A major storm has pounded California’s central coast bringing flooding and high surf that was blamed for fatally trapping a man beneath debris on a beach and later partially collapsing a pier, tossing three people into the Pacific Ocean.

A handful of prominent Democratic governors are quickly adjusting their approach to President-elect Donald Trump before he takes office in January.

California officials have declared a state of emergency over the spread of bird flu, which is tearing through dairy cows in that state and causing sporadic illnesses in people in the U.S. That raises new questions about the outbreak of the virus, also known as Type A H5N1.

The Environmental Protection Agency has granted two requests from California to enforce strict standards for vehicle emissions, including a rule aimed at banning sales of new gasoline-powered cars in the state by 2035.

Missouri’s status as one of the most active death penalty states is about to change for one simple reason: The state is running out of inmates to execute.

The sheriff of the nation’s fifth-largest county on Tuesday defied a new policy to limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities, setting up a showdown over a new obstacle to President-elect Donald Trump’s mass deportation plans.

California lawmakers will consider a bill to require labels on social media platforms warning of their effects on young people’s lives.

A 7_0 magnitude earthquake struck in what's known as California's “earthquake country.”.

Since winning election, President-elect Donald Trump has been talking about immigration, border security and government efficiency.

California lawmakers are set to consider a bill that would require the state's public universities to give admission priority to the descendants of slaves.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has launched his campaign to safeguard liberal values ahead of another Donald Trump presidency.

The owner of an oil field in Los Angeles County is suing the state of California over a law that will require it to stop production and plug its wells or face costly fines.

A judge has delayed until January his decision on whether to resentence Erik and Lyle Menendez for killing their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion 35 years ago.

California could offer state tax rebates for electric vehicle purchases if the incoming Trump administration eliminates the $7,500 federal EV tax credit.

California voters have rejected a measure on the November ballot that would have raised the minimum wage for most workers to $18 an hour.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom says he won’t make a clemency decision on the murder convictions of Erik and Lyle Menendez until newly elected Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman reviews the case.

Black and Latino families who were displaced from a Southern California neighborhood in the 1960s have reached a tentative settlement agreement with the city of Palm Springs.

Democratic governors and attorneys general are set to reprise their roles in battling President-elect Trump's policies.

Control over the U.S. House of Representatives still hangs in the balance, teetering between a Republican or Democratic majority with fewer than 20 races left to be called.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has called for state lawmakers to convene a special session in December to help safeguard the state's progressive policies on climate change, reproductive rights and immigration ahead of another Trump presidency.

A Southern California wildfire has destroyed 132 structures in less than two days.

California is being lashed by powerful winds that fed a fast-moving wildfire that destroyed homes and forced hundreds of residents to flee in Ventura County.

For the first time ever, two Black women have been elected to serve simultaneously in the U.S. Senate.

California is partnering with a major airline trade group to increase the availability of sustainable aviation fuels in the state.

Erik and Lyle Menendez’s resentencing hearing has been set for Dec. 11, when a judge will decide whether they will have a shot at freedom after spending 34 years behind bars for the shotgun killings of their parents in 1989.

Erik and Lyle Menendez still have a long way to go before they can walk out of prison, even though the Los Angeles County district attorney has recommended their life-without-parole sentence be thrown out and the brothers be resentenced and immediately eligible for parole.

Law enforcement agencies across the U.S. are cracking down on the troubling spread of child sexual abuse imagery created through artificial intelligence technology.

Some of the lowest-paid health care workers in California are getting a pay bump under a state law.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a law aimed at preventing gas prices from spiking at the pump.

The White House election is expected to come down to battlegrounds such as Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

Ten years ago, 3.7 million Californians voted for a landmark measure that made many nonviolent crimes misdemeanors instead of felonies.

California will soon help end the everyday household debate over whether the food in the fridge is still good to eat.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has vetoed a landmark bill aimed at establishing first-in-the-nation safety measures for large artificial intelligence models.

Conservative Christian churches in California and prominent figures around the United States like activist Charlie Kirk are urging congregations to get involved in ballot gathering or ballot harvesting.

A Northern California tribe's chances of owning a Las Vegas-style casino seemed like a dream as unlikely as hitting the jackpot.

California’s governor has vetoed a bill that would have required all new cars to beep at drivers when they speed.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has vetoed a bill that would have helped Black families reclaim or be compensated for land that was taken unjustly by the government through eminent domain.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed several measures to bolster the state's gun safety laws.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a law requiring school districts to restrict student phone use.

“Paper or plastic” will no longer be a choice at grocery store checkout lines in California under a new law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

California now has some of the strictest laws on election deepfakes.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed three landmark bills Tuesday to crack down on political deepfakes ahead of the 2024 election.

California's governor has signed legislation to protect Hollywood actors and performers against unauthorized use of artificial intelligence, such as creating their digital clones without their consent.

Two decades ago, a Democratic nominee for president might not have dreamed of endorsing gay marriage.

Firefighters battling three major wildfires in the mountains east of Los Angeles are taking advantage of cooler weather.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Thursday bringing back tough criminal penalties targeting large-scale stealing schemes and smash-and-grab robberies.

The shooting at a Georgia high school has highlighted concerns raised about a growing effort to ban or restrict cellphones in the classroom.

California has reached a settlement with the city of Elk Grove over an affordable housing project.

