With the start of the new fiscal year in California on Wednesday, dozens of laws take effect, including a zoning overhaul to boost denser housing development near transit, requirements for an all-gender bathroom in every school and streamlined rules for food labeling.

A federal judge in Washington on Wednesday blocked the United States Postal Service from carrying out changes to its delivery of mail-in ballots, writing that recent policies directed by President Trump ran afoul of legal terms the agency accepted more than four years ago to ensure timely delivery of mail ballots.

(Subscription required) In a decision that might have the potential to shape future privacy litigation brought under state wiretapping statutes, a California federal judge granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment in a privacy case against pizza chain Papa John's International Inc. and a call-center services company, Cognizant Technology Solutions U.S. Corp.

Div. One of the Court of Appeal for this district has affirmed the conviction of former movie producer Harvey Weinstein on three counts of felonious sexual misconduct, saying that the trial judge properly applied the state’s “rape shield law” which seeks to guard against character assassination of victims, but ordered a resentencing, with the concurrence of the Attorney General’s Office.