California voters are overwhelmingly Democratic and have been for a generation. So why is it so rare for two Dems to end up on the general election ballot statewide? From me and @jeannereporter.bsky.social on why the state just can't quit partisan match ups. calmatters.org/politics/202...

The top-two primary promised to change California politics. Voters say: meh

California's top-two primary was designed to create moderate candidates and reduce partisanship. Instead, November races are as partisan as ever.

calmatters.org

Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton were leading in the race for California governor in early returns Tuesday night, a nailbiter befitting the most unsettled gubernatorial race in recent memory. Data was updated June 2, 2026 at 11:26 PM. cal.news/43KLYbO

Kalshi gives Xavier Becerra a 74% chance of becoming California governor. His campaign also just got a $39,200 check from the company days before the election @jeremiak.com calmatters.org/politics/202...

Prediction marketplace Kalshi gives Becerra high odds of winning. They also bet on his campaign.

The company gave Becerra’s campaign $39,200 just days before the primary while giving the former attorney general a three-in-four chance of winning the office.

calmatters.org

✊🏻✊🏻✊🏻

ProPublica Guild@propublicaguild.org · 4mo ago

We’re on strike today! Support our fight for a fair contract by NOT visiting the @propublica.org website or engaging with ProPublica stories today. Tell ProPublica’s management you won’t cross the picket line: actionnetwork.org/petitions/te...

I do love making bar charts that go _way_ up and to the right

Jeremia Kimelman@jeremiak.com · 4mo ago

Last year, Meta and Google spent tens of millions of dollars to buy influence in Ca. politics by contributing to campaigns, lobbying, and making payments to nonprofits on behalf of sitting officials. Why? Mostly to fight AI regulation. My latest for @calmatters.org calmatters.org/politics/202...

Last year, Meta and Google spent tens of millions of dollars to buy influence in Ca. politics by contributing to campaigns, lobbying, and making payments to nonprofits on behalf of sitting officials. Why? Mostly to fight AI regulation. My latest for @calmatters.org calmatters.org/politics/202...

Tech giants are spending more than ever to shape California politics. See how much

Tech giants involved in AI and cryptocurrency spent $39 million last year to influence lawmakers and policy. It's the start of what could be a spending blitz in the upcoming election.

calmatters.org

Makes me think about how much worse all of this is going to be as "AI" video generation becomes more lifelike, allowing them to lie alongside synthetic videos that align with their talking points

Adam Serwer@adamserwer.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Imagine how much they’d be lying about what happened without all the videos showing it from multiple angles.

My @calmatters.org colleagues Robert Lewis and Lauren Hepler published the fourth piece in their 🔥 investigative series about how state leaders, elected and appointed, have done little to address the mounting death toll from drunk drivers on California roads. calmatters.org/investigatio...

40,000 people died on California roads. State leaders looked away

As driving deaths have skyrocketed across the state, the governor, legislators, the courts and the DMV have failed to act.

calmatters.org

As election day approaches, nonprofits, political parties and a billionaire have spent nearly $26 million on ads and other communications in an effort to convince voters to support or oppose Prop. 50 – the most of any ballot measure in recent state history. bit.ly/47l7aI4 📊 @jeremiak.com

Our members handed out flyers and buttons at the @IRE.org gala tonight! Our message is clear: We deserve a fair contract now! Support us by signing our petition. actionnetwork.org/petitions/te...

Looks like Charles Munger Jr. is in for another $10 million, bringing his total contributions to California's Prop 50 opposition $30 million. So it's basically him and $5 million from a Republican SuperPAC cal-access.sos.ca.gov/PDFGen/pdfge...

An excerpt from "For a Student Who Used AI to Write a Paper": But what are you trying to be free of? The living? The miraculous task of it? poets.org/poem/student...

For a Student Who Used AI to Write a Paper

Now I let it fall back in the grasses. I hear you. I know this life is hard now. I know your days are precious on this earth. But what are you trying to be free of? The living? The miraculous task of…

poets.org

Used the Internet Archive's news chyron data to get a sense for how much MSNBC, CNN, Fox and the BBC were talking about different topics. Increase for Epstein, lots of discussion of Zohran after his primary win, Musk flits in and out, not nearly as much as I expected to see for "Intifada"

A woman whose house burned down in the Eaton Fire earlier this year couldn't cash a ~$900k check from State Farm because, as somebody in the check-hold department of her bank said, the insurer's account had a negative balance. The largest property insurer in the state. A negative balance.

CalMatters@calmatters.org · last yr.

Scoop: A check from California’s largest property insurer, which says it has paid billions of dollars in claims from the LA-area fires, has taken more than a week to clear so far. buff.ly/tjkXQY2 📝 @levisu.bsky.social

Was Gov. Newsom's return to office mandate a ploy for contract negotiations? @mayacmiller.bsky.social looks into it for her first story @calmatters.org calmatters.org/politics/202...

