California

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Catalina's Mule Deer Aren't Long for This World

Five-year cull aims to protect California island's fragile native ecosystem

(Newser) - California is moving ahead with a plan that would leave Santa Catalina Island without a single mule deer. The state's Department of Fish and Wildlife has approved a permit allowing the Catalina Island Conservancy to wipe out the roughly 1,800 deer over five years, largely by hiring shooters....

SCOTUS Ruling Will Benefit Democrats in the Midterms

Decision allows use of new congressional map in California

(Newser) - The Supreme Court just gave Democrats in California something to smile about. In an unsigned order Wednesday, the justices rejected an emergency bid from the California Republican Party and the Trump administration to stop the state from using a new congressional map in this year's midterms. The ruling, which...

Newsom: My Mom's 2002 Assisted Suicide Was 'Horrible'

His memoir, Young Man in a Hurry, is out Feb. 24

(Newser) - Gavin Newsom's memoir, Young Man in a Hurry, is out Feb. 24, and the Washington Post zeroes in on "one of the most revealing and emotional passages in the California governor's book": sitting beside his mother, Tessa, in 2002 as she died by assisted suicide, which was...

Joshua Trees' Early Blooms Are a Big Problem

Scientists fear the trees won't be pollinated as yucca moths remain underground

(Newser) - Joshua trees are jumping the gun on flowering this year, and researchers say the timing glitch could ripple through the Mojave Desert ecosystem. The spiky desert icons, found across California, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah, usually start blooming in late February. This season, though, many burst into flower in October and...

Oz's Claim of Hospice Fraud by Armenians Draws Complaint

Civil rights filing by Newsom's office says accusation in video has done harm

(Newser) - California Gov. Gavin Newsom's office has demanded a civil rights investigation of Dr. Mehmet Oz, saying he discriminated against Armenians in a video claiming hospice fraud in Los Angeles. The complaint was filed Thursday, after Oz posted a video on social media made in front of an Armenian...

Researchers 'in Shock' at Bird Spotted Off California Coast

Waved albatross is usually hanging out in the Galapagos, not the Golden State

(Newser) - Scientists on a research vessel off the Central California coast spotted a waved albatross, marking just the second recorded sighting of the bird north of Central America. The yellow-billed bird with black button eyes, which can have an 8-foot wingspan and spends much of its life flying over the ocean,...

Don Lemon Arrested by Feds in LA
Don Lemon Arrested
by Feds in LA
Jan 30, 2026 8:00 AM CST

Don Lemon Arrested by Feds in LA

Former CNN anchor's detention seems to be tied to anti-ICE church protest in Minnesota, sources say

(Newser) - Former CNN anchor Don Lemon is in federal custody after being arrested Thursday night in Los Angeles, according to multiple sources cited by CBS News . Lemon's attorney, Abbe Lowell, confirmed that agents detained the veteran broadcaster while he was in LA to cover this weekend's Grammy Awards. A...

There's a New Face in California Governor's Race

San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan says other Democrats are too preoccupied with Trump

(Newser) - San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan is jumping into California's already packed governor's race, arguing that his own party has been too absorbed with President Trump and not focused enough on problems at home.
  • The moderate Democrat and former tech entrepreneur is positioning himself as a blunt critic of
...

'Ms. Shirley,' a 'First Responder' for the Homeless, Dies at 58

Advocate Shirley Raines, who founded Beauty 2 the Streetz, used social media to spread the word

(Newser) - Shirley Raines, who turned makeup kits, hot meals, and a smartphone into a national platform for people living on the streets of Los Angeles, has died at 58. The Clark County Coroner's Office in Nevada confirmed her Tuesday death; the cause hasn't yet been released, per the Washington ...

ICE's Next Planned Destination: the Super Bowl

DHS adds immigration enforcement to game duties, says those in country legally 'have nothing to fear'

(Newser) - Immigration enforcement looks to be joining the mix surrounding Super Bowl LX. Officials in Santa Clara, California, say Immigration and Customs Enforcement is expected to be on the ground at next month's big game at Levi's Stadium, adding an immigration twist to the usual security presence, reports the...

