Bay Area’s poverty rate soared from 12.2% to 16.3% in 2023, with an approximate total 1.02 million residents in this six-county region considered impoverished by year’s end.

Another 12.5% of residents – about 790,000 people – hovered on the brink of poverty, meaning that about three in 10 Bay Area residents struggled to cover basic expenses.

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Man charged with murder of Oakland football coach ordered to stay in jail without bail

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Cedric Irving Jr charged over death of ‘legend’ John Beam, who was shot and killed on Laney College campus last week

The 27-year-old man charged with murder in the fatal shooting death of revered Oakland college football coach John Beam made his first appearance in court on Tuesday and was ordered to remain in jail without bail.

Cedric Irving Jr, who does not have a criminal record, was charged with murder and use of a gun during the crime, Alameda county district attorney Ursula Jones Dickson said at a news conference. He did not enter a plea on Tuesday and is scheduled to do so at a hearing on 16 December.

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Child among seven dead after atmospheric river storm drenches California

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Lingering thunderstorms pose risk of mudslides in areas around Los Angeles recently ravaged by wildfires

A powerful atmospheric river weather system has mostly moved through California but not before causing at least seven deaths and dousing much of the state.

Among the dead was a seven-year-old girl who was swept into the ocean by waves estimated up to 20ft at a state beach on Friday. The girl’s father, 39-year-old Yuji Hu, of Calgary, Alberta, was killed while trying to save his daughter.

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Alice Wong, ‘luminary’ writer and disability rights activist, dies aged 51

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Daughter of immigrants advocated for people with disabilities to have full autonomy over their lives

Alice Wong, a writer and disability rights activist who was born with muscular dystrophy and whose independence and writing inspired others, has died. She was 51.

Wong died Friday at a hospital in San Francisco due to an infection, said Sandy Ho, a close friend who has been in touch with Wong’s family.

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Suspect arrested in shooting death of beloved Oakland football coach

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Cedric Irving Jr, 27, is alumnus of high school where John Beam taught before gaining fame on Netflix’s Last Change U

A 27-year-old Skyline high school alumnus, frequently seen lingering near Laney College, has been taken into custody in connection with the fatal shooting of Oakland football coach John Beam.

Police identified the suspect as Cedric Irving Jr, who was apprehended before dawn at the San Leandro, California, Bart station, ending an urgent search for the individual believed responsible.

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Coach featured in Netflix’s Last Chance U dies after Oakland campus shooting

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Mayor Barbara Lee calls John Beam ‘a man who dedicated himself to building up the young people of this city’

A US football coach who starred in the Netflix documentary Last Chance U, about struggling college teams, has died after being shot on campus, authorities in California said.

John Beam, director of athletics at Oakland’s Laney College, was hurt in a Thursday lunchtime incident at the school’s field house, its downtown sports training complex. He later died, the Oakland police department said on Friday.

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