California

Met de voorverkiezingen op minder dan drie weken afstand hebben de races voor gouverneur en burgemeester een vurige wending genomen. • Sparringen op het debatpodium, goed getimede verklaringen over de kleinste misstappen van een tegenstander en talloze jabs op sociale media: het verkiezingsseizoen in de belangrijkste voorverkiezingen van Californië loopt op. • Met de voorverkiezingen op minder dan drie weken afstand hebben de races voor gouverneur en burgemeester een vurige wending genomen, terwijl kandidaten laatste pogingen doen om kiezers te overtuigen van hun bestuurlijke kwaliteiten. Lees verder...

• Dana Williamson, die banden heeft met Gavin Newsom, conspiracy om campagnegelden van gouverneurskandidaat Xavier Becerra te stelen. • Dana Williamson, een top politiek strateeg uit Californië met banden met de gouverneur van de staat, Gavin Newsom, en gouverneurskandidaat Xavier Becerra, heeft donderdag schuldig gepleit aan fraudeklachten; een bekentenis die waarschijnlijk de aanvallen van andere kandidaten in de race zal aanwakkeren. • Federale autoriteiten stellen dat Williamson samenzwoerde om $225.000 te stelen van een slapende campagne-rekening behorend tot Becerra, die niet bij naam is genoemd in de schikking, en het geld door te sluizen naar zijn stafchef, Sean McCluskie.

• Sinds november zijn er in de staat 47 gevallen bekend van mensen die per ongeluk giftige wilde paddenstoelen hebben gegeten

• Santa Clara county beweert dat Meta Platforms de wetten van de staat op het gebied van misleidende reclame en oneerlijke zakelijke praktijken heeft geschonden. • De Californische county Santa Clara heeft Meta Platforms aangeklaagd met de bewering dat het bedrijf heeft geprofiteerd van advertenties op Facebook en Instagram die scams promoten, in strijd met de wetgeving van Californië tegen misleidende reclame en oneerlijke zakelijke praktijken. • De rechtszaak – maandag ingediend bij de superieure rechtbank van Santa Clara county namens alle inwoners van Californië – beschuldigt de social mediereus ervan frauduleuze advertenties op wereldwijde schaal te tolereren.

• Eileen Wang (58), burgemeester van Arcadia, stemde ermee in een schuldbekentenis af te leggen naar aanleiding van de felony-klacht die door het ministerie van Justitie is ingediend. • Eileen Wang, de burgemeester van een stad in Zuid-Californië, trad maandag plotseling af nadat het Amerikaanse Department of Justice (DoJ) aankondigde dat zij was beschuldigd van het illegaal optreden als buitenlands agent van China. • Wang (58) stemde ermee in schuldig te pleiten aan de felony-klacht en riskeert een gevangenisstraf van 10 jaar. Lees verder...

• Gouverneur van Californië Gavin Newsom vraagt staatswetgevers om ambitieuze klimaat- en energiewetgeving aan te nemen, met nog één week voordat zij terugkeren naar Sacramento voor de formele sessies. • Het pakket van de gouverneur bevat naar verluidt bepalingen voor het versnellen van de adoptie van hernieuwbare energie, het aanpakken van de veerkracht van het elektriciteitsnet en het nakomen van de klimaatverplichtingen van de staat. • Newsom staat onder aanzienlijke druk om klimaatleiderschap te tonen nu Californië te maken krijgt met energie-uitdagingen die verband houden met verstoringen op de oliemarkt door conflicten.

De Britse politieke strateeg kreeg snel kritiek in een staat waar taco's praktisch het officiële gerecht zijn.

Recente consumentenwaarschuwing over wetgeving rond ebike-veiligheid stelt dat sommige voertuigen geclassificeerd zouden moeten worden als bromfietsen of motorfietsen.

Home reportedly occupied by mother of Paul Flores, who was convicted of killing college student who went missing in 1996Soil testing at a property linked to the man convicted in the murder of California college student Kristin Smart, who disappeared in 1996, turned up evidence of human remains, a state sheriff announced on Friday.“We can’t call it Kristin, but there’s evidence to support human remains – there at one time,” the San Luis Obispo county sheriff, Ian Parkinson, said at a news conference. Continue reading...

