Good morning. It’s Friday, June 5.
- President Trump declares California’s election rigged.
- Anthropic calls for AI labs to slow down over societal risks.
- And Army holds midnight war drill in residential Pasadena.
Election 2026
1.
Decision Desk HQ, an election results provider, projected on Thursday that Xavier Becerra would advance in the California governor’s race, leaving Steve Hilton and Tom Steyer to battle for the No. 2 spot. Although Hilton led the field as of Thursday, with 27% of the vote to Becerra’s 26% and Steyer’s 20%, late-arriving ballots are expected to skew Democratic. “Democratic voters in California played it safe Tuesday — opting for practicality over passion as they chose their next governor from a lengthy list of candidates,” wrote the Washington Post. Bloomberg | The Hill
- See precinct-level results in the governor’s primary.
2.
Jim Newton, a veteran Los Angeles reporter, argued that Spencer Pratt poses little threat to Mayor Karen Bass in a runoff:
“If Pratt falls short as a candidate, however, he does send something of a message, albeit not the one he intends. It says something — or should say something — to leaders of Los Angeles that roughly a third of the city’s voters are so unhappy with life as it is that they are willing to back a patently absurd candidate to run the place.” CalMatters
- See how your neighbors voted in the mayoral race.
3.
President Trump declared the California election rigged on Thursday, a charge he has made reflexively and without evidence for years. “Look what’s happening in California, the Dumocrats, right before our very eyes, are stealing the Vote,” he wrote at 1:30 a.m. There has been no evidence of fraud or missteps in California’s vote count. Yet election observers and even some Democrats complain that the state’s slow review process allows uncertainty to fester, playing into the hands of election deniers. N.Y. Times | L.A. Times
- More funding, more staffing, revised policies. Here’s what it would take to speed up California’s ballot counting. 👉 S.F. Chronicle
4.
On this week’s California Sun Podcast, host Jeff Schechtman talks with Dan Walters, the veteran California journalist and columnist with CalMatters. Asked for his observations of the primary campaign, Walters talked about the cynicism of politicians who promise things like a million new homes in an “ungovernable” place such as California. “It was just trying to persuade, or trick the voters into believing that if you were elected you could do something,” he said. “It’s sad that that’s the reality of it, but that is in fact the reality of it.”
Statewide
5.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Vice President Kamala Harris insist they are friends. But they now appear to be on a collision course for the keys to the White House, wrote the Wall Street Journal. The newspaper chronicled a relationship that has included heated exchanges, snubs, and a wariness to share a stage. “They’ve been kind of like two cats, circling each other in an alley for years, politically speaking,” said Democratic strategist Garry South, who worked for Newsom.
Northern California
6.
President Trump, who has called wind energy “stupid” and solar “ridiculous,” announced plans on Thursday to pump $700 million into the coal industry, including $75 million for a new coal export terminal in Oakland. The “West Gateway project,” he said, would export more than 12 million tons of “clean beautiful coal” around the world by 2028. To unlock the taxpayer dollars, Trump invoked a Korean War-era law that grants authority over industries deemed critical to national security. A former Energy Department official compared the move to “throwing cash at horse and buggies.” Bloomberg | L.A. Times
7.
Anthropic on Thursday called for artificial intelligence labs to consider slowing down the pace of development, warning that AI systems are advancing so rapidly they pose societal risks. The technology appears to be on a path toward improving itself autonomously, after which it could slip the bonds of human control, the San Francisco company said. The threshold of “recursive self-improvement” hasn’t been reached yet, Anthropic said, “but could come sooner than most institutions are prepared for.” Wall Street Journal | Reuters
8.
You could own the California island pictured above for $39,000. The 5.6-acre triangular property in the heart of the San Joaquin Delta, listed this week, is short on amenities but makes up for it with gorgeous views. Zoned for agriculture, any notion of building on the island would require a conversation with local authorities. But the listing agent said interested buyers have suggested a number of possibilities: a campground, a jet ski rental, or a simple dock for fishing. SFGATE | Sacramento Bee
Southern California
9.
“It’s insane. It’s 2 a.m. and I’m outside. This is crazy.”
The U.S. Army conducted an urban-warfare training exercise at an abandoned hospital surrounded by homes in Pasadena late Wednesday and into Thursday morning, creating a commotion that drew comparisons to “Black Hawk Down.” A cacophony of simulated gunfire, flash-bang grenades, and the spinning helicopter blades echoed through the normally quiet residential streets. “Good luck to the people who have to get up and go to work in the morning,” Council member Rick Cole said in a video recorded at the site. Southern California News Group | Pasadena Now
10.
James Handy, a veteran actor who had roles in “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Jumanji,” was fatally stabbed by the son of his girlfriend in the front yard of his home in Tarzana Wednesday morning, the authorities said. After the killing, the suspect, Michael Gledhill, 44, called 911 and told a dispatcher, “I am the son of man, I just killed the man of sin,” police said. Gledhill lived at the home with his mother, reports said. Handy was 81. Hollywood Reporter | KTLA
11.
“I just really want this to flow.”
Santa Barbara’s hypnotically curvy Whale House has been a source of fascination since its construction in the 1970s. Across a series of owners, it’s been a “Temple to Hedonism,” an event space, a primary residence, and a short-term rental. The latest stewards, a New Age-y millennial couple, bought the home in 2023 with vague plans to create an “otherwordly retreat in the magical hills.” Dwell was invited to visit and got some great pictures.
In case you missed it
12.
Five items that got big views over the past week:
- At meetings of the Los Angeles City Council, residents are allotted time to address concerns to the elected leaders — and they are flagrantly ignored. As individuals speak, the members chat with aides, eat breakfast, and scroll through their phones. Los Angeles Magazine wrote about the “incredible disrespect” shown to constituents.
- Watch council members ignore a recent speaker.
- While visiting a friend in the Bay Area one weekend in 1970, the Central Valley photographer Lance Nix strolled around the UC Berkeley campus “to see if the stories were true.” Young, barefoot, and groovy, the students did not disappoint. Flashbak revisited a series of Nix’s pictures showing UC Berkeley in its hippie prime.
- In 2023, a young man from Sacramento found himself in jail on suspicion of stalking his drug counselor. Incredibly, the police relied on screenshots of the purported harassment, without verifying their authenticity. Reporter Matthias Gafni told the extraordinary story of “the wrong stalker.” S.F. Chronicle
- It was Marilyn Monroes as far as the eye could see in Palm Springs on Saturday as impersonators gathered downtown two days before what would have been the Hollywood starlet’s 100th birthday. The pictures are something. L.A. Times | Desert Sun
- The Santa Cruz stonemason Michael Eckerman uses river rocks to create chimneys, walls, and arches that would be fitting in a world imagined by J.R.R. Tolkien. The Santa Cruz Sentinel recently showcased an Eckerman arch that serves as a whimsical gateway to a local park.
- See more of Eckerman’s creations.
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