Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has moved over 21,000 homeless people into temporary shelter in the last year.

Prosecutors have charged a Los Angeles city councilman with embezzlement and perjury in the latest criminal case to upend the scandal-plagued governing board of the nation’s second-largest city.

The Senate has confirmed former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti as the next ambassador to India, more than a year and a half after he was initially selected for the post.

President Joe Biden will start the new Senate session on Tuesday by resubmitting 85 nominations that fell short last year.

California's first-in-the-nation task force studying reparations for Black residents is meeting in Oakland to discuss potential eligibility requirements and what form reparations could take.

Los Angeles' new mayor has outlined her vision to turn around a troubled City Hall and restrain an out-of-control homeless crisis in the nation's second-largest city.

U.S. Rep. Karen Bass has pulled ahead of developer Rick Caruso in their back-and-forth contest to become mayor of Los Angeles.

The embattled Los Angeles City Council installed a new president Tuesday after a chanting crowd of protesters called for halting the vote until two councilmen resign for their part in a meeting laced with racist comments.

Former Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez has announced that she is resigning her council seat amid a scandal over racist remarks that came to light in a leaked recording.

The president of the Los Angeles City Council has resigned from the post after she was heard making racist comments and other coarse remarks in a leaked recording of a conversation with other Latino leaders.

The race for Los Angeles mayor has taken a nasty turn, with both candidates sharpening attacks.

Craig Newmark twists a “Batman” quote to jokingly refer to himself as “not the nerd you want, but maybe, now and then, I’m the nerd you need.”.

Los Angeles police say they have arrested two teenage boys in connection with the death of a 15-year-old girl who overdosed in a restroom at her high school after buying pills possibly laced with fentanyl on campus.

California's water usage jumped nearly 19% in March.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have unveiled plans for this summer's MLB All-Star Game.

In a city struggling with rising crime and a homeless crisis, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is proposing boosting spending for police and funneling a record amount into housing and other programs to help those those living on the streets.

A Los Angeles audit finds that a $1.2 billion program intended to quickly build housing for the city's homeless residents is moving too slowly, and costs are climbing.

The mayor's race in Los Angeles is being dominated by a homeless crisis and rising crime rates.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti thought it was nuts to host a NASCAR race inside the Coliseum the first time he heard the idea.

The biggest challenge at the Super Bowl might not be on the field.

A federal appeals court has found that two California counties violated the Constitution’s right to bear arms when they shut down gun and ammunition stores in 2020 as nonessential businesses during the coronavirus pandemic.

Gov. Gavin Newsom says California will require healthcare workers to get booster shots against the coronavirus.

The former head of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has agreed to plead guilty to taking bribes in a corruption scandal.

A new mandate in the city of Los Angeles now requires people visiting shopping malls, theaters, gyms or nail salons in Los Angeles to verify they are vaccinated against COVID-19.

Starting Monday, anyone going to a shopping mall, theater, gym or nail salon in Los Angeles must verify they are vaccinated.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has tested positive for COVID-19 in Scotland.

Britain’s government has claimed that the “end of coal is in sight” after 18 countries including Poland, Vietnam and Chile committed for the first time to phase out and not build or invest in new coal power.

Los Angeles leaders have voted to enact one of the nation’s strictest vaccine mandates.

U.S. Rep. Karen Bass is planning to run for Los Angeles mayor, bringing a high-profile name in national Democratic politics into the 2022 contest to run the nation's second-most-populous city.

The resurgence of COVID-19 this summer and the national debate over vaccine requirements have created a fraught situation for the nation’s first responders, who are dying in larger numbers but pushing back against mandates.

Dozens of cities and counties and the state of California are experimenting with giving some low-income residents a guaranteed income of $500 to $1,000 each month to do with as they please, and tracking what happens.

The White House says President Joe Biden is nominating Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to serve as ambassador to India, selecting a high-profile ally to serve in one of the most difficult diplomatic posts.

President Joe Biden has hosted the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers at the White House.

A group of 11 U.S. mayors has pledged to pay reparations for slavery to a small group of Black residents in their cities.

The sheriff of Los Angeles County has dispatched deputies to Venice Beach to assess the homelessness crisis.

President Joe Biden is giving serious consideration to nominating Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of President John F.

President Joe Biden is expected to announce former senior State Department official Nicholas Burns to serve as his ambassador to China and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to be his ambassador to India.

A massive new $1.73 billion concourse with 15 gates has opened at Los Angeles International Airport.

