In an update at 8:21 p.m. EST on Monday, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) confirmed that the Caldor Fire had so far destroyed 114,166 acres while being 9 percent contained as it continued to spread close to Lake Tahoe, which straddles the border between California and Nevada. Monday’s data showed that the blaze, which is burning through parts of the Eldorado National Forest, had slowed down as it grew by about 15,000 acres over the weekend after exploding in size last week, with the acreage growing by about 50,000 acres from Tuesday to Wednesday....

“We conclude the NCAA failed to carry its burden to demonstrate that its interest in the confidentiality of its enforcement proceedings overrides the constitutional right of access and the presumption of openness, or how this interest in confidentiality would be prejudiced if the documents at issue were disclosed,” the court said. MORE: No changes coming to CFP | What we learned on National Signing Day | Signing Day winners and losers McNair, the running backs coach at USC from 2004 to 2009, sued the NCAA in 2011 after being suspended for alleged unethical conduct while running back Reggie Bush was at the school....

Positive cases in the state appeared to decline dramatically on Monday. Governor Gavin Newsom announced 5,023 new cases of the virus on Monday, a dramatic downturn from statistics from late July. Ghaly said Tuesday that there were “discrepancies” discovered in the system which led to the apparent decrease in cases. In a video provided to Newsweek by the California Department of Public Health on Friday, Dr. Ghaly said, “In order to create a lasting solution, we are accelerating the development of a new laboratory reporting system for COVID-19....

Drought parched much of the Western U.S. this past summer. In July, one-third of all land in California, Texas, Oregon, Nevada, Utah and New Mexico was classified as experiencing extreme or exceptional drought, according to data from the U.S. Drought Monitor. “This year has seen the highest percentage of the country, over 80 percent of the continental U.S., be classified as being in a drought since the U.S. Drought Monitor was established a little over 20 years ago,” Antonia Hadjimichael, an assistant professor in geosciences at Penn State University, previously told Newsweek....

Under normal circumstances, jobless workers were generally required to actively seek out new jobs in order for them to continue to receive unemployment benefits. During the pandemic, the federal government allowed states to waive this requirement as it urged individuals to stay home as businesses shuttered their operations during lockdowns. But California, along with several other states, has ended most of its pandemic restrictions and will begin requiring jobless workers to actively seek employment as of July 11....

The South Zone of the Creek Fire was reported to be “actively burning and torching in the trees,” while fire behavior increased in the western edge of the North Zone and was “very active” at the northwest edge, according to the latest report Wednesday from the Incident Information System of the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG). Yosemite National Park, which was “closed due to unhealthy to hazardous air quality” caused by the Creek Fire and other wildfires in the area, will be reopened to visitors from Friday....

The Let Freedom Right event, which was planned by former GOP congressional candidate Chris Bish, aimed to host 3,000 people on Sunday in a protest against the outcome of the presidential election. The event was previously listed on the California Highway Patrol’s calendar but was removed after the violent pro-Trump riot at the U.S. Capitol last Wednesday, which resulted in five deaths. California Highway Patrol officer John Ortega said in an email to The Sacramento Bee on Wednesday that the permit was “denied because the proposed number of attendees are more than what’s being allowed as a result of COVID-19 and due to the potential for civil unrest this weekend....

According to the National Retail Federation, three California cities are among the 10 most-affected cities for organized retail crime. Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sacramento are bracing for a difficult holiday shopping season as robberies known as “smash-and-grabs” have increased around the state. As a result of the robberies, police departments in these cities are stepping up their security measures. The Roseville Police Department, the unit located in the Sacramento metropolitan area, detailed their upcoming moves to local news station CBS 13....

Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park in southern Orange County will remain closed until further notice, out of “an abundance of caution,” park officials said in a statement posted on Twitter. The sighting of the big cat occurred on Sunday while the family were walking in the Four Corners area of the 2,500-acre park, which is located around 10 miles east of Irvine. The family said that the big cat appeared to be stalking a young girl in the group, KABC reported....

Newsom, a Democrat, is facing recall amid a campaign by his political opponents. A recall petition is on course to trigger a gubernatorial election as the mid-March deadline for signatures draws closer. Former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer has put himself forward as a Republican candidate for California governor, be that in the next scheduled election of 2022 or sooner if the recall effort succeeds. In an interview with Newsweek, Faulconer deflected when asked if he wanted Trump’s endorsement for his campaign in California....

