California
See COVID’s toll on California’s life expectancy in new CDC longevity report
It was the year COVID-19 vaccines became widely available, and the pandemic’s startling death toll in California and elsewhere appeared close to being reined in.
Instead, life expectancy in California fell by more than 8 months in 2021, dropping the Golden State to 10th place in the nation, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
An analysis of all 50 states and the District of Columbia found that babies born in California in 2021 could expect to live 78.3 years — down from 79 years in 2020, when California ranked fourth in the nation.
The decrease, which was reported Wednesday by the CDC’s National Vital Satistics System, revealed that the promise of COVID-19 vaccines — along with other public health measures — was not enjoyed uniformly across the nation.
While life expectancy dropped in California and 38 other states, it increased in 11 others and held steady in the District of Columbia. (New Jersey logged a gain of 1.5 years between 2020 and 2021, the best performance among the states.)
In 2019, before the coronavirus reached U.S. shores, the state’s overall life expectancy at birth was 80.9 years, with an expected life span of 78.4 years for men and 83.3 years for women. That put California in the No. 2 spot, just slightly behind Hawaii. (The states were so close that Hawaii’s overall life expectancy that year was also reported as 80.9 years.)
Then deaths during the first year of the pandemic shaved 1.9 years off California’s life expectancy at birth. Only 15 states weathered larger declines. (New York saw the biggest drop, losing 3 full years of life expectancy between 2019 and 2020.)
Expected life spans in the Golden State shrank by another 0.7 years in 2021, according to the new report. That was the 27th-largest decline, putting it in the middle of the pack. (The biggest drop was in Alaska, where it plunged from 76.6 to 74.5 years.)
This map divides states into quartiles based on their life expectancy at birth for 2021. The darker the state,the longer the life expectancy.
(National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System)
The life expectancy of Americans as whole fell by 0.6 years to 76.4 years, according to the new report. CDC researchers attributed that decrease primarily to high numbers of COVID-19 deaths and fatalities from accidental drug overdoses.
Hawaii retained the longevity crown in 2021, with a life expectancy of 79.9 years.
That was a full 9 years longer than in Mississippi, which ranked 51st among all states and the District of Columbia. A baby born in the Magnolia state could expect to live 70.9 years, according to the new report.
The states that rounded out the top five overall in 2021 were Massachusetts (79.6 years), Connecticut (79.2 years), New York (79.0) and New Jersey (also 79.0).
Joining Mississippi at the bottom of the list were West Virginia (71.0 years), Alabama (72.0 years), Louisiana (72.2 years) and Kentucky (72.3 years).
More broadly, “states with the lowest life expectancy at birth were mostly Southern states,” the report said. “States with the highest life expectancy at birth were predominantly Western … and Northeastern states.”
Women were expected to outlive men in every state in 2021. The life expectancy gap ranged from a high of 7.6 years in New Mexico to a low of 3.9 years in Utah. The average gender gap for the country as a whole was 5.8 years, according to the report.
In California, the expected lifespan was 81.4 years for a baby girl born in 2021 and 75.3 years for a baby boy — a difference of 6.1 years.
For the most part, the states with the largest differential between the sexes had lower life expectancies overall. Meanwhile, states with the smallest discrepancies between males and females tended to have higher overall life expectancies, the CDC noted.
This chart ranks states according to the size of their gender gap for life expectancy at birth in 2021. New Mexico had the biggest discrepancy, while Utah had the smallest.
(National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System)
CDC researchers also calculated the remaining lifespan for Americans who were 65 years old in 2021. The nationwide average was 18.4 years — 17.0 years for men and 19.7 years for women.
Life expectancy at 65 is always greater than life expectancy at birth because the pool of people who survive to their 65th birthday excludes those who weren’t able to reach that milestone.
The risk of death in the first year of life is particularly high — the U.S. infant mortality rate in 2021 was 5.44 deaths per 1,000 live births — and actuarial life tables from the Social Security Administration show that it takes until age 49 for the mortality rate to reach the same level.
