California's weekend megastorm has caused widespread flooding and evacuations, just as predicted.
TONY BARBOZA, LOUIS SAHAGUN and PAIGE ST. JOHN with LAT: "The first band of what forecasters predict will be the region's most powerful storm in a decade continued to pummel Northern California on Sunday, causing flooding throughout the region and prompting evacuations in Sonoma County and parts of neighboring Nevada."
"Emergency officials voluntarily evacuated 650 homes in the low-lying communities of Monte Rio and Guerneville in Sonoma County as the Russian River continued to rise Sunday evening. The river is expected to peak at noon on Monday and will probably remain at or above flood levels through Tuesday morning, officials said."
"Authorities said nearly 400 homes in Reno and other areas of Washoe County, Nev., were voluntarily evacuated Sunday due to widespread flooding that is expected to worsen overnight and into Monday."
READ MORE related to Megastorm: Storm death toll hits 3, including outdoors lover killed by tree -- JILL TUCKER and MICHAEL BODLEY with The Chronicle; Live updates: Winter weather slams California -- STAFF with LAT; Yosemite drenched, but spared intense flood damage -- PETER FIMRITE with The Chronicle; Sacramento avoids major flooding, but risks remain -- RYAN SABALOW, ED FLETCHER and RICHARD CHANG with Sacramento Bee; Weekend storm batters resilient, remote Big Sur communities -- EVAN SERNOFFSKY with The Chronicle; Hundreds of Nevada homes evacuated in floods along mountains -- AP's SCOTT SONNER and OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ in Sacramento Bee; Do you know if you live in a flood area? -- LINDA GONZALES with Sacramento Bee; Rising rivers, crashes, downed trees as major storm slams Bay Area -- ERIN ALLDAY, KIMBERLEY VEKLEROV, EVAN SERNOFFSKY, MICHAEL CABANANTUAN and DEMIAN BULWA with The Chronicle; An iconic tunnel tree in a California state park is no more after huge storm -- PAIGE ST. JOHN and MATT HAMILTON with LAT
Amid the new dawn of legalized cannabis in California, Humboldt County in the Emerald Triangle is vying to retain its legendary status as King of the Crop.
JOHN HOWARD with Capitol Weekly: "At the heart of California’s Emerald Triangle is Humboldt County, a legendary locale in the world of weed, as prized by marijuana aficionados for its cannabis as Napa Valley is for its wine."
“Humboldt is the absolute, undisputed leader in cannabis,” said Luke Bruner, a local resident who has advised state and local officials on marijuana issues."
"There are an estimated 12,000 pot growers in Humboldt County — or about one for every 11 residents — and officials want to protect the brand. They want to ensure that tax revenue is collected, a black market is throttled, violence is curbed and environmental rules are followed. They want Humboldt weed to carry a reputation and appellation like good wine."
READ MORE related to Cannabis: Mailing marijuana is a popular way to distribute the drug -- but illegal -- KRISTINA DAVIS with Union-Tribune
Meryl Streep used her speech time at the Golden Globes to jab at the President-elect and praise diversity.
STAFF with LAT: "The following is a transcript of Meryl Streep’s speech at the 74th Golden Globes as she accepted the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement."
"I love you all. You have to forgive me, I have lost my voice in screaming and lamentation this weekend and I have lost my mind sometime earlier this year so I have to read."
"Thank you, Hollywood Foreign Press. Just to pick up on what Hugh Laurie said, you and all of us in this room really belong to the most vilified segments of American society right now. Think about it: Hollywood, foreigners and the press."
After slamming POTUS44 for raising the national debt to dangerously high levels on the campaign trail, ranking Republicans are actively considering a measure that would raise the public debt to nearly $30 trillion after a decade, all for the sake of repealing the ACA.
DAVID LIGHTMAN with Sacramento Bee: "Sens. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio have been adamant – the federal debt is way too high and has got to be tamed fast."
