The Mercury News

SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Mateo County recently became the first county in the country to recognize loneliness as a public health emergency. The county Board of Supervisors voted unanimously last week to approve a resolution introduced by Supervisor David Canepa declaring loneliness a health emergency. In the resolution, Canepa outlined several strategies to address loneliness. These include strengthening social infrastructure, implementing pro-connection public policies, mobilizing the health sector, conducting research to deepen knowledge, reforming online environments and fostering a culture o......

Even though Elizabeth Holmes is just nine months into a projected nine years in federal prison, she appeared to have a happy 40th birthday on Saturday when her family paid her a visit and she got some playtime in the prison yard with her two young children. The Daily Mail published photos of a smiling Holmes, running around the grassy yard with her toddler son, 2, and possibly playing a game of hide and seek around a tree. In other photos, Holmes was seen being held affectionately by her husband, Billy Evans, who also brought their daughter, who is about to turn 1, for the visit at the minimum......

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Vice President Kamala Harris whipped up support among Democrats fighting for access to abortion in her home state on Monday afternoon, lambasting former President Donald Trump and Republicans for their erosion of reproductive rights as the November election nears. In remarks made at San Jose’s Mexican Heritage Plaza, the nation’s first female vice president described the fight for abortion as “fundamentally about freedom.” “We have to hustle over these next 10 months,” said Harris, an Oakland native and California’s former top prosecutor. “We can make a difference on this is......

California and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday finalized a $1.67 billion settlement with truck engine maker Cummins — the largest civil penalty ever assessed under the federal Clean Air Act — after the company installed devices on more than 600,000 RAM pickup trucks that regulators said illegally bypassed emission tests, resulting in ten of thousands of tons of excess pollution. The penalty is the second largest the EPA has ever recovered under any environmental law, behind the $20 billion settlement in the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon platform explosion and oil spill, which......

Gov. Gavin Newsom called for new laws targeting retail thieves Tuesday amid a rash of brazen robberies often captured on video and spread on social media and TV newscasts that have tarnished the Golden State’s image — and drawn scrutiny to criminal justice reforms he backed. Newsom’s legislative framework adds teeth to prosecution of people he says are “professional thieves.” He called for increasing felony penalties and prison time for those who resell stolen goods. He also called for new penalties for auto burglary and for possession of items stolen from a vehicle, locked or not, with intent......