Leads:
- California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Friday that multiple people were facing prison time for their roles in a multimillion-dollar theft scheme targeting Bay Area retailers — one Bonta called among the largest theft-ring busts in state history.
- A San Francisco restaurant is apologizing after its staff refused service to police officers because their weapons made staff uncomfortable. In an Instagram post yesterday, the co-owners of the North Beach restaurant Hilda and Jesse apologized after three uniformed officers were asked to leave Friday morning. This caused blow-back as online reviewers voiced their disappointment by giving the restaurant 1-star reviews on several websites.
- Local leaders are firing back at Governor Newsom over the rash of smash and grab robberies. The governor recently called on local mayors to "Step up," and to put an end to the organized crime. However, Some County Sheriffs and District Attorneys say Newsom is just playing politics and not helping solve the problem.
- The couple accused of starting California's deadly El Dorado Fire with a gender reveal firework is trying to shed all of their charges. On Friday, their attorney said he will file a motion to dismiss all charges, including arson and involuntary manslaughter, before the case ever goes to trial. The motion will be heard in early February. The fire started in September of 2020, during a gender reveal photoshoot at El Dorado Ranch Park in Yucaipa. Twelve days later, nearly 23,000 acres of land were burned, five homes were destroyed, four were damaged, and a U.S. Forest Service firefighter died after being overcome by flames.
Extra Stories:
- Queen Latifah is helping take obesity head-on, and that starts by having an honest conversation about shame, bias and stigma
- Stanford's Dr. Jay Bhattacharya says the end of the pandemic comes when we decide to stop the panic
- The director of the CDC is saying "no" to a federal mask mandate
- Dr. Francis Collins is explaining how scientists think the Omicron variant formed