California

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It's 'Like Watching History Being Made in Real Time'

Collared female wolf BEY03F is on a historic journey

(Newser) - A 3-year-old gray wolf with a knack for making history has now turned up in Sequoia National Park—the first wolf confirmed there in more than a century. The female, tagged BEY03F, was born into Northern California's Beyem Seyo pack and has roamed hundreds of miles, including a headline-making...

10K Homes Evacuated in Simi Valley as Sandy Fire Rages

Residents clear out as fire crews try to get 1.3K-acre blaze under control

(Newser) - Southern California's first big wildfire of the year blew up fast on Monday, forcing evacuations from more than 10,000 homes in the Simi Valley area as smoke spread across the region, reports the Washington Post . Dubbed the Sandy Fire, the blaze ignited late Monday morning in Ventura County...

65 Years After She Started, Billie Jean King Graduates

Tennis great earns bachelor's of art in history from Cal State LA at age 82

(Newser) - Billie Jean King raised her right arm in triumph, but not for another victory on the tennis court. This time, she was celebrating earning a college degree, 65 years after she first took classes. The 82-year-old sports and equality icon received her bachelor's of art in history from Cal...

California Development to Spare 13K-Year-Old Oak

Deal expands buffer zone in Jurupa Valley, with 54 acres now preserved

(Newser) - One of the world's oldest trees just got a wider personal bubble in suburban Southern California. After years of fights over a massive development in Jurupa Valley, city officials, conservationists, and developer Richland Communities have agreed to expand protections around a gnarled Palmer's oak believed to be roughly 13,...

Elderly Man Lures Back Alleged Scammers, Leading to Arrests
Elderly Man Lures Back Alleged
Scammers, Leading to Arrests
in case you missed it
May 17, 2026 1:58 PM CDT

Elderly Man Lures Back Alleged Scammers, Leading to Arrests

Detectives in California's Ventura County nab suspects after victim reports $25K fraud

(Newser) - The alleged scammers might have gotten away with $25,000, if they hadn't called back for more right as their victim was sitting with detectives. Police in Ventura, California, arrested Shaohua Sun, 39, of Monterey Park, and Yanwen Gu, 40, of Rosemead, after they allegedly ran a scam on...

Judge Bans Kars4Kids Ads in California
Infamous Earworm Is
Now Banned in California
in case you missed it
May 17, 2026 10:27 AM CDT

Infamous Earworm Is Now Banned in California

Orange County Judge puts the kibosh on Kars4Kids ads, citing false advertising

(Newser) - That relentlessly catchy Kars4Kids tune is being silenced in California, at least in its current form. A state judge has ruled that the car-donation charity misled the public about where money from those donations actually goes, ordering the group to overhaul its advertising or get off the air, per SFGate...

Construction Worker's Invention Is Now Cops' 'Secret Weapon'

The Grappler, which launches net from police car bumper, aims to cut down on high-speed chases

(Newser) - Police chasing a fleeing car in Southern California now sometimes reach for something that the Los Angeles Times describes as "a secret weapon that is part grappling gun, part lasso." Riverside County now boasts the first sheriff's department in California to deploy the appropriately named Grappler, a...

Rich Candidate's Payments to Influencers Under Scrutiny

California investigates whether billionaire Tom Steyer's payment strategy violates the rules

(Newser) - Tom Steyer's bid for California governor is under investigation by the state over a relatively new facet of campaigning: the role of influencers. State regulators have opened an inquiry into whether the billionaire Democrat's campaign broke a 2023 disclosure law by paying social media creators to praise him...

California Seeing Huge Spike in Mushroom Poisonings

State has had nearly 50 cases since November

(Newser) - California typically logs a handful of serious mushroom poisonings a year, but it's currently in the midst of what health authorities call an "unprecedented outbreak" of illnesses and deaths. Since November, the California Department of Public Health has documented 47 mushroom poisoning cases and four deaths statewide, reports...

Energy Supplier Has Some Bad News for Lake Tahoe

New source sought for nearly 50K residents, with some pointing the finger at Nevada's data centers

(Newser) - Artificial intelligence isn't just straining power grids in theory: It may be about to leave one of the West's most famous playgrounds scrambling to keep the lights on. Fortune reports that NV Energy will stop supplying most of the electricity used by Lake Tahoe's 49,000 customers...