Los Angeles police have announced the arrest of a suspect in an alleged attack by a pro-Palestinian group on Jewish men outside a restaurant earlier in the week.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to use a sliver of the state's massive budget surplus to encourage guaranteed income programs.

Colorado’s governor has extended a statewide mask mandate for another 30 days, but loosened face covering requirements for groups who are vaccinated against COVID-19.

As President Joe Biden urges more federal spending on public transportation, transit agencies decimated by COVID-19 are struggling to figure out how to win back passengers.

The Los Angeles Dodgers will offer fully vaccinated-only sections for each game during their upcoming nine-game homestand against the Mariners and Diamondbacks starting May 11.

About 10% of the population of Republic, a small city in north-central Washington, has tested positive for COVID-19 in an outbreak traced to large indoor events last month at the local Fraternal Order of Eagles hall.

A judge overseeing a sweeping lawsuit about homelessness in Los Angeles has ordered the city and county to find shelter for all unhoused residents of Skid Row within 180 days.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have received their World Series rings in front of the loyal hometown fans who didn’t get to witness their 2020 championship run in person.

(AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)LAS VEGAS — The University of Nevada, Las Vegas is changing course and now plans in-person spring graduation ceremonies in May as the coronavirus outbreak slows. UNLV President Keith Whitfield on Friday announced the change from plans announced in February to hold graduation virtually. ___LONDON — The U.K. says half of the country’s adults have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. AdThe government on Saturday reported cases topping the previous record in June. AdJust one third of Italy’s 7.3 million vaccine doses administered so far have gone to people in that age group.

Gavin Newsom's vision of a uniform COVID-19 vaccine network despite widespread pushback from local health offices. The state has already identified a site in Mesa that will replace the vaccination clinic at Chandler-Gilbert Community College. Kate Brown announced she’ll accelerate Oregon’s COVID-19 vaccine eligibility timeline to allow vulnerable populations to receive shots ahead of May 1. Ron DeSantis says he’s opening COVID-19 vaccines to people age 50 and older on Monday. The governor’s announcement came a day after Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said he’s opening vaccination sites to anyone 40 and older.

(AP Photo/Channi Anand)NEW DELHI — Health officials in India say cases of the coronavirus variant first detected in South Africa and Brazil have been found in India. Over 150 cases of another variant first detected in the United Kingdom have previously been found in India. ___SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea is reporting 621 new coronavirus cases. State health officials on Tuesday reported 1,132 new COVID-19 cases and three additional deaths. Spain has officially reported more than 3 million virus cases -- just over 6% of the population -- and attributed more than 65,400 deaths to the virus.

___AdSACRAMENTO, Calif. — California is expanding the list of people eligible for coronavirus vaccine by another 4 to 6 million people. Ad“What all this means is that we can expect to see more breakthrough cases,” Dean Sidelinger, the health authority’s state health officer, said. Every life that is lost now is all the more tragic as vaccines are beginning to be rolled out.”Globally, there’s been 107 million coronavirus cases and 2.3 million confirmed deaths. Italy has registered a total of 2.6 million cases and more than 93,000 confirmed deaths. Just over 4% of Montana residents have received both doses of the coronavirus vaccine.

FILE - In this Tuesday, May 26, 2020 photo released by Nucleus Network/ABC, clinical trial participants are monitored during Novavax COVID-19 vaccine testing in Melbourne, Australia. (Patrick Rocca/Nucleus Network/ABC via AP)MELBOURNE, Australia — Australia’s second-largest city will begin its third lockdown due to a rapidly spreading COVID-19 cluster centered on hotel quarantine. The first of Australia’s 20 million doses of German manufactured Pfizer vaccine is to be administered in late February. Ad___WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand’s first coronavirus vaccine doses are due to arrive in the country next week, with border workers getting inoculated from Feb. 20, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Friday. The state's Health Department said Thursday that wastewater testing in Burlington found the presence of two virus mutations associated with the variant.

FILE - In this Jan. 15, 2021, file photo, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti addresses a press conference held at the launch of a mass COVID-19 vaccination site at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. But the 49-year-old Democrat was quietly vaccinated last week at the recommendation of medical personnel, after spending several days assisting healthcare workers at a large coronavirus vaccination center at Dodger Stadium. To reduce health risks, the vaccine is “offered to everybody that’s working there” the mayor said. Garcetti received his first dose with widespread confusion in the county, home to 10 million people, over the availability and distribution of the vaccine. AdSan Francisco Mayor London Breed, who is 46, has not received the vaccine but will when she’s eligible, spokesman Andy Lynch said.

