California
A cat went missing in Wyoming. 2 months later, he was found in his home state, California.
Cat floats on lake with no fear of water
A cat owner put their cat, Fitz, in a floating cooler and towed him around Lake Ontario as they kayaked.
The love between a pet and its owner knows no bounds nor state lines.
After going missing in Yellowstone National Park, a two-year-old cat traveled more than 800 miles toward its California home.
Siamese cat Rayne Beau, pronounced “rainbow,” ran off into the trees during a trip to the Wyoming park in June, according his owners Benny and Susanne Anguiano. The couple, based out of Salinas in Monterey County, thought they had seen the last of their beloved pet.
However, two months later, they received a voicemail from an animal shelter in Roseville, about a 30 minutes northeast of Sacramento, informing them that Rayne Beau was ready for pick up.
The pair’s five day trip at Yellowstone took a downturn after several days spent scouring the park, with Benny roaming the forest wearing bear repellant. Their relentless search ended June 8 when their park reservation ended, and the couple returned home devastated. Benny told Susanne they could not stay at the park forever, and park rangers said they would inform them if Rayne Beau was spotted.
“I understood that, but I just made him stay until the very last minute, that’s for sure. And even as we were driving out, I had my window down. I’m still calling him and we’re still scanning the road. It was pretty traumatic,” Susanne told USA TODAY Thursday.
Rayne Beau’s twin cat, Starr Jasmine, called out for her brother from a carrier. Susanne said she knew her twin was gone. The ride home was sorrowful for her as the cat grappled with being apart from her twin for the first time ever.
Couple initially skeptical of shelter’s phone call
The Anguianos held onto hope despite mounting despair. Park officials said some pets are found months later, Benny said. As they crossed the state line into Idaho, the couple saw a double rainbow, assuring Susanne that Rayne Beau “is being taken care of.”
Yet, the pair found themselves in complete disbelief when a voicemail Aug. 3 from the Placer SPCA shelter in Roseville said that their cat had been found. Skeptical of a potential scam, Susanne said it wasn’t until her husband and daughter were also contacted that they began taking the message seriously.
“I said, ‘take a picture. I want to make sure I don’t drive three-and-a-half hours and it’s not my cat,’” Benny said. “So they did. About 20 minutes later, they sent a picture and yep, it was him.”
The two reserved their emotions until they could see the cat, afraid of false hope. But the moment they laid eyes on Rayne Beau, they knew they had been reunited.
“When we for sure knew, we were in tears. We were all hugging and crying,” Susanne said.
Rayne Beau and Starr Jasmine are back to sleeping, playing and jumping together after a brutal period apart. The couple now has three cats, including new addition Maxx, who they adopted as a companion for Starr while she was alone.
Cat lost nearly half his bodyweight while missing
While it’s unclear how Rayne Beau made his way from Wyoming to California, his appearance shows the journey did not come without struggles. Susanne said his paws were calloused, dry and cracked.
Rayne Beau weighed between 7 and 8 pounds, down from his initial 13 pound weight, according to Susanne. Veterinarians said bloodwork showed low protein levels from inadequate nutrition, leading the family to believe no one cared for him during those 60 days.
“Poor thing looked like he was six months old, nine months old. He was really little, all skin and bones. He had lost half his body weight,” Benny said. “He was in starvation mode. So now he’s worked himself out of that.”
Susanne said both Rayne Beau and Starr were microchipped as required by the local rescue shelter from where they had adopted the cats. However, she said she was grateful Starr wasn’t the one who ran off, as her microchip had shortly fallen out when she was spayed as a kitten, according to a local shelter that performed procedure.
She urges all dog and cat owners to not only microchip their pets, but register their owners name and contact information because life can be unpredictable.
“If you love your pet you will,” Susanne said. “You will do that if you ever want to see them again, because anything can happen. As careful as you can be, animals are animals and something can happen like with us, and they get away.”
A new poll in the race for California Governor shows Democrat Xavier Becerra is leading Republican Steve Hilton by a wide margin — 61% to 36%.
Becerra leads Hilton across several demographics: age, gender, homeownership, income, racial/ethnic groups and across the state’s major regions.
The poll also found 85% of likely voters say that the gubernatorial candidates’ positions on the environment are important — 60% of Democrats call it “very important,” compared to 29% of Republicans.
The poll surveyed 1,578 California adults from June 29 through July 6 and was conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California. The poll was conducted in English and Spanish, and 1,003 of those who were polled were likely voters.
The same poll found that a large majority of Californians do not want new data centers built in their area. Only about a quarter of those surveyed are in favor of the construction of data centers.
The PPIC survey focused on Californians and the environment.
Another key finding was that Californians are most likely to name wildfires as the top environmental issue facing the state today, followed by climate change, government overregulation and water supply. Of those polled, about six in 10 think that the state and local governments are not doing enough to address wildfires.
