California

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Discord User Gets 14 Years for Exploiting Girls

Authorities say he demanded explicit photos from girls as young as 12

(Newser) - A 20-year-old California man has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison after using the Discord platform to orchestrate a two-year campaign exploiting minor girls online. James Styner of Garden Grove pleaded guilty to multiple federal charges, including three counts of receiving child pornography, one count of distributing...

How Shaky Is Brightline's Bet on High-Speed Rail to Vegas?

NPR checks in on the project

(Newser) - A new high-speed rail project is aiming to reshape travel between Southern California and Las Vegas, but some feasibility questions are starting to bubble up. NPR checks in on Brightline West, the company behind the effort, which in April 2024 broke ground on a 218-mile route that's poised...

Repeat Drunken Driver Charged in Deaths of 6 Farmworkers

Norberto Celerino was at the wheel of a van with 7 passengers

(Newser) - A California man who's already been convicted three times of driving under the influence faces charges in the deaths of six people who were his passengers when a van slammed into a tree last weekend. Napa County prosecutors said Norberto Celerino, 53, was intoxicated at the time, KTLA reports....

In Sin City, There's a New Kind of Taxi

Free rides offered at select Strip destinations as robotaxi service debuts from Amazon's Zoox

(Newser) - Amazon's Zoox has officially rolled out its driverless robotaxi service to the public on the Las Vegas Strip, marking a first for purpose-built autonomous vehicles in regular operation for the public. The company's boxy, sensor-laden rides—lacking pedals, steering wheels, or even a driver, and with a...

Aubrey Plaza's LA Home Hits the Market for $6.5M

Actor lists abode she shared with late husband in LA's tony Los Feliz Oaks neighborhood

(Newser) - As Aubrey Plaza contends with the "giant ocean of awfulness" that has surrounded her since the death of her estranged husband, Jeff Baena, in January , the Parks and Recreation star is taking a big step. TMZ reports that Plaza, 41, has listed the couple's four-bedroom, six-bath home in...

Alleged Serial Killer Lured Victims Through Dating App

Rockim Prowell accused of killing 2 men, then trying and failing to kill a third

(Newser) - Los Angeles police say they've arrested a man who killed two men he met through a dating app, and tried to kill a third man who luckily escaped his clutches. "Imagine the terror and horror these victims felt after being duped into believing they were meeting for one...

Injured Hiker, 78, Rescued in Wild by Boy Scouts

Backpacker Douglas Montgomery, 78, is lucky the group stumbled across him north of Yosemite

(Newser) - A California Boy Scout troop is drawing praise after they came to the aid of a 78-year-old man lost and injured in the Emigrant Wilderness north of Yosemite. The group—nine Scouts, all around age 12, and five adults from Santa Barbara's Troop 26—came across Douglas Montgomery,...

Nudist Haven Residents Sue, Say They're Being Forced Out

Owners of Olive Dell Ranch in California accused of deliberate neglect in lawsuit

(Newser) - Residents of what was once a famed nudist colony in California are suing the property's owners, alleging they're being forced out through neglect and intimidation, reports the Los Angeles Times . What's more, they now have to wear clothes. According to a lawsuit filed in San Bernardino...

Washington, Oregon, California Form Vaccine Alliance

Goings-on at the CDC 'will lead to severe health consequences,' governors say

(Newser) - The Democratic governors of Washington state, Oregon, and California announced Wednesday that they have created an alliance to establish their own recommendations for who should receive vaccines because they believe the Trump administration is putting Americans' health at risk by politicizing the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , the...

Trump's Use of National Guard in LA Protests Is Illegal: Judge

Rules that president violated law by sending military to enforce civilian laws

(Newser) - A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the Trump administration's use of National Guard troops during Southern California immigration enforcements protests is illegal. Judge Charles Breyer found that President Trump's administration violated federal law by sending troops to accompany federal agents on immigration raids, reports the AP . The judge...