Plastic surgeon Daniel Suver receives the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine from Andrea Castelblanco during a vaccine clinic on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020, at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, Alaska. Anchorage is averaging about 60 new COVID-19 cases a day, said Dr. Janet Johnston, the epidemiologist for the Anchorage Health Department. More than 90 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine will be produced in Japan. Ad___SACRAMENTO -- California reported its second-highest number of COVID-19 deaths — while the rates of new coronavirus infections and hospitalizations continue to drop. ___ALBANY, N.Y. — New York may have undercounted COVID-19 deaths among nursing home residents by thousands.

State officials said Friday they have helped distribute 98 refrigerated trailers to help county coroners store dead bodies. There are now 98 of the trailers to help county coroners store bodies “with respect and dignity,” Office of Emergency Services Director Mark Ghilarducci said. California has received more than 3.5 million doses of the vaccine and has administered just over 1 million doses. Newsom said the state was on pace to exceed his goal of giving out roughly 1.5 million doses by Friday. While California has the second-highest number of deaths in the country, the state ranks 39th in the number of deaths per capita at 81.8.

A coalition in California is proposing legislation to boost taxes on wealthy multi-national corporations to raise more than $2 billion a year to end homelessness. Opponents say it would contribute to the perception that California is hostile to business. In 2018, voters in San Francisco approved a controversial tax on uber-wealthy businesses to fund homeless programs. Assembly Bill 71 would raise the corporate income tax from 8.84% to 9.6% on companies that make more than $5 million annually in profits in California, said Christopher Martin, policy director for Housing California, which supports the legislation. But Martin said the proposed tax increase wouldn't have any effect on where a company is headquartered or where its CEO lives because it taxes profits made in California.

People wait in cars for a vaccination against the coronavirus at a new "vaccination superstation," Monday, Jan. 11, 2021, in San Diego. The site, which opened Monday, began providing large-scale COVID-19 vaccinations to health care workers. California has deployed 88 refrigerated trailers to use as makeshift morgues mostly in hard-hit Southern California, where traditional storage space is dwindling. “People are eager to come out and grateful for this opportunity,” she said, with more than 12,500 health care workers in San Diego County initially scheduling an appointment. ___Watson reported from San Diego.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning patients and health care providers that a coronavirus test developed by California company Curative may produce false results. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles will continue using a coronavirus test that federal regulators warned may produce false results while Congress, which has used the same test, is seeking an alternative. He said a third of the city's positive test results have been in asymptomatic people. No test is 100% accurate and even the most sensitive are expected to deliver a small percentage of false results. He wasn’t concerned that bad test results were contributing to the exponential spread of the virus in the county.

(AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)SACRAMENTO, Calif. – For Caroline Brandenburger, the coronavirus outbreak that has overwhelmed California hospitals comes with a very personal toll. And that’s pretty much the norm,” said Brandenburger, who works on the COVID-19 unit at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, south of Los Angeles. To the north in Los Angeles County, figures released Thursday showed a new daily caseload of nearly 20,000, a 66.5% increase over the previous day, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said. “This next two or three weeks will define everything for us," said Garcetti, the Los Angeles mayor. ___Associated Press writer Kathleen Ronayne in Sacramento, John Antczak and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles and Janie Har in San Francisco contributed to this story.

States have reported record numbers of cases over the past few days, and funeral homes in Southern California are being inundated with bodies. Fauci said he has seen “some little glimmer of hope” after 1.5 million doses were administered in the previous 72 hours, or an average of about 500,000 per day, a marked increase in vaccinations. Biden's "goal of vaccinating 100 million people in the first 100 days is a realistic goal,” Fauci said. There’s what we delivered, and we hope that those will be translated into vaccinations. Fauci and others are warning that an additional surge is likely because of holiday gatherings and the cold weather keeping people indoors.

LOS ANGELES – California surpassed 25,000 coronavirus deaths since the start of the pandemic and officials disclosed Thursday that three more cases involving a mutant variant of the virus have been confirmed in San Diego County. Los Angeles County, which has a quarter of the state's 40 million residents, has had 40% of the deaths in California, the third state to reach the 25,000 death count. San Diego County confirmed Thursday that it had found a total of four cases of the virus variant that appears to be more contagious. In Los Angeles County, hospitals have been pushed "to the brink of catastrophe,” said Dr. Christina Ghaly, health services director. Police in Los Angeles will be patrolling streets and looking to shut down large New Year’s Eve gatherings, Mayor Eric Garcetti said.

