Impact

A woman speaks at a podium during a press conference as a group of people stand behind them inside of a blue backdrop inside an office building.

Newsom signs 4 new California DUI laws. Advocates want more next session

A CalMatters investigation has found the state has some of the weakest DUI laws in the nation.

By Robert Lewis and Lauren Hepler

Inside a courtroom, a person in a dark suit stands at a lectern facing a computer monitor and microphone. Two empty black chairs sit in front of the desk. In the background, slightly out of focus, another person in an orange jail uniform stands with their hands positioned near their waist.

Newsom signs two laws to address weaknesses in California’s public defense

The laws follow CalMatters investigations into failures in the state's public-defense system.

By Anat Rubin

Several people in dark green uniforms and rubber clogs walk quickly through a detention facility hallway, their bodies blurred by motion. Beige institutional doors marked “West Entrance” and a polished concrete floor frame the scene.

Data from 911 calls at ICE detention centers must be disclosed under new California law

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law compelling the release of information about 911 calls from immigrant detention centers. It followed CalMatters' reporting about alleged rapes at one site.

By Wendy Fry

A California university is cutting ties with the Border Patrol after student outcry

Following a CalMatters investigation, students and faculty at UC San Diego protested against campus police for collaborating with Border Patrol through a federal grant program. The university will stop participating in the program and aiding patrols, sources and internal documents confirm.

By Phoebe Huss

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.

By Colin Lecher and Tomas Apodaca • June 17, 2025

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.

By Colin Lecher and Tomas Apodaca • May 2, 2025

A person wearing a red sweatshirt and glasses sits on a sidewalk, leaning against a building with their reflection visible in the window beside them. Trees and traffic are blurred in the background.

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.

By Marisa Kendall • May 1, 2025

A group of people stand in a line near a white Border Patrol truck in a desert area, with a Border Patrol agent addressing them. In the background, portable toilets, fencing, and a hilly landscape are visible under a clear blue sky.

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.

By Sergio Olmos and Wendy Fry • April 29, 2025

Exterior of a building with large capital letters spelling “U.S. Department of Education.” The building features vertical windows and concrete panels, with sunlight casting deep shadows across the facade.

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.

By Adam Echelman • April 25, 2025

Students on campus at the University of California, Davis in Davis on Feb. 2, 2022. Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

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.

By Mikhail Zinshteyn • April 14, 2025

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.

By Wendy Fry and Sergio Olmos • April 10, 2025

A glimpse of a person wearing a black suit with a blue and white polka dot tie amongst other people standing nearby.

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.

By Yue Stella Yu • March 29, 2025

A "No Stopping at Any Time" sign, partially covered in graffiti, stands in the foreground of a landscaped area with spiky green and yellow plants. Behind it, a blue and gray industrial-style building with a metal roof is enclosed by a black fence. A concrete walkway with a railing leads toward the entrance. The sky is bright blue with scattered clouds, and a power transmission tower is visible in the distance.

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.

By Lauren Hepler • March 24, 2025

Illustration of a silhouette of a person in freefall, set against a background of concentric circles composed of insurance health claim forms in bold orange and black

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.

By Jocelyn Wiener • March 20, 2025

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