Federal judge strikes down California’s 34-year-old assault weapons ban
The Chronicle, BOB EGELKO: "A federal judge on Thursday struck down California’s 34-year-old ban on semiautomatic guns that the state classifies as “assault weapons,” saying they pose little danger to the public, are useful for self-defense and are clearly covered by the Supreme Court’s standards for the constitutional right to bear arms.
In a 2021 ruling overturning the state’s ban on AR-15-style semiautomatics and similar weapons — a ruling reversed by an appeals court before the case was revived by the Supreme Court — U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez of San Diego likened the guns to “the Swiss Army Knife… good for both home and battle.” In Thursday’s ruling, he compared the firearms to “the Bowie Knife, which was commonly carried by citizens and soldiers in the 1800s … dangerous, but useful.”"
READ MORE -- For the second time, a federal judge overturns California’s assault weapon ban -- Sacramento Bee, ANDREW SHEELER
The race for Dianne Feinstein’s California Senate seat just added another candidate
Sacramento Bee, ANDREW SHEELER: "Long-time Los Angeles television reporter Christina Pascucci launched her campaign for U.S. Senate Wednesday.
Her bid is a long-shot among House Democrats who are running to succeed late California Sen. Dianne Feinstein. But she’s hoping to make a lane for herself as a Washington D.C. outsider who prioritizes centrist Democratic policies and bipartisanship."
Laphonza Butler won’t run for a full Senate term in 2024
The Chronicle, SHIRA STEIN: "Laphonza Butler, who was appointed to the Senate in October after the death of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, will not seek election to a full term in 2024, she announced Thursday.
“After considering those questions I’ve decided not to run for a full term in the US Senate,” she wrote on the social media platform X. “Knowing you can win a campaign doesn’t always mean you should run a campaign. I know this will be a surprise to many because traditionally we don’t see those who have power let it go.”"
Laphonza Butler aces her first political test, passing on uphill Senate run (COLUMN)
LA Times, MARK Z. BARABAK: "Laphonza Butler has been living a whirlwind these last few weeks.
Overnight, she went from being a campaign strategist and behind-the-scenes operative — unknown to most, save political insiders — to a U.S. senator representing nearly 40 million residents of the most important state in the union."
‘Raise my father’s case’: Will Gov. Gavin Newsom bring David Lin home?
Politico, PHELIM KINE, BLANCA BEGERT: "Gov. Gavin Newsom is facing pressure to help free a Californian imprisoned in China when he travels there next week.
David Lin, a 67-year-old pastor from Orange County, has been behind bars since 2006, when he was arrested and given a life sentence for what the U.S. government says are bogus charges of contract fraud. His daughter, Alice Lin, said she hopes Newsom will press Chinese officials to release Lin."
Newsom heads to Israel for surprise visit ahead of China trip
The Chronicle, SOPHIA BOLLAG: "California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a surprise trip to Israel on Thursday, saying he wanted to offer his state’s support to the victims of this month’s attack by Hamas that prompted major Israeli airstrikes on Gaza and again pitched the Middle East into conflict.
Newsom will visit ahead of a previously announced trip the Democratic governor is taking to China."
READ MORE -- Is California Gov. Newsom’s Israel visit ‘helpful for morale’ or risky political maneuver? -- BANG*Mercury News, JULIA PRODIS SULEK
Jordan vows to stay in speaker race as tensions erupt inside GOP meeting
CNN: "Anger and frustration are boiling over among House Republicans as Rep. Jim Jordan vows to stay in the race for the speaker’s gavel despite steep opposition and growing pressure from within the GOP conference to drop out.
Jordan’s office said the Ohio Republican is pressing on, telling reporters the House is expected to hold its next vote for speaker on Friday at 10 a.m. ET."
Biden urges more U.S. military funding for Ukraine, Israel in Oval Office address
LA Times, COURTNEY SUBRAMANIAN: "President Biden used a rare Oval Office address Thursday to urge Americans to support more military funding for Israel in the wake of a deadly Hamas attack and more aid for Ukraine in its protracted war against Russia, warning that both conflicts pose a threat to U.S. national security.
“Our alliances are what keep us safe. And our values are what make us a partner that other nations want to work with,” Biden said in only his second address from behind the Resolute Desk. “We put all of that at risk if we walk away from Ukraine or turn our back on Israel.”"
‘No war crimes in our name,’ Jewish protesters say outside Kamala Harris’ L.A. home
LA Times, SUMMER LIN, ANDREW J. CAMPA: "Since this month’s attacks on Israel by Hamas militants, thousands of protesters have taken to Los Angeles’ streets, waving Israeli and Palestinian flags and at times sparking tense confrontations. On Thursday, as Israel continued its bombardment of the Gaza Strip, a smaller group tried to bridge the bitter divide by taking their pleas for peace to Vice President Kamala Harris’ Brentwood home.
Led by progressive Jewish activists for Palestinian rights, about 50 people pulled up in cars outside Harris’ home in the quiet Westside enclave around 7:20 a.m. and walked to the front gate holding signs that read “Jews say ceasefire now” and “No war crimes in our name.”"
