State

CALIFORNIA—The U.S. Drought Monitor has released a report indicated that nearly one-third of the state of California is no longer in what is considered drought conditions. That is the largest drought-free the state of California has seen since 2013. The U.S. Drought Monitor indicated that just below 30 percent of California is no longer in a drought. About 15 percent of the entire state is drought-free,...

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CA—The mountains about 70 miles Southeast of the Lake Tahoe area where hit by a cluster of over 30 earthquakes on Wednesday, December 28. The largest earthquake hit at 12:18 a.m. and was measured at a 5.7 magnitude. The second, a twin magnitude of 5.7 struck shortly after at 12:22 a.m and a third earthquake hit at 1:14...

CALIFORNIA—New legislation introduced by State Senator Jerry Hill and Assembly Member Evan Low may restrict the use of marijuana while operating a vehicle. Proposition 64 granted Californians the right to use recreational marijuana this past November. Currently, it’s illegal to have an open container of marijuana in a car, but currents laws do not address using marijuana while driving, according...

BEVERLY HILLS—Actress Debbie Reynolds, 84, the mother of “Star Wars” actress Carrie Fisher has died. The actress was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center to seek medical treatment on Wednesday, December 28 after suffering from an apparent stroke. Reynolds was at the home of her son Todd Fisher in Beverly Hills. He informed the Associated Press that Carrie's death was "too...

SAN JOSE--On Thursday, KTVU uploaded a video of reporter Maureen Naylor's interview with former translator for the United States Army, Sher Haidari, 26. Haidari shared his experience about putting his own life in danger to save American soldiers. In 2007, when he was 17, Haidari (who speaks four languages and went by the alias "Mikey" to conceal his true identity) began working in...

HOLLYWOOD—Carrie Fisher, the actress and writer that became internationally famous as Princess Leia in “Star Wars,” died on Tuesday, December 27 at the age of 60, a family spokesman said. The family’s spokesperson, Simon Hall, released a statement to People Magazine on behalf of Fisher’s daughter, Billie Lourd, 24, who currently stars on the FOX series "Scream Queens." “It is with a...

SAN FRANCISCO—During the November election, voters faced two measures pertaining to the death penalty: Proposition 62, which would terminate the death penalty and require inmates to provide victims with an amount of their income; And Proposition 66, which would accelerate the death penalty process and ensure that criminals on Death Row would be executed. The California Supreme Court declined the measure of Proposition 62, and...

SAN FRANCISCO—The online public transportation network Uber Technologies Inc. was ordered by the state of California to remove its self-driving cars from the streets of San Francisco on Wednesday, December 21. The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) revoked the registration of 16 self-driving vehicles in San Francisco on the grounds that Uber did not obtain a permit to test its...

SAN FRANCISCO—After a statewide investigation, two San Francisco businesses are facing criminal charges for selling and illegally trafficking ivory. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife worked on three separate investigations from Los Angeles to the Bay Area and discovered two undisclosed local businesses with significant violations, according to the CDFW. “Under Governor Brown’s leadership, laws to combat illegal wildlife trafficking have...

SANTA ROSA—Gerardo Mendoza Ordaz of Healdsburg was found mentally incompetent to stand trial on Monday, December 19, for the drowning of his 4-year-old daughter. Ordaz, 42, has been being charged with the murder of his daughter, Maria Jose Ordaz-Chavarria. He is also being charged with the willful infliction of emotional distress of his 9 year-old son. According to reports, Ordaz was found...