Jurors in the murder trial of Charles “Chase” Merritt  on Thursday finished hearing the recording of a crucial 2010 law enforcement interview with the defendant that took place nearly two weeks after the four members of the McStay family disappeared from their Fallbrook home. Merritt, 62, has pleaded not guilty to the slayings of former business associate…

A shallow magnitude 3.1 earthquake was reported Thursday afternoon six miles from Cantua Creek, Calif., in the San Joaquin Valley, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The temblor occurred at 5:30 p.m. PST at a depth of 3.7 miles. According to the USGS, the epicenter was 20 miles from Coalinga,…

The 2017 fire that destroyed thousands of homes in Santa Rosa, Calif., and killed 22 people was caused by private power lines, not ones owned by utility giant Pacific Gas & Electric Co., a long-awaited state investigation released Thursday concluded. The finding by Cal Fire marks a bit of good…

A shallow magnitude 2.5 earthquake was reported Thursday morning a mile from Northridge, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The temblor occurred at 11:29 a.m. Pacific time at a depth of 5.6 miles. According to the USGS, the epicenter was two miles from North Hills, four miles from Chatsworth…

It’s been eleven months since California cannabis officials told Weedmaps, the popular online directory that helps consumers find marijuana shops, to stop listing stores that aren’t licensed. It’s also been about eleven months since Weedmaps essentially told the state to pound sand; that it would continue taking ads from all comers. And the ongoing difference of…

By KEVIN FREKING, MATTHEW DALY and CATHERINE LUCEY WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he is postponing his State of the Union address until the partial government shutdown ends, yielding after a weeklong showdown with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Following a high-stakes game of dare and double-dare, Trump conceded Wednesday night that “no venue that…

To combat a surge in violent crime, the Los Angeles Police Department doubled the size of its elite Metropolitan Division in 2015, creating special units to swarm crime hot spots. Metro officers in unmarked, dark-gray SUVs began pulling over drivers to search cars for guns or drugs. By 2018, the…

In the best actor category, Oscar got it wrong on Tuesday. It snubbed a man who should have topped the list of nominees. A man who routinely delivers polished performances at red carpet events across L.A.’s celebrity-studded universe, showing up nattily attired and cleverly passing himself off…

“Since the first Column One appeared many thousands of days ago, it’s become the newspaper’s showcase and showplace — for readers, a brisk daily plunge into the engrossing and unconventional, and for writers, an opportunity to unshackle their talents from confining notions of what a newspaper story…

As Texas and other states pass laws making it harder for women to obtain abortions, patients increasingly rely on doctors who travel from other states. Many of those doctors come from California.