California

Good morning. Some of California’s ballot propositions are expensive campaigns driven largely by deep-pocketed special interests . Some ballot propositions ask voters complex questions with potentially broad national implications. Proposition 22 — whose supporters and opponents have collectively raised a staggering $204 million , according to the California Secretary of State’s office — is both. Most of that has come from three companies : Uber, Lyft and DoorDash, whose leaders have spent months locked in a bitter battle with the state over a law passed last year meant to give gig workers more benefits and protections by requiring that they be classified as employees rather than contractors. [Read more about the new law .] The ballot initiative, and all the money they and other gig work companies have thrown at it, would allow those companies to essentially exempt themselves from that requirement, but give drivers some benefits. A poll released …

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Good morning. Early voting, including voting by mail, in this election has decimated records in states across the country, including California , where more than 6.5 million ballots have already been returned, according to the state . Still, over the weekend, California voters lined up to cast their ballots early at dozens of newly open polling places, including, for the first time , Staples Center , home of the Los Angeles Lakers. Hundreds more will open on Oct. 30. On Thursday, I talked with California’s secretary of state, Alex Padilla , about what voters should know in the homestretch, especially if they’re planning to vote in person. Here’s our conversation, lightly edited for clarity: How are things going? What’s the biggest challenge on your mind right now? Californians are voting in big numbers. We’re about 2.5 times where we were at this point in 2016, if that’s any indicator. We’ve been planning and preparing for months. And if voter …

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Good morning. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the state’s most aggressive steps since March to head off the coronavirus pandemic, saying it will impose sweeping stay-at-home orders region by region when hospitals become overburdened. With cases and hospitalizations rising sharply in the state, Mr. Newsom portrayed the move as a final push to get through a difficult winter before vaccines arrive . “This is the final surge,” he said in a news conference. “This is the most challenging moment since the beginning of this pandemic.” The new orders will take effect when the intensive care units in a region’s hospitals fill to more than 85 percent of capacity. None of the state’s five regions have reached that threshold yet, but some are expected to this week, officials said. [See which counties are in each region , and find out which activities are exempted here.] Residents will be required to stay home except for essential tasks and outdoor exercise. Most businesses …

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — More than a year after protesters toppled a statue of a Spanish missionary on the grounds of the California Capitol, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law on Friday to replace it with a memorial for the state's Native Americans. A statue of Father Junipero Serra had stood in Capitol Park since 1967. He was a Roman Catholic pries who established a string of missions from San Diego to San Francisco in the late1700s and used them as centers to convert members of nearby tribes to Christianity. But many natives were forced to live and work at the missions and subjected to beatings and other abuse. Thousands died. Serra was given sainthood by Pope Francis in 2015, a controversial decision that brought sharp criticism from those who see Serra as a colonialist who destroyed Native American tribes and their cultures. Last summer, the murder of George Floyd by a Minnesota police officer prompted nationwide protests over racial injustice. On July 4, 2020, …

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close Video Getting Sea Otters Off Endangered List California debates best way to save animals NASA is aiding in the effort to humanely track sea otter populations. The agency's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley is working to develop a modern tracking device designed to fit into the animals' hind flippers. NASA CONFIRMS MARS REGION HAD THOUSANDS OF ANCIENT VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS NASA is partnering with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Northern California's Monterey Bay Aquarium on the project, and noted in a release that the tags have also gone through initial testing with sea otters at the aquarium. While previous generations of otter trackers were bulky, expensive, depended on special batteries and only provided an approximate location, NASA said in a release that new technology – which is still being tested – delivers "accurate GPS-enabled otter locations more frequently, in a much smaller, low-cost, …

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close Video Fox News Flash top headlines for September 25 Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. A California man suspected of hitting and killing NFL assistant coach Gregg Knapp with a car in July avoided charges after prosecutors failed to find sufficient evidence to prove criminal negligence. Knapp, 58, was struck and killed while riding his bicycle July 17 and died five days later. The driver of the car, a 22-year-old Danville man, remained at the accident site with police, and authorities said at the time that the driver did not appear to be intoxicated. CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM Contra Costa County prosecutors made the decision Friday that they would not be filing criminal charges against the driver. "The Office of the District Attorney has determined that there is insufficient evidence to satisfy the requisite standard of criminal negligence on …

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It’s the perfect house in the right neighborhood, so the competition is stiff, but you’ve absolutely got to have it. So what do you do? You make your bid, offering more than the list price because that’s how insane the California real estate market can be in many neighborhoods, and then you sit down and write a love letter. “We cannot express to you how much we love your home,” says an internet letter-writing primer that includes tidbits about 20-month-old Jimmy, “a wild, fun, curious boy” who’s going to love the backyard, while family felines Bubba and Mr. Cat “will love basking in all the natural light.” Advertisement Business For Subscribers How the pandemic helped scatter $1-million homes across L.A. COVID-19 unleashed new demand for homes, made the well-off wealthier, and fueled extreme bidding wars. The result? The $1-million home is everywhere. This practice has always struck me as creepy — a fawning essay contest in the …

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom Gavin Newsom California to launch program tracking violent deaths in LGBTQ+ community California governor signs legislation targeting Amazon warehouse speed quotas Newsom signs privacy laws for abortion providers and patients MORE (D) on Friday signed into law a measure that will effectively remove the term “alien” from state laws in reference to residents who are not U.S. citizens, in a response to growing arguments that the word is outdated and offensive. The legislation, which was authored by California A ssembly member Luz Rivas (D), will replace the word with alternative terms like “noncitizen” or “immigrant" according to an announcement from Newsom's office . While state laws passed in 2015 and 2016 removed the word from the California labor and education code, the measure signed by Newsom Friday will replace the term in all state laws. ADVERTISEMENT Newsom said in a statement, “As the nation’s most diverse …

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close Video Newsom will show Gen Z, millennials California is not what US 'should be like': Joe Basrawi Joe Basrawi, Today is America strategy director, says 'this next year' will display 'true side' of Gov. Gavin Newsom. "Reform California" chairman Carl DeMaio on Saturday criticized California Gov. Gavin Newsom's signing of a bill that allows some illegal immigrants to serve on county central committees -- one of a number of bills signed to benefit those who entered the country illegally. "These bills are not just symbolic wokeness, this is a fundamental redefinition of who gets to be elected to office in California, and they're starting small but this is absolutely the first step," DeMaio told Fox News. NEWSOM SIGNS BILL REPLACING ‘ALIEN’ IN CALIFORNIA LEGAL CODE The bill, was one of a number of bills that Newsom’s office described as "expanding the state’s humane immigration policies by protections and support for immigrants" and …

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A man was fatally shot by police in Huntington Beach, California, near the U.S. Open of Surfing contest, authorities said Saturday night. The man, who was not identified, had a gun and "was non-compliant" as officers tried to get him to surrender, the Huntington Beach Police Department said in a statement. The afternoon confrontation occurred south of the Huntington Beach Pier, where surfers were competing nearby in the U.S. Open of Surfing, a qualifying event connected to the professional surfing tour. Following the shooting, "life-saving measures were provided," but the man died at a hospital, the department said. A gun was recovered at the scene, police said. The Orange County Sheriff's Department was asked to investigate. The annual surfing contest has sometimes drawn large, boisterous crowds. In 1986, under the name O.P. Pro, it was the site of rioting and looting . The event wraps up Sunday. …

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