California

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California Logs a Win in Its Battle With Mosquitoes

Releasing sterilized males is found to reduce invasive populations

(Newser) - Officials are seeing promising signs that efforts to combat mosquitoes are working in Southern California as the season of peak activity begins. A local agency known as a vector control district (VCD) began releasing sterile male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in 2023, followed by a second district the following year. The...

To Help Hollywood, Newsom Wants to Work With Trump

California governor suggests $750M federal film tax credit program

(Newser) - Weeks after suing the Trump administration over President Trump's troublesome tariffs, California Gov. Gavin Newsom is offering to work with the White House. After Trump suggested putting 100% tariffs on foreign films to revitalize the American film industry, Newsom on Monday offered to partner with the administration to create...

Reopening Alcatraz Won't Be Cheap
Reopening Alcatraz
Won't Be Cheap
May 5, 2025 11:49 AM CDT

Reopening Alcatraz Won't Be Cheap

President Trump says it would symbolize law and order

(Newser) - Alcatraz, the former island prison in California's San Francisco Bay, hasn't accepted inmates in 60 years. The prison was closed in 1963 because it was too expensive to operate, "costing three times as much as most other federal prisons," per the San Jose Mercury News . It...

States Where EV Drivers Save the Most, Least Money

Washington leads the pack, with Connecticut in last

(Newser) - Not having to pay high gas prices is a big reason many drivers switch to electric vehicles, and a new study by Texas electric company Payless Power finds that the savings is more pronounced in some states. The study crunches data on fuel and charging costs across the US and...

Santa Cruz Thumbs Its Nose at Soda Industry With New Tax

Voters approved 2-cent-per-ounce tax in November

(Newser) - Santa Cruz is set to begin collecting a new tax on sugary drinks starting Thursday, marking the first such levy in California since a 2018 state law that blocked new local grocery taxes. Voters in the city of 60,000 approved the measure in November, establishing a 2-cent-per-ounce tax...

Woman Insists Her Dad Is the Most Prolific Serial Killer Ever

A California woman says her father killed more than 400, but skeptics say the evidence isn't there

(Newser) - A California woman is on a mission to ensure the world knows her father's legacy, but she's having trouble convincing authorities her dad is what she claims he is: the most prolific serial killer in history. SFGate reports it all began about a month ago when Galina Trefil...

10 States That Pay Most (and Least) for Housing

At top of WalletHub's list: Hawaii, where owners spend more than 50% of income on housing costs

(Newser) - If you've been priced out of buying a home over the past few years, the latest analysis out of WalletHub may help you narrow your options down. The site looked at the cost of mortgages and home energy expenses in all 50 states in the US to figure out...

State Bar of California Makes 'Staggering Admission'

Licensing body says some questions on disastrous bar exam were developed with the help of AI

(Newser) - The State Bar of California has disclosed that some multiple-choice questions in a problem-plagued bar exam were developed with the aid of artificial intelligence. The legal licensing body said in a news release that it will ask the California Supreme Court to adjust test scores for those who took its...

Judge Guilty of Murdering Wife
Judge Guilty of Murdering Wife
Apr 23, 2025 1:00 AM CDT

Judge Guilty of Murdering Wife

Prosecutors say Jeffrey Ferguson shot his wife after argument at restaurant

(Newser) - A southern California judge was found guilty Tuesday in the murder of his wife. Jeffrey Ferguson, whose first trial ended in a mistrial when jurors couldn't reach a unanimous verdict, was convicted of second-degree murder in the fatal 2023 shooting of his wife, Sheryl, who was 65. Jeffrey Ferguson,...

Former Fox Host Enters California Race

Steve Hilton says he hopes he'll be running against Kamala Harris for governor

(Newser) - In a surprise move that could shake up California's political landscape, conservative commentator and former Fox News host Steve Hilton has thrown his hat into the ring for the 2026 gubernatorial race, promising a campaign of "positive populism." Hilton will run as a Republican, aiming to...

