Articles by Cedar Attanasio and Brian Melley

Associated Press

New Mexico Residents Brace for Extreme Wildfire Conditions

With the worst of the thick wildfire smoke having blown out of town, residents of this small northern New Mexico city tried to recapture a sense of normalcy Saturday as their rural neighbors hunkered down amid predictions of extreme fire …

Hospital in California Sued for Racism in Black Mother’s Death

The husband of a Black woman who died hours after childbirth in 2016 sued Cedars-Sinai Medical hospital on Wednesday, saying she bled to death because of a culture of racism at the renowned Los Angeles medical center. Charles Johnson IV …

USC Settles with Men Who Say Campus Doctor Abused Them

Kenny Oshita was a first semester law student at the University of Southern California when a visit to a school doctor for a possible sexual disease turned into an invasive procedure that left him feeling violated. He was not alone. …

Mother Says California Teachers Manipulated Child to Change Gender Identity

A mother who claims teachers secretly manipulated her 11-year-old daughter into changing her gender identity and name has filed a legal case against a tiny California school district. Spreckels Union School District was responsible for “extreme and outrageous conduct” that …

New Safety Rules After Deadly California Dive Boat Accident

The Coast Guard has announced new safety rules following the deadly blaze that killed dozens of people on a scuba diving boat off the California coast more than two years ago. The Labor Day 2019 fire that killed 34 people …

Children of Dead Sex Abuse Victim Sue Under New California Law

After decades of dealing with the boyhood trauma of being molested by a priest, Jim Bartko sued the Roman Catholic church two years ago under. But the lawsuit was dismissed when he died four days after speaking publicly about it. …

Coast Guard Announces Safety Rules After Deadly California Dive Boat Fire

The Coast Guard has announced new safety rules following the deadly blaze that killed dozens of people on a scuba diving boat off the California coast more than two years ago. The Labor Day 2019 fire that killed 34 people …

California Extending Indoor Mask Mandate Until Mid-February

California’s indoor mask mandate was extended into mid-February to help prevent the astonishing spike in coronavirus cases from overwhelming hospitals but the state’s health director said Wednesday additional restrictions are not being considered. The fast-spreading omicron variant of COVID-19 is …

Safeguards for Leaking California Oil Pipe’s Not Fully Working

The ruptured offshore pipeline that spilled tens of thousands of gallons of crude oil off the Southern California coast this fall did not have a fully functioning leak detection system at the time, according to a report obtained by The …

California Judge Weighing in on Legality of Women Board Member Law

When then-California Gov. Jerry Brown signed the nation’s first law requiring women on boards of publicly traded companies, he suggested it might not survive legal challenges. Three years later, a judge will begin hearing evidence this week in Los Angeles …