Williams became the Heisman frontrunner after C.J. Stroud’s poor performance against Michigan. He responded by leading USC to a huge win over Notre Dame in which he accounted for four touchdowns, three of them rushing. During that contest, vigilant viewers noticed something interesting about the QB in the victory: On his fingernails, Williams had painted a simple – but poignant – message: “F— NDXX.” In the Pac-12 Championship Game against Utah, which ultimately ended in a USC loss, Williams had again painted “F— Utah” on his nails....

Hiring foreign correspondents in reverse makes good sense to Macpherson, 51, a longtime Pasadena resident. His two-year-old site, which gets 45,000 unique visitors a month, has yet to turn a profit, and until now his news coverage has consisted largely of press releases. But noting the wealth of material available online—city council meetings are televised on the Internet and most documents are posted—Macpherson borrowed the offshoring idea from his years in the clothing business, where overseas manufacturing long ago became the norm....

Severe weather delayed the Bears’ and Huskies’ conference opener at Husky Stadium for two hours and 39 minutes in the first quarter. After play resumed at 10:30 p.m. PT (1:30 a.m. ET), Cal (2-0, 1-0 Pac-12) earned a 20-19 victory over No. 14 Washington (1-1, 0-1). The contest ended at 1:23 a.m. PT Sunday (4:23 a.m. ET). The winning points came on a 17-yard field goal by Greg Thomas with eight seconds remaining in the fourth quarter....

California’s checks are part of Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom’s $9.6 billion stimulus package meant to help the state recover from the COVID-related economic downturn. He and legislative leaders announced the package last Wednesday. Newsom is expected to sign the bill into law by Tuesday. The $600 checks will be available to Californians who are eligible for the earned income tax credit (EITC). Usually, such Californians earn less than $30,000 a year....

Even Hollywood couldn't have made this up. California Chrome made it look easy on Saturday, pulling away down the stretch to win the Derby by 1 3/4 lengths. In a sport dominated by wealthy owners and regally bred horses from Kentucky's bluegrass country, this was a victory for the little guys. Owners Perry Martin and Steve Coburn bred an $8,000 mare to a $2,500 stallion to produce the winner of the world's most famous race with their one-horse stable....

Businesses had reopened in California after an initial shutdown, but Gov. Gavin Newsom has since reversed that decision. On Monday, Newsom ordered the re-closure of gyms, bars, hair salons, restaurants, wineries, non-essential offices and houses of worship in San Diego and other California counties. The new regulations went into effect midnight on Tuesday. Last night’s event at Awaken Church was titled ‘Empower Night.’ It had a band and singing and was live streamed on Facebook....

“As our country reckons with our painful legacy of racial injustice, California again is poised to lead the way,” Newsom said. “Lead the way towards a more equitable and inclusive future all. Our tireless pursuit of equality in every aspect of life—economy, health, housing, education, criminal justice, and more—continues today.” Newsom added that he heard the demands for racial justice from advocates and community leaders in the wake of George Floyd’s death, and that he was “honored” to sign the legislation that created the task force on reparations....

Flood warnings are in place for much of the coastal region stretching from San Luis Obispo down through Santa Maria and Santa Barbara, with a flash flood warning in place for Los Angeles and Burbank. Meanwhile, the complete evacuation of Montecito, a coastal town known for its A-list celebrities—including Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and Oprah Winfrey—was ordered on Monday by the local fire department. Comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres posted a video of herself near a fast-flowing stream of flood water beside her home in the town....

The incident occurred at around 4 p.m. on Monday in the vicinity of Crow Canyon and Manter Road in Castro Valley, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) said. The girl had been walking home from school with her sister when she was struck by a pickup truck, NBC Bay Area reported. She was within sight of her home at the time. The CHP said a man driving a black Ford F-150 pickup truck struck the girl, then fled the scene....

Esai Manzo, who identifies as Hispanic, told KTXL-TV Sacramento, it’s “crazy to think that now in 2019, to read over a document that we had to agree to these terms.” The racist clause in question was tucked away in a document outlining covenants, conditions and restrictions and dates back to 1947—one year before the Supreme Court ruled racially restrictive covenants were invalid. The restriction cannot legally be enforced. However, because the house is not linked to a homeowner association, it is up to the owner to remove it, Professor John Sprankling from the Pacific McGeorge School of Law told KTXL-TV Sacramento....