"Cruz, a Republican from Texas, helped lead the 2013 fight against raising the debt limit, a fight that resulted in a partial government shutdown. Rubio, a Republican from Florida, in announcing his plans for this year, said Tuesday that “one major thing that will cost us jobs and hamstring our economy is our rising debt.”
"So why did they and 49 other Senate Republicans vote this week to consider a measure that says the “appropriate levels of the public debt” would rise from the current $20 trillion to $29.1 trillion in 10 years? And predict deficits of $1 trillion by the end of that period?"
READ MORE related to Economy: Fiat Chrysler to build 3 new Jeeps, create 2,000 jobs in US -- TOM KRISHER with Sacramento Bee; McDonald's sells China business in deal worth up to $2.1B -- AP in The Chronicle
Two of California's most-used freeways face severe challenges during the storm.
HUDSON SANGREE and JESSICA HICE with Sacramento Bee: "Interstate 80 was closed in both directions over the Sierra Nevada near Donner Lake on Sunday night."
"The westbound lanes were shut down by a 60-foot mudslide near the Donner Lake Road interchange, Caltrans reported. Traffic was being held back at the town of Truckee with no detour and no estimated time when the highway would reopen as of 8 p.m."
"The slide occurred near Donner Lake Road shortly after 6 p.m., the California Highway Patrol reported."
READ MORE related to Transportation: Airport shooting raises questions about guns in baggage -- DAVID KOENIG with AP; Shooter at Florida airport was being prosecuted for allegedly strangling his girlfriend in Alaska -- BLAKE BAKKILA with People; Gun was given back to Florida shooting suspect last month -- ZACHARY FAGENSON with Reuters; Confused on how to ride your bike on city streets? There's a class for that -- TONY BIZJAK with Sacramento Bee
Highways aren't the only thing affected by the inclement weather as Sacramento's homeless struggle to find sanctuary.
RYAN LILLIS with Sacramento Bee: "As the rivers keep rising, more and more homeless men and women move out of the woods and on to city streets. Sacramento’s homeless crisis is as severe as ever."
"A group of advocates pushing for a permitted homeless “safe ground” continue their campaign. But it sounds like they don’t have any friends left at City Hall."
"Attorney Mark Merin, Safe Ground Sacramento and the Interfaith Council of Greater Sacramento quietly submitted an application with the city of Sacramento in October to establish a tent city for homeless campers near the Sacramento Army Depot off Florin Perkins Road. They sought to establish the camp on city-owned property set amid a district of warehouses."
Move over Uber, Google wants in on the automated-car trend and is poised to begin test drives this month.
AP in LAT: "Waymo, Google's self-driving car division, will start testing its new fleet of minivans on public roads in California and Arizona this month."
"The minivans, built in collaboration with Fiat Chrysler, are Chrysler Pacifica hybrids outfitted with Waymo's own suite of sensors and radar. Waymo and FCA announced their partnership in May. "
"In a speech at the Detroit auto show Sunday, Chief Executive John Krafcik said that Waymo built the sensors, radar and software itself. He said the company thought the system would work better if it was developed specifically for the self-driving vehicles instead of using off-the-shelf parts."
Obama: I didn't underestimate Putin, but I did underestimate misinformation.
NOAH BIERMAN with LAT: "President Obama insisted in an interview that aired Sunday he did not underestimate Russian President Vladimir Putin when he dismissed Mitt Romney’s 2012 campaign assessment that the country was the top U.S. geopolitical foe. But Obama acknowledged he may have misjudged Russia’s ability to tamper in the American electoral process."
“I underestimated the degree to which, in this new information age, it is possible for misinformation, for cyberhacking and so forth, to have an impact on our open societies, our open systems, to insinuate themselves into our democratic practices in ways that I think are accelerating,” he said on ABC’s “This Week."