In 2021, 65-year-olds in Hawaii had the most years to look forward to, with an average remaining life expectancy of 20.6 years. That was followed by Connecticut at 19.9 years, Massachusetts at 19.6 years, and Minnesota, New York, Vermont and New Jersey at 19.4 years.
Mississippi ranked 51st on this longevity list as well, offering 65-year-olds an expectation of 16.1 more years to live. West Virginia also had a remaining life expectancy of 16.1 years, followed by Alabama, Oklahoma and Kentucky at 16.4 years.
California beat the nationwide averages for 65-year-olds with a remaining overall life expectancy of 19.3 years. That included 17.8 additional years for 65-year-old men and 20.7 years for 65-year-old women.
California
Republican governor candidate Chad Bianco says he’s the ‘antithesis to California state government’
We are counting down to the California governor’s race. Chad Bianco, the sheriff of Riverside County, is one of the two biggest names running on the Republican ticket.
In a one-on-one interview with Eyewitness News political reporter Josh Haskell, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said, “I am the antithesis to California state government because I am going to take a nuclear bomb into that building and absolutely destroy everything that they do to us behind closed doors.”
Although he’s been elected by the voters twice, Bianco says he’s not a politician — which is why he believes his campaign for California governor is resonating, as reflected in the polls.
“President Trump, in one year, from 2025 when he took over, until now, did absolutely nothing to harm California. What’s harming California is 30 years of Democrat one-party rule that have created an environment here that no one can live in anymore. They’ve only been successful here in California because we vote D no matter what. You vote D or die. I mean, that’s it. Charles Manson would be elected in California if he was the only Democrat on the ballot,” Bianco said.
Bianco isn’t the only conservative Republican running for governor, and according to polling, he’s neck-and-neck with former Fox News host Steve Hilton.
SEE ALSO: CA governor candidate Steve Hilton says ‘everybody supports’ Trump’s immigration policies
Leading in some polls in the wide-open California Governor’s race as the June primary creeps closer is Republican and former Fox News host Steve Hilton.
“Steve has no chance of winning in November. The Democrats know that I’m going to win in November, and so they have to do everything they can to keep me out of that,” Bianco said.
When asked about the affordability crisis in the state, Bianco said, “Almost the entire issue of affordability in California is because of regulation, excessive regulation imposed by government. Every single regulation can be signed away with the governor’s signature.”
“It is a drug and alcohol addiction problem that, and a mental health problem,” he said about the homelessness crisis. “Every single bit of money that is going to these nonprofits that say ‘homeless,’ zero money. You’re getting absolutely nothing. I can’t tell you that we would end what we see in the homeless situation within a year, but I guarantee you we would never see it again after two years.”
When challenged on that prediction, pointing to how the state doesn’t have the facilities to treat the number of people living on our streets, Bianco responded, “We have been conditioned to believe that buildings take five years to build. It takes 90 days or less to build a house, but in California, it takes three to five years because the government won’t allow it. The regulations that are destroying this state are going to be removed with me as the governor.”
Bianco also said California jails shouldn’t have to play the role of treatment facilities.
Although he says he supports the Trump administration and wants the president’s endorsement, Bianco has been traveling the state — meeting not just with Republicans, but Democrats and independents as well. He says all of our state government officials have failed.
The primary election is June 2.
No clear front-runner in race for California governor, new poll shows
A new poll shows there’s still no clear front-runner in the race to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Copyright © 2026 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.
California
PlayOn Sports fined $1.1 million by California watchdog over student data violations
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (FOX26) — California’s privacy watchdog has ordered PlayOn Sports to pay a $1.10 million fine and change how it handles consumer data after finding the company’s practices violated state law in ways that affected students and schools in the state.
The California Privacy Protection Agency Board issued the decision following a settlement reached by CalPrivacy’s Enforcement Division.