(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)LOS ANGELES – California became the first state to record 2 million confirmed coronavirus cases, reaching the milestone on Christmas Eve as nearly the entire state was under a strict stay-at-home order. The first COVID-19 case in California was confirmed Jan. 25. The California Department of Public Health separately tallied 2,003,146 cases and a one-day bump of 39,070 infections that was down from the one-day peak of nearly 54,000 cases at mid-month. Pleas to avoid social gatherings for the Christmas and New Year's holidays rang with special desperation in Southern California. Los Angeles County is leading the surge, accounting for one-third of the state's COVID-19 cases and nearly 40% of deaths.

FILE - In this Aug. 23, 2018, file photo, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti poses in front of a sprawling downtown Los Angeles landscape. Garcetti has taken his name out of consideration for a possible post in the Biden administration. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)LOS ANGELES – Not long ago, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti looked like he was going places. On the day Becerra was picked as health secretary, Garcetti was named one of several co-chairs for Biden’s inaugural committee, a conspicuously less prestigious post. Activists chanted “Block Garcetti” and said his record on transportation, homelessness and policing disqualified him from a Biden administration job.

Garcetti said his daughter Maya felt ill on Monday, developed a fever and tested positive for COVID-19. The nation's most populous state has recorded more than 1,000 deaths in the last five days. Its overall case total now tops 1.7 million, a figure nearly equal to Spain's and only surpassed by eight countries. Garcetti gave a stark briefing to city residents, warning that within days LA County may declare a systemwide crisis with all hospitals out of usual space and staffing. San Francisco will require a mandatory quarantine of 10 days for anyone coming to the city from outside the 10-county San Francisco Bay Area.

DETROIT – Just like everything else in our lives the inauguration of the next president will look a lot different than in previous years. Helping to plan it safely will be Michigan Gov. In a release today the Presidential Inaugural Committee announced co-chairs for the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. South Carolina Democratic Congressman James Clyburn is the chair while Whitmer joins Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Democratic Congressman from Louisiana Cedric Richmond and Democrat Lisa Blunt as the co-chairs. “Kamala and I are honored and grateful to these leaders for joining our inaugural committee as co-chairs and helping to organize a safe inauguration for all Americans,” said the Biden-Harris campaign in a statement.

Gretchen Whitmer has been named to the Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) for the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. Whitmer will co-chair the PIC with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Louisiana’s Rep. Cedric Richmond and Delaware’s Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester. Whitmer and the other co-chairs will help guide PIC through the planning and organizing of “historic inaugural activities that will prioritize keeping people safe while engaging Americans across the country,” according to the PIC. “I am humbled to become a part of the inauguration for President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris as a Co-Chair. Biden released this statement:“Kamala and I are honored and grateful to these leaders for joining our inaugural committee as co-chairs and helping to organize a safe inauguration for all Americans.

Some counties have opted to impose them even before the mandate kicks in, including five San Francisco Bay Area counties where the measures also take effect starting Sunday. San Francisco resident Michael Duranceau rushed to a market to load up on supplies. The 11-county Southern California region, which includes the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, had only 12.5% of its ICU beds available, the California Department of Public Health reported Saturday. The figure was 8.6% for the San Joaquin Valley region, composed of a dozen counties in the agricultural Central Valley and rural areas of the Sierra Nevada. ___Associated Press writers Olga R. Rodriguez and Juliet Williams in San Francisco, Robert Jablon and Brian Melley in Los Angeles and Adam Beam in Sacramento contributed.

(AP Photo/Pamela Hassell)SACRAMENTO, Calif. – With coronavirus cases surging at a record pace, California Gov. The new rules are the Newsom administration's latest attempt to control a virus that is spreading at rates that astonished health experts. The curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. had little impact, Dr. Mark Ghaly, the state's top public health officer, acknowledged Thursday. “We do not have adequate data to know where transmissions are occurring and that reflects a failure of public health,” he said. “That’s not the way we traditionally work in public health,” he said.

“Our metrics are the most alarming metrics that we’ve ever seen,” Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said. Public health officials are bracing for a wave of cases that could follow gatherings at Thanksgiving, particularly as people arrive or return from states or areas with higher infection rates. Ferrer noted that Los Angeles International Airport reported 1 million travelers on Monday. The California Restaurant Association had argued that Los Angeles County health officials should have to provide medical or scientific evidence that outdoor restaurant dining poses an unreasonable risk to public health. ___Associated Press writers Michael R. Blood and John Antczak in Los Angeles and Daisy Nguyen in Oakland contributed to this report.

