Good morning. It’s Monday, Nov. 17.
- Treacherous weather leaves at least seven people dead.
- ChatGPT plays intimate role in many users’ lives.
- And three dreamy homes hit the market across California.
Statewide
1.
Treacherous weather played a role in at least seven deaths across California since late last week, reports said.
- After a 7-year-old girl was swept into the ocean by a powerful wave at Garrapata State Beach on the Big Sur coast Friday, her father and mother both entered the water to try to rescue her, officials said. Only the mother survived. KGO | S.F. Chronicle
- A wooden panga boat believed to be ferrying migrants to the U.S. capsized in stormy seas near San Diego early Saturday, leaving at least four people dead, authorities said. At least one survivor was taken into custody. L.A. Times
- In Sutter County, about 15 miles north of Sacramento, a 71-year-old man died Friday after his vehicle was swept off a flooded bridge, police said. KCRA
2.
For years, pundits have rolled their eyes at Gavin Newsom. But the columnist Jonathan Martin says it’s time to admit that the California Democrat has now surged into the position of 2028 presidential front-runner:
“By the old rules of Democratic nominations, Newsom fits neatly in the tradition of Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama: younger, outsider candidates who could credibly run fresh campaigns against the Washington status quo of both parties while claiming enough insider credentials to reassure party mandarins who care about such things.” Politico Magazine
3.
In an extraordinary rebuke, a federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to stop suspending funding to the University of California over claims that it allowed discrimination. In her ruling, U.S. District Judge Rita Lin said the government’s actions had “the goal of bringing universities to their knees and forcing them to change their ideological tune.” She continued: “These are classic, predictable First Amendment harms, and exactly what defendants publicly said that they intended.” N.Y. Times | CalMatters
4.
Seven California counties carried by Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential race backed the state’s anti-Trump redistricting measure this month. Most of the counties — located primarily in the San Joaquin Valley and Inland Empire — host significant Latino populations. Mike Madrid, a political analyst, said Latinos are “punishing whoever’s in power” for economic reasons. Their support for Proposition 50 “is a rebuke and a repudiation of Trump and the Republicans,” he said, “not an affirmation of the Democrats who they rebuked and repudiated just last year in the same historic fashion.” Press Democrat | CBS News
5.
Here are three fanciful homes now on the market in California:
- The master architect Kendrick Bangs Kellogg is best known for his otherworldly Doolittle House on the edge of Joshua Tree National Park. Before that, he designed a curving home in the mountains northeast of San Diego, pictured above. An architecture writer called the residence “genius.” Yours for $3 million. Realtor.com
- In the 1960s, the up-and-coming architect Bob Arrigoni designed a round mansion made of poured concrete, kiln-dried cedar, and glass for the real estate baron Angelo Sangiacomo in San Francisco. It was just listed for the first time in its 55-year history. Asking price: $10 million. Wall Street Journal
- The most enticing attribute of a newly listed midcentury modern home in Sonoma County is its perch on a bluff overlooking the Pacific. The residence in Jenner includes wood-burning fireplaces, a large wood deck, and ocean views from every room. Asking: $2 million. N.Y. Times
Northern California
6.
“Can you help me analyze this text conversation between me and my boyfriend?”
“I want you to be fully honest. Are you feeling conscious?”
“I love you always.”
The Washington Post analyzed 47,000 publicly shared ChatGPT conversations to find out how people are using the OpenAI chatbot. While it has been promoted largely as a productivity tool, the conversations suggest ChatGPT is playing a deeply intimate role in many lives.
7.
Yann LeCun, a world-renowned pioneer of artificial intelligence, invented many fundamental components of modern AI. But he thinks most researchers in his field are wrong about the path to achieving human-level AI. Current models, he likes to say, are no smarter than a cat. Last week, news broke that LeCun, 65, is now planning to leave his job as chief AI scientist at Meta to launch his own startup. The Wall Street Journal profiled the man who has “been right about AI for 40 years.”
8.
“The Monkey King,” a new opera drawn from a 16th-century Chinese novel, had its world premiere at the San Francisco Opera on Friday. The opera tells the story of a monkey, born from a stone egg, who embarks on a quest for immortality. Reviewers loved it. The San Francisco Chronicle called it “a magnificent spectacle.” KQED’s Gabe Meline could hardly contain his enthusiasm. “I cannot say enough good things about it,” he wrote. “If you want just the three-word summary, it’s this: go, go, go.”
9.
Nicholas Bard, 10, had been raising bees at his home in Santa Rosa for years when he received a distressing letter in April. It had “recently come to the attention of the City” that the Bards were running an illegal home occupation, the letter read. The bees must go. A months-long battle ensued as the city refused to budge. Then hundreds of people inundated City Hall to denounce what they saw as overzealous regulation. In October, the mayor weighed in: It was all a misunderstanding, he said. The Bards can keep the bees. Washington Post
10.
On the edge of Death Valley, there’s a collection of sun-bleached shacks and trailer homes that looks every bit like a ghost town. But people live there. Once a silver mining town, Darwin is populated largely by artists and retirees attracted by the radical isolation of the desert. A resident named Larry said he gave up the beaches of Santa Monica, where he worked as a life guard for three decades, to build himself an underground oasis in Darwin. A few years ago, he gave a reporter a tour. 👉 ABC10
Southern California
11.
For months, the Dodgers’ heavily Latino fan base has urged the team to more forcefully denounce President Trump’s immigration crackdown in Los Angeles. Their frustration inspired protests and boycotts. Now the World Series champions have been invited to visit the White House, a major sports tradition. It’s put the team in an impossible position. If they decline, they will invoke Trump’s wrath. If they go, said Jose Madera, a lifelong Dodgers fan, “it’s a betrayal.” Washington Post
12.
Matthew Belloni has become a must-read in Hollywood, a one-man competitor to the trades. He’s been compared to the late Nikki Finke, the acerbic blogger who founded Deadline Hollywood in 2006. But Belloni makes a distinction. “Nikki,” he said, “was a horrible person who blackmailed and terrorized people. I’ll never write anything that I wouldn’t say to your face. If you don’t like a story, I will engage with you. I’ll go to lunch with you. Nikki did none of that. She was a recluse in her underwear dropping bombs on people.” N.Y. Times
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