SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – California reported a significant surge in unemployment claims last week for independent contractors that has raised concerns about a return of widespread fraud that already cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars. The U.S. Labor Department says California received an additional 77,000 claims last week compared with a week earlier…… MORE
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) – Yosemite National Park will remain closed through the weekend after high winds that battered much of California knocked down two giant sequoias and caused millions of dollars in damage. The park says it hopes to reopen Tuesday except for areas south of Yosemite Valley that will remain shut to…… MORE
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – California’s public health agency recently surprised local officials by lifting a stay-at-home order in the 13-county Greater Sacramento region. It’s a mystery how the state decided to lift regional restrictions because officials won’t share their data despite repeated pledges of transparency. State officials projected intensive care unit capacity and virus spread…… MORE
SALINAS, Calif. (AP) – A murder suspect who escaped from Monterey County Jail earlier this week turned himself in to police Wednesday. The Monterey Herald reported that 23-year-old Luis Armando Sarabia went to the King City Police Department and surrendered himself to authorities. Chief Deputy John Thornburg of the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office says Sarabia…… MORE
LOS ANGELES (AP) – The FBI says a military Humvee stolen from a National Guard facility in a Los Angeles suburb has been found. A search continues for the person or persons who stole the armored vehicle last week from the National Guard Armory in the city of Bell. The four-door vehicle painted a green…… MORE
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – Republicans in the California state Senate have picked a new legislative leader. They voted unanimously Wednesday to replace Sen. Shannon Grove of Bakersfield with Sen. Scott Wilk of Santa Clarita. The change came after two incumbent Republican senators lost their seats in the November election. Alex Vassar, an unofficial legislative historian…… MORE
LOS ANGELES (AP) – When then-Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham admitted in 2005 to accepting $2.4 million in illegal gifts from defense contractors in exchange for government contracts and other favors, it was considered the largest bribery scandal in congressional history. The disgraced former San Diego congressman received one of the pardons issued Wednesday by President…… MORE
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – California says it’s OK to immediately begin using a batch of coronavirus vaccine doses after health officials held a safety review because several people fell ill. State epidemiologist Dr. Erica Pan said Wednesday that the review found “no scientific basis” to continue a halt to using a specific batch of the…… MORE
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – A former California correctional officer pleaded guilty Tuesday to submitting a false report in a federal civil rights investigation into the death of an inmate at a Sacramento-area prison. Ashley Marie Aurich lied about seeing another another former correctional officer, Arturo Pacheco, reach down and pull the legs out from under…… MORE
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – California Gov. Gavin Newsom is ready for a more productive and friendlier relationship with the White House under Democratic President-elect Joe Biden. The Democratic governor sent a letter Tuesday to Biden outlining places where the state and federal government can find common ground, including on immigration and climate change. It comes…… MORE
