California often marches to the beat of its own drum when it comes to national issues still being debated in the public forum and it often wields the power of influence on important issues. One of the issues that state regulators will be focusing on tomorrow is net neutrality, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Jefferson Parish (the greater New Orleans, Louisiana) authorities are searching for two men who held a Woodmere resident at gunpoint and stole that person's debit and credit cards. The two young men (pictured, left) were later captured on surveillance cameras trying to buy games at a local video game store, according to authorities.

Marin County, California District Attorney Ed Berberian's office is co-sponsoring a toy and videogame trade-in program alongside the Center for Domestic Peace and Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream in the month of October. The DA's office is co-sponsoring the event because it found great success with a similar buyback program for real guns two years ago. That firearm buy-back program saw people line up to sell an estimated 857 weapons for a total of more than $100,000. The funds for that program came from donations and $40,000 provided by county supervisors.

According to a report in the San Francisco Examiner, the dentist who allegedly facilitated an arms trading deal between rebels in the southern part of the Philippines and a party in the United States represented by now-suspended California state senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco - pictured) has died.

An Anaheim, California couple have been sentenced for neglecting their two young daughters to play World of Warcraft over a three-year period. Lester Louis Huffmire and his wife Petra Huffmire, both 41-years-old and resident of Anaheim, were sentenced to five years in prison on August 5.

The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television’s Professional Programs unveiled a new academic course dedicated to the study of video game development. The course, "Interactivity: A Course in Video Game Design and Development," will be taught by video game scribe Marianne Krawczyk (best known for her work on the God of War and Prince of Persia series) and Sony Computer Entertainment’s Senior Manager of Internal Production, Whitney Wade.

Several newspapers in California filed a lawsuit in the Sacramento Superior Court against the California Senate because they are seeking the legislative calendars and appointment books of two suspended members. The lawsuit was filed Thursday, and asks the court to compel the California Senate to release the legislative calendars and appointment books of suspended senators Leland Yee (pictured) and Ron Calderon.

Suspended California state senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) pled "not guilty" to Racketeering charges in Federal Court today. After the proceedings Yee had no comment for the throng of media waiting for him outside the court house.

Yee is accused of offering to help undercover FBI agents buy assault weapons from suspected terrorist group Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the Philippines, and for promising political favors and voting on specific bills in exchange for campaign contributions.

A federal grand jury has added a racketeering charge to suspended California State Senator (D- San Francisco) Leland Yee's list of charges which includes gun-trafficking, corruption, and other felony counts. The indictment came Thursday and supersedes the charges that prosecutors filed in March against Yee, alleged Chinatown mobster leader Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow, Yee campaign consultant Keith Jackson, and dozens of other defendants.

A cautionary tale about renting your home out to strangers for some quick, short-term cash on CNN has ties to video games. According to this CNN report, Cory Tschogl rented out her 600-square-foot condo in Palm Springs, California to two brothers, which CNN describes as video game developers - more on that later. The two brothers, Maksym and Denys Pashanin from Austin, Texas, rented the Palm Springs condo for 44 days, paying for 30 days of their stay in advance.

A California judge has ruled that a lawsuit filed against the company by current and former Apple Store employees can be certified as a class action. Apple’s policies "made taking meal and rest breaks extremely difficult" and forced employees to work more than five hours without a break, noted California Superior Court Judge Ronald S. Prager in his decision to certify Felczer v. Apple, Inc. as a class-action lawsuit that covers an estimated 20,000 current and former Apple Store employees in the state.

Rovio Entertainment has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Young Star Toys & Gifts et al. claiming that the company is selling "counterfeit knockoffs" based on its popular Angry Birds games and characters.

The lawsuit was filed on July 22 in the California Central District Court against the Vernon, California-based company and its president Brian Yang (who is also the agent in residence, which means he deals with all legal issues including lawsuits).

Republicans in California have been relatively quiet about a trio of Democratic state legislators who have been in the news this year for various unethical and illegal behavior - but, according to Fresno Bee, that may be about to change.

Republican leadership in the state have begun throwing around the names of certain lawmakers who have either been charged with a crime or convicted.

Future suspended California state senators won't be receiving a paycheck while they deal with various legal matters. A new initiative by lawmakers hopes to lift the dark cloud of corruption over all lawmakers in Sacramento - the result of three Democratic lawmakers currently either charged with crimes or awaiting sentencing after being convicted of them.

Despite being indicted on corruption charges for allegedly taking bribes and for attempting to facilitate an international gun deal, suspended California senator Leland Yee (D - San Francisco) managed to come in third in the Democratic primary for Secretary of State last week. As the San Jose Mercury News political blog points out, it has to suck to come in behind a guy who has been indicted on several charges.

