State claims there’s zero high-risk AI in California government—despite ample evidence to the contrary
CALMatters, KHARI JOHNSON: "California uses algorithms to predict whether incarcerated people will commit crimes again. It has used predictive technology to deny 600,000 people unemployment benefits. Nonetheless, state administrators have concluded that not a single agency uses high-risk forms of automated decisionmaking technology.
That’s according to a report the California Department of Technology provided to CalMatters after surveying nearly 200 state entities. The agencies are required by legislation signed into law in 2023 to report annually if they use high-risk automated systems that can make decisions about people’s lives. “High-risk” means any system that can assist or replace human decisio=nmakers when it comes to encounters with the criminal justice system or whether people get access to housing, education, employment, credit and health care."
A program paying California jurors $100 a day would end abruptly due to Newsom’s new budget
LAT, JOE GARCIA: "In his attempts to solve a multibillion-dollar state deficit, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s new budget plan would terminate a legislative experiment that increased pay for juries in an effort to make them more fairly represent the communities they serve.
Since September, jurors in seven counties have been eligible to receive $100 per day while serving on a jury, a significant improvement to the statewide norm of $15."
Kellyanne Conway defends Trump, draws mixed reaction at S.F. business event
The Chronicle, JOE GAROFOLI 'Longtime top Donald Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway was in San Francisco on Tuesday to share what her hosts, the Bay Area Council business group, billed as “a unique window in this administration’s thinking.”
But can you really trust the insights of the person who coined the phrase “alternative facts”? Me, neither."
California Dems’ political muscle is mighty — but only if we use it
Capitol Weekly, RUSTY HICKS: "California Democrats have shaped policies that ultimately put people first — expanding access to health care, raising wages, protecting civil rights, and building a stronger, more fair economy for everyone who calls this state home. And those trends and values help to shape the national agenda for the better: in the face of rising division and deepening inequality across the country, Californians have always stood together for justice, opportunity, and progress.
We know that as the nation’s most populous and diverse state, what happens here doesn’t stay here — it ripples outward, influencing national conversations, elections, and policy. That’s why recent trends in our state should be both a point of pride and a wake-up call."
Many fire victims are owed a tax refund. L.A. County can’t find some of them
LAT, REBECCA ELLIS: "Many residents who lost their homes in the Palisades or Eaton fires should have received a tax refund because their properties are now worth a lot less.
But in about 330 cases, U.S. Postal Serice workers tried unsuccessfully to deliver the checks to vacant or destroyed homes, since residents hadn’t provided a new address."
U.S. stops scheduling visa interviews for foreign students while it expands social media vetting
LAT, MATTHEW LEE/ANNIE MA: "The State Department has halted the scheduling of new visa interviews for foreign students hoping to study in the U.S. while it prepares to expand the screening of their activity on social media, officials said.
A U.S. official said Tuesday the suspension is intended to be temporary and does not apply to applicants who already had scheduled their visa interviews. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an internal administration document."
Trump trade war has already had huge effect on CA ports
CALMatters, LEVI SUMAGAYSAY: "California’s port traffic is beginning to look worse now, under the effects of President Donald Trump’s fickle tariff policy, than it did at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The vessel calls, or cancellations, that we’re seeing today (are) starting to exceed the number that we saw in COVID-19,” Mario Cordero, chief executive of the Port of Long Beach, said in an interview with CalMatters in early May."
Stanford scientists detect new COVID variant in California as U.S. moves to tighten vaccine access
The Chronicle, AIDIN VAZIRI: "A new and highly transmissible variant of the coronavirus, known as NB.1.8.1, has been detected in California and several other U.S. states, prompting concern among public health experts as the federal government moves to restrict access to updated COVID-19 vaccines.
First identified as a driving force behind a major surge in cases across China, the NB.1.8.1 variant has been reported in international travelers screened at airports in Washington, Virginia, New York and California."
Trump lawyer in Harvard battle says DOJ intends to sue UC over antisemitism allegations
LAT, JAWEED KALEEM: "A Justice Department official spearheading President Trump’s battle against Harvard University — which has led to multiple lawsuits and the school losing billions in federal funding — says the administration intends to take the University of California to court over alleged antisemitism.
Leo Terrell, senior counsel for the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, is heading a multiagency task force on combating antisemitism and said in a Tuesday Fox News interview that there will be “massive lawsuits against [the] UC system” and other colleges “on the East Coast, on the West Coast, in the Midwest.”"
New California rule for trans athletes faces criticism from all sides
The Chrinicle, SOPHIA BALLOG: "After President Donald Trump and a chorus of conservative activists criticized California for allowing a transgender teenager to compete in a high school girls track competition, the state’s governing body for high school sports announced an effort to find middle ground on the issue.
At the state track and field championships this weekend in Clovis (Fresno County), cisgender girls who did not qualify for the meet because a transgender athlete placed ahead of them will be allowed to compete, the California Interscholastic Federation announced just hours after Trump threatened the state on social media Tuesday morning."
How a California wine company created the nation’s bestselling spirit
The Chronicle, JESS LANDE/ESTHER MOBLEY: "It’s America’s unofficial beverage of beach days, tailgates, frat parties and music festivals. Its tagline is simple: “real vodka + real juice.” But this slender can of High Noon, with its cheery yellow sun set against a blue sky, is the surprising growth vehicle for the largest wine company in the country, a product that’s rewritten the rules of the alcohol industry.
Launched by wine giant Gallo in 2019, High Noon had by 2022 become the top-selling U.S. spirit by volume, dethroning vodka powerhouse Tito’s. High Noon — “Nooners” to its most avid followers — has expanded to 14 flavors, plus a line of tequila seltzers and hard iced teas. Last year, its production grew 13.5% to just under 25 million cases a year, according to alcohol industry publication Shanken News Daily.
Sean Combs’ inner circle reveals a world of guns, abuse, kidnapping and death threats
LATM RICHARD WINTON: "When federal authorities brought sweeping criminal charges against Sean “Diddy” Combs last year, they said the case was about much more than the mogul’s alleged illegal behavior.
They said their cases would expose how the music legend-turned-entrepreneur used his power and money to get away with shocking crimes, often with help from a cadre of advisors and aides. "