Election Day is over but California already is consumed with its next high-profile political contest the competition to fill Kamala Harris' soon-to-be-vacant U.S. Senate seat. Padilla is one of a group of people being considered as one of the candidates for the Senate pick. A group of Black California lawmakers have organized a lobbying drive behind U.S. Rep. Karen Bass, who represents parts of Los Angeles and its suburbs. And they could wait: California’s other Senate seat is held by 87-year-old Dianne Feinstein, the chamber’s oldest member. Does Newsom run the risk of angering groups who lose out on the Senate pick and who might make his re-election bid more difficult?

Los Angeles Lakers fans celebrate outside of Staples Center, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2020, in Los Angeles, after the Lakers defeated the Miami Heat in Game 6 of basketball's NBA Finals to win the championship. The sounds of fireworks immediately reverberated across Los Angeles and fans headed to Staples Center, the Lakers' home court, to celebrate — despite admonitions to stay away. Witnesses told the Los Angeles Times that officers fired “beanbag rounds” at one point, which sent some people running. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti had discouraged public gatherings to celebrate the win, instead urging fans to cheer on the team from home. “As we cheer our @Lakers' 17th championship, please remember it’s still not safe to gather in groups,” the mayor tweeted, in reference to the coronavirus pandemic.

FILE - In this June 2, 2020, file photo, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti arrives to appeal to Black Lives Matter protesters in downtown Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel,File)LOS ANGELES – After a scrappy debate that Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey believed lifted her campaign and was a “disaster” for her opponent, she got a text message from the LA mayor with unwelcome news: He was switching his endorsement to her challenger. A little more than half is for Gascon, the vast majority from a handful of well-heeled backers supporting justice reforms. Gascon has gained support from protests over the death of George Floyd at the knee of a white Minneapolis police officer. Lacey said Gascon is pandering to supporters and that when he was San Francisco DA he never prosecuted a police killing case.

Mayors in at least 25 cities — from Los Angeles to Paterson, New Jersey — have pledged to support such programs as part of the group Mayors for a Guaranteed Income. They are led by Michael Tubbs, the 30-year-old mayor of Stockton, California, who launched one of the country's first guaranteed income programs last year with the help of private donations from Silicon Valley. The idea of guaranteed income programs has been around for decades, but it got a lot of attention in the U.S. as the centerpiece of Andrew Yang's failed bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. “We understand that a guaranteed income is not a panacea for everything (but) is a powerful tool that provides a floor for everyone." But some of the other programs outlined Wednesday by mayors at a news conference would rely on a mix of public and private money.

Officials say two Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies were shot in their patrol car at a Metro rail station in what appeared to be an ambush. The sheriff's department said the male and female deputies were shot in the head and had multiple gunshot wounds and were undergoing surgery. (Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department via AP)LOS ANGELES – Authorities were continuing to search Monday for a gunman who walked up to a parked sheriff's squad car and opened fire, critically wounding two Los Angeles County deputies in an ambush recorded on surveillance video. The 31-year-old female deputy and 24-year-old male deputy underwent surgery after the shooting Saturday evening and were expected to recover, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Sunday. Protesters have railed against the LA Sheriff’s Department for weeks over recent shootings by deputies, including the killing of a man on a bicycle last month.

Jay Inslee on Sunday called climate change “a blowtorch over our states in the West." “The debate is over around climate change. “This is truly the bellwether for climate change on the West Coast," she said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation." “And this is a wake-up call for all of us that we have got to do everything in our power to tackle climate change." “Talk to a firefighter, if you think that climate change isn’t real," the Democratic mayor said on CNN's “State of the Union."

The Tokyo Olympics are already the most expensive Summer Games on record with costs set to go higher, a wide-ranging study from Britain's University of Oxford indicates. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)TOKYO The Tokyo Olympics are already the most expensive Summer Games on record with costs set to go higher, a wide-ranging study from Britain's University of Oxford indicates. Tracking Olympic costs is difficult, a dense maze of overlap and debate. Flyvbjerg writes: Unfortunatley, Olympics officials and hosts often misinform about the costs and cost overruns of the Games. This study also found Olympic cost overruns but said they were in line with other large-scale projects.

