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Hugo Lopez (left), the director of the California State Lottery since 2015, resigned on Friday. The move comes nearly a year after an anonymous lottery employee sent a letter to then-Governor Jerry Brown's office with photos of the team's lewd behavior. One photo showed a manager putting his head up a female staffer's shirt (center) after a group of senior state Lottery leaders visited a piano bar together in 2016. The letter launched an audit into the California State Lottery, uncovering more than $300,000 worth of improper or questionable spending over the last four years. Auditors discovered Lottery officials had spent $14,065 for baseball caps, $15,740 on duffel bags,$21,666 on gifts for staff like logo-branded lip balm. Lottery officials identified the purchases as 'learning aids' and 'training tools'. 

Chris Reed, 50, wasn't wearing a life jacket when a huge wave caused by a large passing boat knocked him into Galveston Bay on Friday. His body was recovered just before 8am local time on Sunday following a widespread search by the US Coast Guard. His wife, Jana Reed, and their children Chase, Logan and Alexis, thanked search and rescue crews for all of their efforts and for offering the family love and strength.

A California woman, who identified herself a Mayella Ortega, 38, turned herself into police on Friday after she posed as a Social Services worker on May 31 and tried to kidnap a woman's newborn child. She turned herself in after police shared video of her leaving the mother's property (left) and was booked on attempted kidnapping charges. Social services said that they have no Mayella Ortega in their employ and there are no records matching the name. She claims she wasn't trying to steal the baby, it's not clear how she knew the mother (right) or her address. The investigation is ongoing.

People from all over the world, have shared some odd sights they've experienced while at the beach and BoredPanda have put together a compilation of them. (Pictured, clockwise from left to right: a couch made out of sand, a dancer pictured with a cat, raccoons waiting to be fed, a crab holding on to his dollar, Cookie Monster having an existential crisis and a seal enjoying the sun.)

Davey G Johnson, 44, was last heard from at 8.30am Wednesday as he was riding his motorcycle through northern California's Sonora Pass on his way home to Sacramento. The motorcycle Johnson was riding was found parked by a rest stop on California Route 49 near Mokelumne Hill with his helmet on top and gloves folded inside just after midnight on Saturday. Hours later police found Johnson's clothes, laptop and cell phone near the banks of the Mokelumne River. The 44-year-old's wallet still has not been recovered as police are waiting to see if anyone uses his bank cards.

There were plenty of winners at the Belmont Stakes, but proceedings went downhill for some revelers who appeared to have overindulged on a sun soaked day of racing action. New Yorkers stepped out in style on Saturday to celebrate the final of the Triple Crown Thoroughbred racing events - the Belmont Stakes. Horse racing fans and betting enthusiasts alike showed up in Belmont during the afternoon, ahead of the evening event.Many spectators hit the bars early in the afternoon as they enjoyed the racing day, with temperatures reaching 79 degrees Fahrenheit.One young man, (pictured left), who seemed unable to walk had to be escorted by police to emergency responders where they got him a wheelchair to sit in. Sir Winston (inset) won the Belmont Stakes to complete the Triple Crown on Saturday in New York.

Fourteen lions on the loose near a South African town have not escaped from a nearby national park as originally thought. The pride of lions had been spotted at a mine near the town of Phalaborwa (lions pictured left and right near the town), near the border of Mozambique, and it was believed they had escaped from Kruger National Park. However, officials from the park have denied it is a pride of theirs and they are instead thought to have been living adjacent to the mine for about a year.

Rapper Edward Montre Seay, 32, (left and right with 10-year-old son) who went by the stage name Tre Da Kid, was found fatally shot in his crashed car (inset) on Friday night in Annapolis, Maryland. Cops were called to the scene following reports of a shooting around 9.19pm and found Seay suffering gunshot wounds, dead from his injuries. He had a gig scheduled that very same night for 10pm. Police did not say whether his death was related to his rap career. As of Sunday morning there have been no arrests in the case. He rose to fame after winning Verizon's 2016 #Freestyle50 rap contest which earned him a $10,000 prize and a recording contract with 300 Entertainment. He released the album 'TDK: Titles define Kings' in March and had 7,000 followers on Instagram.

