Good morning. It’s Wednesday, May 28.
- President Trump threatens to cut aid over trans athletes.
- ICE agents wait in the halls of immigration courts.
- And an incredible waterfall in Hetch Hetchy Valley.
Statewide
1.
President Trump on Tuesday threatened to cut federal funding to California if it continues to allow transgender girls to compete in female school sports. Trump appeared to reference the case of a Riverside County athlete set to participate in track and field championships this weekend. “This transitioned person is practically unbeatable,” he wrote, calling the situation “ridiculous.” Later Tuesday, the governing board of California high school sports announced a rule change for the meet to allow the participation of “any biological female student-athlete” who failed to qualify only because a trans athlete placed ahead of them. The change drew criticism from all sides. L.A. Times | N.Y. Times | S.F. Chronicle
2.
Leo Terrell, who heads the Justice Department’s antisemitism task force, said on Tuesday that the University of California should brace for “massive lawsuits” as the White House’s targeting of higher education intensifies. “Expect hate crime charges filed by the federal government. Expect Title VII lawsuits,” Terrell said. As a public system, UC could be more vulnerable to federal action than private institutions like Harvard. L.A. Times | Bloomberg
- Terrell, a Los Angeles civil rights attorney, was a lifelong Democrat before making a dramatic about-face in 2020. He became an avid Trump supporter and a fixture on Fox News’ “Hannity” show. Politico | N.Y. Times
3.
A man grabbed outside a San Francisco courthouse and whisked away in an unmarked white van.
A father surrounded and handcuffed outside a Los Angeles courthouse as his son watched, eyes welling with tears.
At least eight people arrested after hearings in a “chaotic scene” at a courthouse in San Diego.
Over the past week, ICE agents have been descending on immigration courthouses and arresting people showing up to their asylum hearings. Their lawyers are beside themselves with anger. “It’s outrageous and unprecedented,” said Sean McMahon, an attorney with the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice. “People have the right to apply for asylum.” KQED | KPBS
4.
California’s Democratic leaders have celebrated new figures showing that the state’s population is growing again. “As the villain said in the Bond movie, we have ‘a nasty habit of surviving,’” said H.D. Palmer, spokesman for the state’s Department of Finance. But immigration is the only thing propping up California’s population, an analysis showed. Without it, the state would have shrunk significantly in the past year. Driving the influx in 2024 were nearly 80,000 skilled workers on the H-1B visa program, which some in President Trump’s orbit want to halt. Wall Street Journal
5.
California’s Pacific Coast Highway keeps breaking.
Reporter Livia Albeck-Ripka and photographer Mark Abramson embarked on a four-day trip of about 600 miles along the mythic route and found residents struggling with frustration over repeated closures. Building the highway was an incredible feat of engineering, Albeck-Ripka wrote: “Continuing to fix it in an increasingly unstable world may be an even greater one.” New York Times
Northern California
6.
Apple CEO Tim Cook declined an invitation to join President Trump on his swing through the Middle East earlier this month. The decision appeared to irk Trump, who praised Nvidia’s Jensen Huang during a speech in Riyadh. “I mean, Tim Cook isn’t here but you are,” he said. On Friday, Trump caught most of his own administration off guard when he announced a 25% tariff on iPhones made anywhere except the U.S. N.Y. Times
- Even with a 25% tariff, it would still be cheaper for Apple to make iPhones overseas, a Morgan Stanley analysis found. MarketWatch
7.
A judge overturned a Northern California man’s 76 convictions and 378-year sentence for sexual assaults against his adopted daughter, citing evidence that the purported victim fabricated her accusations. Ajay Dev, 58, was released on Friday after 16 years in prison. In 2004, Sapna Dev angrily accused her father of causing the breakup of her and her boyfriend. Shortly afterward, she told police that Ajay Dev had had sex with her for years. The judge cited multiple witness who testified that Sapna Dev admitted making the story up. S.F. Chronicle
8.
A Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office deputy was arrested as he reported for work on Tuesday after investigators found that he forced at least two women to perform oral sex while he was on duty and working patrol. Israel Morales, 30, also faces charges of kidnapping and solicitation of prostitution. “These allegations are abhorrent and despicable,” said Sgt. Nathan Crain of the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office. KCRA | CBS News
9.
There’s an incredible footbridge that skirts the base of a roughly 1,300-foot waterfall in Yosemite’s Hetch Hetchy Valley. Wapama Falls is said to rival the finest waterfalls of Yosemite Valley, while attracting far fewer visitors. On a cool day, hikers on the 5-mile round-trip trail sometimes don raincoats to cross the bridge. During summer, the fall’s drenching mist comes as sweet relief. After doing the hike a couple summers ago, veteran California travel writer Ashley Harrell offered a recommendation: go now. SFGATE | Modern Hiker
- See a nice collection of photos and videos.
Southern California
10.
In 2023, a Mexican girl with a life-threatening medical condition was allowed to enter the U.S. legally on humanitarian grounds. Now in Bakersfield, the family received notice last month that their legal status had been terminated. “It is in your best interest to avoid deportation and leave the United States of your own accord,” the letter read. Doing so would put the now bubbly 4-year-old at immediate risk of death. “This child will die and there’s no sense for that to happen,” the family’s attorney said. “It would just be a cruel sacrifice.” L.A. Times
11.
A father teaching his 15-year-old daughter to drive was killed after their car plunged down an embankment in Laguna Beach on Monday, authorities said. The daughter, who had a driver’s permit, was behind the wheel when their car crashed through a fence in the parking lot of a shuttered Gelson’s market, killing James Politoski, 64, a preliminary investigation found. “It’s a tragic incident,” said police Lt. Jesse Schmidt. “The community is shaken by this because someone lost their life by being a good parent.” Laguna Beach Independent | Southern California News Group
12.
Three days after a mob spilled out of an illegal party and rampaged through downtown Los Angeles, no known arrests had been made. During the melee Saturday night, vandals hammered and spray-painted storefronts and a Metro train; a police officer was injured when hit in the face with a bottle; and fireworks were shot at a police helicopter. On Tuesday, LAPD Cmdr. Lillian Carranza said outnumbered officers were unable to make immediate arrests. But, he added: “I can assure you we will find those responsible.” L.A. Times | KTLA
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