Gregg Garfield, 54, became infected with the virus during a skiing vacation in Italy in February, as did a dozen of his friends who accompanied him on the trip, KTLA reported. At the time, the pandemic had yet to take hold in the U.S., with the first confirmed case of infection reported on January 20, according to a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine. Once Garfield had arrived back in Southern California, his symptoms worsened and he was admitted to Providence St....

Giorgio Pierangeli contacted the staff who worked at his restaurant, The Local Table, in Newbury Park after Ventura County announced last week that restaurants could resume dine-in services. But only five of the restaurant’s 11 employees agreed to come back to work despite his assurances that social distancing would be practiced and the restaurant would operate at limited capacity, Pierangeli said. “We were surprised to see that several of the workers chose not to come back to work,” he told Newsweek....

According to data from Cal Fire, the Dixie Fire has burned at least 501,008 acres and is currently 30 percent contained. The Dixie Fire, which is burning across four counties, was first reported by officials on July 14. Cal Fire officials said at least 1,045 residential and commercial structures have been destroyed by the fire while 69 other structures have been damaged. The cause of the fire remains under investigation....

Could that model change soon? California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the Fair Pay to Play Act (SB 206) into law on Monday, meaning that, starting in 2023, college athletes in that state will be able to maintain their eligibility while profiting off their name, image and likeness. They’ll be able to hire agents, sell autographs and merchandise, accept endorsement deals and — what many people have been waiting for the most — sell their image to appear in a college sports video game....

Experts who spoke to Newsweek suggested that the plan brought before the California State Assembly was a step too far and indicated the limitations of liberal ambitions. Assemblyman Ash Kalra, who wrote the bill, decided not to force a vote on the matter when it became clear there was not enough support for it in the Democrat-controlled state assembly. Democrats control 50 of the assembly’s 80 seats and 41 votes were needed to keep the legislation alive....

Last week, Newsom announced that the state would centralize its county systems as a way to speed up a sluggish and patchy vaccine rollout. At the federal level, the Biden administration has promised to rush additional vaccine doses to states and to purchase 200 million more doses. In the meantime, 10 million doses would be distributed each week for the next three weeks. Desi Kotis, chief pharmacy executive at the University of California, San Francisco’s UCSF Health, told Newsweek that the changes have been most visible in the state’s mega sites....

Antelope Valley Union High School District failed to comply with legal requirements about school spending plans, known as Local Control Accountability Plans, according to the complaint. It said more than $6.9 million intended for low-income students, English learners and foster youth—most of them Black or Latinx—was left unused or used for improper purposes in the 2019/2020 school year alone, according to the complaint. And it demands the district investigate budget discrepancies, comply with state-mandated reporting requirements and require each school to demonstrate how the funds were used to serve the students for whom they were allocated....

The state also reported 110 additional deaths on Wednesday, a number just shy of the daily death toll high on April 15, when 115 Californians died from COVID-19. The state has seen 6,090 deaths since the outbreak began. California has increasingly emerged as a national hot spot for infections, as a massive spike in cases hit the state last month. On Tuesday, Governor Gavin Newsom said hospitalizations in the state have increased 43 percent in the past two weeks, while admissions to intensive care units have increased 37 percent....

In the town of Gorda, located on the Big Sur coast, the price of regular unleaded gas has hit $7.59 per gallon, according to news station ABC 30. The cost of premium gasoline is $8.50 per gallon, and the station said that Gorda has some of the highest gas prices in the country. The town only has one gas station, and the closest gas pumps are 40 miles north and 12 miles south....

Helicopter footage of the river overflowing into nearby roads and farmlands comes as another bout of storms is expected to hit the region, beginning Friday morning and continuing through the weekend. John Zuchelli, from NBC’s Bay Area news desk, posted a video of the Salinas River bursting its banks, causing water to flow into farmland. “Severe flooding in the Salinas Valley. The storm has caused the Salinas River to overflow [its] banks and cause several levee breaks along the river flooding farmland,” Zuchelli tweeted....