Tag Archives: California

The Guardian reports: A man armed with guns and false press and VIP passes was apprehended by authorities at a campaign rally in California on Saturday being held by Donald Trump. The suspect, identified as Las Vegas resident Vem Miller, was intercepted by police at a checkpoint about a half-mile from an entrance to the rally in Coachella Valley, California, …

The Los Angeles Times reports: SpaceX’s plans to launch more rockets from the California coast were rejected by a state commission this week, with some officials citing Elon Musk’s political posts on X and raising concerns about the billionaire’s labor record at his companies. The plan to increase the number of rocket blasts into space up to 50 a year …

Reuters reports: TikTok faces new lawsuits filed by 13 U.S. states and the District of Columbia on Tuesday, accusing the popular social media platform of harming and failing to protect young people. The lawsuits filed separately in New York, California, the District of Columbia and 11 other states, expand Chinese-owned TikTok’s legal fight with U.S. regulators, and seek new financial …

The Sacramento Bee reports: Blaze Pizza’s 96 California pizzerias are known for build-your-own pies rapidly fired in 800-degree ovens, along with Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James’ corporate investments. Last week, its Roseville location made headlines for an uglier reason. A delivery driver walked into the Highland Reserve Marketplace restaurant about 10:15 p.m. Sept. 19, saw a Pride flag hung …

ABC News reports: Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill Saturday that would have required new cars to beep at drivers if they exceed the speed limit. California would have become the first to require such systems for all new cars, trucks and buses sold in the state starting in 2030. The bill, aimed at reducing traffic deaths, would have mandated …

The New York Times reports: The attorney general of California, Rob Bonta, sued Exxon Mobil on Monday alleging that the oil giant carried out a “decades-long campaign of deception” that overhyped the promise of recycling and spawned a plastic pollution crisis. The suit, filed in superior court in San Francisco, argued that people were more likely to buy single-use plastics …

Axios reports: California is banning all plastic shopping bags at grocery store checkouts under legislation that Gov. Gavin Newsom signed on Sunday. The law that takes effect on Jan. 1, 2026, honors the intent of a ban on single-use bags “enacted 10 years ago that allowed stores to sell customers thicker plastic carryout bags that were considered reusable and met …

“Every voter should be made aware of this. Donald Trump just admitted he will block emergency disaster funds to settle political vendettas. Today it’s California’s wildfires. Tomorrow it could be hurricane funding for North Carolina or flooding assistance for homeowners in Pennsylvania. Donald Trump doesn’t care about America — he only cares about himself.” – Gov. Gavin Newsom, posting to …

The watchdog site Church Leaders reports: A Southern California pastor has been arrested and charged with multiple counts related to alleged child sexual abuse of at least two female victims. Jose Alcides Vasquez, 47, was arrested at his home in Menifee, California, on Sept. 5. Vasquez faces eight charges, including one count of lewd and lascivious behavior with a victim …

Los Angeles’s Fox affiliate reports: The Riverside Police said their investigation began in May 2024, after a man reported that his pastor, Juan Barrios, had assaulted him for years, beginning when he was just nine years old. After that man came forward, police said his younger brother came forward to report similar claims of sexual abuse against Barrios. The brothers …

Los Angeles’s ABC affiliate reports: Prosecutors said the arson suspect charged with igniting the massive Line Fire in San Bernardino County tried to set off two other blazes on the same day. Norco resident Justin Wayne Halstenberg, 34, is accused of deliberately igniting the Line Fire on Sept. 5 near Baseline Road in Highland. He now faces nine felony charges …

Politico reports: State Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil’s former chief of staff has sued her for alleged sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment, claiming in a lengthy complaint that the Central Valley Republican pressured him into performing sex acts and then fired him when he resisted. The suit comes a month after Alvarado-Gil switched parties. She declared on Fox News …

Reuters reports: Elon Musk’s social media platform X won on Wednesday an appeal to partially block a California law requiring social media companies to publish their policies for combating disinformation, harassment, hate speech and extremism. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco overturned a lower court judge’s decision declining to pause enforcement of …

Politico reports: Steve Hilton, the former Fox News host and policy adviser to British Prime Minister David Cameron, is seriously considering a run to succeed California Gov. Gavin Newsom in two years, three people in close touch with him tell POLITICO. While Hilton and his team did not comment when approached for this story, several prominent political figures in the …

Politico reports: California Gov. Gavin Newsom, whose relationship with Vice President Kamala Harris goes back to their days as young officials in San Francisco, will speak from the convention floor on Tuesday, where he’ll deliver the delegates to ceremonially put her over the top for the Democratic nomination. The moment, which was carefully choreographed by Harris’ presidential campaign, is designed …

Courthouse News reports: Huntington Beach will work to fight California’s prohibition on forcing educators to out LGBTQ students after the City Council voted Tuesday night to prepare a “parents’ right to know” ordinance. Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark submitted a request to prepare the ordinance in response to Governor Gavin Newsom signing the Support Academic Futures & Educators for Today’s …

Los Angeles’s CW affiliate reports: An Orange County church ministry volunteer was sentenced to over 120 years in prison for molesting young girls. Todd Christian Hartman, 41, of Newport Beach, was convicted of molesting several young minors and possessing hundreds of explicit images of children. Hartman had repeatedly molested a girl beginning when she was 6 years old, officials said. …

Reuters reports: A northern California wildfire is now the country’s largest, after doubling in size in 24 hours. The Park Fire had burned more than 350,000 acres about 90 miles north of the state capital city of Sacramento as of Saturday afternoon, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire. Evacuation orders and warnings were …

ABC News reports: A Northern California wildland fire that exploded overnight into the state’s largest blaze this wildfire season, destroying structures and prompting thousands of evacuations, was allegedly started by a man who pushed a burning car into a gully, authorities said Thursday. The 48-year-old arson suspect linked to starting the Park Fire in Butte County near the city of …

Posted to the Family Research Council’s website: Cue the lawsuits. The moment California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) signed his name to a ban (AB 1955) on school parental notification policies, he painted a big, red target on its back (a metaphorical, legal target, not a literal one). The very next day, Liberty Justice Center (LJC) filed a lawsuit on behalf …