Now the governor is vowing to sign legislation that would prohibit the use of voice manipulation in campaign ads, calling out Musk for sharing a video last week on X in which Vice President Kamala Harris’ voice is falsified. Musk, who has endorsed former President Donald Trump over the presumptive Democratic nominee, did not disclose that the video was altered using artificial intelligence — potentially violating his platform’s own policies .
No further detail has been provided about the bill, though a Newsom spokesperson said the office is working to “ensure this issue is addressed in a bill already going through the legislative process.”
Two bills regulating the use of artificial intelligence in election campaigns have passed the Assembly and could win final approval before the Legislature adjourns at the end of August. One is authored by Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo , a Los Angeles Democrat, and the other bill is carried by Assemblymember Marc Berman , a Palo Alto Democrat.
While Newsom isn’t happy with Musk these days, not everything Musk owns is leaving California: On Friday, SpaceX announced that recovery missions for its spacecraft Dragon will relocate from Florida to Long Beach . Sen. Scott Wiener , a San Francisco Democrat, welcomed the move , and said that protecting LGBTQ kids “isn’t inconsistent with hosting business operations after all.”
As for Gov. Newsom’s friends list (at least for now): Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, whom Newsom clashed with last year over migrants being bused to California .
Now, Newsom is thanking Abbott for sending at least 100 Texas firefighters, emergency management personnel and fire engines as nearly 4,900 California firefighters battle the Park Fire , which has grown to more than 370,000 acres, the sixth largest in state history. It was 14% contained as of Monday evening.
Cal Fire told CalMatters that the Texas crews are expected to arrive in California today or Wednesday. They will be deployed as soon as Wednesday to help fight the Park Fire for as long as 14 days.
Abbott , in a statement : “Texans understand the urgency of responding to wildfires, and our country is stronger when we come together in times of crisis. … (My wife) and I pray for the brave first responders who are battling these destructive wildfires in California.”
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An unaccompanied migrant child seeking asylum is registered by a Border Patrol agent after she crossed the Rio Grande River from Mexico into Roma, Texas on May 14, 2022. Photo by Adrees Latif, Reuters
State legislators have until their session ends Aug. 31 to renew funding for a test program that helps children who immigrate here by themselves. If they don’t act, the program will run out of money by September — leaving vulnerable minors to navigate the complex immigration court system by themselves.
As CalMatters’ Wendy Fry explains, the legal advocacy project has been funded by a $15.3 million allocation in 2022. In addition to legal representation, it provides social workers that help children find mental health services, enroll in school and secure work permits.
The state budget passed in June does not renew funding, though the Legislature is “exploring possible solutions” to ensure the project’s survival, according to the advocacy director of Immigrant Defense Advocates. The issue comes during a time when President Joe Biden issued an executive order, which restricts asylum processing at the U.S.-Mexico border. Because the order exempts unaccompanied minors, immigration advocates say that parents may make the difficult decision to send their children to cross the border alone.
Between January 2015 and May 2023, more than 64,000 unaccompanied children were released in California. That includes 17-year-old A.L., who requested not to use his full name. He arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border at age 14. After being reunited with his family in California, he received a deportation order. A.L. was later connected to the advocacy project, which helped lift the order, but he faced hurdles finding representation before then.
A.L.: “I tried to call and call and call many lawyers. Some of them never answered me, and others said they were already too busy. In the end, no one was able to help me.”
The California Supreme Court in San Francisco on May 8, 2024. Photo by Jeff Chiu, AP Photo
A single alleged use of a racial slur in 2015 by an employee at the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office may not only meet the legal threshold for discriminatory conduct, but also change how California courts handle racial discrimination in the workplace.
As CalMatters justice intern Shaanth Nanguneri explains, Twanda Bailey, a former investigative assistant for the city’s district attorney’s office, alleges that a co-worker called her the N-word, which the co-worker denies. Bailey also claims that the office’s human resources representative never filed her complaint, telling Bailey that it would have created a hostile work environment.
When Bailey sued the city, a state appeals court ruled against her, arguing that the original incident was not considered discriminatory conduct. But on Monday, the California Supreme Court overturned that ruling, kicking the lawsuit back to the lower courts and directing judges to take into account broader office relationships, rather than just one single incident.
The ruling: “We conclude that an isolated act of harassment may be actionable if it is sufficiently severe in light of the totality of the circumstances…”
More criminal justice news: CalMatters’ freelance writer Carol Pogash explores Delancey Street Restaurant , a 52-seat eatery inside a Vacaville state prison, where the cooks are prisoners serving time for murder and drug and gang-related crimes. Earning $1 an hour (which goes to the victims or their families), the inmates prepare and serve meals for correctional officers, administrators and other prison staffers.
The restaurant, which opened nearly a year ago and makes about $7,500 a month, is backed by the Delancey Street Foundation, a San Francisco nonprofit that helps former drug addicts, alcoholics and convicts get back on their feet. Its co-founder and chief executive is 82-year-old Mimi Silbert, a longtime friend of former Gov. Jerry Brown who once counseled Gov. Newsom during his own struggles with alcohol .
California once promised that undocumented immigrants could be eligible for a subsidized phone and internet services program. After CalMatters published a story in February about the decade-long wait, that change may finally come. Find out when from CalMatters’ Alejandra Reyes-Velarde .
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