California Mayor Takes Heat for Homelessness 'Fix'

Rex Parris of Lancaster, California, says 'free fentanyl' will help 'purge' his city

(Newser) - A mayor in Southern California is facing calls for a recall after controversial comments he made more than once about his city's homeless population. KTLA reports that Lancaster's Rex Parris first landed on the radar for his remarks during a Feb. 25 City Council meeting , in which a...

California Is Selling Generic Narcan for $24

Overdose-reversal drug typically costs more than twice as much

(Newser) - Synthetic opioid overdose deaths in California fell last year for the first time since 2018 and Gov. Gavin Newsom is hoping to continue the trend by making the overdose-reversing medication naloxone more accessible. California residents can now buy the drug, the generic version of Narcan, directly from a state website...

Vandal Takes a Chainsaw to LA's Trees

Dozens of trees in the downtown area were cut down at the base overnight Friday

(Newser) - Someone apparently decided Los Angeles wasn't hot enough and took a chainsaw to its urban canopy. The alleged vandal cut down dozens of shade trees in the downtown area between Friday night and Saturday morning, witnesses tell CBS News . Photos shared on social media show many large trees cut...

This Metric Illustrates Tesla's Rocky Year

Registrations drop in California as rival EVs and Musk's controversies impact sales

(Newser) - Tesla's reign as California's top electric vehicle brand is fading. Quartz reports Tesla no longer accounts for the majority share of electric vehicle registrations in the state, which is the largest EV market in the US. In the first quarter of this year, Tesla's market share...

$1M Lottery Winner: 'I'm Not Homeless Anymore!'
Homeless Man
Hits $1M Jackpot
Apr 17, 2025 9:45 AM CDT

Homeless Man Hits $1M Jackpot

'I'm not homeless anymore!': Un-IDed Californian needed money, deserved it, says store manager

(Newser) - A $1 million scratch-off lottery ticket went to a person who not only "deserved it," but "actually needed it," according to the manager of the California store where the ticket was sold. The unnamed winner, a regular customer at Sandy's Deli-Liquor in San Luis Obispo,...

California's Suit Against Trump Tariffs Is Unusual in 2 Ways

Gov. Gavin Newsom is serving as the face of the suit, and the state is going it alone

(Newser) - "President Trump's unlawful tariffs are wreaking chaos on California families, businesses, and our economy," said California Gov. Gavin Newsom—and so he is suing on behalf of the state. The suit, announced Wednesday, will argue that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, which Trump relied...

Trump, Musk Appear to Speak From Hacked Crosswalks

In 3 California cities, someone is clearly having fun at the expense of the billionaires

(Newser) - Officials in three California cities are trying to work out how voices mocking President Trump, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg were added to crosswalks. The crosswalks appear to have been hacked with the sole purpose of mocking the billionaires with AI-generated voices, per Business Insider . The audio message, "Walk...

5.2 Earthquake Rattles Southern California

There were no reports of injuries or major damage after San Diego County quake

(Newser) - A 5.2-magnitude earthquake in San Diego County was felt across Southern California on Monday morning but there were no reports of injuries or major damage. The United States Geological Survey says the quake hit around 10am, with the epicenter 2.5 miles south of Julian, a mountain town in...

America's Greenest States
The Greenest States in the US
Apr 12, 2025 12:30 PM CDT

The Greenest States in the US

And the not-so-greenest

(Newser) - Kermit the Frog would tell you that it ain't easy being green, but it's certainly easier in some states than others. To sort the tree huggers from the polluters, WalletHub took a look at every state in the union through the lens of three main metrics: environmental quality...

Youth Soccer Coach Charged in Murder of California Teen

Coach also accused of sexual assault in separate case

(Newser) - Oscar Omar Hernandez, 13, was found dead on a Southern California roadside earlier this month—and now youth soccer coach Mario Edgardo Garcia-Aquino has been charged with the young teen's murder. The charges include murder with a special circumstance of lewd acts with a child, making Garcia-Aquino eligible...

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