Parents will soon receive hundreds of free diapers before leaving the hospital under a new program aimed at alleviating expensesCalifornia families welcoming newborns will soon receive hundreds of free diapers before leaving the hospital under a first-in-the-country program announced Friday by the state’s governor, Gavin Newsom.During the program’s first year, it will be offered at about 65 to 75 hospitals that handle about a quarter of births in the state and largely serve low-income patients, Newsom’s office said. The initiative will expand to more hospitals statewide, though the governor’s office did not say how many. The state has partnered with nonprofit Baby2Baby to manufacture the diapers under the label “Golden State Start”. Continue reading...

Former David Cameron adviser says a vote for him will make California ‘Califordable’ – not everyone is convinced He “knows how to wind people up like Trump”, according to friends, and made his name in the UK with zany policy ideas including making the country sunnier using state-owned cloud busters.Now the controversial strategist Steve Hilton, named the “pint-sized Rasputin” of Conservative politics, has become an unlikely frontrunner in the primary race for California governor. Continue reading...

State can meet fuel demand for next six weeks with its current supply, its energy commission vice-chair said. Plus, alleged Jeffrey Epstein suicide note unsealed by federal judgeGood morning.Gas prices have risen above $6 in California – but there is yet more uncertainty on the horizon after the last oil tanker from the Middle East arrived in the state this week.What do we know about progress on a deal? Axios reported on Wednesday that Washington and Tehran were close to agreeing on a memorandum of understanding to end the war. Officials in Pakistan told the Guardian that an initial framework could possibly be agreed within 48 hours – but that nothing was certain and talks remained “difficult”.Head to our liveblog for the latest. Continue reading...

With gas more than $6 in state, delivery of some 2m barrels is last planned shipment to pass through strait of HormuzMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe average price of a gallon of gas in California already stands at more than $6, but more uncertainty looms as the last oil tanker headed from the Middle East arrived in the Golden state this week.The Los Angeles Times reported on Sunday that the New Corolla, which left the Middle East for California before the war broke out, is delivering some 2m barrels of crude oil from Iraq to Long Beach. It was the last planned shipment to pass through the strait of Hormuz. Continue reading...

Analysis finds victims’ compensation program is awarding less money to fewer people, although budget has increasedVictims of violent crime in California are finding it increasingly hard to get support from the state, a new analysis has found, a development that has locked some of the most vulnerable people out of funds to help cover crime scene cleanup, relocation costs, funerals and therapy.California established the nation’s first victims’ compensation program in 1965, aimed at helping victims of violent crimes and their families cover some of the costs sprung onto them by the violence. Continue reading...

San Diego Humane Society finds 400+ animals at Julian site, with malnutrition and injuries amid bankruptcy disputeAuthorities in California have rescued more than 400 animals, including horses, cats, dogs and goats, from a now shuttered sanctuary in San Diego county.The San Diego Humane Society conducted the massive operation last week at Villa Chardonnay, a sprawling facility in Julian that had operated since 2003. Continue reading...

State’s top insurance regulator says insurance company violated law while handling claims from 2025 wildfiresCalifornia is seeking millions of dollars in penalties from State Farm after an investigation found the insurance company was slow to investigate and underpaid claims from the 2025 Los Angeles-area wildfires, regulators announced on Monday.State Farm violated the law hundreds of times in a sampling of 220 cases, the state’s insurance commissioner, Ricardo Lara, said. The maximum penalty amount allowed by law would be about $4m if State Farm is found to be “willful” in violating state law. Regulators may also temporarily suspend the company’s license, effectively prohibiting the state’s largest home insurer from writing new policies for a year in California. Continue reading...

Proposal includes cutbacks for three years as negotiations over future of shrinking reservoirs have been unsuccessfulThe states of California, Arizona and Nevada have proposed voluntary water-saving measures for the next three years aimed at buying time while negotiations remain deadlocked over the future of shrinking reservoirs filled by the Colorado River.The Colorado River provides water to some 40 million people in the American west. But the two massive reservoirs filled by the river, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, both stand at historically low levels, after consistent overdrawing coupled with reduced snowpack and warming from climate change. Continue reading...

The race to succeed Gavin Newsom has teetered wildly, and with Democrats in disarray, the Republican ex-Downing Street adviser is leading in the polls. Can he really pull it off?Few political aspirations have proved more futile over the past two decades than running as a Republican for statewide office in California. Yet Steve Hilton – transplanted Brit, erstwhile business entrepreneur, a former Downing Street adviser to David Cameron and a former Fox News host who says he is friends with half of Donald Trump’s cabinet – is having a remarkably good time of it.With less than six weeks to go before a primary election that has proved to be both dramatic and wildly unpredictable, most polls put Hilton narrowly ahead of a fractured field of Democrats in the race to succeed Gavin Newsom as governor. It is an astonishing turn of events in a state where Democrats enjoy supermajorities in the state legislature and a two-to-one advantage over the Republicans in voter registration. Continue reading...