As a part of a new law California legislators passed, the state must cut back on organic waste in landfills by 75 percent, or 17.3 million tons, by 2025. Instead of landfills, the food waste will either be used for composting or will be converted through anaerobic digestion into biogas, an energy source that, like natural gas, can be used for heating and electricity. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, about 40 percent of food in the U....

The park announced the closure after 11 a.m. PST Monday, saying “both entrances are closed at this time and will reopen when the conditions clear.” “Torrential downpours and high winds are creating extremely hazardous conditions on park roads and trails,” the park’s website says. The park has nearly exceeded its annual rainfall averages less than 10 days into the new year. Wind gusts upwards of 60mph have caused rocks and trees to fall....

Christian Jeremyah James, 31, and Armand Caleb Legardy, 32, each pleaded guilty in separate hearings to one count of use of unauthorized access devices, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement on Monday. James, of South Los Angeles, worked in the Culver City Main Post Office, while Legardy, of Inglewood, worked in the La Tijera Post Office in South Los Angeles. Prosecutors said the pair obtained debit cards that the California Employment Development Department (EDD) had issued to other people for unemployment insurance benefits....

A review of state data by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) shows that over 40 percent of the water systems included in the data contained an amount of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that was over 70 parts per trillion. That is considerably higher than the health advisory level set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA’s stated safe ratio is 1 part per trillion. PFAS, a key component in firefighting foam and nonstick products, does not break down in the environment....

Sheila Denise Dunlap, 50, allegedly claimed 121 of the economic impact payments between March 2020 and July 2020, according to a Thursday release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California. Dunlap, of Modesto, is said to have conspired with her son while he was locked up at San Quentin State Prison. The plot allegedly involved Dunlap’s son supplying her with the personal information of his fellow prisoners and others, with a third person helping to send her a spreadsheet containing information for 9,043 individuals in April 2020....

Broomfield, a sly, poker-faced veteran English documentarian (“Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer”), arrives in Hollywood armed with cash to flush out the Heidi story. He wants to understand how an upper-middle-class physician’s daughter became the madam of choice to Hollywood’s A list. But Heidi is detained in a drug-rehab program while she awaits her verdicts for pandering and tax evasion. Broomfield follows the trail of her girls – picking up lurid, kinky tales of rented sex along the way – before hitting pay dirt with the little old lady known as Madam Alex....

There are many ways the United States could address Iran—as a counterpart, an opponent or even an enemy. The current administration, however, is characterizing the entire nation-state as a terrorist organization. Iran, President Donald Trump told the American public last week, is the world’s “leading sponsor of terrorism,” and the late General Qassem Soleimani, an official of the Iranian government, was “the world’s top terrorist.” “The civilized world,” Trump continued, “must send a clear and unified message to the Iranian regime: Your campaign of terror, murder, mayhem will not be tolerated any longer....

Online information wasn’t easy to get, of course. Even if you could hook up to the Internet, disorganized posts made it tough to find the right sources. That’s where two University of Maryland professors come in. They’re proposing a system that would combine the best aspects of MySpace, Craigslist and the U.S. Amber Alert. Named after the U.S. emergency phone number, their 911.gov network would take pressure off busy emergency dispatchers and make crucial information available to anyone with a mobile device....

Is there any wiggle room? One idea circulating in Belgrade: give up other indicted war criminals first. Ratko Mladic, former Bosnian Serb military boss, seems to be worried: he fled Belgrade for a hideout in Bosnia. But he may have to return to treat his kidney ailment. Mladic would be a good catch, but Slobo is still top prize.

Inactive for 18 months, an issue that has crippled large portions of his career, Johnson entered London’s O2 Arena, Buglioni’s backyard, and wiped out a champion that was on a four-fight winning streak that had begun following a brave reversal to world champion, Fedor Chudinov. MORE: Watch Johnson-Beterbiev, Vargas-Dulorme on DAZN for free Amongst that run was a dramatic win over Johnson’s stablemate, Hosea Burton, and Buglioni was widely expected to add a second scalp from Joe Gallagher’s Manchester gym....