The leader of the California Senate said Monday she will step down from her leadership post, ending an historic run as the first woman and first openly gay person to lead the upper legislative chamber of the nation's most populous state. Toni Atkins, a Democrat from San Diego, said she will step down next year. Sen. Mike McGuire, a Democrat from the state's North Coast region, will replace Atkins as the Senate's president pro tempore. Democrats control 32 of the 40 seats in the state Legislature, giving them total control of what bills can pass

A woman was arrested Monday for grand theft and burglary at the Chico Target on E. 20th Street, the Chico Police Department said. Officers said they responded to Target after receiving a call from employees that a theft had just occurred. Police said Target's Loss Prevention observed Maria Ponce-Romero, 50, of Oroville, loading a cart with merchandise, pushing it out of the store, and loading it into a vehicle. Ponce-Romero was arrested for grand theft and burglary.

PG&E is warning customers in the Northsate of a potential Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) on Wednesday. A PSPS Watch has been issued for Colusa, Glenn, Shasta, Tehama, Lake, Napa and Yolo Counties for Wednesday. A watch continues in place for Shasta County for Thursday.

An Oroville woman was sentenced to four years in state prison yesterday for her conduct connected to the sudden death of her infant child. Helen Warnick, 38, was sentenced in Butte County Superior Court following a no-contest plea to one count of felony child abuse. Warnick called emergency responders on April 18, 2022, when she discovered her two-month-old baby boy was unresponsive. First responders arrived at Warnick's house and unsuccessfully attempted to revive the baby. The investigation revealed the baby had methamphetamine in his system. Warnick admitted she recently used methamphetamine and toxicology results confirmed that she also had methamphetamine in her system.

Fake kidnapping victim Sherri Papini has been released. In 2016, she claimed she was kidnapped and tortured by two Hispanic women. She was actually with an ex-boyfriend in Southern California, while police and her husband searched for her. She was sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered her to pay three-hundred thousand dollars, to pay for psychiatric care she billed the state's victim compensation fund, disability payments and the costs for police searching for her and her fake kidnappers. Papini's full release date is Oct. 29.

President Biden's re-election team is said to be annoyed by California Governor Gavin Newsom's push for a televised debate with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Some of Biden's advisors believe Newsom is running a shadow presidential campaign at a time when a majority of Democrats say they would rather have somebody other than Biden run in 2024. Allies of Vice President Kamala Harris have voiced concern as well. They say Newsom is positioning himself for a run for the White House in 2028 which flies in the face of traditional party ascendency. The debate, which is not officially scheduled yet, would be televised on Fox News channel and moderated by Sean Hannity.

A man is in custody after reportedly brandishing a gun on the Chico State campus Wednesday morning. Khalid Warithlu Assamad, 38, was arrested around Wednesday morning on suspicion of brandishing a weapon and disrupting campus. After interviewing witnesses, Univeristy Police arrested Assamad 'University President Perez said the man is not a member of the campus community and was seen leaving campus. Perez said there is not a ongoing campus threat

A former Butte County resident who was convicted last year of construction fraud, embezzlement, contracting without a license in a disaster zone, failing to appear in court, and filing false documents with the court was sentenced today in Butte County Superior Court to the upper term of seven years and eight months in state prison. Kipp Ford, 41, formerly of Gridley and Chico, had previously been found guilty after a six-day trial in October of 2022 of all charges against him.

A new report shows some California college campuses have work to do for Title Nine sexual harassment compliance. The Cozen law firm was hired to assess how the CSU was doing with Title nine , after complaints were made that Chancellor Joseph Castro wasn't doing enough about the issue. He resigned last year over the issue. The report made recommendations for each campus, concluding that more work needs to be done. Stanislaus State scored high, with twelve percent of students responding to the survey.

Butte County Sheriffs office was called out to a residence on Custer Lane in Oroville Tuesday Morning over reports of someone being shot. Officers found 1 person dead. The investigation shows that 4 people had gone to the address to steal a generator. The Suspect Darren Moran who lived at the location had fought with the victim and then shot him. Moran was arrested and faces murder charges.

Two days after responding to an armed carjacking, Chico police have found the stolen car, but have yet to find a suspect. The carjacking and subsequent pursuit happened early Friday Morning , when a suspect reportedly stole a victim's vehicle at gunpoint from a local gas station . Chico Police pursued the vehicle, but were forced to give up the chase, as traffic conditions reportedly became too dangerous. CPD says that officers remained in the area following the pursuit, in hopes to locate the suspect or stolen vehicle. On Sunday, Chico Police say their officers were flagged down by pedestrians, who said the stolen vehicle had been abandoned near Annie's Glen in Lower Bidwell Park. The search for the suspect continues

Tropical Storm Hilary deluged arid parts of Mexico and then drenched Southern California from the coast to the desert resort city of Palm Springs and inland mountains, forcing rescuers to pull several people from swollen rivers. Millions expected more flooding and mudslides Monday, even as the storm weakened to a post-tropical storm. The storm first made landfall in Mexico's arid Baja California Peninsula on Sunday in a sparsely populated area about 150 miles south of Ensenada. One person drowned. It then moved through mudslide-prone Tijuana. The first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years, Hilary dropped more than half an average year's worth of rain on some areas, including the desert resort city of Palm Springs.

