AP California News

By SHAANTH NANGUNERI/CalMatters CalMatters One by one, a California prosecutor eliminated five out of six Black women from the jury pool for a death penalty case in which a white carpet cleaner slayed his client, a young mother. The attorney in Alameda County had a reason for each dismissal. He believed one, for instance, appeared

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Federal authorities raided a home belonging to Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao early Thursday as part of a California investigation that included a search of at least two other houses, officials said. FBI agents carried boxes out of 80 Maiden Lane, a four-bedroom home that property records link to the first-term mayor,

LOS ANGELES (AP) — California firefighters continued to gain ground Thursday against large wildfires that erupted statewide during a late-spring bout of very dry winds. The red flag fire weather conditions that spawned the blazes have abated, but forecasters warned large areas of California will see high heat this weekend. In the mountainous Interstate 5

By GREG BEACHAM AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — JJ Redick is being hired as the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, a person with knowledge of the decision tells The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday because the Lakers hadn’t yet publicly announced the decision to hire the

ANTIOCH, Ill. (AP) — A coroner has identified two teenage girls who died this week after their jet ski crashed into a boat on a northern Illinois lake. The girls were identified as 16-year-old Sarina Vootkur of Lake Forest, California, and 13-year-old Elle Kim of Long Grove, Illinois, the Lake County Coroner’s Office said Thursday.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — JJ Redick is being hired as the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, AP source says.

By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — The roar of the leaf blower has become an inescapable part of daily life in communities across America, leading towns and states to ban or restrict blowers that run on gasoline. But the measures face blowback from the landscaping industry and some property owners who say

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. (AP) — Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw took another step in his comeback from left shoulder surgery, throwing three innings in his first rehab start. The three-time Cy Young Award winner allowed one run and two hits, struck out five and walked one on a pitch-clock violation at Class-A Rancho Cucamonga

By ARNIE STAPLETON AP Pro Football Writer ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Former Stanford football coach David Shaw is returning to the NFL as a senior personnel executive with the Denver Broncos. Shaw, who coached the Cardinal from 2011-22, will help evaluate college and pro players and assist general manager George Paton in roster evaluation. Before

By AMY TAXIN Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Southern California judge can stand trial on a murder charge in the shooting death of his wife, another judge ruled Thursday, after finding there was sufficient evidence for the case to proceed. The decision came after a preliminary hearing for Orange County Superior Court Judge

By AMY TAXIN Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — There is sufficient evidence for a Southern California judge to stand trial on a murder charge in the shooting death of his wife, a judge ruled Thursday. The decision came after a preliminary hearing for Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson, who was arrested in

By MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Biden administration is advancing its plan to restrict logging within old growth forests that are increasingly threatened by climate change, with exceptions that include cutting trees to make forests less susceptible to wildfires, according to a U.S. government analysis obtained by The Associated Press. The

By DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Kia Nurse offered words of encouragement to her Los Angeles Sparks teammate Cameron Brink. The veteran guard knows exactly what the rookie is going through, having torn her ACL in 2021. Brink tore the ACL in her left knee in Tuesday’s loss to Connecticut. She’s

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani and his dog will be featured on his second bobblehead giveaway by the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Japanese two-way superstar is holding his dog, Decoy, while wearing a white Dodgers home uniform. The base of the bobblehead reads “Shohei & Decoy.” The pup recently turned a year old. The

By ADAM BEAM Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The California Supreme Court on Thursday took the rare step of removing a measure from the November ballot that would have made it harder to raise taxes, siding with Gov. Gavin Newsom by ruling the change would have upended the way government works. More than 1

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Supreme Court axes ballot measure that would make it harder to raise taxes, siding with Gov. Newsom.

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the conviction of a California woman who said she did not know about a stash of methamphetamine hidden inside her car. In a ruling that crossed the court’s ideological lines, the 6-3 majority opinion dismissed arguments that an expert witness for

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — A Juneteenth celebration in Oakland, California, turned violent when several people were shot, police said. The Lake Merritt event on Wednesday night was largely peaceful, with as many as 5,000 in attendance, until a sideshow involving “motorbikes and vehicles” took place around 8:15 p.m. on the north side of the lake,

By RYAN PEARSON AP Entertainment Writer INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Not content with merely taking a victory lap after winning his battle against fellow rap superstar Drake, Kendrick Lamar turned his Juneteenth “Pop Out” concert at the Forum into a cathartic livestreamed celebration of Los Angeles unity. Lamar curated a three-hour concert featuring a mix

By SETH BORENSTEIN AP Science Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Human-caused climate change dialed up the thermostat and turbocharged the odds of this month’s killer heat that has been baking the Southwestern United States, Mexico and Central America, a new flash study found. Sizzling daytime temperatures that triggered cases of heat stroke in parts of the