The California General Election will be held on Nov. 3, 2026.
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LOS ANGELES – A routine internal monitoring sweep by the California Department of Motor Vehicles has flagged thousands of suspicious test results, prompting a massive recall of licensed drivers to testing centers.
The state agency has warned that anyone who fails to comply with the retesting directive will face immediate cancellation of their driving privileges.
What we know:
The California DMV sent letters to about 11,000 licensed drivers last month after identifying suspicious patterns in their written test results.
According to the agency, these irregularities were detected through routine internal monitoring and point to various methods used to circumvent the testing process.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 11,000 CA drivers told to retake written test or lose licenses
The DMV has stated that the issue is entirely “test-taker related” and not the result of an internal technical glitch or the involvement of artificial intelligence.
To address the suspected fraud, several cases have already been referred to county district attorneys for criminal prosecution.
What we don’t know:
The DMV has not revealed the specific cheating methods used by the test-takers, nor have they disclosed the exact locations or dates of the flagged tests.
It’s unclear exactly how many of the 11,000 affected drivers have already completed their retests or how many licenses have been canceled so far.
What they’re saying:
A DMV spokesperson emphasized the importance of exam security in an email to City News Service: “The California DMV has identified irregularities in certain driver knowledge test results that may indicate instances of cheating.”
The spokesperson further explained, “Some individuals may have attempted to circumvent the testing process using various cheating methods.”
Addressing the root cause, the spokesperson added, “Nonetheless, these irregularities are test-taker-related and not the result of an internal DMV technical issue, or the involvement of artificial intelligence. Ensuring the integrity of the knowledge testing process is essential to public safety and to confirm that drivers understand California’s rules of the road.”
Regarding the lack of specific details on how the cheating occurred, the department stated, “DMV is not sharing additional information at this time, so as not to reveal investigative methods and protect the integrity of the investigative process.”
Sen. Tony Strickland (R-Huntington Beach), vice chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, recently sent a letter to DMV administrators expressing concerns about the situation.
On Tuesday, Strickland released a statement saying the DMV’s own letter to drivers created “confusion and unnecessary anxiety” among new license holders.
“The DMV is a state agency that serves millions of Californians, and they deserve clear communication along with timely information when something like this happens,” Strickland said. “I have heard from Californians who believe this language suggests the DMV is accusing them of cheating or engaging in misconduct during the examination process. Whether that is the Department’s intent or not, the wording of the notice has created confusion and unnecessary anxiety. In my letter, I requested additional information about what happened and the steps the department is taking to address the issue.”
What’s next:
The DMV will continue to monitor test results internally while working alongside county district attorneys on the active criminal referrals.
Drivers who received the letters must schedule and pass their exams before their individual 30-day deadlines expire to avoid losing their driving privileges.
What you can do:
If you received a letter from the DMV regarding testing irregularities, you must visit a local DMV office as soon as possible to retake your knowledge test.
Be sure to complete and pass the exam within the mandated 30-day window to prevent your driver’s license from being canceled.
The Source: This report is based on official statements and email correspondence provided by the California Department of Motor Vehicles to City News Service.
A now 33-year-old Northern California man, who was on the run in Mexico for five nearly five years, has been sentenced for the murder of his estranged wife’s boyfriend while the couple was sleeping in her apartment in 2017.
Arturo Hernandez was 25 when he learned that a man named Anthony Freas was in a relationship with his estranged wife. His calls to her after hearing about the situation went unanswered, according to investigators.
On Nov. 19, livid over the relationship, Hernandez went to the Regency Apartments in the 5900 block of Riza Avenue, where his wife lived. He broke into the apartment where the couple was sleeping, entered her bedroom and stabbed Freas multiple times before fleeing the scene, according to a news release from the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office.
Officers with the Sacramento Police Department responded to the apartment and found Freas suffering from at least one stab wound to the upper body. They began life-saving measures until paramedics arrived and rushed him to a hospital, where he later died.
Authorities launched a manhunt for Hernandez, who was considered armed and dangerous, The Sacramento Bee reported.
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Arturo Hernandez, 33, was sentenced for killing Anthony Freas while he was sleeping at his estranged wife’s Sacramento apartment on Nov. 19, 2026.(Justice4Anthony/Facebook) -
Arturo Hernandez broke into his estranged wife’s home at the Regency Apartments and killed her boyfriend while the couple was sleeping on Nov. 19, 2017. (Google)
It was later learned that he fled to Mexico, though it is unclear where he had been hiding or with whom.
Hernandez evaded law enforcement until July 2023, when he was arrested by Mexican authorities and FBI agents. He was later extradited back to Sacramento to stand trial.
On March 24, a jury found Hernandez guilty of second-degree murder and found true the allegation that he personally used a weapon during the attack.
More than three months later, on July 10, Judge Alyson Lewis sentenced him to 16 years to life in state prison.
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