Meta signs nuclear deal to power AI ambitions // Cherry thefts hit San Joaquin Valley farms

Good morning. It’s Wednesday, June 4.

Navy plans to rename ship honoring Harvey Milk.
Meta signs nuclear deal to power AI ambitions.
And cherry thefts hit San Joaquin Valley farms.

Statewide

1.

The USNS Harvey Milk was launched in San Diego in 2021. (Ariana Drehsler/AFP via Getty Images)

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the Navy to strip the name from a naval supply vessel that honors Harvey Milk, the slain San Francisco gay rights icon and Korean War combat veteran, reports said. In past comments, Hegseth has attributed the acceptance of gays in the military to a “Marxist” agenda of social justice. A defense official said the highly unusual decision was timed intentionally during Pride month. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, of San Francisco, called the move “shameful” and “vindictive.” A.P. | N.Y. Times

2.

Federal cuts are aiding California’s legal fights against the Trump administration as the U.S. Justice Department is left shorthanded on its workload. Meanwhile, Attorney General Rob Bonta has been hiring new staff, including ousted federal employees. “Their own strategy of ‘flood the zone’ … has almost this boomerang effect, where we’ve responded and the ball’s back in their court now and they can’t keep up,” Bonta said. “This speed and this volume has repercussions on their ability to defend themselves.” S.F. Chronicle

Track California’s lawsuits against the administration. 👉 CalMatters

3.

A transgender athlete shared the podium at California’s high school track and field championships this weekend. (Jae C. Hong/A.P.)

As the Department of Justice threatens legal action against California over its policies on transgender athletes in school sports, some Democrats are directing their anger toward Gov. Gavin Newsom. President Trump has not let Newsom forget his remarks on a podcast in March when he declared it “unfair” to let transgender athletes compete in girls’ sports. Newsom, the Democrats say, bumbled into an obvious trap. “Anyone with a few working brain cells left could’ve seen this was going to lead to the president using his words against him,” said one consultant. Politico

4.

Sales of legal cannabis in California fell to the lowest level in five years in early 2025, tax data showed on Tuesday. Marijuana businesses have blamed the industry’s struggles on oppressive taxes, overregulation, and a lax approach to policing illegal sales. More than eight years after California voters legalized recreational use, the black market remains larger than the legal one. “It’s the train wreck that keeps getting worse, but those running the train refuse to admit it,” said Hirsh Jain, a cannabis consultant. SFGATE

Northern California

5.

The Clinton Clean Energy Center in Clinton, Ill. (John Dixon/The News-Gazette via A.P.)

Meta signed a deal to buy power from a nuclear plant in Illinois for 20 years to fuel its artificial-intelligence ambitions. The Wall Street Journal said it was the first agreement of its kind in the U.S. with an operating nuclear plant, which may have otherwise been forced to shut down in 2027. Nuclear-power advocates see a window of opportunity to revive the industry as tech companies look for ways to supply the voracious power demands of the AI boom. Wall Street Journal | Bloomberg

6.

Uber recently unveiled a “brand-new way to travel.” It’s called Route Share, and it will include shuttles that travel along fixed routes with fixed stops in San Francisco and six other cities, picking up and dropping off riders at fixed times. Sound familiar? Uber’s pretensions to have invented the bus have drawn mockery. But analyst Kevin Shen cited key differences: Uber’s version is more costly, lacks accountability, and potentially worsens congestion, he said. “Everybody will say, ‘Silicon Valley’s reinventing the bus again.’ But it’s more like they’re reinventing a worse bus.” Grist

7.

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, an heir to the Levi Strauss & Co. fortune, has been hosting power lunches at the Michelin-starred restaurant Quince with business titans and wealthy friends. His aim is to court investment in a city that became a symbol of post-pandemic dysfunction. There’s evidence that they like what they’re hearing. “There’s a palpable difference in the city,” said Michael Covarrubias, a developer. “He knows billionaires, and he knows people who run things, and he can get them together.” Bloomberg

8.

A Stanford sophomore died Saturday after being struck by a vehicle while riding an electrical bike on campus, university officials said on Tuesday. Aradshar Chaddar, who grew up in Pakistan, was president of the Stanford Democrats and had memberships in the business fraternity Alpha Kappa Psi and Stanford’s Pre-Law Society. The Pakistani secondary school he attended posted a tribute: “Arad was a force — exceptionally well-read, fiercely ambitious, and unapologetically original.” SFGATE | Stanford Daily

9.

The authorities recently arrested three people on felony charges for stealing cherries from farms in the San Joaquin Valley. This was no act of mischief — snagging a few cherries for personal consumption. The San Joaquin County sheriff said the suspects drove methodically from orchard to orchard, filling boxes with cherries that they intended to sell at fruit stands. One farm estimated its losses at more than $4,000. “This was a big deal. They were organized. They knew exactly what they were doing,” said Andrew Genasci, of the San Joaquin County Farm Bureau. CBS News | KCRA

Southern California

10.

Tom Girardi with Natalie Degrati, an investigator with the federal public defender’s office, in 2024. (Brian van der Brug/L.A. Times via Getty Images)

Tom Girardi, the once high-flying legal titan, was sentenced to more than seven years in prison on Tuesday for embezzling tens of millions of dollars from his clients. Girardi rose to prominence wresting billions of dollars from corporations on behalf of the downtrodden. His law empire collapsed after it emerged that he was siphoning money from settlements to underwrite his luxury lifestyle. Girardi’s defense lawyer had argued that his client was so diminished by old age and Alzheimer’s disease that he would scarcely understand why he was in prison. The judge was unmoved. L.A. Times | A.P.

11.

Funding challenges are “a gift” to China, Ardem Patapoutian told the Times. (Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

After fleeing war-torn Lebanon, Ardem Patapoutian arrived in California at the age of 18, founded a lab at Scripps Research in San Diego, and won a Nobel Prize in 2021. In February, after the Trump administration froze Patapoutian’s grant to develop new approaches to treating pain, he posted on social media about how such cuts harm biomedical research. “Within hours, he had an email from China, offering to move his lab to ‘any city, any university I want,’ he said, with a guarantee of funding for the next 20 years,” the New York Times wrote.

12.

Chapman Hamborg, an artist living in Huntington Beach, had just returned home from taking a walk with his infant daughter in a sling last month when a police officer showed up. A neighbor thought Hamborg, who wore his long hair in a bun and clothes stained with paint, was homeless and had stolen the baby, the officer explained. A video of the interaction went viral on Instagram. “Apparently, I need to work on my appearance,” Hamborg later joked. “I guess being an artist or a tired dad isn’t a valid excuse.” L.A. Times | NBC Los Angeles

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