How do you know if an artificial intelligence system is so powerful that it poses a security danger and shouldn’t be unleashed without careful oversight.

The recent same-day deaths of two young football players have rekindled a debate about the sport's safety risks.

California lawmakers have approved a set of first-in-the-nation bills aimed at atoning for the state's legacy of discriminatory policies that have harmed Black Californians.

A California landmark legislation to establish first-in-the-nation safety measures for the largest AI systems has cleared an important vote.

Vice President Kamala Harris urged Americans to seize a “precious, fleeting opportunity” to move beyond political divisions and the threat of Republican Donald Trump on Thursday as she closed out the Democratic National Convention.

California will be the first U.S. state to direct millions of dollars from taxpayer money and tech companies to help pay for journalism and AI research under a new deal announced Wednesday.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bipartisan package of 10 bills to crack down on retail theft.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is sending letters to school districts, urging them to restrict smartphone use on campuses.

Homelessness is at the top of the agenda for candidates in mayoral races across the U.S. West.

The state of California is partnering with tech giant Nvidia to help train California students, college faculty, developers and data scientists in artificial intelligence.

Donald Trump has shared a harrowing story about almost crashing in a helicopter he was riding in with former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has a message to local governments: clear homeless encampments now or lose out on state funding next year.

The two giant pandas sent from China to the United States earlier this year are making their public debut at the San Diego Zoo.

Police in San Francisco will start clearing out homeless residents who have refused to move from public areas under new policies.

Fire crews are working to hold on to the progress made against the largest blaze in California this year ahead of warming temperatures forecast for later this week.

Can tech help solve Southern California's homeless crisis.

A day after California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order directing state agencies to start clearing homeless encampments on state land, including lots under freeways, the homeless people living in these encampments are wondering where else they could go.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered state agencies to start removing homeless encampments on state land Thursday.

President Joe Biden's decision to step down as the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee for president has opened the door for other possible candidates.

President Joe Biden’s abrupt decision to bow out of the presidential race and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic candidate against former President Donald Trump has caused a political earthquake.

She’s already broken barriers, and now Kamala Harris could soon become the first Black woman and the first person of South Asian descent to head a major party's presidential ticket after President Joe Biden’s ended his reelection bid.

With President Joe Biden ending his reelection bid and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris, Democrats now must navigate a shift that is unprecedented this late in an election year.

Billionaire Elon Musk says he’s moving the headquarters of SpaceX and social media company X to Texas from California.

It’s simply reality that based on campaign funds, Harris appears to be the only viable option for Democrats as an alternative to Biden.

President Joe Biden insists that only “the Lord Almighty” can convince him to quit the presidential race.

Gavin Newsom has emerged as President Joe Biden’s most prominent battleground-state soldier.

Forced labor, same-sex marriage and shoplifting are among the 10 statewide ballot measures California voters will consider.

President Joe Biden is opening a critical stretch in his effort to salvage his imperiled reelection campaign.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and state leaders have dropped a plan to put a crime-focused measure on the ballot a day after announcing it.

Officials in a Northern California community have canceled an annual Fourth of July fireworks celebration as thousands of residents remain displaced while crews battle a growing wildfire amid extreme heat.

Sen. Bernie Sanders says he’s not confident President Joe Biden can win the election this fall in the wake of last week's debate.

California lawmakers have advanced a bill that would regulate powerful artificial intelligence systems.

San Francisco’s mayor says the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court allowing cities to enforce bans on sleeping outside in public spaces will allow the city to begin clearing homeless encampments that have plagued the city.

The California Legislature has approved bills that would amend a 20-year-old law allowing workers to sue their bosses over labor violations.

A California law that bans drilling new oil wells near places like homes and schools will likely take effect in the coming days.

Democrats in California have agreed to delay a minimum wage increase for about 426,000 health care workers to help balance the budget.

California’s workplace regulators passed rules that would protect indoor workers from extreme heat.

The California Supreme Court has removed a measure from the state’s November ballot that would have made it harder to raise taxes.

The efforts to tamp down organized retail theft in California this year have largely boiled down to two paths.

The California Legislature has passed its own version of a state spending plan that rejects many of Gov. Gavin Newsom's budget cuts.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to back out of a deal he made last year to pay doctors more money to treat Medicaid patients.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is facing criticism for his proposal to eliminate an optional Medicaid benefit for some disabled immigrants.

California lawmakers have advanced a host of artificial intelligence proposals that would protect jobs, build public trust, fight algorithmic discrimination, and outlaw deepfakes involving elections or pornography.

Arizona doctors can temporarily come to California to perform abortions for their patients under a new law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday the state will make $3.3 billion available by July for counties and private developers to start building more behavior health treatment centers.

One of California's most influential agricultural companies has filed a lawsuit against the state to stop a contentious law that was meant to make it easier for farmworkers to unionize.

California has a multibillion-dollar budget deficit that could force Democratic leaders to end a number of safety net programs and permanently cut 10,000 vacant state jobs.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed a series of painful budget cuts to close the state's growing deficit.

California is partnering with five companies to develop generative AI tools to help the state deliver public services.

A battle is underway in California between a unit of the Wonderful Co. and United Farm Workers over how a group of workers organized under a recently-enacted labor law.

The number of people arrested in connection with protests on college campuses against the Israel-Hamas war has now topped 2,000.

Police have arrested more than 2,100 people during pro-Palestinian protests at college campuses across the United States in recent weeks.