California Considers Blocking Ex-ICE Agents From Teaching

New bill also would make police jobs off-limits

(Newser) - California lawmakers are weighing whether certain federal agents should never wear a state badge or teach in a classroom. AB 1627 would bar anyone who worked for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement between Sept. 1, 2025, and Jan. 20, 2029—the end of President Trump's term—from jobs in...

A Decade After Wife's Alleged Suicide, a Murder Charge

Michael Anthony Leon facing first-degree murder charges in 2015 death of Brenda Joyce Leon

(Newser) - A California death long labeled a suicide is now being treated as a homicide—allegedly carried out by the victim's husband of 33 years, a former local mayoral candidate. Contra Costa County prosecutors on Friday announced the arrest of 66-year-old Michael Anthony Leon in the 2015 death of his...

Man With Alzheimer's Proposes to Wife of 4 Decades

California couple renews vows amid health struggles, showing 'love can endure'

(Newser) - The bride and groom had already logged nearly four decades of marriage before he asked her to marry him again—forgetting he'd done it the first time. Linda Feldman, 78, and Michael O'Reilley, 77, both longtime public defenders in California's Alameda County, first married in 1987 after...

Stretch of California Coast Public Again After a Century

547-acre Estero Americano Coast Preserve offers free ocean views, rare fauna

(Newser) - Visitors to California's North Coast just picked up access to a stunning piece of shoreline that's been off-limits for generations. The Estero Americano Coast Preserve, spanning 547 acres along the Marin-Sonoma county line, is now open to the public , daily from sunrise to sunset, after more than a...

As One Hiker Turned Back, Another Pushed On—Fatally

Mount Whitney claims 3rd life this season as officials warn of winter mountaineering dangers

(Newser) - A hiker on California's Mount Whitney apparently made the right choice to turn around during a summit attempt—because companion who continued on alone has now been found dead. The hiker who plunged ahead, still unidentified, is now the third to die this season on the highest peak in...

This Crypto Firm Up and Moved to South Dakota

Move comes as California debates 'Billionaires Tax Act'

(Newser) - A California crypto firm has quietly shifted its headquarters to South Dakota just as a high-profile fight over taxing the state's richest residents gathers steam. BitGo, a digital asset infrastructure company once based in Palo Alto, now lists Sioux Falls as its home base, according to a December filing...

Lawsuit: LA Schools Discriminate Against White Students

Conservative group challenges decades-old desegregation remedies in federal court

(Newser) - A long-running effort to steer extra resources to heavily nonwhite schools in Los Angeles is now at the center of a federal lawsuit claiming it illegally shortchanges white students. The 1776 Project Foundation, a conservative group that opposes racial preferences in education, sued the Los Angeles Unified School District on...

UPS Driver Runs Into Burning Home, Delivers 101-Year-Old to Safety

Willy Esquivel joins with California neighbors to save a life in a remarkable display of community

(Newser) - What should've been a routine delivery stop in Santa Ana turned into a remarkable rescue when a UPS driver helped pull a 101-year-old woman from her burning condo, authorities and family members say. Neighbors spotted thick smoke pouring from Ann Edwards' unit, where she lives alone, on Thursday and...

Hiker's Search for Missing Friends Turns Fatal in California

Fellow hiker found dead after apparent fall in Anza

(Newser) - A weekend search for four missing hikers in Southern California ended with an unexpected tragedy for the man who went looking for them. Riverside County authorities say a group of four hikers became disoriented Saturday evening in a remote, mountainous area near State Route 74 in Anza, the Los Angeles ...

Bill Would Block Sick Countertop Cutters From Suing

Proposed legislation would protect manufacturers from silicosis lawsuits, while ill workers lose recourse

(Newser) - Lawmakers in DC are weighing a bill that would shield makers of trendy quartz countertops from worker lawsuits at the very moment California regulators are considering whether to ban cutting the material altogether. At issue is quartz, a form of engineered stone and a kitchen and bath favorite that can...

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