USDA finalized ASCF payment rates and opens enrollment June 1, offering $1.625B in one‑time aid with tiered per‑acre payments and specific eligibility rules for specialty growers.

AB 1921 would require publishers to offer offline-capable versions, patches or refunds when online game services shut down. The Assembly passed it Wednesday and sent it to the Senate.

SB 1364 would let judges bar custody or unsupervised visitation when a child was conceived in an alleged sexual assault; the bill passed the Senate and now moves to the Assembly. Survivors’ advocates say the change fills a gap where criminal convictions are rare.

New reporting and national surveys show women elected officials in California face more threats and family-directed abuse than men.

San Francisco's city attorney sued Bain-owned Arosa, alleging care managers were misclassified and denied overtime. The suit could force the company to repay wages and face penalties.

Black lawmakers and hospital leaders are pushing for a $500M emergency fund to stabilize 17 public hospitals facing billions in federal and state cuts. Advocates say the money would stave off unit closures and layoffs.

Stop AAPI Hate has launched Stop AAPI Hate Action, a 501(c)(4) to register and mobilize AAPI voters ahead of the 2026 midterms with multilingual outreach. Outreach is slated to begin this July.

A Flock Safety webinar taught officers to pitch license‑plate readers to city councils, prompting fresh scrutiny as Bay Area cities reconsider contracts. Privacy groups say vendor‑led coaching blurs procurement lines.

At a May Day rally in East San Jose, Tom Steyer wore a "Workers Over Billionaires" shirt and pledged to tax fellow billionaires while pouring record money into his campaign.

A coalition urged California’s attorney general to probe whether OpenAI executives’ investments in Cerebras created undisclosed conflicts after a big compute deal.

A UCSF physician lays out a 'primary care common fund' to make front‑line care universal in California, but federal waivers and politics remain major obstacles.

Gov. Gavin Newsom named former CFPB director Rohit Chopra to lead California’s new consumer agency — a move that strengthens state enforcement and carries national political weight.

At a Fresno rally, Xavier Becerra said he'd scrap the current high‑speed rail plan and push a new on‑time, on‑budget approach, jolting the June 2 primary race. The vow sharpened focus on the Valley's role in the project.