Jean Souffrant, 39, (left with his wife Melissa) was left with a broken neck and spinal injuries (pictured is the guard in hospital after the attack, bottom right) after the February 2018 attack caught on video (top right). His wife Melissa filed the lawsuit in Manhattan Supreme Court seeking $1million. The now-pregnant wife is afraid that 'he will not be able to take his role of a normal father' because of his injuries, according to the lawsuit obtained by DailyMail.com.

The mother of a boy with autism has credited a Universal Orlando theme park employee with saving the day when her son had an 'autistic meltdown' after a ride broke. Lenore Koppelman, of New York City, took to Facebook to recommend the Universal Orlando Resort while sharing a touching story about how several of theme park employees went above and beyond to make her nine-year-old son, Ralph (in green), comfortable while he was there on vacation. On May 28, Lenore wrote in a post that has now gone viral, that she took Ralph - who she described as being 'awesomely autistic' - to the resort for the first time that day and that he was 'EXTREMELY excited' to go on the Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man ride at the resort's Islands of Adventure. Lenore noted that they had saved the ride for last, as it was closest to the exit, and that Ralph had been 'SO patient for SO long' while waiting for 'the pinnacle of his day.' Universal Orlando employee Jennifer Whelchel, 34 (in purple), is pictured lying on the floor next to Ralph while he was in the midst of his 'autistic meltdown.'

A former carpenter and his wife (inset) are making more than $1.2million a month, after launching a cult beauty brand that is selling out around the world. Bali Body (left) is the brainchild of Melbourne-based husband and wife Dave and Laura Osterloo (centre), who despite having no experience in the beauty industry are taking the skincare world by storm with their natural tanning oils. Since launching in 2014, the couple have gone on to sell out around the world, with a product selling roughly once every 45 seconds. Bali Body is now stocked in 150 countries around the world, and the brand has more than 1.3 million followers on Instagram.

Several hundred riot police armed with batons, shields, tear gas guns and pepper spray sealed off the Legislative Council in Hong Kong as a million protesters charged their lines. The protesters are demanding Hong Kong drop its proposed legislative change which will allow for extradition to China. The changes will simplify case-by-case arrangements to allow extradition of wanted suspects to countries, including mainland China, Macau and Taiwan, beyond the 20 that Hong Kong already has extradition treaties with. But it is the prospect of renditions to mainland China that has alarmed many in Hong Kong.

Video shows two cats nuzzling and cuddling each other somewhere in China. However, the scene is soon broken up by the arrival of a third cat, creating a love triangle. Just behind the pair is an orange and white cat staring intently at the pair nuzzling each other. It's not clear if the two cats know each other, however the scene looks an awful lot like someone getting caught cheating.

Grieving elephants have been spotted carrying the body of a dead calf across a road, in scenes reminiscent of a funeral procession. An adult, which may have been the calf's mother, walks out into the road before being followed by at least nine others. She puts down the body for a short time before picking it up as the elephant family heads back into the undergrowth. Cars and vans had stopped at the side of the road to watch the distressing scenes. The clip was uploaded to Twitter by Indian Foreign Service forest ranger Parveen Kaswan.

WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT: Andi Bauer (inset with Ms Booth the day before the attack), 26, from Germany, and Lara Booth, 23, from Cambridge, were hiking in Carpathian mountains in Southern Romania when he found himself standing metres away from a bear and her two cubs. The protective beast bounded towards Mr Bauer, a PhD student, and wrapped its jaws around his right leg - tossing him from side to side. Its jaws tore a chunk out of his calf (left) and broke his right leg in three places. Ms Booth - who was walking 20ft behind - screamed for him to 'punch it in the eye' and Mr Bauer took the advice when the bear tried to strike again. It then fled with its calves and Andy was flown to hospital in Targu Mures, central Romania, where doctors screwed rods into his leg to fix the broken bones (right).

The 43 passengers and crew aboard the 'No 5 Elbe' (left and inset right) were rescued after it was crashed into by the Cyprus-flagged container ship Astrosprinter on Elbe River at Stade near Hamburg on Saturday at around 12.30pm. The 121 ft long pilot schooner, built in 1883, was Hamburg's oldest and last remaining seagoing ship from the era of wooden ships and had just had an eight month restoration which had finished the week before. Pictured: Moment of incident (inset left).