Edited by Samantha Sullivan. Story produced with AI assistance.
Wed, May 13, 2026 at 11:45 PM UTC
Dana Williamson, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s former chief of staff, leaves the Robert T. Matsui United States Courthouse in Sacramento after being arrested in a federal public corruption probe involving multiple counts of bank and wire fraud, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025.
(PAUL KITAGAKI JR./pkitagaki@sacbee.com)
From a sheriff’s detective arrested after a multi-vehicle crash to a guilty plea expected in a high-profile corruption case, Sacramento headlines spanned crime, politics and homelessness on Wednesday.
Here’s a quick look at what’s making news.
Sheriff’s detective arrested on DUI suspicion after 6-car crash: A Sacramento County sheriff’s detective, Richard Hamilton, was arrested on suspicion of DUI causing injury after a six-vehicle crash in Rancho Cordova on Tuesday afternoon. Hamilton was off duty but driving an unmarked county vehicle at the time of the collision, and he has been placed on administrative leave pending criminal and internal investigations.
Former Newsom and Becerra aide expected to plead guilty in federal corruption case: Dana Williamson, a former chief of staff to Gov. Gavin Newsom and adviser to Xavier Becerra, is expected to plead guilty Thursday to federal corruption and tax charges in Sacramento federal court. The 23-count indictment alleges she helped lead a scheme to siphon money from a dormant Becerra campaign account, and the hearing falls 19 days before the June 2 gubernatorial primary in which Becerra is a leading Democrat.
Tom Steyer’s campaign pays influencers $10 a video to push his message without naming him: Gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer’s campaign has been paying social media influencers $10 per video to post content supporting his policies without naming him directly, according to a strategy memo obtained by The Sacramento Bee. The largely unregulated tactic instructs creators to keep posts “casual, relatable and on-theme” and offers higher payments for videos that reach certain view thresholds.
This report was produced with the assistance of a proprietary tool powered by artificial intelligence based on our own originally reported, written and published content. Before publishing, journalists reviewed this content in compliance with McClatchy Media’s AI policy.