He Got 5 Years for Racist Threats. Now, a Whole Lot More

Tyson Mayfield, who yelled racist slurs at a pregnant woman, now has a new 27-year sentence

(Newser) - A California man was sentenced on Friday to 27 years to life in prison for making racist threats against a pregnant Black woman after prosecutors appealed an earlier, lighter sentence, officials said. Tyson Mayfield, 49, pleaded guilty in a court-offered deal in 2019 to get a five-year sentence that the...

Delta to Fork Over $79M for Dumping Tons of Fuel on LA

Thousands of Los Angeles residents are set to receive compensation for 2020 disruption

(Newser) - Delta Air Lines has agreed to shell out $79 million to settle a class-action lawsuit stemming from a 2020 incident in which one of its jets dumped thousands of pounds of fuel over Los Angeles, coating schools, homes, and playgrounds. The payout, still awaiting a judge's green light,...

'Operation Kill Switch' Unearths $10M Home Depot Theft Ring

Police in Southern California say it's the biggest theft ring tied to the retailer

(Newser) - Authorities in Southern California have arrested 14 people in connection with what officials describe as the largest organized theft ring ever to target Home Depot. The suspects are accused of pulling off about 600 thefts at 71 Home Depot stores across multiple counties, leading to more than $10 million...

Parents Arrested as Police Search for Missing Infant
Parents of Missing Infant
Charged With Murder
UPDATED
Aug 26, 2025 2:28 PM CDT

Parents of Missing Infant Charged With Murder

Jake and Rebecca Haro told police 7-month-old Emanuel was kidnapped

(Newser) - The parents of 7-month-old Emmanuel Haro have been charged with murder, four days after their arrest in California. Jake and Rebecca Haro, who told police the boy was kidnapped in an attack outside a sporting goods store on Aug. 14, have also been charged with filing a false police report,...

Parents Sue ChatGPT After Teen Son's Death

They say the OpenAI tool coached Adam Raine on how to take his own life

(Newser) - The parents of a 16-year-old California boy who took his own life are blaming ChatGPT for his death, saying the bot coached him on how to do it. Both NBC News and the New York Times report that it's the first such suit filed against ChatGPT maker OpenAI. (Last...

Wildfires Threaten Homes in Oregon, California

Oregon's Picket Fire affecting about 4K homeowners

(Newser) - Thousands of homes in Northern California wine country and central Oregon were under evacuation orders and warnings as firefighting crews battled wildfires in dry, hot weather. Details from the AP :
  • In California, the Pickett Fire, which had charred about 10 square miles of Napa County, was just 11% contained by
...

States That Are the Most Fun
States That Are the Most Fun
Aug 24, 2025 1:10 PM CDT

States That Are the Most Fun

California tops WalletHub's rankings, while West Virginia needs to lighten up

(Newser) - Every day of your existence "should be sprinkled with at least a little bit of fun," not just your vacations. That's Travel + Leisure's take , and why the magazine is promoting WalletHub's latest rankings to find the state that has the most of it. The...

Erik Menendez's Wife: Parole Hearing Was 'Complete Setup'

Tammi Menendez blasts proceedings, as does Erik Menendez's stepdaughter: 'How is my dad a threat'

(Newser) - No one is likely more disappointed than Erik Menendez about his parole request being turned down this week in California—except maybe his wife and stepdaughter. Tammi Menendez, who's been married to Erik since 1999 , called his Thursday parole hearing "a complete setup" on X , adding that "...

Woman's Body Found After Video of Spouse Dragging Heavy Load

Cops: Sheylla Cabrera's remains were in Angeles National Forest, while husband has fled to Peru

(Newser) - The body of a missing woman was found in a Southern California forest days after her husband was recorded on surveillance video dragging something heavy out of their apartment complex north of Los Angeles, authorities said this week. Per the AP , Sheylla Cabrera, 33, of Lancaster was reported missing on...

California Lawmakers Send Redistricting Plan to Newsom

Governor launched Democratic effort after Texas took up new maps

(Newser) - California's legislature on Thursday approved a series of measures to redraw the state's congressional districts to favor Democrats in the next midterm elections, an action promised by Gov. Gavin Newsom to counter Texas' attempt to give Republicans more US House seats. Once Newsom signs it, scheduled for later...

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