In an update at around 7:45 p.m. EST on Thursday, Cal Fire confirmed that the Caldor Fire had so far destroyed 68,630 acres while being zero percent contained as it continued to spread close to Lake Tahoe. Thursday evening’s data showed that the blaze, which is burning through parts of the El Dorado National Forest, had grown by about 6,000 acres from Wednesday evening after growing dramatically in size overnight on Tuesday as the acreage grew from just 6,500 acres to 53,772 just 24 hours later....

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as of November 9, California had a seven-day moving average of 6,297 COVID cases, compared to 3,102 in Texas and 1,470 in Florida. California has had a proactive approach to the pandemic, having been the first state to announce plans for vaccine requirements for school students in October, after already having implemented masking and vaccine requirements for teachers. Similar restrictions have proved controversial in Florida, where the school board has been punishing schools that have mask mandates, and Texas, where Governor Greg Abbott recently had a mask mandate ban overturned....

The change was the result of a lawsuit settlement between the state and an advocacy group, the Center for Workers’ Rights. The change applies only to people who have been certified for benefits and have already received at least one week of payment. Daniela Urban, the executive director to the Center for Workers’ Rights, said it could affect up to 100,000 people. For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below....

The number of beds projected to be needed on December 31 exceeds the number of beds available across the state. On New Year’s Eve, around 27,195 beds are forecast to be needed across California, while only 26,654 are available, according to the latest projection by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington. The CDPH confirmed Thursday that ICU capacity across southern California has dipped to zero percent, while the San Joaquin Valley region is at 0....

Players Conventional Wisdom O.J. Old CW: He’ll walk. New CW: Jury could well Cotton to billion-to-one DNA odds W. Brown Who cares about “Silent Pete” Wilson? Willie’s gonna be S.F. mayor! K. Costner Drowning in “Waterworld”? P.S. You never could act, anyway. Water Speaking of the wet stuff, huge winter snowfall means green lawns for everyone. Yippee? E3 L.A.’s huge Electronic Entertainment Expo is trade show of 90’s. Help, help me CD-ROM Mda....

Newsom had previously endorsed Kamala Harris in her presidential bid, but Harris suspended her campaign in 2019 due to a lack of financial support. Biden became the presumptive Democratic nominee after the other candidates exited the race. “I just couldn’t be more proud of you and the prospect of your presidency,” Newsom told Biden. “You’re willing to reach out to people, never talk down to people, regardless of their political stripes, regardless of their lot in life,” Newsom continued....

Adam Aguilar, 43, is accused of arson after the large haystacks which also said people should “say no to socialism” and back California Rep. Devin Nunes were allegedly intentionally set on fire. The Tulare County Sheriff’s Office said they were called just before 10 p.m. on October 10, to the area of Avenue 384 and Road 80, south of Dinuba, to a report of a haystack fire. Deputies said it was the same location where a haystack was intentionally burned down less than two weeks prior....

California Governor Gavin Newsom released the latest figures during a news conference on Wednesday afternoon, saying the incidence of new cases reported daily has increased by 69 percent statewide over the last 48 hours. Although Monday’s increase of 4,230 new cases did not set a single-day record, it neared the state’s previous record of 4,515 cases, set on Sunday. Given surging case counts reported by California health officials throughout June, Newsom urged state residents to abide by the face mask requirement enacted in an executive order last week....

“J” is a prisoner in the largest juvenile-justice system in the world – the California Youth Authority, a teen gulag with 9,000 inmates in 11 training schools, including the Nelles School, and four conservation camps. CYA is the last stop for a select few of the 250,000 youth offenders arrested in California each year – the kids who commit crimes like murder, rape and armed robbery and who, in the words of a lobbyist for the California Correctional Peace Officers Union, are “the cream of the crud....

Speaking to CBS Los Angeles, the El Camino Real Charter High School teacher claimed one parent took an image of her wearing the T-shirt while teaching his daughter’s class and shared it along with her email address and told people to harass her. The teacher said that threats have also been made to her at her home, forcing her to seek shelter elsewhere. “I can’t afford to go to a hotel and I can’t go home,” the teacher said....