The decision is the first by the board to address privacy violations involving students and California schools.
Schools across the country use PlayOn Sports’ GoFan platform to sell digital tickets to high school sporting events, theater performances, and homecoming and prom dances, with attendees presenting tickets at the door on their mobile phones.
Schools also use PlayOn Sports’ platforms for other sports-related activities, including attending games, streaming them online, and looking up statistics about teams and players.
In California, about 1,400 schools contract with PlayOn Sports for these services.
[RELATED] X faces possible fines as EU probes Grok nonconsensual, sexualized deepfakes
GoFan is also the official ticketing platform for the California Interscholastic Federation, the governing body for high school sports.
According to the board’s decision, PlayOn Sports used tracking technologies to collect personal information and deliver targeted advertisements to ticketholders and others using its services.
The company allegedly required Californians to click “agree” to tracking technologies before they could use their tickets or view PlayOn Sports websites, without providing a sufficient opt-out option.
“Students trying to go to prom or a high school football game shouldn’t have to leave their privacy rights at the door,” said Michael Macko, CalPrivacy’s head of enforcement. “You couldn’t attend these events without showing your ticket, and you couldn’t show your ticket without being tracked for advertising. California’s privacy law does not work that way. Businesses must ensure they offer lawful ways for Californians to opt-out, particularly with captive audiences.”
The decision also describes students as a uniquely vulnerable population and warns that targeted advertising systems can subject students to profiling that can follow them for years, expose them to manipulative or harmful content, and develop sensitive inferences about their lives.
Instead of providing its own opt-out method, PlayOn Sports directed students and other users to opt out through the Network Advertising Initiative and the Digital Advertising Alliance, which the decision said violated the company’s responsibility to provide its own way for consumers to opt out. The company also allegedly failed to recognize opt-out preference signals and did not provide Californians with sufficient notice of its privacy practices.
“We are committed to making it as easy as possible for all Californians — from high school students to older adults, and everyone in between — to make the choice of whether they want to be tracked or not,” said Tom Kemp, CalPrivacy’s executive director. “Californians can opt-out with covered businesses, and they can sign up for the newly launched DROP system to request that data brokers delete their personal information.”
Beyond the $1.10 million fine, the board’s order requires PlayOn Sports to conduct risk assessments, provide disclosures that are easy to read and understand, and implement proper opt-out methods.
The order also requires the company to comply with California’s privacy law prohibiting the selling or sharing of personal information of consumers between 13 and 16 without their affirmative opt-in consent.
California
California bill to bar police from taking second job with ICE advances in state Assembly
Wednesday, March 4, 2026 4:43AM
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KABC) — A bill that would prevent police officers from moonlighting with federal immigration enforcement agencies, such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is advancing through the California State Assembly.
AB 1537 passed the State Assembly’s committee on public safety on Tuesday.
The bill also requires that officers report any offers for secondary employment related to immigration enforcement to their place of work.
Those failing to comply could face decertification as a peace officer in California.
The bill was introduced by Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, whose district includes Mar Vista, Ladera Heights, Mid-Wilshire and parts of South Los Angeles.
Copyright © 2026 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.
-
World1 week agoExclusive: DeepSeek withholds latest AI model from US chipmakers including Nvidia, sources say
-
Massachusetts1 week agoMother and daughter injured in Taunton house explosion
-
Wisconsin3 days agoSetting sail on iceboats across a frozen lake in Wisconsin
-
Maryland4 days agoAM showers Sunday in Maryland
-
Denver, CO1 week ago10 acres charred, 5 injured in Thornton grass fire, evacuation orders lifted
-
Florida4 days agoFlorida man rescued after being stuck in shoulder-deep mud for days
-
Oregon6 days ago2026 OSAA Oregon Wrestling State Championship Results And Brackets – FloWrestling
-
Massachusetts2 days agoMassachusetts man awaits word from family in Iran after attacks