DOJ Sues UCLA over Antisemitism Claims

The Justice Department sued UCLA on Tuesday, accusing the school of failing to protect Jewish and Israeli students from antisemitism during the spring 2024 anti-Israel encampment.

The 53-page complaint alleges masked demonstrators outside Royce Hall in April 2024 assaulted Jewish students with sticks and formed “human phalanxes” to block Jewish and Israeli students from academic buildings. The suit asks the court to require disciplinary action against harassers and claw back federal grant funds.

Chancellor Julio Frenk, whose Jewish grandparents fled Nazi Germany, rejected the allegations. “The suggestion that UCLA has been passive in the face of antisemitism is simply wrong,” he said, citing a new Title VI officer and a May 14 antisemitism report.

It’s the second DOJ suit against the UC system this year. A February case targeted antisemitism against Jewish and Israeli employees. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said the new filing holds UCLA accountable for “the equally appalling hostile educational environment against its Jewish and Israeli students.”

Los Gatos ‘Party Mom’ Faces Sentencing

Santa Clara County Superior Court is expected to hand down a final sentence today for Shannon O’Connor, the Los Gatos mother convicted in March on 48 counts tied to alcohol-fueled parties she threw for her teenage sons and their friends.

The convictions include child endangerment, furnishing alcohol to minors, dissuading a witness, and facilitating sexual assault involving intoxicated teens. The judge has already ruled aggravating factors apply, opening the door to a sentence beyond the 17-year plea deal O’Connor rejected in 2023.

Sentencing began Tuesday and stretched across three days as former victims, most now in college, delivered statements. O’Connor, 51, has been jailed in Santa Clara County since her October 2021 arrest near Boise, Idaho.

District Attorney Jeff Rosen, after the March verdict, said O’Connor “took advantage of children, manipulated children, hurt children … and did that for her own perverse reasons.“

Pest Found on Costco Grapevines

Agriculture commissioners across Northern and Central California issued consumer alerts Tuesday after the invasive glassy-winged sharpshooter turned up on grape and citrus plants sold at Costco stores tied to shipments from a Fresno County nursery.

Anyone who bought grapevines or citrus plants from affected Costco stores between April 21 and May 21 should double-bag the grapevines and call their county ag office, not return, compost, or replant them. Counties issuing alerts include Yolo, Yuba, Solano, Stanislaus, San Joaquin, and Marin.

The sharpshooter transmits Pierce’s disease, which kills grapevines, and feeds on more than 250 plant species. California’s grape and wine industries are the chief concern, but almonds, citrus, and ornamental nursery stock are also vulnerable.

Marin County Agricultural Commissioner Joe Deviney said the shipping nursery did not notify counties as state quarantine law required. Deviney added that Costco “acted quickly, cooperated fully, and helped us reach customers as fast as possible.“

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➤ San Francisco: Parents of OpenAI whistleblower Suchir Balaji, 26, who was found dead in his apartment in November 2024 after accusing the company of violating copyright law to train ChatGPT, are escalating their challenge to the suicide ruling, citing new ballistics-related details from a private investigation. (Read Story)

➤ Shasta County: Redding-area insurance agent Mike Littau says customers in California’s FAIR Plan, the state’s backup insurer for high-risk homeowners, could see premium hikes of 30% to 40% when a statewide 29% average increase takes effect Oct. 15. (More)

➤ Oakland: A federal judge heard arguments Wednesday on whether Oakland police can exit 23 years of court oversight after a federal monitor confirmed the department completed all 51 reforms tied to the “Oakland Riders” misconduct scandal. If approved, the city could regain full control of its police department as soon as this fall. (See Details)

➤ Humboldt County: Officers from the Eureka Police Department, Arcata Police Department, and Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office will carry the Special Olympics “Flame of Hope” along the waterfront trail from the Arcata Marsh to Eureka on Thursday morning as part of a statewide relay leading to the Special Olympics Northern California Summer Games. (See Details)

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➤ Fresno County: Former Congressman TJ Cox reported to federal prison Wednesday to begin serving a one-year-and-one-day sentence after pleading guilty to two wire-fraud counts tied to illegal bank accounts and a $1.5 million Granite Park development loan. (See Details)

➤ Central Valley: The California Highway Patrol’s Central Division wrote more than 5,000 tickets over Memorial Day weekend, including 183 DUI arrests, 3,048 speeding citations, and 397 seat belt violations. CHP also reported three fatal collisions during the enforcement period. (More)