This weekend’s Dallas Empire home series was initially planned to take place in-person in Dallas. The move to remote play raises concerns over latency issues — games usually take place via LAN connection — but the league has said it is taking steps to mitigate that challenge such as implementing dedicated servers around the U.S. “We have been testing for weeks and each day we get more data and opportunities to better the product,” wrote the league on its website....

Just before the postseason began last week, however, OpTic Gaming LA released a since-deleted video on its official Twitter account blasting the CDL. OpTic players then called out the league in an interview with Sporting News for not doing enough to improve its user experience when it was forced online by the COVID-19 pandemic, seemingly resigned to connectivity-caused defeat. OpTic’s concerns proved prophetic: During its first-round playoff matchup against the Los Angeles Guerrillas, its server connection was so bad that Kenny “Kuavo” Williams was booted before the deciding Game 5 of the contest and was unable to rejoin....

He is not quite so dead in America. His approval ratings creep toward respectability. His State of the Union Message, scorned in Washington, seemed to make sense in Peoria. His failed intervention in the baseball strike, a muffed bunt in Washington, is treated with respect and gratitude in the sports pages – which are better read, sigh, than the op-eds. His desire to raise the minimum wage is popular. His Mexico bailout seems presidential....

John Mark Windle, a state representative for Fentress, Morgan and Overton counties, has introduced a bill that would see the beloved country singer immortalized on the grounds of the building in her home city of Nashville. Per local news outlets, the bill states: “the state capitol commission, at regularly scheduled meetings, shall develop and implement a plan for the commissioning of a statue of Dolly Parton, to recognize her for all that she has contributed to this state....

From handing each of his touchdown balls to a lucky youngster in the stands to showing up to the Halloween party of a teenaged cancer patient, the Panthers quarterback is always reaching out to children. On Monday, three days before undefeated Carolina (10-0) takes on the Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day, he held his annual Cam’s Jam, feeding an estimated 900 kids from the Charlotte area. MORE: Cam Newton celebrations | Panthers’ champion, a community’s prince And of course, in true Newton fashion, there was a live dabbin’ contest....

Star quarterback Cam Newton and starting running back Jonathan Stewart were back at practice Wednesday. Newton suffered a concussion on a less-than-whole-hearted effort to get into the end zone on a two-point conversion attempt in Carolina’s 48-33 loss in Atlanta two weeks ago. Newton scored on the play but not before being walloped by linebacker Deion Jones. The QB did not clear the NFL’s concussion protocol in time for Monday night’s home game against the Buccaneers....

The Panthers quarterback fed about 800 underprivileged children in at his third annual Cam’s Thanksgiving Jam in Charlotte.

After a nasty concussion against the Falcons in Week 4 forced him to miss the next game, the Panthers quarterback said he has realized that “concussions are real. It’s a real issue.” WEEK 8 PICKS: Straight up | Against the spread Newton said the hit from Atlanta linebacker Deion Jones was a new experience. “I ain’t never had that feeling,” he said. “I don’t want it to happen to me or nobody else....

The team made the announcement on Tuesday, almost certainly signalling the end of the 2015 MVP’s nine-year tenure in Carolina. But Newton in a captured screenshot blasted the organization for suggesting he was the one who wanted out: For those not fluent in Cam Font: “Stop the word play!! I never asked for it!! There is no dodging this one; I love the Panthers to death and will always love you guys!...

After Sunday’s win over the Ravens, the Patriots’ quarterback did not disappoint. Newton showed up to his postgame press conference wearing a large hat that looked like a Songkok. The hat stole the show on social media. MORE: Browns fans pelted with hail, crazy winds at FirstEnergy Stadium And here’s a look at the entire outfit: The hat is likely a creation from Alberto Hernandez, Newton’s hat designer. Newton reportedly orders a new hat from Hernandez every week....