Vance's Panel Halts Enrollments in Medicare, California Funding

Newsom's office counters Oz's claims

(Newser) - New home health and hospice agencies will have to wait if they want to bill Medicare, Reuters reports. The Trump administration has imposed a nationwide, at least six-month halt on new Medicare enrollments for home health care and hospice providers, citing persistent fraud concerns. The freeze applies only to newcomers...

Cops: HOV Lane Occupants Need to Be 'Actual People'

California driver could face $490 fine for having mannequin in passenger seat

(Newser) - California highway cops say one Bay Area driver will face a hefty fine for having a dummy in their car. Officers pulled over a vehicle Monday after noticing the front-seat "passenger" slumped in a blue hoodie and sun hat didn't seem to have a face, AFP reports. The...

ELF Cosmetics Co-Founder Ditches Fortune to Be Priest

Scott-Vincent Borba says giving away his millions has brought him unexpected joy

(Newser) - The man who helped put $3 mascara in drugstores is trading in his luxury cars for a clerical collar in California. Scott-Vincent Borba, 52, co-founder of ELF Cosmetics, is set to be ordained as a Catholic priest on May 23 in his hometown of Visalia under the Diocese of Fresno,...

Teen Whose Remains Were Found in 1993 Is Finally IDed

California authorities say questions remain on what happened to Joseph Patrick Reardon

(Newser) - Three decades after leg bones turned up at a Southern California dump site, investigators finally know the victim's name. SFGate reports that DNA testing has identified the remains, found in 1993 in Camarillo, as those of Joseph Patrick Reardon, born in Fresno in 1970, according to authorities in Ventura...

In US First, California Giving Newborns Free Diapers

Newsom announces program to give families hundreds of diapers when leaving hospital

(Newser) - California families welcoming newborns will soon receive hundreds of free diapers before leaving the hospital under a first-in-the-nation program being announced Friday by Gov. Gavin Newsom. During the program's first year, it will be offered at around 70 hospitals that handle about a quarter of births in the state...

Final California Governor Debate Gets Personal

Sharp personal clash comes amid talk of housing, insurance, billionaire tax

(Newser) - The final televised debate before California's June 2 gubernatorial primary put seven candidates on stage in Los Angeles on Wednesday, but produced no clear breakout moment. Instead, it underscored deep divides over housing, taxes on the ultra-wealthy, and immigration, while highlighting personal tensions that could shape the final stretch of...

Over 400 Animals Rescued From Neglect at California Sanctuary

Rescued horses, cats, and dogs showed signs of severe neglect, Humane Society says

(Newser) - California authorities say a San Diego County ranch that billed itself as a haven for animals instead became the site of what may be the region's largest-ever neglect case. More than 400 animals were removed last week from Villa Chardonnay, a 40-acre "forever home" sanctuary in Julian that...

Calif. Takes 'Major Enforcement Action' Against State Farm

Regulators allege widespread claim delays, underpayments after 2025 LA-area wildfires

(Newser) - California's biggest home insurer is now facing one of the state's toughest crackdowns in decades. The Washington Post reports that regulators have launched what they call a "major enforcement action" against State Farm over its handling of claims tied to last year's Palisades and Eaton fires...

California's Bad Year for Rattlesnake Bites Continues

Latest case in Simi Valley is Ventura County's 7th bite since March

(Newser) - A woman out for a hike in southern California ended up needing an airlift after crossing paths with a rattlesnake, ABC 7 reports. Ventura County Fire officials say she was bitten on the ankle Thursday afternoon in the Wood Ranch area of Simi Valley and flown to a hospital, where...

Her Son's E-Motorcycle Crash Could Send Her to Prison for Years

Prosecutors say 14-year-old hit, fatally injured 81-year-old veteran while doing wheelies

(Newser) - A California woman has been charged with manslaughter after an 81-year-old man who was struck by her teen son on an e-motorcycle died from his injuries, prosecutors say. On April 16, Tommi Jo Mejer's 14-year-old son was riding a Surron e-motorcycle and doing wheelies when he hit Ed Ashman,...

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