"The comments in the taped interview came as debate over a joint intelligence report on Russia’s effort to help President-elect Donald Trump in the 2016 election continued to rage. Trump and his aides have tried to downplay the report’s findings and would not commit on Sunday to punishing Russia further for the activities than Obama has."
READ MORE related to Beltway: US goes from bandleader to bystander in Syria peace efforts -- MATTHEW LEE with AP; US, North Korea trade warnings over potential ICBM test -- AP's ERIC TALMADGE in The Chronicle; Obama White House veterans stake out spot in Trump resistance -- JOE GAROFOLI with The Chronicle
An American man has been arrested and faces deportation in connection with the assassination attempt of Christopher Ashcraft, a U.S.-Mexican diplomat.
KATE LINTHICUM with LAT: "Mexican authorities have arrested a man suspected of shooting a U.S. official in the western state of Guadalajara."
"The suspect, Zafar Zia, 31, is a U.S. citizen, according to a spokesperson for the attorney general in the state of Jalisco."
"Mexican and U.S. State Department officials have not said why Zia was in the country or why he may have targeted Christopher Ashcraft, a State Department employee who worked out of the American Consulate in Guadalajara."
SeaWorld's legendary killer whales took their final bow for the season as they patiently await their participation in a revised show for the summer -- a 50-year tradition that has been upended by animal-rights advocates.
ROGER SHOWLEY with Union-Tribune: "Fifty years of splashes, twirls and and leaps into the air came to an end Sunday as SeaWorld’s 11 killer whales took their final entertainment-laden bow."
"When the black-and-white behemoths return with “Orca Encounter” this summer, park planners promise a more naturalistic storyline and performance."
"But at Shamu Stadium, with its 3.2-million-gallon tank, the third and final “One Ocean” show pulled out all the stops. Retired trainers were on hand and souvenirs were handed out to the standing-room-only crowd, some of whom expressed nostalgia and sadness."
California's school districts continue to feel tension during the Trump transition.
MAUREEN MAGEE with Union-Tribune: "Worried about what the presidential election results would mean for immigrant families, Diego Robles showed up at Kearny High School on Nov. 9 expecting the news to dominate classroom discussions."
"To his surprise, it never came up."
“None of my teachers even mentioned the election,” he said at an education symposium at the University of San Diego last week on fostering safe learning environments and civil dialogue in the “post-election era.”
READ MORE related to Education: UC Berkeley student arrested in connection with city's 1st homicide of 2017 -- HARINI SHYAMSUNDAR and CHANTELLE LEE with Daily Californian; UC proposes tuition hike after 6-year freeze -- ANDREA PLATTEN with Daily Californian; Campus students disappointed by potential tuition hike -- SAKURA CANNESTRA with Daily Californian; A new era for bilingual education: explaining California's Proposition 58 -- ASHLEY HOPKINSON with EdSource; Oakland teens to get a global perspective as they study abroad through pilot program -- THERESA HARRINGTON with EdSource; U.S. to make final decision on California science testing waiver 'very shortly' -- PAT MAIO with EdSource
Millions of Californias anxiously bite their nails in the wake of a possible ACA repeal.
STAFF with California Healthline: "As federal lawmakers debate the fate of Obamacare this month, health coverage for millions of Californians hangs in the balance."
"Covered California, the state health insurance exchange, and the expansion of Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program for low-income residents, are products of the Affordable Care Act. Both could be at risk if the GOP-led Congress and President-elect Donald Trump gut key pieces of the health law."
"Earlier this week, California Healthline Senior Correspondent Emily Bazar discussed the future of Obamacare coverage in California on Valley Public Radio’s Valley Edition program."
READ MORE related to Healthcare: Health law repeal could cost California 334,000 jobs, according to analysis -- REBECCA PLEVIN with KPCC; Obama's challenge to GOP: Show me your plan before repealing mine -- JULIE ROVNER with California Healthline; Medicare failed to recover up to $125 million in overpayments, records show -- FRED SCHULTE with California Healthline
