As wildfires rage up and down the West Coast, a panel of experts from Stanford University said Friday that exposure to high levels of pollution from wildfire smoke is the equivalent of smoking seven cigarettes a day. Add to that increased risk of stroke and heart attack as well as pushing the lungs to...

Members of the civilian Los Angeles County Sheriff Department watchdog group on Thursday called for Sheriff Alex Villanueva (pictured) to resign over his department’s lack of transparency on fatal police shootings and other issues. The demand, which Villanueva said he would ignore, marked the latest...

Under a new worker protection law signed Thursday by Gov. Gavin Newsom, California businesses must inform employees if they were potentially exposed to COVID-19 at the workplace. Supporters hope a simple notification from businesses will considerably stem the type of mass outbreaks that have plagued...

As the weekly average of new cases rises in the U.S., federal health officials revealed a plan Wednesday to roll out free COVID-19 vaccine doses to all Americans who want one. Two documents outlining the Trump administration’s strategy for delivering doses to Americans were submitted to Congress by...

New research suggests that COVID-19 may have been circulating in the Los Angeles area as early as last December — months before the outbreak in officially confirmed U.S. cases began to signal the beginning of a pandemic. Health officials from China and the World Health Organization began to warn of...

SACRAMENTO — Granting relief to small businesses hit hardest by the pandemic, California Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday signed legislation intended to keep Main Street afloat and spur new jobs. Warning that over 40% of the state’s small businesses are at risk of closing, Newsom approved a law...

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law Friday that exempts freelance journalists and a handful of other professions from a 2019 landmark labor law meant to protect gig workers. In addition to the exemptions for freelance journalists, Friday’s bill also exempts producers, certain musicians,...

OAKLAND — A judge has blocked the University of California system from using the SAT and ACT as part of its admissions process, finding a “test-optional policy” gives an unfair advantage to students who can access testing centers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The UC Board of Regents voted to drop...

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County prosecutors are reviewing residents’ complaints of police violence and misconduct during recent protests against fatal police shootings of Black people, a law enforcement official said Tuesday. Protests have swept L.A. County for months amid an ongoing nationwide...

SACRAMENTO — California newspapers struggling through the pandemic and ensuing recession will have extra time to comply with a new labor law forcing the industry to transform its workforce under a bill approved by lawmakers Monday. The Assembly overwhelmingly voted to send the Save Local Journalism...