CAlifornia

Firefighters battle part of the Sand Fire after flames jumped across a road in Santa Clarita, Calif., on Sunday. As the blaze changed direction multiple times over the weekend firefighters were forced to retreat and thousands of people have been evacuated

Some Evacuation Orders Lifted In Southern California Wildfire

9:40pm July 25, 2016

by Rebecca Hersher

The body of a man was found in an area burned by a 33,000 acre wildfire north of Los Angeles. The Sand Fire has destroyed more than a dozen homes and is one of 19 major fires burning in California.

Natalie Dunnege and her son, Strazh, work on an art project at home in San Francisco. Her health insurance would cover therapy sessions to help with her depression, Dunnege says, but she hasn't been able to find a counselor who is taking new patients.

Single Mom's Search For Therapist Hampered By Insurance Companies

5:24pm July 25, 2016

by April Dembosky

Recent health laws were supposed to give people easier access to mental health care. But some adults who have anxiety or depression and need help are still having a tough time lining up treatment.

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Frustrated You Can't Find A Therapist? They're Frustrated, Too

10:57am July 14, 2016

by April Dembosky

Why is it so hard to connect people with therapists? Insurance bureaucracy cuts both ways, it turns out. Patients have trouble finding therapists in networks. And therapists have trouble joining them.

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Gov. Jerry Brown signed six new bills into law Friday, nearly seven months after a mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif. Two of the new laws restrict ammunition. In this photo from last summer, a man enters a gun store in Los Angeles.

National

6 New Gun Control Laws Enacted In California, As Gov. Brown Signs Bills

8:47pm July 01, 2016

by Bill Chappell

The capacity of guns' magazines will now be limited to 10 bullets, and background checks will be required to buy ammunition. The new laws also target "straw purchasing" guns for other people.

A marijuana plant is displayed during the 2016 Cannabis Business Summit & Expo last month in Oakland, Calif.

California To Vote On Legalizing Recreational Marijuana

1:48pm June 29, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

An initiative has officially obtained enough signatures to be placed on November's ballot. It would allow adults to possess up to an ounce of marijuana and grow up to six plants for recreational use.

Three different law enforcement drawings show a suspected serial killer believed to have committed at least 12 murders and 45 rapes across California in the '70s and '80s. Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones, FBI Special Agent in Charge Monica Miller an

National

FBI Asks For Tips In Decades-Old Cold Case Of 'Golden State Killer'

1:01pm June 16, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

In 1976, a man began terrorizing California neighborhoods, committing a string of rapes and murders. His last known crime was in 1986. Now the FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for tips on the case.

Lonny Shavelson has studied America's experiments with aid in dying. He's now helping patients and doctors in California come to grips with the state's new law.

This Doctor Wants To Help California Figure Out Aid-In-Dying

8:27am June 11, 2016

by Lisa Aliferis

It's now legal for doctors to prescribe lethal medications to terminally ill patients who want them. But many doctors say they feel queasy about it. Lonny Shavelson wants to help them with that.

Politics & Government

Trump's African-American: 'I Am Not A Trump Supporter'

5:06pm June 06, 2016

by Brakkton Booker

Gregory Cheadle tells NPR he was not offended when presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump pointed to him at a recent California campaign rally and said, "Look at my African-American over here."

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Scientists in California are turning to big data to help save the red-legged frog, which is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

Using Algorithms To Catch The Sounds Of Endangered Frogs

5:16pm May 29, 2016

by Sam Harnett

Scientists are turning to big data to try to save California's state amphibian. They're using software to comb through hours of recordings to find the red-legged frogs that remain.

The cracked-dry bed of the Almaden Reservoir in San Jose, Calif., in 2014.

California Will Let Local Authorities Assess Water Conservation Goals Amid Drought

6:36pm May 19, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

This will replace mandatory state-driven standards. It's happening because California's drought — now entering its fifth year — is easing in some parts of the state but not others.