Gavin Newsom ordered state workers back to the office. Why he backtracked

Newsom argued state employees needed to boost productivity and rebuild public trust by working in-office nearly full-time. Why delay? Politics, critics say.

calmatters.org

Which, you know, might be a good reason for high ranking government officials to not conduct business on commercial platforms like Signal? Maybe? Among other things (record retention laws, adding journalists into the chat, etc)

NPR@npr.org · last yr.

The State Department is warning U.S. diplomats of attempts to impersonate Secretary of State Marco Rubio and possibly other officials using technology driven by artificial intelligence.

I know I’m old because one of the best emails I got today was from my doctor letting me know my cholesterol is way down. Hell ya

New 3-minute documentary from @calmatters.org @sergioolmos.bsky.social @bellingcat.com @evidentmedia.org show comprehensively how widespread the immigration raids in the Los Angeles area have been. Doc geotagged/verified 100+ videos of raids These occurred at: -15+ Home Depots -Private farmland

Masked, Armed, Forceful: Finding Patterns in California Immigration Raids

YouTube video by Evident Media

youtube.com

The disaster in Texas is so sad for the families and communities who lost somebody or are still searching for them. May their memories forever be blessings 🙏

A (super) negative downstream effect of election map-based coverage and descriptions like “deep red state” Gross idea even before you consider that kids died and kids can’t vote in the US

Bree (half of Kit Rocha)@mostlybree.kitrocha.com · last yr.

I'm not just mad about this shit because I'm tired of seeing it (tho I am) It is scary to me that people legitimately don't seem to understand enough to know that 20% of the population of Texas voted for Trump. That is it. Out of every 5 people in Texas, 4 did not vote for this.

I spent a lots of time in (and complaining about) California's lobbying data so I _love_ to read about the deficiencies of other state's disclosures. The latest from @lmcgaughy.bsky.social goes through what you can and can't learn from Texas transparency reports www.kut.org/politics/202...

Want to know who Elon Musk's lobbyists wined and dined? It's a Texas-sized secret.

Musk's lobbyists spent thousands to wine and dine elected officials. But exactly how they accomplished Musk's goals is more of a mystery.

kut.org

I used to live one block off of DeKalb Ave more than a hundred and twenty years later and sure do wish it had looked like this

Lee Toma@leetoma.bsky.social · last yr.

Streetcar with bicycle racks, 1898

According to the lawsuit, people are being held in an “ICE basement holding area in downtown Los Angeles” where conditions are “dungeon-like” More reporting from @wendyfry.bsky.social and @sergioolmos.bsky.social on the immigration raids in California

CalMatters@calmatters.org · last yr.

A lawsuit filed Wednesday by civil and immigration rights groups accuses federal authorities of unleashing an unconstitutional siege by snatching workers and U.S. citizens off Southern CA streets and denying them food, water and the right to speak with an attorney. cal.news/4ewFH87 📸 Carlin Stiehl

Incarcerated firefighters in California currently earn between $5.80 and $10.24 per day and get an additional $1 per hour when deployed to an active emergency. In 2026, the state will start to pay them $7.25/hour in line with the federal minimum wage. The state's minimum wage is $16.50/hour.

CalMatters@calmatters.org · last yr.

In a historic policy change, California is moving to pay incarcerated firefighters the federal minimum wage during active fires. That effort took on a new urgency after hundreds of incarcerated firefighters were deployed to battle LA's deadly wildfires cal.news/3GkRz0A 📝 Miguel Gutierrez Jr.

Just me or is it super annoying that the Javascript `.includes()` string method doesn't accept a regular expression?

big beautiful bill passing would make the budget for ice larger than most of the world’s militaries

I get that our society is obsessed with celebrities and the allegations (now convictions) against Combs are v. serious but it's THE headline for news outlets across the political spectrum on a day with a newly constructed Florida concentration camp and major legislation before the US House?

“Many a man has landed there, because of an incautious word or too much confidence in supposed comrades or friends.”

Mindy Weisberger@laminda.bsky.social · last yr.

Sharing this for no special reason: In July 1933, a New York Times reporter toured Dachau and saw the entire camp "except possibly the disciplinary cells." According to the reporter, "it was an almost idyllic picture of a rest camp," though the inmates were "gloomy" (h/t @monospace.com)

The tax on legal weed in California went up 4% yesterday, presenting another challenge for a struggling industry that just had one of the lowest quarters for cannabis sales in years reports @akoseff.bsky.social for CalMatters calmatters.org/politics/202...

‘This tax could kill this industry.’ California cannabis operators brace for increase

Customers will pay slightly more for legal weed after California’s excise tax is raised. Some lawmakers want to reduce it as the industry struggles with slumping sales.

calmatters.org