Good morning. It’s Wednesday, Aug. 27.
- Republican leader calls for splitting California in two.
- Tensions flare over problem bear in South Lake Tahoe.
- And OpenAI faces blame after teenager’s suicide.
Statewide
1.
Most ICE officers prefer to work in plain clothes, keep a low profile, and focus on undocumented immigrants who are known criminals. That doesn’t fly in Kristi Noem’s Department of Homeland Security, the Atlantic’s Nick Miroff reported:
“… Noem and her small cadre of loyal aides have been pushing the agency to do more showy operations in Democratic-run cities that can advance the president’s agenda — and supply clips for social media and the MAGA faithful. ‘They love this cowboy shit,’ one frustrated ICE official told me.”
2.
The U.S. Department of Transportation said on Tuesday that it pulled another $175 million in funding related to California’s bullet train in the latest setback to the project. In a statement, the agency cited waste and lack of progress. California’s rail authority, which has portrayed the Trump administration attacks as political retribution, has said it believes the train line can still happen with increased reliance on private and state funding sources. Bloomberg | S.F. Chronicle
- In their latest update, the state rail authority suggested putting the planned Merced stop on hold to contain costs. CalMatters | Merced Focus
3.
Angered over Gov. Gavin Newsom’s redistricting plan, the top Republican in the state Assembly filed a resolution late Tuesday that calls for splitting California in two. “The people of inland California have been overlooked for too long,” James Gallagher said in a statement. “It’s time for a two state solution.” His proposal would essentially cleave California’s liberal coastal counties from the more conservative interior. A Newsom spokesman said anyone calling for the break-up of California has no business holding elected office. Politico | S.F. Standard
Northern California
4.
Margarito Loza, 58, spent nearly his entire adult life milking cows. Now, eight months after the landmark deal to shut down most ranches on Point Reyes National Seashore, he is out of work and unsure where his family will land. He can’t sleep, he said: “It’s a disaster.” He spends his days driving around the North Bay looking for work at other ranches, but he’s had no luck. “I’ve been wasting gas,” he said. The Press Democrat wrote about the displaced ranch workers of Point Reyes.
5.
A prominent restaurateur in Fresno was arrested on arson and fraud charges. Prosecutors said Robert Salazar, 63, hired a motorcycle gang member to set fire to one of his namesake Mexican restaurants in April. He later collected a nearly $1 million insurance claim, they said. Fire investigators, however, quickly determined that the blaze was not accidental. Surveillance video showed a man unloading gas cans and igniting a fire in a restaurant entryway, officials said. Salazar faces up to 30 years in prison. Fresno Bee | KFSN
6.
Concern over the fate of a single black bear in South Lake Tahoe has caused tensions to flare between bear activists and the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife. After the female bear, known as Hope, was linked to 15 home invasions since the spring, officials decided euthanasia was necessary to prevent potential harm to humans. Then last week, a wildlife technician responded to a home where Hope had ignited a gas stove and was met by a crowd of activists lobbing taunts and threats, the wildlife agency said. “Protect Tahoe bears! Shame!” one woman shouted. SFGATE | Tahoe Daily Tribune
7.
A 32-year-old Bay Area swimmer just broke the speed record for the 30-mile swim from the Farallon Islands to San Francisco. The swim is filled with peril: frigid water, forceful offshore currents, prowling white sharks. Days before the attempt, Catherine Breed told a reporter she was terrified. “My mom doesn’t want me to do it,” she said. But she finished Tuesday afternoon, unofficially, in 13 hours, 58 minutes and 23 seconds. That made her just the seventh person to complete the swim and the fastest of all. S.F. Chronicle
Southern California
8.
Adam Raine, a 16-year-old in Orange County, was going through a rough time. He signed up for OpenAI’s ChatGPT in January and started discussing ending his life. The chatbot responded with words of empathy. But it also provided information about suicide methods and advised him “to avoid opening up” to his mother. In one of Adam’s final messages, he uploaded a photo of a noose hanging in his closet.
“I’m practicing here, is this good?” he wrote.
“Yeah, that’s not bad at all,” ChatGPT responded.
One Friday in April, Adam’s mother found his body hanging in the closet. On Tuesday, the Raine family filed the first known case against OpenAI for wrongful death. N.Y. Times | NBC News
- A recent survey found that 12% of American teenagers used A.I. chatbots for “emotional or mental health support.” N.Y. Times
9.
The Beverly Hills Unified school board voted Tuesday night to display the Israeli flag on all campuses in recognition of Jewish American Heritage Month in May. The resolution stoked debate over the favoritism involved in recognizing a specific foreign nation. Supporters of Gaza said the district was tacitly endorsing Israel’s killing of Palestinians. Andrea Grossman, a district parent, warned that the display would only harden feelings. “Beverly Hills is a public school district in a diverse city with more than one religion, with more than one ethnic group,” she said. L.A. Times
10.
Scientists created an interactive map showing the plumes of toxic pollution seeping from oil and gas sites across the U.S. Along with methane, the main component of natural gas, the emissions have included a host of other toxic gases such as benzene, a known carcinogen. The map includes 32 leaks in California, all surrounding Bakersfield. Researchers have estimated that roughly 24,100 Californians live within 2 miles of such sites. L.A. Times | Yale360
11.
Over the past two weeks, three high school girls’ volleyball teams in Southern California have forfeited their matches rather than play against a team that includes the transgender athlete AB Hernandez, echoing the controversy that convulsed San Jose State in 2024. Hernandez, now a senior at Jurupa Valley High School, became the center of national political firestorm in May when she won medals in track and field. Now she’s playing volleyball. FOX26 | Fox News
12.
“This case is massive.”
Law enforcement officials arrested 14 people in what was described as the largest organized retail theft case in the history of Home Depot. According to prosecutors, the crew carried out more than 600 thefts from Home Depots across Southern California, with a focus on expensive electrical items, netting roughly $10 million worth of merchandise. The leader, identified as David Ahl of Woodland Hills, faces 45 felony counts, prosecutors said. L.A. Times | Ventura County Star
Correction
An earlier version of this newsletter misspelled the name of a high school in Riverside County. It’s Jurupa Valley High School, not Jarupa Valley High School.
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