All of the must-read news about the Golden State in one place.
Hi, I’m Mike McPhate, a former California correspondent for the New York Times. I survey more than 100 news and social media sites daily, then send you a tightly crafted email with only the most informative and delightful bits.
Each weekday at about 6 a.m., you’ll get an email like this.
Good morning. It’s Thursday, July 10.
- Trump administration sues over animal cruelty laws.
- Nvidia becomes world’s first $4 trillion company.
- And a home fit for Hobbits in the Cuyamaca Mountains.
Statewide
1.
Over the six months since Los Angeles suffered its most devastating wildfires ever, Gov. Gavin Newsom has pleaded with Congress to free up $40 billion in federal disaster aid. The funds have so far been withheld, as Republican leaders have proposed tying the aid to assorted concessions from California on water policy, voter identification laws, firefighter hiring, and more. Now that Texas is reeling from deadly floods, the response has been starkly different, with President Trump and other Republicans promising prompt and unfettered federal support. Washington Post
- “Everyone else has moved on.” Some L.A. fire victims say the grief is hitting them harder now that the acute crisis has subsided. L.A. Times
2.
A Trump administration official said on Wednesday that “all federal dollars to California public entities” could be eliminated over the state’s refusal to bar transgender girls from girls’ sports. In a new lawsuit, the Justice Department called California’s policy “not only illegal and unfair but also demeaning, signaling to girls that their opportunities and achievements are secondary to accommodating boys.” Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has called transgender participation in women’s sports “deeply unfair,” notably distanced himself from the lawsuit, pointing out that he was not named as a defendant. L.A. Times | A.P.
3.
The Justice Department also sued California over state laws that prohibit keeping hens in cages so small they can’t turn around, arguing that they are driving up the cost of eggs. The lawsuit cites Proposition 12, which was approved by 62% of voters in 2018. The Supreme Court upheld the law in 2023, ruling that the state had a right to ban practices it considers inhumane. The governor’s office mocked the new legal challenge, writing on X, “Trump’s back to his favorite hobby: blaming California for literally everything.” S.F. Chronicle | Courthouse News
4.
Californian life expectancy has not bounced back in the post-Covid era, researchers found. After a pandemic, depressed life-expectancy numbers typically shoot back up, said Hannes Schwandt, a health economist who led the study. While life expectancy in California decreased sharply in 2020 and 2021, it remained lower in 2024 than it was 2019. Drug overdoses and cardiovascular disease were the main drivers of mortality. “Four years after the beginning of the pandemic, for the largest state in the country to still have a deficit — that’s mind-blowing,” Schwandt said. “Really quite a tragedy.” N.Y. Times | L.A. Times
5.
Travel writer Gregory Thomas hiked the final pitch up Half Dome, a steep 400-foot ascent assisted by cables that has claimed eight lives since 2006. But it wasn’t the climb that scared him. The popular route attracts an estimated 50,000 hikers annually, so inevitably some don’t realize what they are getting themselves into. Thomas encountered several people who appeared to be on the verge of outright panic, endangering those around them. “Climbing among these strangers was one of the sketchiest experiences I’ve had in the mountains,” he wrote. S.F. Chronicle
6.
Some daydreaming fodder in California’s property listings:
- A curvaceous home in the Cuyamaca Mountains east of San Diego looks like it was designed for a Hobbit family. Designed by James Hubbell — the same artist who brought the whimsical Sea Ranch Chapel to life — it comfortably sleeps a family of four full-sized humans. Yours for $775,000. dwell
- A converted water tower in Seal Beach is believed to be the second-tallest single-family residence in the country, soaring nearly 90 feet. The landmark structure was rescued from demolition in the 1980s when locals mounted a “Save the Water Tower” campaign. It was listed for $5.5 million. Zillow
- In 2014, a tech entrepreneur bought a 1,100-acre ranch atop Sonoma Mountain for $12 million and, over the years, spent $33 million restoring it. He rebuilt the main house and added four greenhouses and a massive woodshop. Asking price: $50 million. The Wall Street Journal
Northern California
7.
Nvidia, the Santa Clara chipmaker, became the world’s first company to reach a market value of $4 trillion on Wednesday. Nvidia has seen its stock price grow tenfold since 2023 thanks to nearly insatiable demand for its graphics processing units, or GPUs, that power the artificial intelligence industry. The company alone is now worth more than the combined value of the Canadian and Mexican stock markets. Wall Street Journal | Bloomberg
8.
“At first I thought it was a bomb from how it sounded and felt.”
The initial explosion at a fireworks warehouse in Esparto on July 1 was so enormous that a weather satellite detected it from thousands of miles above earth. The San Francisco Chronicle published new video and maps chronicling how the disaster unfolded minute by minute.
- An 18-year-old who was “the life of the party,” a star high school pitcher, and a young father with a second child on the way. The Sacramento Bee collected stories of the seven victims.
Southern California
9.
A portion of an industrial tunnel collapsed in Los Angeles on Wednesday, forcing 31 workers to mount a terrifying escape to safety, officials said. The cave-in occurred behind the workers, who were more than 5 miles from the sole entrance. They scrambled over loose soil that rose more than 12 feet high in the 18-foot-diameter tunnel to reach a boring machine that transported them back to the opening, officials said. One of the men was in tears when he reached his sister by phone, she said: “He told me he thought he was going to die underground.” A.P. | L.A. Times
10.
Los Angeles is on pace to have its lowest homicide total in nearly 60 years, police department data showed. The falling homicide rate mirrors a national trend, with dozens of cities recording big declines. Criminologists say explaining such trends is much harder than describing them. Jeff Asher, a leading expert, has proposed that strong investment in community groups and policing after the shock of the pandemic has played a role. L.A. Times
11.
The Diocese of San Bernardino, which leads more than 1.5 million Catholics, said that parishioners who had “genuine fear” of being detained in immigration raids were excused from their weekly obligation to attend Mass. In a message to worshipers, Bishop Alberto Rojas said he respected the work of law enforcement. But he added: “Authorities are now seizing brothers and sisters indiscriminately, without respect for their right to due process and their dignity as children of God.” A.P. | NPR
- An Inland Empire mayor warned undocumented immigrants to stay home on Wednesday after reports of ICE activity. “We urge all residents to remain calm, stay indoors when possible, and know your rights,” Perris Mayor Michael Vargas said. Press-Enterprise
12.
There’s a sidewalk in Los Angeles where mounds of greenery bulge through the concrete. Dubbed “eruptions,” the planters were installed a decade ago in front of The Broad museum to create a playful juxtaposition with the building’s similarly idiosyncratic honeycomb exterior. “They are beautiful, sculptural things,” the designer Walter Hood told the Los Angeles Times in 2015. “A little like the dreads on my head.” A few years later, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation cited Hood’s creations when it awarded him one of its coveted “genius” grants.
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