Sacramento Bee's RYAN SABALOW: "Federal disaster officials have agreed to chip in $22.8 million to help California pay the estimated $500 million cost of the Oroville Dam crisis."
"Victor Inge, a spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said Wednesday that the reimbursement is to cover some costs associated with the emergency as well as for removing the massive pile of debris that washed down from the spillway and plugged the Feather River channel below the dam."
"Inge said the state’s requests for reimbursement still are being reviewed, and additional payouts could take several more months."
More CalPERS retirees are getting $100,000 pensions, report says.
The Press-Enterprise's JEFF HORSEMAN: "The number of retired public employees in the CalPERS system with annual pensions of $100,000 or more grew 63 percent since 2012, according to a report released Wednesday."
"Riverside County, Long Beach, Anaheim, Torrance and Riverside made the list of the 25 public agencies with the most pensioners receiving six-figure retirement pay, Transparent California reported. Almost 23,000 CalPERS retirees collected pensions of at least $100,000 in 2016, the government watchdog group found."
"The rise in $100,000 pensions underscores the importance of making public employee pension data public, Robert Fellner, Transparent California’s research director, said in a news release."
An undocumented father recently back home from ICE detention is now facing deportation.
Sacramento Bee's ANITA CHABRIA: "A day after being released by federal immigration authorities on Tuesday, Yuba City resident Baljit Singh ran his dogs along the river, played with his sons and started thinking about what may be his last three months in America."
"Singh, 39, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, in Sacramento during a required check-in with federal authorities on Aug. 1. After being held for a week at Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center near Elk Grove, he was granted a three-month reprieve to get his affairs in order and make arrangements to leave the country."
"Singh, from India, is undocumented and has been fighting for legal status for more than 12 years after crossing the border illegally from Mexico in 2005. His immigration case went to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, where Singh said he ultimately lost a bid for political asylum in 2016. He has a final order for deportation issued against him."
READ MORE related to Immigration: Gov. Brown is right about the 'sanctuary state' bill -- LA Times' GEORGE SKELTON; Anti-immigration firebrand Joe Arpaio hasn't said whether he'll seek a pardon from his ally in the White House -- AP
Tribune Washington's JOSEPH TANFANI/NOAH BIERMAN: "An FBI raid last month at one of the homes of Donald Trump's former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, provides the clearest evidence so far that special prosecutor Robert S. Mueller III is aggressively pursuing the investigation into the campaign's dealings with Russia and that his inquiry includes possible financial wrongdoing by Manafort."
"Agents served a warrant early in the morning on July 26 at the Alexandria, Va., home of Manafort, a lobbyist with a long background of ties to pro-Russia politicians, according to Jason Maloni, a spokesman for Manafort."
"Mr. Manafort has consistently cooperated with law enforcement and other serious inquiries and did so on this occasion as well," Maloni said in a statement about the raid, which was first reported Wednesday morning by The Washington Post."
READ MORE related to Beltway/Kremlingate: What next for North Korea, Guam and Trump? Experts weigh in -- AP's MARTHA MENDOZA; North Korea details plan to strike near Guam by mid-August -- LA Times' JESSICA MEYERS
Sessions says he has 'serious concerns' about legal marijuana. Now states wonder what's next.
LA Times' RICK ANDERSON: "With thousands of jobs and billions of dollars at stake, it’s a burning question: Is Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions preparing to mess with voter-approved sales of recreational marijuana?"
"It’s a question of prime importance in six Western and two New England states that have legalized marijuana use despite a federal law of the land classifying weed as a controlled, dangerous drug. And it appears Colorado, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Alaska, Maine and Massachusetts are likely to get a lot of company."
From toilet water to drinking water...
Capitol Weekly's LISA RENNER: "This legislation might be hard to swallow: Lawmakers are considering a bill that would clear the way for California communities to put highly treated wastewater directly into the drinking water supply."
"The media likes to start off with the catchy phrase toilet to tap,” said Jennifer West, managing director of Water Reuse, about the intensive purification process. “But there’s a lot that goes on between toilet and tap."
"Assembly Bill 574, authored by Assembly Member Bill Quirk, D-Hayward, would require the State Water Resources Control Board to develop regulations in four years for “direct potable reuse” provided research on public health issues is completed."
UCR researchers find way to thwart ovarian cancer, plan to work with City of Hope.
The Press-Enterprise's MARK MUCKENFUSS: "A pair of UC Riverside researchers say they have found a mechanism for blocking the spread of ovarian cancer, one of the deadliest cancers for women."
"Recent University of Notre Dame transplants Mark Alber and Oleg Kim, along with a team of researchers, published a study in Oncology Times in July that detailed how they used a monoclonal antibody named GC-4 to block a protein responsible for allowing ovarian cancer cells to latch onto and penetrate other cells. That’s how the disease spreads to other parts of the body."
"Alber and Kim, who both arrived at UCR a year ago, plan to work with the City of Hope, in Duarte, to do further study with human patients and hopefully develop an effective drug."
Valley congressman rebukes Trump's 'reckless' response to North Korea threat.
Daily News: "San Fernando Valley Congressman Brad Sherman on Wednesday blasted President Donald Trump’s threat this week that North Korea would “be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen before” if the Asian country continues to expand its nuclear program."
"Trump’s comment followed reports that North Korea has mastered a crucial technology needed to strike the United States with a nuclear missile."
"Sherman, the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Asia Pacific Subcommittee, said Trump’s statement was “reckless” and endangers American lives."