While California's voters say that they are "alarmed" by a series of arrests of state lawmakers related to corruption charges in Sacramento, most feel that any wrongdoing is not widespread. This is a according to a statewide poll that was released on Saturday.

The University of Southern California Dornsife-Los Angeles Times poll notes that 84 percent of voters are either "very or somewhat concerned" about corruption in the Legislature, but most also believe the trouble is limited to a small number of lawmakers. This sentiment also cuts across party lines.

The California Senate voted Tuesday in favor of a constitutional amendment that would allow the Legislature to withhold pay from suspended lawmakers. The bill, SCA17, passed Tuesday by a vote of 31-3. The bill is a direct response to several California state lawmakers being indicted (separately in unrelated cases) on federal corruption charges. In March, the Senate voted to suspend Sens. Ron Calderon and Leland Yee (pictured, left), who face federal corruption charges, and Sen. Rod Wright, who was convicted for lying about living in his district.

Over the weekend, a 22-year-old man went on a stabbing, shooting, and vehicular rampage in Isla Vista, California that left seven people dead (including himself from a reportedly self-inflicted gunshot wound) and 13 others injured.

The Los Angeles Mayor's office and the Los Angeles Unified School District recognized over 150 students today who were certified through the Digital Living Project. The program focuses on online privacy and safety, cyberbullying prevention, and introducing students to STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) based careers.

Former San Francisco gang figure Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow's lawyers want details of the case - which includes anti-game crusader Senator Leland Yee and a cast of characters from San Francisco, California, and the Philippines. Chow's layers are fighting for the right to reveal the federal government's evidence in its criminal case against him, state Sen. Leland Yee and dozens of others. Lawyers for Chow say that the fed's criminal complaint is a "press release" that deserves a response.

East Bay Express has an interesting article on a California Congressional race where votes for the National Security Agency's budget and the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) are taking center stage. Eric Swalwell (pictured, left), the current U.S. Representative of California's 15th District (D), is taking heat from his opponent Democratic State Senate Majority Leader Ellen Corbett.

The latest video for popular YouTube personality TotalBiscuit, (AKA The Cynical Brit, and TotalHalibut - and in real life 29-year-old John Bain) is not game related at all. In an honest and frank moment, the popular YouTube gaming personality talks about cancer.

"If you were hoping to hear about video games..." he says in his video as Surgeon Simulator is played out in the background. "Not today. I think that needed a video of its own, to explain there."

Blizzard Entertainment announced that its two-day fan event, BlizzCon, will take place Nov 7 - 8 in Anaheim, Calif. Tickets for the two-day event dedicated to fans of World of Warcraft, Diablo, StarCraft, and Warcraft will will go on sale May 7 for $199 at 7 p.m. PT and again on Saturday, May 10 at 10 a.m. PT.

All 29 defendants in the massive federal corruption case that netted several politicians including California State Senator Leland Yee, a reformed gangster named Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow, and many others, appeared in Federal court on Thursday.

The early proceedings are already proving to be very complicated for the court, with so many defendants, lawyers, documents, and evidence collected over five years by the FBI. The judge overseeing the case is trying to set up a system to manage the potentially unwieldy trial.

The FBI wants to talk to San Francisco leaders about Leland Yee, according to a report from CBS. The FBI wants San Francisco city leaders to talk with the agency on a voluntary basis as part of its ongoing investigation targeting political corruption and an alleged organized crime syndicate in Chinatown.

California State Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) and two other state senators facing criminal charges will not be able to use campaign funds to pay their legal bills if Sen. Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo) has his way. He announced a plan this week to introduce a bill that would bar California politicians from having the ability to spend campaign funds on things such as legal fees, travel, and gifts.

The Philippines' National Bureau of Investigation (the country's equivalent of the FBI) is investigating allegations that California State Senator was brokering a deal to buy firearms in the country and smuggle them into the United States.

Suspended State Senator Leland Yee (D- San Francisco) was in federal court today to enter a plea for his alleged role in a San Francisco political corruption and organized crime case. Yee's attorney entered a plea of "not guilty" to seven charges including one count of "conspiracy to traffic in firearms without a license and illegally import firearms," and "six counts of engaging in a scheme to defraud citizens of honest services."

If Republican California for Attorney General candidate Phil Wyman had his way State Senator Leland Yee (D) and two other lawmakers would be put to death if convicted of their crimes. He has put forward the idea that the best way to prevent government corruption is for those who put their constituents in harm's way with their dirty dealings should face the death penalty.

Suspended California State Senator Leland Yee has dumped attorney Paul DeMeester for a new attorney with a pretty impressive resume - a former federal and state prosecutor - to represent him against federal corruption, bribery and illegal firearms sales charges. Yee on Wednesday hired San Francisco attorney James Lassart to replace Paul DeMeester. DeMeester told the San Jose Mercury News that the court was notified of the change in legal representation on Wednesday.