Tyson Foods is planning to open medical clinics at several of its U.S. plants to improve the health of workers at the same time it is under pressure to better protect them from the coronavirus. -- Tyson Foods says it is planning to open medical clinics at several of its U.S. plants to improve the health of its workers and better protect them from the coronavirus. ___ATHENS, Greece Three cabinet ministers in Greece have been placed in precautionary quarantine after a meeting with a business executive who later tested positive for the coronavrus. The development ministry says the ministers had attended an investors meeting and the visiting business executive who tested positive had traveled from overseas. Vojtech is currently quarantined after a senior official in his department tested positive for COVID-19.

The internet celebrities with millions of followers on TikTok share a home and allegedly held two parties less than a week apart. Hall and Gray are accused of violating the city's pandemic health order and a party house ordinance. With bars closed in town, large house parties can become superspreaders of COVID-19, Garcetti said. Los Angeles County has recorded nearly 237,000 cases of COVID-19 and more than 5,700 deaths, making it the hardest-hit county in the state. It isn't just the party house itself that's affected, Feuer said.

Actor Sean Penn, founder of Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE), is interviewed at a CORE coronavirus testing site at Crenshaw Christian Center, Friday, Aug. 21, 2020, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)LOS ANGELES Sean Penn has expanded his fight against the coronavirus beyond his own expectations. The Oscar winners disaster relief organization CORE has gone from providing 6,500 tests in a couple weeks to administering more than 1.3 million within a five-month span. The organization, which started as an international relief group, had initially planned to operate testing sites in Los Angeles for three months. She thought CORE's virus testing would last only three months as a bridge until government-funded programs took over.

(AP Photo/Martin Mejia)NEW DELHI India has recorded another record number of new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours as it ramps up testing to more than 900,000 a day. The 69,652 new cases reported Thursday push Indias total reported cases past 2.8 million, of which 2 million have recovered. The Health Ministry says another 977 coronavirus fatalities were recorded in the past 24 hours, raising total deaths to 53,866. It has the third-most reported cases in the world, behind the United States and Brazil, and has the fourth highest number of reported deaths behind the U.S., Brazil and Mexico. Confirmed cases rose by 5,792 to 537,031, and 707 more deaths were confirmed, bringing Mexicos total to 58,481.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is already being lobbied by hopefuls and numerous names are emerging in the early speculation. (Kevin Dietsch/Pool Photo via AP, File)LOS ANGELES The possible election of U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris as vice president has kicked off widespread speculation in California about who might replace her. Gavin Newsom, who would choose a replacement if Joe Biden and Harris defeat President Donald Trumps ticket. For Newsom, the list choices is long and the political risks many, especially with a national reckoning on racial injustice underway.

Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., right, as they arrive at the House Democratic Issues Conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Who's setting the stage for Biden's decision:THE CO-CHAIRSLISA BLUNT ROCHESTER: The Delaware congresswoman connects the vetting team to Biden's home state. After leaving the Obama White House, Hogan served in executive positions for the National Football League and for Apple. She left the tech giant shortly after being named to Bidens search committee. Remus is married to Brett Holmgren, a special assistant and national security aide in the Obama White House.

Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., right, as they arrive at the House Democratic Issues Conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. After leaving the Obama White House, Hogan served in executive positions for the National Football League and for Apple. She left the tech giant shortly after being named to Bidens search committee. Extending the ties, Bauer is married to Anita Dunn, Bidens senior adviser who was one of Obamas White House communications directors. Remus is married to Brett Holmgren, a special assistant and national security aide in the Obama White House.

Gavin Newsom issued a sweeping set of closures on Monday as the state recorded more than 329,000 cases and deaths topped 7,000. Earlier in the pandemic California closed beaches, campgrounds and state parks as it sought to limit interactions of people from different households. The affected counties include Los Angeles and virtually all of Southern California. Garcetti noted that Los Angeles County now has more virus cases than Canada. Some churches that had cautiously begun holding limited indoor services a month ago were faced with ending them again.