Protesters chain themselves to S.F. federal building to oppose military aid to Israel
The Chronicle, NORA MISHANEC: "Members of a Bay Area Jewish group chained themselves to the gates outside the Nancy Pelosi Federal Building and war protesters carrying “Free Palestine” posters descended on downtown San Francisco Thursday expressing opposition to U.S. military aid to Israel.
By 7 p.m., the protest filled an entire city block, and people had vandalized the federal building and the nearby U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit building."
A warm, wet El Niño winter is in store for California and much of the U.S.
LA Times, HAYLEY SMITH: "After a blistering summer of record heat, raging wildfires and unpredictable storms, federal scientists on Thursday said a warm, wet winter driven by El Niño is in store for California and much of the rest of the country.
The first winter outlook from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts that a strong El Niño will remain in place through at least the spring, with further strengthening possible over the next couple of months."
Dormant supervolcano near Yosemite is cooling, causing thousands of quakes, scientists say
The Chronicle, MEGAN FAN MUNCE: "Just east of the Sierra Nevada range, scientists have been keeping an eye on a long-dormant supervolcano that has caused thousands of earthquakes in recent years.
Two theories could explain the unrest: either the volcano was at risk of an eruption, or it was cooling down. Now, a group of researchers says new acoustic images prove it’s the latter."
This Bay Area city broke a 110-year-old temperature record Thursday
The Chronicle, ANTHONY EDWARDS: "A strong high-pressure system over California brought hot weather to the Bay Area this week, with Thursday highs as much as 20 degrees above normal.
Wine Country was the Bay Area hot spot Thursday. Napa hit 95 degrees, breaking its previous Oct. 19 high temperature record of 94 degrees set in 1933. Santa Rosa topped out at 92 degrees, shy of its daily record of 95 degrees."
Now is not the time to end organic waste recycling (OP-ED)
Capitol Weekly, MICHAEL CAPRIO: "California’s ambitious program to reduce the amount of methane gas produced by organic waste is a powerful example of how individuals, local governments, and business can work together to protect the planet for our children and grandchildren, all while creating jobs and investment in our communities.
But just as this effort is gaining traction, an unelected state commission is urging legislators and Gov. Gavin Newsom to suspend the program because it has not yet reached all of its goals."
Judge blocks California district’s rule requiring schools to out transgender students
The Chronicle, BOB EGELKO: "A judge barred a Southern California school district Thursday from requiring teachers to notify parents when a student identifies as transgender, saying the policy discriminates against youths based on their gender identity.
The policy adopted by the Chino Valley Unified School District in July — the first of its kind in the state — “treats otherwise similar students differently based on their sex or gender identity” and therefore violate the constitutional guarantee of equal protection of the laws, said San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge Michael Sachs. He granted Attorney General Rob Bonta’s request for a preliminary injunction against the policy, which had been blocked by another judge last month."
Merryl Goldberg, a music professor on a mission to spread arts education
EdSource, KAREN D'SOUZA: "Merryl Goldberg knows nothing if not how to improvise. The 64-year-old could make music before she could walk. She started beating out rhythms on the bongos as a toddler and never stopped, eventually becoming a saxophonist who toured for 13 years with Boston’s Klezmer Conservatory Band.
During her time on the road, she also moonlighted as a spy of sorts. At 26, she traveled to Russia in 1985 to meet with dissident musicians and hoodwinked the KGB by encrypting secrets in music. Along with her saxophone and sheet music, she packed stacks of spiral-bound notebooks crammed with handwritten notations embedded with hidden information."
Bay Area execs withdraw from tech conference after founder accuses Israel of war crimes
The Chronicle, NORA MISHANEC: "Bay Area tech executives are withdrawing from Web Summit’s upcoming global technology conference over the event founder’s criticisms of Israel.
Garry Tan, CEO of Y Combinator, and Ravi Gupta, a director at Sequoia Capital and former Instacart executive, announced this week they had canceled plans to attend the annual technology conference after its founder and chief executive, Paddy Cosgrave, condemned Western support for Israel. The conference is set to be held in Lisbon, Portugal, next month."
AI is causing panic for authors. Now the courts are involved
LA Times, BRIAN CONTRERAS: "When novelist Douglas Preston first started messing around with ChatGPT, he gave the AI software a challenge: Could it write an original poem based on a character from some of his books?
“It came out with this terrific poem written in iambic pentameter,” Preston recalled. The result was impressive — and concerning. “What really surprised me was how much it knew about this character; way more than it possibly could have gleaned from the internet,” Preston said."
Killings in the U.S. are dropping at a historic rate. Will anyone notice?
LA Times, DAVID LAUTER: "Homicides in the U.S. dropped significantly in 2022 and have plummeted even faster this year, putting the country on track for one of the biggest declines in killing ever recorded, crime statistics show.
If that comes as a surprise, you’re not alone."
Billionaire Silicon Valley developer John A. Sobrato offers up San Jose property for homeless shelters
BANG*Mercury News, ETHAN VARIAN: "Billionaire Silicon Valley developer John A. Sobrato is offering up an empty plot of land in South San Jose for 75 tiny home shelters for homeless people — and all it’s going to cost the city is $1 a year over the next half-decade.
Sobrato proposed leasing the 2-acre property, located at Via del Oro and San Ignacio Avenue near Highway 85, after learning about San Jose’s challenges in finding viable shelter sites as the city works to rapidly scale up its homeless housing stock."
