Technology
We caught 4 more states sharing personal health data with Big Tech
Health care exchanges in Nevada, Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island shared users’ sensitive health data with companies like Google and LinkedIn.
New bill would stop DMV from making millions off auctioned cars without telling the owners
The bill is inspired by a CalMatters story that revealed state law allows the DMV to collect money from towed cars in secret.
Judge begins to unwind conflicts in Ventura County conservatorship cases
Following a CalMatters investigation, a new judge has ordered Angelique Friend to stop hiring her husband’s companies with her clients’ money.
‘It’s time’: California leaders unveil biggest crackdown on drunk drivers in decades
A bipartisan coalition of state lawmakers has introduced 10 bills, an unprecedented package designed to stop deadly drivers.
Rural California gets a lifeline in school funding as Congress restores money it cut
A century-old program pays for schools, roads and other services in 39 California counties.
Health
After CalMatters investigation, LinkedIn and Google face lawsuit alleging improper access to health data
The suit accuses the companies of receiving personal information through California’s state health insurance exchange.
Homelessness
They found their homeless loved ones after years apart. But that was just the beginning
After reading a CalMatters article, two people were able to reconnect with their homeless relatives. Here’s what happened next.
Justice
Judge restricts Border Patrol in California: ‘You just can’t walk up to people with brown skin’
'You just can’t walk up to people with brown skin and say give me your papers,' a federal judge told Border Patrol attorneys at a hearing challenging recent immigration sweeps.
Higher Education
Fraud in California community colleges triggers call for Trump investigation
Following CalMatters reporting, California’s Republican representatives are calling for the U.S. Department of Education and Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate how California’s community colleges are handling financial aid fraud.
Higher Education
Trump administration restores dementia research it gutted as part of its DEI purge
The National Institutes of Health restored a leading University of California researcher’s $36 million grant studying dementia on Friday after terminating it three weeks ago as part of the Trump administration’s DEI purge. The UC says others were restored, too.
Justice
Border Patrol to retrain hundreds of California agents on how to comply with the Constitution
After controversial sweeps in Kern County and a CalMatters investigation, the federal government will train agents on when they can stop and arrest people.
Politics
Alec Baldwin, a $227,000 payment and a San Jose fundraiser at heart of allegations against former lawmaker
California’s political watchdog is fining former Assemblymember Evan Low $106,000 for campaign finance violations after he admitted trying to conceal payments to actor Alec Baldwin, who appeared at a 2020 fundraiser for Low.
Homelessness
California considers more homeless shelter oversight after CalMatters investigation
State lawmakers will debate a bill to require annual inspections, new complaint processes and harsher penalties for local governments that don’t file mandatory reports.
Mental Health
Insurance denials can devastate mental health patients. California is considering how to fix that
'Everybody’s been denied some form of care,' said one California mental health advocate. Now, lawmakers are advancing new bills on behavioral health coverage.