An agricultural property a few miles from Gilroy, just south of the San Francisco Bay Area, has become the latest flashpoint in the ongoing clash between California and the Trump Administration. California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Santa Clara County filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday seeking to stop the construction of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility that local officials say could be used to temporarily detain migrants as part of the federal government’s intensified immigration enforcement efforts.

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Imagine what Tom Steyer could have done with all the money he wasted on another campaign.

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The charge is larger than campus unrest.

The charge is larger than campus unrest.

Former xAI engineer Devin Kim alleges he was illegally fired for trying to implement safety mechanisms for the chatbot

A former engineer at Elon Musk’s xAI who now heads a thinktank focused on AI safety filed a lawsuit claiming he was fired from the SpaceX subsidiary for raising concerns about the risks artificial intelligence poses to humanity.

Devin Kim claims in the lawsuit filed in California state court on Tuesday that his efforts to place guardrails on the development of the chatbot Grok made him a target for company leadership.

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© Photograph: Harun Ozalp/Anadolu via Getty Images

© Photograph: Harun Ozalp/Anadolu via Getty Images

© Photograph: Harun Ozalp/Anadolu via Getty Images

The department once tried to stay out of state elections, urging caution. It is now pressing forward with claims of fraud as President Trump revives his unfounded assertions that elections cannot be trusted.

© Philip Cheung for The New York Times

Employees at artificial intelligence companies are coming into gargantuan sums of money amid boom in IPOs

Home prices in the San Francisco Bay Area’s already expensive market are skyrocketing as employees at leading artificial intelligence companies come into gargantuan sums of money thanks to a boom in initial public offerings.

With San Francisco’s OpenAI and Anthropic, as well as SpaceX, which operates a major facility in the Los Angeles area, eyeing debuts on the stock market, the hot housing market may not abate soon. If their initial public offering (IPO) is well-received, the companies’ multibillion-dollar valuations are poised to produce massive wealth for employees and executives holding shares, which experts say could trigger an uptick in demand for the Bay Area’s limited housing stock.

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© Photograph: Ethan Swope/Getty Images

© Photograph: Ethan Swope/Getty Images

© Photograph: Ethan Swope/Getty Images

President Donald Trump was displeased with the outcome of the California primary elections. Convinced his intervention was decisive, he insists that without the pressure he exerted in recent days on behalf of the Republican candidate for governor, Steve Hilton, he would not have advanced to the November runoff, where he will face the candidate backed by the Democratic establishment, Xavier Becerra. “But the only reason they approved Steve Hilton, it was going to be two weeks, they said. And then they approved it that night because the heat was on them because they’re cheating dogs,” the president said Wednesday from the Oval Office.

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As the midterm elections approach, many leading Democrats are rethinking their approach to climate change.

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Defense says no evidence occasional Uber driver Jonathan Rinderknecht ignited deadly blaze on New Year’s Day 2025

The trial of 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht, the man accused of starting last year’s deadly Palisades fire, kicked off on Wednesday with opening arguments. Prosecutors cast him as a vengeful arsonist who sought to hide his role from authorities, while his defense attorneys argued that the fire was caused by fireworks.

On New Year’s Day in 2025, firefighters extinguished a small blaze in the Pacific Palisades, a coastal Los Angeles enclave. But the flames continued to smolder underground, before reigniting as they were picked up by strong winds. The Palisades fire, the most destructive wildfires in city history, tore through roughly 23,000 acres, incinerating thousands of buildings and killing 12 people.

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© Photograph: Mona Edwards/Reuters

© Photograph: Mona Edwards/Reuters

© Photograph: Mona Edwards/Reuters

High temperatures across the San Francisco Bay Area will reach into the 90s on Thursday, forecasters said.

© Lea Suzuki/San Francisco Chronicle, via Associated Press

Shasta county passes measure requiring elections to be held in person on one day and limiting absentee ballots

• US politics live – latest updates

Northern California’s Shasta county, best known for its radical conservative politics and thriving election-skeptic movement, appears on track for another clash with the state over a newly approved ballot measure that would transform local elections.

In last Tuesday’s election, the majority of voters in the rural county backed Measure B, which requires elections to be held in person on a single day and limits who can cast an absentee ballot – effectively putting an end to vote by mail – while also requiring photo ID and a hand count.

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© Photograph: Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images

© Photograph: Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images

© Photograph: Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images

Rep. James Gallagher (R-Calif.) was officially sworn into Congress on Wednesday afternoon, slightly broadening the GOP’s slim majority in the House.  Gallagher won the special election on June 2 for the seat for California’s 1st Congressional District, following Rep. Doug LaMalfa’s (R) death in January. The former state assemblymember, who was backed by President Trump,…

Rep. James Gallagher (R-Calif.) was officially sworn into Congress on Wednesday afternoon, slightly broadening the GOP’s slim majority in the House.  Gallagher won the special election on June 2 for the seat for California’s 1st Congressional District, following Rep. Doug LaMalfa’s (R) death in January. The former state assemblymember, who was backed by President Trump,…

Chemical tank overheated in May and forced evacuation of 50,000 nearby residents due to danger of explosion

The FBI is searching a southern California aerospace facility where an overheated chemical tank forced 50,000 residents to evacuate last month, after federal authorities served a search warrant there on Wednesday.

Signed by a federal judge last week, the warrant approved the seizure of records related to the “storage, use or disposal” of methyl methacrylate, the chemical stored inside the tank that authorities feared could explode.

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© Photograph: Ethan Swope/AP

© Photograph: Ethan Swope/AP

© Photograph: Ethan Swope/AP

The warrant signed by a federal judge last week approved the seizure of documents and records related to the "storage, use, or disposal" of methyl methacrylate, the chemical inside the affected tank.

Taking a week to count votes is doing it wrong.

© Illustration by Rebecca Chew/The New York Times

Hilton has worn many hats since he arrived in the US 14 years ago, and now faces steep odds of defeating Democratic Xavier Becerra in November

After years of working in the background of Conservative party politics in Britain, Steve Hilton has passed the first major test as his own front man: clinching a spot in the November run-off to become California’s next governor.

The outcome was far from a given under California’s open primary system, which rewards the top two vote winners regardless of party, and the particular challenge of running as a Republican in one of the most solidly blue states in the country.

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© Photograph: Rich Pedroncelli/AP

© Photograph: Rich Pedroncelli/AP

© Photograph: Rich Pedroncelli/AP

Randy Villegas will face the incumbent, David Valadao, a Republican who has survived numerous challenges in a competitive district.

© Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images For Connor Treacy

Rep. Kevin Kiley (I-Calif.), a former Republican, is set for a showdown in November against a Democratic challenger, Decision Desk HQ has projected. Shortly before 8 p.m. EDT, Kiley had garnered 24.53 percent of the vote, while Democrat Richard Pan, a doctor and small business owner, had garnered 23.21 percent, per DDHQ. Pan and Kiley…