SOPHIE AUSTIN

Associated Press/Report for America

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announces "Vogue World: Hollywood," a fashion event that celebrates the conversation between film and fashion scheduled for October 2025, at a news conference at Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

California will sue to stop Trump from imposing sweeping tariffs

California is filing a lawsuit to challenge President Donald Trump’s tariffs. The state’s Democratic governor says the president lacks the authority to impose a 10% tariff on all imports. Gov.

State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, chairman of the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee, watches as the Senate votes on measure to reduce the state budget deficit at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., Thursday,, April 11, 2024.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, file)

California’s effort to hold oil companies liable for natural disaster damage stalls

A bill in the California Legislature that would have made oil and gas companies liable for damage to homes caused by natural disasters has failed to advance. Lawmakers in the Senate Judiciary Committee have blocked the bill.

Student athletes hold signs during a hearing to consider bills to pass rules banning transgender student-athletes Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Yuri Avila)

California lawmakers reject bills to ban trans athletes’ participation in girls sports

California lawmakers have rejected two bills aimed at keeping trans kids and teens off sports teams consistent with their gender identity.

Parents, students, and staff of Chino Valley Unified School District hold up signs in favor of protecting LGBTQ+ policies at Don Antonio Lugo High School, in Chino, Calif., June 15, 2023. (Anjali Sharif-Paul/The Orange County Register via AP, File)

Things to know about the federal investigation into California’s law on students and gender

The Trump administration is investigating California’s education department over a law that bans school districts from requiring staff to notify parents of their child’s pronoun change.

Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, D-Thousand Oaks, announces a bill that would ban the sale of new or refurbished single-use e-cigarettes, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, during a news conference in Sacramento, Calif.,. (AP Photo/Sophie Austin)

California lawmakers propose bill that would ban the sale of disposable e-cigarettes

California Gov. Gavin Newsom waits for President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump to step off Air Force One upon their arrival at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

California approves $50M to protect immigrants and defend state against Trump administration

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed laws to help safeguard the state’s progressive policies from challenges by Republican President Donald Trump’s administration.

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump listen to California Gov. Gavin Newsom after arriving on Air Force One at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

California Assembly approves $50M to defend immigrants and protect state policies from Trump plans

California’s Democratic-dominated Assembly has endorsed up to $50 million in funding to defend the state’s progressive policies against challenges by the Trump administration.

A firefighters spray water as he monitor flames caused by the Hughes Fire along a roadside in Castaic, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

California will spend $2.5 billion to help the Los Angeles area recover from wildfires

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a more than $2.5 billion package to help the Los Angeles area recover from its recent deadly wildfires.

California Governor Gavin Newsom, left, surveys damage in Pacific Palisades with CalFire's Nick Schuler, center, and Senator Alex Padilla, D-Calif.) during the Palisades Fire Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Pacific Palisades, Calif. (Jeff Gritchen/The Orange County Register via AP, File)

Battling LA’s wildfires, priorities shift for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s once Trump-focused special session

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has expanded the focus of a special session he called to pass legislation safeguarding the state’s progressive policies ahead of Republican President-elect Donald Trump’s return to office.

The Los Angeles skyline is seen above the Union Pacific LATC Intermodal Terminal on April 25, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

California pulls back EPA requests for approval to phase out diesel-powered trains and big rigs

California has withdrawn requests for the EPA to give the state authority to enforce rules limiting emissions from diesel-powered trains and big rigs. The move comes days ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.

Robbie Macias, Aemetis vice president of biogas, gestures while demonstrating the strength of a dairy digester with Wickstrom Jersey Farms manager Brent Wickstrom on Thursday, May 9, 2024, in Hilmar, Calif. The digester captures methane from cow manure which generates energy in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)

Environmental groups sue over California support for polluting biofuels

Several environmental groups are suing California air regulators over their continuing support for biofuels. The lawsuits say a recent update of a contentious climate program fails to address their environmental impacts.

FILE - Assembly member Isaac Bryan, D-Los Angeles, speaks on a bill at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., Sept. 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

California bill would allow public university admission priority for slaves’ descendants

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.

FILE - California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer, File)

Newsom says California could offer electric vehicle rebates if Trump eliminates federal tax credit

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

FILE - Palm Springs Section 14 neighborhood residents and descendants listen to Areva Martin, civil rights attorney, at the United Methodist Church in Palm Springs, Calif., Sunday, April 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

Black and Latino families displaced from Palm Springs neighborhood reach tentative settlement

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.

FILE - California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer, File)

California Gov. Gavin Newsom will spend part of week in DC as he tries to Trump-proof state policies

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is heading to Washington this week to meet with the Biden administration. His office says he will push for state priorities on health care, disaster relief and climate.

A sign directs the way to a polling place at Marina Park Community Center on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Newport Beach, Calif. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

California voters reject measure that would have banned forced prison labor

California has rejected a ballot measure that would have amended the state constitution to ban forced prison labor.

