#california

#california

Trump administration officials announced a sprawling probe into benefits fraud across California on Friday, citing what they called a massive, coordinated effort by "foreign actors" to fleece government healthcare to the tune of billions of dollars. The crackdown appeared to center on bogus hospice providers first exposed by The Times in 2020 and later investigated by California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta. "Eighteen percent of the whole country's home healthcare billing is coming out of Los Angeles County - how is that possible?" said Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. "It's about $3.5 billion just in L.A. County for hospice and home healthcare."

A panel of the San Francisco-based ninth US circuit court of appeals sided 2-1 with a gun owner in ruling that the state's prohibition against open carry in counties with more than 200,000 people violated the US constitution's second amendment right to keep and bear arms. About 95% of the population in California, which has had some of the nation's strictest gun-control laws, live in counties of that size.

An estimated 325,000 Californians will have to replace their REAL IDs because of a Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) software error. The department says a review of its data systems identified some legal immigrants who were issued REAL IDs that do not expire at the same time as their authorization to remain in the country. The DMV is sending notices in the coming weeks and months to the people impacted about the steps they need to follow to remain in federal compliance, and it is waiving fees to reissue the IDs and expediting the process.

Most monarchs live just a few weeks, but the super generation that overwinters in California lives six to nine months. For much of the year, the butterflies are solitary, but they cluster together at overwintering sites, sometimes by the thousands. Monarchs use the groves to rest, but when it's warm enough during the dayabove around 55 degrees Fahrenheitthey break out of those clusters to search for nectar.

Delta is under an updated flood advisory which was issued by the National Weather Service on Wednesday at 9:45 p.m. The advisory is in effect until Thursday Dec. 25, at 9 p.m. The NWS Sacramento CA said, Flooding caused by excessive rainfall is expected. Minor flooding in low-lying and poor drainage areas. Water over roadways, according to the NWS. Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles.

During the five days he spent in Brazil, Newsom described Donald Trump as an invasive species and condemned his rollback of policies aimed at reducing emissions and expanding renewable energy. Newsom, long considered a presidential hopeful, argued that, as the US retreated, California would step up in its place as a stable, reliable climate leader and partner. Among the talking points he used to demonstrate California's leadership was its progress on renewable energy and the battery capacity needed to store that power.

Established in 1946, Fosters Freeze was the first fast food restaurant in California, and you can still visit 38 locations today. McDonald's was founded in 1940 in California. However it wouldn't be until 1948 that they revamped the restaurant into a fast food format by adopting what they called a Speedee Service System. Likewise, In-N-Out didn't show up on the scene until 1948, meaning Fosters Freeze had a little time to perfect the idea before the more popular chains caught on.

One fire appears to have been caused by a spark from old power lines, the other allegedly started by an Uber driver with a fascination with flames. In the end, the Eaton and Palisades fires destroyed more than 16,000 homes, businesses and other structures and left 31 people dead. They were the second and third most destructive wildfires in California history - eclipsed only by the Camp fire that leveled the town of Paradise in 2018, destroying more than 18,000 structures and killing at least 85 people.

As long as this dangerous material remains available and is purchased and used in California, it's inevitable that people will continue to be exposed and die,

To judge the burden of overuse of the plastic cards powering your wallet, the number of days of work required to pay off common outstanding credit card debts was calculated. This math says that a typical Californian card balance is equivalent to eight days' worth of the average wage. That ties Connecticut for the fourth-lowest burden among the states. Californians' credit card debt is also below the median 9.9-day burden across 50 states. Only New York (6.3 days), Massachusetts (6.8), and Washington state (7.9) were better.

President Donald Trump's on Thursday signed an executive order that aims to discourage state governments from regulating artificial intelligence and urges Congress to pass a law preempting such regulations. The order is likely to hit hardest in California, which since 2016 has passed more laws to regulate artificial intelligence than any other state, according to a Stanford report from earlier this year. California is also home to the world's leading AI companies, including Anthropic, Google, Nvidia, and OpenAI.

Vega Farms Inc., based in Dixon, issued the recall on Dec. 5 for its branded eggs sold in 12-count cartons and 30-count flats, CPDH officials said in a notice. The affected products, sold in the Sacramento and Davis areas, carry the handler code 2136 and include items supplied to restaurants and farmers markets. The recall covers cartons and flats marked with Sell By dates of Dec. 22, 2025, and earlier.

"Licenses to operate a massive, 80,000-pound truck are being issued to dangerous foreign drivers - often times (sic) illegally. This is a direct threat to the safety of every family on the road,"

China is flooding the zone and will dominate in the next great global industry,

"Losing a Head Start program has detrimental effects not just on children and families, but also has immense ripple effects on the community," said Melanee Cottrill, executive director of Head Start California. "Head Start is far more than a safe place for children to learn and grow - it's a community hub ... The negative effect on regional employment and the local economy would be felt many times over."

A 25-year-old police officer was struck and killed after she stopped to help a motorist in an overturned vehicle on a San Diego freeway on Monday night, authorities said. La Mesa Police Officer Lauren Craven was on her way back to La Mesa from a jail around 10:30 p.m. when she came across the vehicle on Interstate 8 and stopped to assist, according to a statement from police. After exiting her vehicle to help, she was hit by another driver.

In a pair of lawsuits filed Wednesday and Thursday, Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, the California Public Utilities Commission, and representatives from nearly two dozen other states and Washington, D.C., accused the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of unlawfully terminating the Solar for All Program - a move they say "denies states of critical funds they were depending on to increase access to solar energy in low-income and disadvantaged communities nationwide." The program was awarded to 60 recipients including states, tribes, regions and nonprofits under the Biden administration, and would have delivered residential solar projects to more than 900,000 households nationwide.

ration insulin or go into debt to stay alive.

In response to the scourge of mass shootings that have helped define the 21st century in the United States, lawmakers in California passed a landmark red-flag law that would allow authorities to disarm those whose threatening behavior might boil over into deadly violence. It's been about a decade since gun-violence restraining orders were enabled by California law, but their use is still middling in the state, according to data from the California Department of Justice.

Back when TV commercials were something people timed their bathroom breaks to, you might remember seeing an ad or two starring Muhammad Ali boxing for a plate of fried chicken. Or perhaps you can drag forth memories of comic books featuring a little chef on the back of a wagon holding a plate of chicken by the name of Pioneer Pete. If you grew up in or grew up visiting California, specifically near Los Angeles, then you're probably remembering Pioneer Chicken, the one-time golden child

This week, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 268, which places Diwali - also known as Deepavali and the Hindu "Festival of Lights" - on the list of officially observed state holidays. The law takes effect Jan. 1, 2026. Diwali falls on Oct. 20, but the date varies each year, similar to Lunar New Year, and is based on the Hindu lunar calendar.

historic agreement between workers and business that only California could deliver.

If you need to renew your California driver's license or identification card, you'll notice some changes. The DMV announced that new licenses are being rolled out for residents, which started on October 1. California will be one of the first states to add a digital security signature to one of the two barcodes on the back. There will also no longer be a magnetic strip on the back of the card.

As insurance companies continue to hike rates and cancel coverage for thousands of homeowners across fire-prone parts of California, Gov. Gavin Newsom is directing regulators to come up with new solutions to stabilize the state's spiraling home insurance market. In an executive order this week, Newsom instructed the state insurance department to submit recommendations on insurance costs and accessibility, wildfire mitigation and compensation for fire victims, among other concerns.