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CA 'teen social media addiction' law remains on hold, for now, court says
A federal appeals panel has blocked California from enforcing its new law restricting teen social media use while it weighs an appeal from social media and tech companies arguing the law is unconstitutional. The state says the law is needed to tame teen social media addiction
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California 'Clean Cars' waiver up in the air, as Trump asks SCOTUS to put challenge on hold
The Justice Department asked the U.S. Supreme Court to pause the challenge launched by oil companies to the EPA's grant of a waiver that would allow California to move ahead with its 'Clean Cars' zero emissions rules. Energy companies say the waiver would allow California to unilaterally put them out of business nationwide
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Car dealers group sues Scout Motors over plan to sell vehicles directly to Californians
The California New Car Dealers Association has vowed to take legal action against Volkswagen Group of America and Scout Motors over Scout’s plans to sell vehicles directly to California consumers rather than through dealerships.
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CA Dems seek new law to let oil companies get sued for 'climate driven' fires, disasters
Oil and gas industry and other critics say the legislation represents an attempt to use the Palisades and Eaton fire disasters to fuel a money grab and bankrupting of oil and gas companies in California and to distract from state and local government policy failures that likely made the fires worse
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Lawsuit continues accusing Newsom, top CA Guard general of 'railroading' Jewish general, wildfire specialist out of Guard
The lawsuit from retired Brigadier General Magram claims Gov. Newsom signed off on Magram's removal, even though Newsom had been notified repeatedly that the state's current top Guardsman was retaliating against Magram for reporting his commander's alleged antisemitism. Lawsuit gained notoriety as state struggles to fight historic wildfires
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PAGA lawsuits vs employers keep rising in CA, helping to fuel big class action payouts nationwide
A new report from defense law firm Duane Morris said class action settlements again totaled more than $40B in 2024, with attorneys raking in many of those billions for themselves in fees. In California, much of the action was driven by thousands of "representative" lawsuits vs employers under the PAGA law
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Federal appeals court won't revisit decision upholding CA 'sensitive place' gun carry ban
Dissenting judges warned the decision rested on strained legal reasoning, likely in defiance of the U.S. Supreme Court's holdings on Second Amendment rights and could tee up review and the risk of a loss before the Supreme Court
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Exxon: CA A/G Bonta, enviro activists conspired with foreign 'green energy' interests in plastic recycling suits
ExxonMobil has sued California Attorney General Rob Bonta and environmental activist organizations, accusing them of working with an anti-oil Australian billionaire to launch a coordinated "lawfare" campaign against ExxonMobil, including recent lawsuits over Exxon's 'advanced recycling' programs
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Judge blocks CA teen 'social media addiction' law for 30 days
A federal judge mostly declined to issue an injunction preventing California and Attorney General Rob Bonta from enforcing SB976, a law that the social media companies say is designed to establish a state-led censorship program to restrict online speech in the name of protecting children. But the judge followed that with a ruling blocking the state from enforcing the law until Feb. 1 to let an appeals court weigh in
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Amazon employee on Teamster strike: Amazon is 'paying more then any other job postings'
Amazon employee Josh Muirhead highlighted the company's competitive wages, noting they surpass other job postings on Indeed by a significant margin.
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SCOTUS to consider if other states, energy companies can sue to reverse California's special emissions regulating power
The U.S. Supreme Court won't consider - yet - if California gets to keep its outsized power to use a special provision in federal Clean Air law to essentially set vehicle emissions standards throughout the U.S. But the court will consider if other states and energy companies have the right to challenge that authority in court
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Evolving scientific views of child abuse drive debate over Menendez brothers’ resentencing
An anticipated resentencing hearing for Erik and Lyle Menendez has sparked debate about the state of scientific knowledge on the effects of child abuse 30 years ago, when the brothers were convicted of the shotgun slayings of their parents.
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Novo Nordisk: Water quality issues at Ozempic plant won't be resolved this year
A Novo Nordisk facility in Denmark where the popular obesity drugs Ozempic and Wegovy are manufactured has been cited by the federal Food and Drug Administration for possible contamination issues – a development that has caught the attention of trial lawyers.
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Hundreds of school districts cleared to keep up 'nuisance' lawsuit vs. social media companies
A federal judge said the core theory of allegations is the impact of compulsive use of the products marketed by the companies that own and operate Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, among other social media platforms alleged in the lawsuits to be "addictive" and harmful to society, and schools in particular.
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CA law blocking religious schools from special ed funds violates religious freedom, appeals court says
U.S. Ninth Circuit Appeals Court said California can't show its discrimination vs religious schools is "neutral." Three devout Orthodox Jewish families can continue their suit against the state for allegedly forcing them to choose between their faith and obtaining educational services for their disabled children
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Ex-BART workers fired over Covid vax mandate should get $7.8M, jury says
The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District should pay at least $1.1 million to six workers who were fired in 2022 after BART repeatedly refused to grant religious exemptions and accommodations to workers who said their faith prevented them from complying with BART's Covid shot mandate
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Phillips 66 to close Los Angeles oil refinery, raising concerns about state's gas supplies
Phillips 66 Co. will shutter its oil refinery near Los Angeles Harbor in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to a company statement that has raised concerns about California’s ability to maintain its supply of cleaner-burning gas blends.
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Appeals panel: U.S. can't apply Asylum Transit Rule to illegal immigrants already at the border
A federal appeals court has blocked the Biden administration from forcing illegal immigrants who already were turned away from the border to first apply for "asylum" in Mexico before requesting the same from the U.S. A dissenting judge said the ruling "twists" U.S. asylum law to extend to people who haven't even arrived in the country
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Judge won't let Disney run to appeals court to win OK to fire actors over political speech
A Los Angeles federal judge said Disney can't go to an appeals court to seek to overturn her refusal to dismiss a lawsuit from former "Mandalorian" actor Gina Carano, accusing the company of violating her rights by firing her from the show over her conservative political views, which Disney said was "offensive"
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SCOTUS won't review CA court's decision, clearing path for state, city lawsuits vs Uber, Lyft
The Attorney General and city attorneys for L.A., San Diego and San Francisco have sued Uber and Lyft under the controversial AB5 labor law, seeking to extract a big payday from the companies, ostensibly on behalf of workers, over claims the companies misclassified drivers as independent contractors