Weather improves, thousands of evacuated Californians return home after wildfires

In the past two days, evacuation orders were lifted for at least 50,000 people in the San Francisco Bay Area and wine country, officials with the state fire agency, Cal Fire, said Thursday evening. At their peak, some 170,000 people were under evacuation orders.

Lakewood boy, 16, shares his story after difficult battle with COVID-19 following birthday party

Pierre St. Julian, 16, was diagnosed with COVID-19 following his 16th birthday party — which 11 family members attended. Days later, everyone who attended the party tested positive for COVID-19 except two people. Not long after, one of the attendees died from the virus.

Chicken plant in central California to shut down over virus outbreak

The order to close the Foster Farms Livingston Facility comes after at least 358 employees have tested positive, and eight employees have died due to the coronavirus.

Some Californians didn’t get evacuation alerts in wildfires

“They alert us about all kinds of crap, but this was life-threatening,” she said, adding that she got an alert in April about a bear sighting 15 miles away. “If fire’s going to be a way of life for California, we at least have to have an alert system.”

Alameda, Contra Costa counties attempting to reopen some businesses again

Counties need to understand clearly “what thresholds to aim for and the public health data that will determine success or failure,” the California State Association of Counties said in a statement.

104 new COVID-19 cases reported among USC students in 4 days

The number of coronavirus cases confirmed among USC students continued rising, with the university announcing 104 new cases over the past four days, with the spread primarily attributed to gatherings of students at off-campus housing.

Several arrests from Jacob Blake protests, but none are Oakland residents

After midnight, Oakland police described that up to 600 people took part in what they described as "violent & destructive protests." 

'Sickening': Firefighter has wallet stolen, bank account drained during Santa Cruz fire fight

Cal Fire Operations Chief Mark Brunton called the act "saddening" and said it's the last thing crews should have to experience while they're battling out of control fires with limited resources. 

Dodgers, Giants game postponed in wake of police shooting of Jacob Blake

The Major League Baseball game scheduled for Wednesday night between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants was postponed in the wake of the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Man charged with shooting protected elephant seal on California beach

A 30-year-old-man was charged Tuesday with shooting and killing a protected northern elephant seal on a California beach, federal prosecutors said.

California COVID-19 case numbers are improving but don't expect rush to reopen

"We've been watching for two to three weeks, steady declines in our hospital numbers as well as our ICU numbers," said Dr. Mark Ghaly, noting a 19% decline in hospitalizations, and an 18% drop in ICU COVID-19 patients compared to two weeks ago.

California OKs school return for students with special needs or are homeless

The new guidelines appear to be the broadest attempt to deal with students, including older ones, who are more likely to struggle with at-home, digital learning, either because they lack the technology and a safe space to learn or because they are on special education plans or need other targeted support.

Los Angeles Rams, Chargers to play NFL season without fans in attendance 'until further notice'

The Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers will play home games at the brand new SoFi Stadium in Inglewood for the 2020 NFL season, but without fans in attendance until further notice.