FILE - In this June 2, 2020, file photo, a demonstrator is taken into custody after the city's curfew went into effect in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating 56 allegations of misconduct during protests against police brutality in the wake of George Floyd's death. Of the 56 investigations, 28 involve alleged uses of force, the LAPD said Wednesday, June 10, 2020 in a statement. The move comes a day after the board of the Los Angeles Unified School District voted to immediately cut its school police budget by a third. He told officers Wednesday that he was resigning immediately, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti told that anecdote Wednesday as California reversed its economic reopening for much of the state in the wake of a resurgent COVID-19 outbreak. For the two-week period that ended last Monday, Californias confirmed coronavirus cases increased 45% to nearly a quarter-million and hospitalizations increased 52% to 5,077. Newsom's order affects Los Angeles and 18 other counties where nearly three-quarters of the states roughly 40 million people live. In Los Angeles County, Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said many outbreaks were linked to parties and gatherings of family and friends. Newsoms order applies to 19 counties that have been on the states watch list for increasing coronavirus cases for at least three consecutive days.

FILE - In this June 16, 2020, file photo District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser wears a mask with the number 51 over a map of the District of Columbia during a news conference on D.C. statehood on Capitol Hill in Washington. Bowser must pull off a public juggling act as the city budget becomes a battleground for the country's debate on overhauling law enforcement. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

An activist collective led by Black Lives Matter is trying to capitalize on shifting public opinion, and the demands include major cuts in funding for the Metropolitan Police Department. Would you trust Mayor Bowser to keep Washington safe if she were given the powers of a governor? Bowser responded by renaming the protest epicenter, within sight of the White House, as Black Lives Matter Plaza. Were here in the streets because we already know we matter.April Goggans, a core organizer with Black Lives Matter DC, rejected Bowser's moves as taking advantage of national attention, and added, She would never even say the words Black Lives Matter until recently." Black Lives Matter is very critical of police.

A man drives into the crowd at 11th and Pike, injuring at least one person, before exiting the car and brandishing an apparent firearm, Sunday, June 7, 2020, in Seattle, during protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. (Dean Rutz/The Seattle Times via AP)TOP OF THE HOUR: Man drives at Floyd protesters in Seattle, shoots one person Seattle mayor, police chief criticized for police use of flash bangs, pepper spray Artists paint End Racism Now on street in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina Romney becomes first known Republican senator to march in protest___SEATTLE Authorities say a man drove a car at George Floyd protesters in Seattle Sunday night, hit a barricade then exited the vehicle brandishing a pistol. The Seattle Fire Department said the victim was a 27-year-old male who was shot and taken to a hospital in stable condition. Police said via Twitter that several officers were injured by improvised explosives.The mayhem in the Capitol Hill neighborhood came on the ninth consecutive day of George Floyd protests in the city. While the vast majority of protesters have been peaceful, there were violent clashes with police and hundreds of businesses were vandalized.

(AP Photo/Ragan Clark)WASHINGTON Protesters are pushing to defund the police" over the death of George Floyd and other black Americans killed by law enforcement. But what does defund the police mean? Trump ramped up his rhetoric on the issue on Monday, tweeting: LAW & ORDER, NOT DEFUND AND ABOLISH THE POLICE. In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Sunday that the city would move funding from the NYPD to youth initiatives and social services, while keeping the city safe, but he didn't give details. A majority of the members of the Minneapolis City Council said Sunday they support disbanding the citys police department.

(AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)WASHINGTON Protesters are pushing to defund the police" over the death of George Floyd and other black Americans killed by law enforcement. Their chant has become rallying cry and a stick for President Donald Trump to use on Democrats as he portrays them as soft on crime. But what does defund the police mean? Sen. Cory Booker said he understands the sentiment behind the slogan, but it's not a slogan he will use. But now his supporters say the new mantra may make voters, who may be otherwise sympathetic to the protesters, recoil from a radical idea.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti joins pastors and marchers outside LAPD Headquarters during a demonstration demanding justice for George Floyd, Tuesday, June 2, 2020 in Los Angeles, Floyd, a black man, died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers on May 25. (Sarah Reingewirtz/The Orange County Register via AP)LOS ANGELES LOS ANGELES (AP) The outrage over George Floyd's death arrived at Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcettis front door in the form of hundreds of shouting protesters gathered outside his home, loudly chanting to gut funding for the police department. City officials will identify as much as $150 million to slash from the Los Angeles Police Department budget of nearly $2 billion. There are a lot easier jobs than being mayor of Los Angeles, Garcetti said during a briefing Tuesday in which sirens could be heard wailing outside City Hall. Then, beginning in mid-March, the virus took hold, prompting the mayor to issue a stay-at-home order that remains in place.

