House GOP guts ethics office, starts on conservative agenda

House Republicans voted to rein in the power of the independent ethics office that was initiated in 2008 after Congress members went to jail for corruption. The decision to gut the Office of Congressional Ethics was made on late Monday, without any notice or debate on the subject.

DMV licensed 800,000 undocumented immigrants under 2-year-old law

In this file photo, Raul Ordonez, 23, of San Rafael, second from left, takes the touch-screen exam as he goes through the process of getting his California driver's license under AB 60 at the DMV office in San Jose, Calif., on Jan. 31, 2015. On the day that California officials implemented a controversial law that allows undocumented residents to obtain driver licenses, DMV offices throughout the state were packed with immigrants looking to take advantage of the opportunity.

Death penalty falls to new low as voters seek resurgence

Use of the death penalty in the United States fell to a historic low in 2016, even as voters in three states passed ballot initiatives in support of capital punishment, according to a year-end report from the Death Penalty Information Center . Thirty death sentences are expected to be imposed by the end of the year - a 39 percent decrease from 2015 - marking the lowest number of executions in a single year since 1972, the beginning of a four-year moratorium on capital punishment.

How anti-illegal immigration activists from California won and lost this November

In Washington, D.C., they now have a president who shares their views on border security and the need to deport undocumented immigrants. But in their home state, legislative leaders are vowing to fight Donald Trump and protect those in this country illegally.

There Is Only One Way To Stop Trump

Blue America hasn't spent precious time since the election asking you to sign petitions for impractical symbolic appeals to the electoral college, or to waste your money on an un-winnable, pointless Senate race in Louisiana. We are very focused on what can be done-- politically-- to break the back on Trumpism.

Schwarzenegger: OK Trump is still a Apprenticea producer

Arnold Schwarzenegger, star of the new version of "Celebrity Apprentice," is unfazed that President-elect Donald Trump has retained a producer's stake in the show. Schwarzenegger said Friday that it's just business, comparable to his situation when he became California's governor and retained a screen credit and kept earning royalties for the "Terminator" movie.

Colleges pushed to note sexual misconduct on transcripts

Colleges that expel students whom they suspect of having committed sexual assault are being asked to go further by specifying the reason for expulsion on their transcripts. Victims' advocates say it's critical to ensuring such students don't end up on other campuses without their new schools knowing the potential risk and to holding them accountable, long term, so they can't just move on with a clean slate.

Shutdown averted, Senate backs stop-gap spending bill

With less than hour to spare, the Senate late Friday backed legislation averting a government shutdown as coal-state Democrats retreated on long-term health care benefits for retired miners and promised a renewed fight for the working class next year. The 63-36 vote sent the stop-gap spending bill to President Barack Obama, who signed the measure early Saturday morning.

Xavier Becerra to leave Congress for California attorney general post

Rep. Xavier Becerra announced Thursday he would be leaving Congress to serve as California's attorney general, a move that takes the senior Democrat out of Washington but not off the front lines of the battle against the Trump administration. California Gov. Jerry Brown named Becerra to the spot Thursday opened up by the departure of Kamala Harris, who won a US Senate seat this November.

John Garamendi

Fifteen of California's 53 congressional districts are expected to see competitive races in the November election. Among the most interesting congressional races: Rep. John Garamendi, D-Walnut Grove, faces Republican Dr. N. Eugene Cleek, a surgeon and farmer from Orland who has received the National Republican Congressional Committee's "Young Guns" label and support.

Doug LaMalfa

California's $64 billion high-speed rail plan lacks reliable funding sources and is in danger of ending up with only one line that doesn't connect to San Francisco or Los Angeles, members of a Congressional panel said Monday during a hearing. Proceeds from a state environment program that is supposed to help fund the project were far below expectations and private funding for the train has yet to materialize, Rep. Doug LaMalfa, a California Republican, said.

Obama urged to protect immigration in his remaining term

The Obama Administration should protect those "dreamers," who were brought to the United States illegally but later granted legal temporary status to stay, a U.S. congresswoman said on Tuesday. The Obama Administration in the remaining term should take legal action to prevent those who enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals , and Deferred Action for Parents of American and Lawful Permanent Residents programs from being deported, said Judy Chu, the first Chinese American congresswoman.

Statea s climate rules may be threatened by a Trump presidency

After eight years in which California had a partner in President Barack Obama in expanding renewable energy and electric vehicles, signing international deals and writing tougher pollution laws to the consternation of industry and Republicans, the election of Donald Trump now sets up the Golden State as a land in environmental exile. Experts say it's about to become a country within a country, moving sharply in the opposite direction of the White House and Congress on climate change and environmental policy, as California sets its own agenda with sympathetic states and countries.

Donald Trump Election Gives Boost To Longshot California Secession Plan

NOVEMBER 09: Republican president-elect Donald Trump delivers his acceptance speech during his election night event at the New York Hilton Midtown in the early morning hours of November 9, 2016 in New York City. Donald Trump defeated Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton to become the 45th president of the United States.

California May Veer Left in Votes on Bullets, Tax and Executions

California voters, who've watched as Massachusetts and Colorado leaped ahead on causes such as gay marriage and legal marijuana, could restore its role as a laboratory of liberal policy-making with The push to regain California's reputation as the nation's progressive stronghold is being aided by billionaire hedge-fund founder Tom Steyer, who has poured more than $17 million into five of the 17 questions on the ballot next week. The measures also may be aided by a 2011 state law that puts initiatives before voters only in November, when turnout among Democrats is highest.

Pentagon Forcing Vets To Repay Reenlistment Bonuses

In the first of what could be the start of what could be a national public relations nightmare, California lawmakers from both sides of the aisle piled on the Pentagon after reports it is forcing vets to repay enlistment bonuses improperly paid to thousands of National Guard soldiers a decade ago. Nearly 10,000 California National Guard soldiers have been ordered to repay huge enlistment bonuses a decade after signing up to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan, a newspaper reported Saturday.