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A new audit shows the University of California system is making negligible progress in returning tribal remains held in university collections. A law passed in 190 mandated that the US turn over the remains. However, the third state audit shows the system still has thousands of remains and hundreds of culturally significant items–and that there is no accountability to make sure they are returned. The report also says U C doesn’t even know the full extent of what it has and that school administrators haven’t made it a priority to find out. Assemblymember James Ramos is the first and only native american in the legislature. He says it is beyond time that native ancestors get the respect and proper burial they deserve. Tribal leaders are also upset with the findings. They say there is no reason for the U C system to hold the human remains and other items. Lawmakers on the Select Committee on Native American Affairs suggest that the state pressure the U C system to comply by allocating specific funds to comply with the law and spelling out consequences if not.
California is under the microscope for how it counts mail-in ballots as President Trump calls for an end to the practice. A report from NBC News says 84 percent of all ballots cast in 2024 were done by mail–one of the highest percentages in the country. The report also says California was among the country’s slowest vote counters–only 61 percent of the tally was in by the next business day–compared to 90 percent in the rest of the country. It also singles out Lake Country, where it says it took more than two weeks to count more than half the ballots, making it one of the slowest counts in the country. County officials defend the process, saying they take whatever time is necessary to add up the votes because of the importance of a full and accurate count.