Analysts say Americans have now paid $21.7bn more to fill their tanks since the start of the US war on IranExxon and Chevron quarterly earnings fall despite soaring oil pricesSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailThe average price for a gallon of gas in California rose to $6 this week as fuel prices across the US reached their highest level in almost four years.The American Automobile Association reported on Friday that California consumers were paying an average of $6.06, while the national average hit $4.39. The Golden state is the most expensive US market for gas but costs have also risen nationally with a 27-cent rise this week following two weeks of falling prices, AAA said in a statement. Continue reading...

Rey is teaching Sunny, aged about two weeks, all her adopted baby needs to know to fend for herselfBefore last month, a young southern sea otter named Rey would never have imagined she would be a mother.That changed when she met Sunny, a pup – about two weeks old – found orphaned and alone on Asilomar state beach in February. The pairing went off without a hitch. Continue reading...

Rusty Hicks concerned that Democrats could crowd each other out in ‘open’ system and hand victory to RepublicansThe chair of the California Democratic party says he wants to get rid of the state’s idiosyncratic “open primary”, calling it a failure that risks pitting a crowded field of Democratic candidates against each other to the point where a Republican can be elected governor of one of the bluest states in the US.“The current system we have does not work,” Rusty Hicks said in an interview. “It needs to be revised or repealed.” Continue reading...

Foil boarders were pursued by shark – likely a great white – off Santa Barbara before it lost interest and swam awaySign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxRon Takeda and Tavis Boise were a few miles off the coast of Santa Barbara when they noticed the large mass trailing behind them.“Tavis, is it a dolphin?” asked Takeda as he stood on his foil board, a specialized form of surfing, propelling himself through the waves. Boise, who was filming their run, recognized the question as an ominous sign – the veteran surfers are familiar enough with dolphins that Takeda should have recognized one immediately. Continue reading...

California regulators settled a lawsuit that claimed a state agency showed political bias against the rocket company and its chief executiveCalifornia regulators apologized to the SpaceX CEO, Elon Musk, this week as they settled a lawsuit that claimed a state agency showed political bias against the rocket company and its chief executive.As part of the settlement, the California Coastal Commission acknowledged its members made “improper” statements about Musk’s political beliefs at a 2024 hearing on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch program. Continue reading...

• East Bay man in Contra Costa County died after consuming toxic wild mushrooms amid statewide spike. • California recorded 35 mushroom poisoning cases from Nov. 18 to Jan. 4, far above average of under five yearly. • Surge prompts health warnings on foraging risks during wet weather conditions.

Proposal for a one-time 5% tax on billionaires in the state is opposed by Silicon Valley tech titans and Gavin NewsomProponents of a proposal to levy a one-time tax on California billionaires say they’ve gathered enough signatures to place the measure on the ballot in November.The campaign says it has collected more than 1.5m signatures, according to a statement. Continue reading...

Nearly 1 million Californians supported push by Republican Carl DeMaio but it faces historic opposition from DemocratsCalifornia voters will decide in November whether to require photo identification to cast a ballot, making California the latest battleground in a long-running effort by conservatives to push voter ID laws that have been bolstered in recent years by Donald Trump’s repeated and unfounded accusations of widespread voter fraud.Nearly 1 million Californians signed on to support the ballot measure championed by Carl DeMaio, a Republican state representative from San Diego. Continue reading...

Industry analysts say fuel price surge could lead to canceled flight routes that could snarl travelers’ plansCalifornia’s jet fuel supply has dropped to a level not seen since 2023, as turmoil in the Middle East continues to squeeze the global oil market.As of 17 April, the state’s jet fuel stock was just over 2.6m barrels, in comparison to 3.2m barrels two years prior, according to the California energy commission (CEC), which publishes a refinery stocks data dashboard. Continue reading...

• Public health officials confirmed two cases of measles in Sacramento County, California, amid ongoing monitoring for potential spread. • The cases highlight persistent risks despite national vaccination efforts, with officials urging unvaccinated residents to seek immunization. • Measles outbreaks underscore gaps in herd immunity, particularly in localized communities, prompting heightened surveillance statewide.