Calif. Attorney General Files Lawsuits Against Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

(SAN FRANCISCO) -- California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris filed a lawsuit against Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Tuesday, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The lawsuits are intended to force the mortgage firms to provide answers to several questions pertaining to the mortgages they purchased and the foreclosed properties they own in the state.

State investigators previously supplied the two firms with subpoenas regarding their role as landlords in California but the companies' regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, directed them not to comply due to what it described as a "frequently vague and ambiguous" investigation.

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Record Spending by Visitors to Calif. in 2010

(LOS ANGELES) -- More people are visiting California and are spending record amounts of money.

The Los Angeles Times reports that by the end of the year, all visitors to the Golden State will have spent a record $104.4 billion, according to projections released Monday by Pennsylvania consulting firm, Tourism Economics.

The spending marks a 10 percent increase from 2010’s numbers, when visitors spent $95.1 billion.

The continued growth is attributed to the increase in domestic travel and a surge in international travel to the state, according to the report commissioned by California’s tourism board, Visit California.

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Teen Sentenced to 21 Years for Killing Gay Student

(OXNARD, Calif.) -- A 17-year-old boy was sentenced to 21 years in prison on Monday, in connection with the shooting death of a gay teenager in 2008.

Brandon McInerney was given the sentence as part of a plea agreement, which saw him pleading guilty to second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter and use of a firearm in the death of Larry King, 15.

King was shot twice in the head on February 12, 2008, at the E.O. Green Junior High School in Oxnard.

A plea agreement was reached after a hung jury led to a mistrial being declared in September.

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Judge Allows Facebook Ad Case to Proceed

(SAN JOSE, Calif.) -- A federal judge in San Jose rejected a plea from Facebook to dismiss a lawsuit against its advertising model.

U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh announced that the case, which says that the ads displaying a list of your friends who "like" the ad's content is in violation of California law, could move forward. Facebook's so-called "sponsored stories" went into effect last January.

The plaintiff's case says the ads are a breach of California's right of publicity law, which Facebook says does not apply to them because of an exemption.

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42 Calif. Nurses Paid $47.5 Million in Salary and Overtime

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) -- Some California nurses earned over $1 million in a six-year period thanks to numerous overtime hours, cites a new report.

According to Bloomberg News, one example of a high-earning nurse is Lina Manglicmot, who earned $1.5 million since 2005, at an average of $253,530 a year as a prison nurse in Soledad. In total, 42 state nurses made about $47.5 million in six years despite California's budget shortfalls. The state has cut spending resulting in fewer workers -- and subsequently more overtime for the state nurses.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says the national average income for registered nurses is $67,720.

Comparing state nurse annual incomes, the highest paid in New York was paid $186,909 while in Texas a regular nurse is paid $72,000 a year; the director of nursing in the state prison system earns $165,000. Nurses in Texas are not unionized and as such overtime is limited, which accounts for the lower pay.

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Calif. Wins $56.2 Million Grant for Early Development Programs

(WASHINGTON) -- California was among nine states to earn a shared $500 million federal grant Friday which will go toward early child development programs, according to White House officials.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the initiative is part of the Obama administration’s “Race to the Top” program designed to encourage competition among states for federal funding.

The $52.6 million grant awarded to California on Friday is the first effort by federal officials to target pre-kindergarten education.

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Startup Founders Propose Offshore Ship with Foreign Entrepreneurs

(SUNNYVALE, Calif.) -- To bypass the strict U.S. visa requirements for foreign nationals wanting to work in the country, a California startup company has proposed a solution.

Blueseed's co-founders Max Marty, 27, and Dario Mutabdzija, 31, are proposing docking a ship 12 miles from the San Francisco Bay and housing 1,000 foreign entrepreneurs who will work on innovating new ideas. The technical details of the entrepreneurs' status as workers on a ship docked in international waters have not been finalized because the planning is still in the early stages. The New York Times reports that the passengers could enter the U.S. periodically on temporary tourist or business visas which are easier to obtain.

Blueseed's founders say they were motivated by the number of talented foreign nationals leaving the U.S. shortly after graduation because they are unable to secure work visas.

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California Jobless Rate Falls to 11.3%

(LOS ANGELES) -- California's jobless rate fell to 11.3 percent in November.

The new unemployment rate is the state's lowest level since June 2009, and marks the fourth straight month of declines.

The California Employment Development Department reported that the rate fell more than a percentage point from 12.5 percent last December, although the new figure is still well above the national average of 8.6 percent.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Utility Companies Get $60 Million for Energy Efficiency Contributions

(SAN FRANCISCO) -- The state has approved $60 million in financial incentives for four of California's utility companies, for the roll they played in helping the state meet its energy efficiency goals in 2009.

Under its Risk/Reward Incentive Mechanism, the California Public Utilities Commission on Thursday granted incentive payments to Pacific Gas and Electric Company ($26.2 million); Southern California Edison ($18.1 million); San Diego Gas and Electric ($13.7 million); and Southern California Gas Company ($2 million).

The Risk/Reward Incentive Mechanism allows utility companies to be rewarded for energy efficiency investments.

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Gov. Brown Calls on People to Wake Up to Climate Change

(SAN FRANCISCO) -- Gov. Jerry Brown criticized Republicans for being in denial about climate change at the Governor's Conference on Extreme Climate Risks and California's Future on Thursday.

The conference was organized by Brown, who said complacency was an obstacle and that it was time for people to wake up to climate change. "It's time for courage, it's time for creativity and it's time for boldness to tackle climate change."

The conference is being attended by former Calf. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger; Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, the United Nations Chair for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson, as well as scientists and activists among other attendees.

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