California state Senate leader says she will step down from leadership post

The leader of the California Senate said Monday she will step down from her leadership post, ending an historic run as the first woman and first openly gay person to lead the upper legislative chamber of the nation's most populous state. Toni Atkins, a Democrat from San Diego, said she will step down next year. Sen. Mike McGuire, a Democrat from the state's North Coast region, will replace Atkins as the Senate's president pro tempore.