(AP Photo/Gregory Bull)SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO (AP) The mayor of Los Angeles says he will not place the nations second-largest city under curfew again starting Thursday night. Mayor Eric Garcetti made the announcement after the nightly city curfews was invoked since last week as a precaution against looting and violence. The cities of San Francisco and San Jose also lifted their curfews. Police in the San Francisco Bay Area said a break-in suspect was killed when officers mistook his hammer for a gun. An estimated 10,000 people gathered in San Francisco while thousands more flocked on foot and in cars to Hollywood.

(Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian via AP)The Latest on the May 25 death in Minneapolis of George Floyd, a handcuffed black man who pleaded for air as a white police officer pressed a knee on his neck:TOP OF THE HOUR: National Guard probes low-flying helicopter during DC protests. ___LONDON British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the death of George Floyd was inexcusable and he understands why people are protesting. __VATICAN CITY Pope Francis says he has witnessed with great concern the disturbing social unrest in the United States in reaction to the killing of George Floyd and called for national reconciliation. ___PORTLAND, Ore. Several hundred people broke away from a massive peaceful protest late Tuesday and engaged in a confrontation with police officers guarding a public building. The crowd outside Lafayette Park near the White House protested the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minnesota.

Joined by community faith leaders Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti takes a knee in prayer during a Black Lives Matter protest in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday, June 2, 2020. "This young man was shot multiple times while he was on his knees and appeared to be trying to surrender, Burris said. Gavin Newsom made a low-key visit to Los Angeles. .-Antczak reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press journalists Kathleen Ronayne and Cuneyt Dil in Sacramento and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report

Protests continued following the death of George Floyd, who died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers on Memorial Day. ___PORTLAND, Ore. Police in Portland deployed tear gas to disperse a large crowd downtown late Sunday night after authorities said projectiles were thrown at officers. Thousands of people marched throughout Oregons largest city on Sunday, the third day of George Floyd protests in Portland. Unlike Dallas, where police made dozens of arrests to enforce a downtown curfew, Austin doesnt have a curfew and demonstrators have been roaming downtown from the police station to the state Capitol several blocks away for nearly 10 hours. The demonstration over the death of George Floyd came after turbulent protests that led to the arrest of 83 people Saturday night.

But before the sun set, there was brazen theft in Santa Monica and Long Beach even while nearby protests were mostly peaceful. Gavin Newsom deployed 1,000 members of the Guard to assist the 20,000 officers of the Los Angeles police and sheriffs departments, Mayor Eric Garcetti said. Humvees lined up outside Los Angeles City Hall, and troops stood behind police on the steps of the building as protesters gathered despite a curfew. In Los Angeles, damage from Saturday's violence included windows shattered at nearly every shop along a stretch of trendy Melrose Avenue. Protests also roiled the east San Diego suburb of La Mesa, where two adjacent banks burned to the ground.

A person runs while a police vehicle is burning during a protest over the death of George Floyd in Los Angeles, Saturday, May 30, 2020. Gavin Newsom for 500 to 700 members of the Guard to assist the 10,000 Los Angeles Police Department officers. One officer suffered a fractured skull, Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said. But please dont destroy our beloved Los Angeles. The scale of the destruction in Los Angeles was being compared to the 1992 riots, when there was more than $1 billion in property damage.

Federal officials debunked the messages, but Maples said the whole episode was a whoa moment for him and other state officials. Weeks later, New Jersey launched a website aimed at debunking misinformation and rumors about COVID-19. Other states and municipalities have set up hotlines that offer information about symptoms and testing, while also dispelling rumors and false claims. New Jersey's new anti-misinformation website has a similar goal: debunking misinformation that could have an impact on the actions people take. Well continue to publish only accurate and timely information, Maples says in a video clip on the states website.

LOS ANGELES An explosion in downtown Los Angeles injured 10 firefighters Saturday, and more than 200 others rushed to the scene as the flames spread to several buildings. The condition of the injured was not immediately known. My thoughts are with our brave @LAFD firefighters," Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti tweeted. Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Nicholas Prange said the firefighters entered the building, and there was nothing unusual until the explosion occurred. It was not immediately known what was in the building or what caused the explosion.

(AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)LOS ANGELES Police and fire investigators launched a criminal probe Sunday into the cause of an explosion at a hash oil manufacturer in downtown Los Angeles that sent firefighters running for their lives. Mayday mayday mayday! Mayday mayday mayday! another shouted. Things could have been so much worse, said Los Angeles Fire Department Medical Director Dr. Marc Eckstein, who helped treat the injured at Los Angeles County-University of Southern California Medical Center. ___Associated Press writers Michael Blood and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles and Daisy Nguyen in San Francisco contributed to this report.