➤ Merced: A community fundraiser is helping Ken Anderson’s family rebuild their elaborate Halloween display after a May 13 fire destroyed an estimated $15,000 in animatronics, skeletons, and props. The blaze damaged a trailer and garage on the property, but the family says the Halloween tradition will continue. (Read Story)

➤ Coalinga: Officers seized roughly 4 kilograms of suspected fentanyl, worth about $400,000 on the street, and a loaded Glock pistol during an Interstate 5 traffic stop near Coalinga. The driver was arrested on multiple narcotics and weapons charges. (See Details)

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➤ Escondido: Army veteran Kerry Sheron, 69, died Sunday, a week after he was beaten outside his Trump-decorated home. His wife said the couple had previously faced harassment over the displays. Thomas Caleb Butler, 32, pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and remains held without bail as prosecutors weigh upgrading the case to murder. (See Details)

➤ Chatsworth: Former MGA Entertainment employee Luis Tanahara, 55, of Simi Valley, faces up to six years in state prison after prosecutors accused him of stealing more than $1 million worth of CarTuned diecast collectibles from the toy maker’s shipping container in February. Investigators later recovered the haul from his home. (More)

➤ Los Angeles: Nathaniel Radimak, the Tesla driver whose pipe-wielding road rage attacks went viral in 2023, was sentenced to seven years in a Hawaiian prison after pleading no contest in an assault on a mother and daughter in Honolulu. Victims said he should not have been released early from California custody. (See Details)

➤ San Diego: The Jacobs and Cushman San Diego Food Bank committed up to 5,000 emergency food boxes per week to Orange County evacuees displaced by the Garden Grove chemical-tank crisis. The first truck, carrying 3,500 boxes and other supplies, left Wednesday morning. (See Details)

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➤ The Chargers and safety Derwin James agreed to a three-year, $75.6 million extension this week, making him the NFL’s highest-paid safety for the second time in his career. The deal includes $57.5 million guaranteed. (More)

➤ Obstacle course racing, inspired by the popular TV show Ninja Warrior, will officially be part of the modern pentathlon at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. (More)

➤ UCLA softball opens the Women’s College World Series tonight against Alabama in Oklahoma City. The Bruins swept the University of Central Florida in the super regional to advance to the WCWS. (See Schedule)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: NHL | MLB | Soccer | WNBA

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➤ Gilead Sciences filed a state layoff notice cutting 51 employees at its Foster City headquarters effective May 29, roughly a year after eliminating 149 positions at the same site. The pharma giant is also laying off 192 employees tied to newly acquired Arcellx operations in California and Maryland. (More)

➤ Meta’s sweeping 8,000-job restructuring hit the Bay Area harder this week as state filings revealed 671 local positions affected: 338 in Burlingame, 252 in San Francisco, and 81 in Fremont. Menlo Park headquarters reported no layoffs as the social media giant pivots toward AI. (See Details)

➤ Nuclear startup Hadron Energy began trading on Nasdaq under ticker HDRN on Tuesday after securing roughly $31 million in funding to develop compact nuclear reactors designed to power data centers and industrial sites. (More)

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➤ Fremont ranked No. 1 and Irvine No. 3 in WalletHub’s 2026 list of the best U.S. cities to raise a family, evaluated across factors including housing, schools, safety, and recreation. San Diego placed 12th, Huntington Beach 20th, and Rancho Cucamonga 43rd. Los Angeles ranked 67th overall. (See Details)

➤ Lake Kaweah’s recreation area has disappeared underwater each spring since 2006, when spillway upgrades raised the reservoir’s maximum elevation. Seasonal flooding now routinely submerges the lakeside park, often leaving only a restroom roof visible above the water until the area reemerges in late June. (Read Story)

➤ Mammoth Mountain is extending its ski season through June 7 after cold temperatures and fresh snow boosted late-season conditions in the eastern Sierra. The resort’s bike park and golf course are already open, creating the possibility of skiing, biking, and golfing all in the same day. (See Details)

➤ Patterson kicks off its 54th annual Apricot Fiesta this Friday through Sunday, with three days of parades, fireworks, an arm-wrestling tournament, a classic car show, and live entertainment celebrating the city’s agricultural roots. (See Details)

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If you could ski, bike, and golf all in the same day at Mammoth, which would you start with?

1. Ski first
2. Bike first
3. Golf first
4. All three sounds exhausting
5. Other (reply to tell us)

Yesterday’s Results:

Should Yosemite bring reservations back?

1. Compromise—busy weekends: 41%
2. Yes: 37%
3. No: 22%

In 1958, when the Giants and Dodgers played the first Major League Baseball game on the West Coast at Seals Stadium in San Francisco, what was the final score?

Show me the answer