Good morning. It’s Thursday, June 25.
- “Very scary” earthquake shakes Mendocino County.
- Dog bodies found in Humboldt County animal cruelty probe.
- And images of pastel-colored San Diego in the 1970s.
Statewide
1.
A 22-year-old man fell to his death on Saturday after being swept over Nevada Fall in Yosemite, the authorities confirmed on Wednesday. A witness, Freesia Gaul, told SFGATE that the man, identified as Josue Alfaro, entered the river upstream, perhaps unaware of his proximity to the nearly 600-foot waterfall. Gaul, a former lifeguard, jumped in after Alfaro but was unable to reach him before he went over. She nearly died with him, she said. She escaped the powerful current only after another bystander extended a walking stick into the river, allowing her to grab hold. SFGATE | Mercury News
- The National Park Service issued no statement on the death. According to an internal memo obtained by the Washington Post, that’s as intended. Staff were ordered to stop notifying the public about deaths.
2.
President Trump said he directed the Department of Justice to investigate California’s June 2 election. “I called up the very powerful, very good U.S. attorney in California. I said, ‘Do me a favor. Take a look,’” he said during a rally in Pennsylvania on Tuesday. Had he not intervened, Trump added, Republican Steve Hilton would have lost in the governor’s primary. No evidence of fraud has emerged from California’s election and it’s unclear that a federal prosecutor could do anything to influence the outcome. N.Y. Times | Politico
3.
California added nine new Michelin-starred restaurants, the storied dining guide announced on Wednesday. Los Angeles accounted for three — Corridor 109, KOJIMA, Lielle — while San Francisco had two — Wolfsbane and Naides. The other newcomers included Lucien in San Diego’s La Jolla, Miura in Beverly Hills, Seline in Santa Monica, and Troubadour in Healdsburg. Californios in San Francisco became the world’s first Mexican restaurant to earn Michelin’s top rating of three stars, up from two. Overall, San Francisco cemented its place among the greatest food cities, with 25 starred restaurants to L.A.’s 15. Forbes | L.A. Times
- See every Michelin-starred restaurant in California.
Correction
An earlier version of this newsletter misstated the locations of two restaurants newly starred by the Michelin Guide. Lucien is in San Diego’s La Jolla, not San Francisco; Seline is in Santa Monica, not Los Angeles.
Northern California
4.
“Oh man, it wouldn’t end.”
The strongest California earthquake in years shook northern Mendocino County Wednesday morning, cutting power to thousands, causing a few minor injuries, and sending wine bottles tumbling from shelves. Measuring a magnitude of 5.6, the quake centered near Willits appeared to cause no major structural damage. But in a region acquainted with tremors, many locals were unnerved. Daniel Alonzo, of Ukiah, said it felt like being on a roller coaster. “It was very severe, very scary,” he said. “Almost like a freight train was running right through our house.” Press Democrat | KTVU
- See video of items flying off store shelves.
- Devastating twin quakes in Venezuela on Wednesday signaled a warning for California. L.A. Times
5.
“It’s gruesome.”
After getting a tip about suspected abuse at a Humboldt County animal shelter in April, investigators determined that more than 700 dogs taken in by Miranda’s Rescue since early 2025 were missing. On Tuesday, law enforcement raided the property in Fortuna. Within a day, they had unearthed the carcasses of as many as 50 dogs, reports said. The owners collected at least $500 for each animal taken in, amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars, the authorities said. The Lost Coast Outpost captured pictures from the raid.
6.
Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Google’s Sundar Pichai were spared from having to appear before an upcoming Senate hearing on their companies’ child safety practices after the White House intervened on their behalf, sources told Politico.
“The White House involvement, which has not been previously reported, illustrates tech giants’ ability to leverage their alliances with President Donald Trump’s administration, even under intense scrutiny from lawmakers and courts about their platforms’ impact on society.”
7.
This election season, a new crop of political action committees has taken to the airwaves in congressional races across the U.S. “President Trump said it best, ‘Celeste Maloy will never let you down,’” said one advertisement supporting a Utah Republican. The sources of money behind the network of PACs: Anthropic and OpenAI. The Silicon Valley behemoths have been among the most prolific spenders so far in the 2026 midterms. In some races, they are spending more than the candidates they are backing. L.A. Times
8.
Local outrage over the San Francisco Giants’ Pride Night hat firestorm intensified this week after Buster Posey, the team’s president of baseball operations, deflected reporters’ questions about the controversy. “I’ll answer baseball questions,” he said repeatedly. A day later, a former Giants player, Aubrey Huff, claimed to channel Posey in a wildly homophobic post on X. “I know exactly what Buster wants to say,” wrote Huff, 49. “‘I’m not wearing this gay bullshit. Queers don’t watch Baseball anyway.'” It got uglier from there. KRON | TMZ
Southern California
9.
Before President Trump ordered a blue coating on Washington’s Reflecting Pool that gave way to an algae bloom, he wanted to paint the border wall black, which he argued would burn the skin of migrants. Neither U.S. Customs and Border Protection nor the Army Corps of Engineers supported the idea, arguing that it would cost millions and wouldn’t even be hotter. The Atlantic reports:
“Trump pushed for the black coating anyway. He sent soldiers with brushes and rollers to paint the wall by hand, not unlike his use of National Guard troops to police the Reflecting Pool for alleged vandals. The Pentagon referred to the black paint as an ‘anti-climb coating.'”
10.
A former California State Parks superintendent was arrested Tuesday over charges that he secretly filmed naked lifeguards inside a men’s locker room and shared some of the images with others. The investigation began in July 2025 after a parks employee found a USB camera in a locker room at Bolsa Chica State Beach in Huntington Beach. Investigators determined that it had been used by Kevin Pearsall, 59, who oversaw parks and beaches across Orange County. He faces years in prison if convicted. O.C. Register | KABC
11.
San Diego’s Mormon Temple, an iconic landmark along the 5 Freeway, opened to the public late last week for the first time in more than 30 years. Cameras are not allowed inside. But the church released a new collection of photos of the interior, which just underwent a three-year renovation. Visitors are said to have been awe-struck by the soaring “Celestial Room,” pictured above, which is intended to mimic heaven. See more pictures. 👉 KPBS
12.
Back in the 1970s, San Diego’s transportation department took mile-by-mile video of the city’s streets, a sort of precursor to Google Street View, all shot on crisp 35mm film. Jon Keegan, a data reporter, pored over every frame and was stunned by the Wes Anderson-like vibe. His takeaways: car colors dazzled in pastels and bright hues, business names used to be “WAY more creative,” and strip clubs featuring “Go-go girls” abounded. Beautiful Public Data
- See a 10-minute time-lapse video.
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