CalMatters Staff

Ash rained down and smoke blanketed Los Angeles during the 2025 wildfires, leaving behind a toxic legacy in soil and homes. Without a federal or California mandate, nonprofit, academic and local groups offer testing for homeowners.

New California laws taking effect on Jan. 1, 2026 expand coverage for in vitro fertilization, regulate artificial intelligence, protect renters and more.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has hundreds of bills to sign or veto before the Oct. 13 deadline, on everything from oil drilling to immigration raids and antisemitism in schools.

¿Dónde voto? ¿Estoy registrado para votar? ¿Todos reciben su boleta por correo? Respuestas a sus preguntas sobre el día de las elecciones, antes del 4 de noviembre.

Where do I vote? Am I registered to vote? Does everyone get a ballot in the mail? Answers to your election day questions ahead of November 4.

After reporters found dozens of firms hiding privacy tools from search results, US senator Maggie Hassan insisted the companies explain their practices—and pledge to improve access to privacy controls.

The Police Records Access Project database, now available to the public, contains roughly 1.5 million pages of records from 12,000 officer-misconduct and use-of-force cases in California.

Despite felony convictions in fatal crashes, several local drivers have regained licenses under a system that operates with no public tracking, few safeguards and rising calls for reform.

Trump signed measures today revoking waivers for the state's mandates that clean up car and truck exhaust and ramp up sales of electric vehicles. California and 10 other states immediately sued and the governor ordered the air board to craft a new mandate.

A new podcast episode revisits CalMatters' recent story on police stepping back from mental health calls, and what that shift means for crisis response systems.