Early Saturday morning , at about 01:00 AM, Chico Police Officers were dispatched to the 600 block of W. 6th Street for a report of a shooting. Officers were in the area investigating another incident and arrived on scene within minutes of the call being dispatched. Officers located a victim suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest. The victim's injuries did not appear to be life threatening. The victim was transported to a local area hospital for treatment. A second gunshot victim was located near the intersection of W. 6th Street and Chestnut Street. The second victim sustained multiple gunshot wounds. The second victim's injuries also did not appear life threatening. At this point, there is no suspect information. This incident does not appear to be a random act.

Friday Afternoon Chico Police Officers were dispatched to the area of W. 5th Street and Walnut Street in Chico for a possible deceased person. The reporting party discovered the subject lying in an business alcove near the listed location. Officers arrived and confirmed the subject was deceased. No obvious signs of foul play were located at the scene.

The death toll from the Hawaii wildfires is now up to 106. Governor Josh Green said Tuesday that only a handful of the victims have been identified so far. Green said President Biden will visit Maui to survey the damage after the "tough" work is done, and that over a thousand first-responders are continuing to search for victims.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta says the state's gun regulations have lowered the gun homicide rate over the last three decades. In the last 30 years, Bonta says California went from having the third highest rate in the country to having the seventh lowest in the nation. The State AG credits rules like those against ghost guns, but he also says community violence intervention programs have also helped lower the impact of guns.

Officials with the Klamath National Forest say the lightning-caused Head Fire has burned 4,000 acres near the Hamberg area. The Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office has issued many evacuation orders and warnings due to this rapidly spreading fire.Officials say the fire has increased in intensity and rate of spread and has spotted across the Klamath River due to thunderstorm downdrafts in the area. Caltrans officials say Highway 96 is closed between State Route 263 and Seiad.

A Sacramento parolee faces felony vehicular manslaughter charges after a fiery crash left two people dead and a three year-old paralyzed. Butte County DA Mike Ramsey says Dangelo Charles also faces weapons and child abuse charges after prosecutors say he drove his VW Jetta across the center median of Highway 149 at the 99 interchange in Butte County on August 6th... Ramsey says Charles' Jetta hit a Ford Ranger pick-up head on. Both people in the Ranger were killed. Charles, his girlfriend and her three year-old son were pulled from the Jetta by a good samaritan.. Shortly after the rescue both the the Ranger and Jetta burst into flames. Coroners are still trying to determine the identity of those killed in the Ranger. Ramsey says a loaded semi-automatic pistol was found in the Jetta and says Charles faces additional charges of felony child abuse and being a felon in possession of a gun. He is being held on 1-point-5 million dollars bail is on a parole hold from a 2018 Sacramento robbery conviction. He faces up to 29 years in state prison

The group overseeing California's power grid is preparing for another heat wave across the state this week. The California Independent System Operator says they are not anticipating power shortages , but they have restricted maintenance for energy suppliers on Tuesday and Wednesday from Noon to 10:00 PM to make sure all transmission lines and generators are in service during the heat wave. Last month the ISO issued several emergency alert watches, the lowest of five levels on the scale that could lead to rolling blackouts, especially in the evening when renewable energy drops off the grid.

Jurors heard opening statements Friday morning in the sexting case of former Paradise Vice Mayor Michael Zuccolillo. Prosecutors began the day by calling the case one of "dirty language" and "dirty intentions." Zuccolillo appeared before a judge and jury, facing charges of arranging to meet with a minor with the intent of committing lewd acts. Vutte COunty Distirct Attorney Mike Ramsey says Zuccolillo could face up to three years in prison if found guilty.

Chico Police responded to reports of Shots fired inside a Chico Apartment Friday Night...officers arrived at the Lakeview aparments on california park drive where they found 1 vicitm with a gun shot wound and the suspect was detained in tHE parking lot. The victim was ttreated and transported to Enloe and is listed in stable condition. There was a child in the apartment , they were taken by Chiod Protective services ... the Suspect was arrested and faces charges including assault with a deadly weapon, endangerment of a child and domestic violence.

One of the largest-ever lottery paydays is up for grabs in the next Mega Millions drawing. The jackpot is now estimated at just over one-and-a-half-billion dollars, making it the largest payout in the game's history. No one has taken home the top prize since a player in New York won 20-million dollars back in April. Two previous Powerball jackpots are the only U.S. lottery wins to ever exceed the current Mega Millions sum. The next drawing happens tonight at 8P

Scientists in Northern California have done it again, producing a net gain in a fusion reaction for only the second time ever in a lab. A net gain occurs when the energy output of a fusion reaction is greater than the power it took to create the reaction in the first place. Lawrence Livermore Lab achieved the feat back in December using more than 200 lasers to create the reaction. But lab officials report on Sunday that this latest experiment produced even more energy than the first. The Department of Energy calls it a massive breakthrough in the development of clean power.

Gas prices keep rising but there may be some relief coming soon. Triple-A reports the national average for gas increased by seven cents to three-83 a gallon. Experts say over the last week, the demand for gas decreased because the total domestic supplies increased. Oil refinery operations are returning back to full capacity after an extreme heat wave last month slowed them down.

City Officials say after a two week delay, law enforcement and Public Work Crews are preparing to clear out Depot Park in Chico on Thursday. Police say they began handing out 72-hour notices to the homeless residents inside the park Monday.