FILE - Charging bays are seen at the new Electrify America indoor electric vehicle charging station in San Francisco, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

California air regulators approve changes to climate program that could raise gas prices

California air regulators have voted to approve changes to a key climate program aimed at reducing planet-warming emissions that could increase gas prices statewide.

Marsha Molinari of West Hollywood, Calif., holds a cell phone at a polling place at the Connie Norman Transgender Empowerment Center on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in West Hollywood, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

California voters pass initiative to make some shoplifting and drug offenses felonies

California voters have approved a plan to borrow $10 billion for various climate programs. It will be the state’s largest investment to date in fighting climate change. It was among 10 statewide propositions on the California ballot Tuesday.

FILE - A JetBlue Airbus flies over a pair of Southwest Airlines' jets from Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, Calif., bound for New York's JFK airport, July 19, 2005. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)

California announces sustainable fuels partnership to curb emissions from planes

California is partnering with a major airline trade group to increase the availability of sustainable aviation fuels in the state. The goal is to cut planet-warming emissions from the airline industry.

FILE - Retirees Ron Martin, left, and Willie Mae Hampton, right, join other supporters of the Service Employees International Union at a rally against proposed budget cuts to state provided social safety net programs, in Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, June 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

California health care workers get a pay bump under a new minimum wage law

Some of the lowest-paid health care workers in California are getting a pay bump under a state law. Workers’ pay will increase to $25 an hour over the next decade under the law starting Wednesday.

FILE - Steven Abujen, a California prison inmate with the Prison Industry Authority, cleans one of the newly installed headstones at the Mormon Island Relocation Cemetery, near Folsom, Calif., on Oct. 18, 2011. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

Voters in California and Nevada consider ban on forced labor aimed at protecting prisoners

California and Nevada voters will decide in November if they want to ban forced prison labor by removing language from their state constitutions rooted in the legacy of chattel slavery.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs legislation at the state Capitol on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, aimed at preventing gas prices from spiking at the pump. (AP Photo/Sophie Austin)

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs a law aimed at preventing gas prices from spiking

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a law aimed at preventing gas prices from spiking at the pump. The move marks the Democrat’s latest step in a battle with the oil industry over energy prices and the impacts of climate change.

Sheraton Grand Hotel workers Lupe Ventura, center, and Alex Ivanitsky, right, who are represented by hospitality workers union United Here Local 49, participate in a strike authorization vote in Sacramento, Calif., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. The union is asking for higher wages and the reversal of COVID-era staffing cuts. (Paul Kitagaki Jr./The Sacramento Bee via AP)

Should California’s minimum wage be $18? Voters will soon decide

Voters will decide whether California should raise its minimum wage to $18 an hour, which would put it at the highest in the United States. The state already has raised fast food worker wages to $20.

FILE - The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge rises behind the price board of a gas station in San Francisco on July 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

California Senate passes bill aimed at preventing gas price spikes

The California state Senate has passed a bill aimed at preventing gas prices from spiking at the pump. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is backing the proposal. He called lawmakers into a special session to consider it.

FILE - A sign at a Sinclair gas station is seen next to an Arco gas station advertising gasoline prices, June 10, 2024, in Long Beach, Calif. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun, File)

California lawmakers advance bill that aims to keep gas prices from spiking

The California state Assembly has advanced a bill backed by Gov. Gavin Newsom that aims to prevent gas prices from spiking. The measure would allow the state to require companies to maintain a certain level of fuel on hand.

Some of the 300 fourth-grade students and teachers from Inland Empire schools learn a traditional Native American song in a pre-celebration of the anticipated passage of Assembly Bill 1821 at the California Indian Cultural Awareness Conference (CICAC) at the California State University campus in San Bernardino, Calif., on Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

New law requires California schools to teach about historical mistreatment of Native Americans

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a law requiring public schools to teach about the historical mistreatment of Native Americans during the Spanish colonization and gold rush periods.

FILE - People listen during a rally in support of reparations for African Americans outside City Hall in San Francisco, Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

California to apologize for state’s legacy of racism against Black Americans under new law

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed new laws that seek to offer repair for decades of policies that drove racial disparities for African Americans.

FILE - Morris Griffin holds up a sign during a meeting by the Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans in Oakland, Calif., Dec. 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoes bill to help Black families reclaim taken land

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 arrives at a press conference in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs laws to curb oil and gas pollution near neighborhoods

California Gov. Gavin has signed new laws to reduce oil and gas pollution. One of the measures signed Wednesday will give local governments more authority to restrict oil and gas operations.

FILE - Student Keiran George uses her cellphone as she steps outside the Ramon C. Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts High School in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

California becomes latest state to restrict student smartphone use at school

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a law requiring school districts to restrict student phone use. The move means California will join Florida, Louisiana, Indiana and other states in passing legislation limiting student device access.