California

California’s governor has the chance to make AI history

Published

1 year ago

August 31, 2024

California’s governor has the chance to make AI history

Advocates say it is a modest law setting “clear, predictable, common-sense safety standards” for artificial intelligence. Opponents say it is a dangerous and arrogant step that will “stifle innovation.”

In any event, SB 1047 — California state Sen. Scott Wiener’s proposal to regulate advanced AI models offered by companies doing business in the state — has now passed the California State Assembly by a margin of 48 to 16. Back in May, it passed the Senate by 32 to 1. Once the Senate agrees to the assembly’s changes to the bill, which it is expected to do shortly, the measure goes to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk.

The bill, which would hold AI companies liable for catastrophic harms their “frontier” models may cause, is backed by a wide array of AI safety groups, as well as luminaries in the field like Geoffrey Hinton, Yoshua Bengio, and Stuart Russell, who have warned of the technology’s potential to pose massive, even existential dangers to humankind. It got a surprise last-minute endorsement from Elon Musk, who among his other ventures runs the AI firm xAI.

Lined up against SB 1047 is nearly all of the tech industry, including OpenAI, Facebook, the powerful investors Y Combinator and Andreessen Horowitz, and some academic researchers who fear it threatens open source AI models. Anthropic, another AI heavyweight, lobbied to water down the bill. After many of its proposed amendments were adopted in August, the company said the bill’s “benefits likely outweigh its costs.”

Despite the industry backlash, the bill seems to be popular with Californians, though all surveys on it have been funded by interested parties. A recent poll by the pro-bill AI Policy Institute found 70 percent of residents in favor, with even higher approval ratings among Californians working in tech. The California Chamber of Commerce commissioned a bill finding a plurality of Californians opposed, but the poll’s wording was slanted, to say the least, describing the bill as requiring developers to “pay tens of millions of dollars in fines if they don’t implement orders from state bureaucrats.” The AI Policy Institute’s poll presented pro and con arguments, but the California Chamber of Commerce only bothered with a “con” argument.

The wide, bipartisan margins by which the bill passed the Assembly and Senate, and the public’s general support (when not asked in a biased way), might suggest that Gov. Newsom is likely to sign. But it’s not so simple. Andreessen Horowitz, the $43 billion venture capital giant, has hired Newsom’s close friend and Democratic operative Jason Kinney to lobby against the bill, and a number of powerful Democrats, including eight members of the US House from California and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have urged a veto, echoing talking points from the tech industry.

So there’s a strong chance that Newsom will veto the bill, keeping California — the center of the AI industry — from becoming the first state with robust AI liability rules. At stake is not just AI safety in California, but also in the US and potentially the world.

To have attracted all of this intense lobbying, one might think that SB 1047 is an aggressive, heavy-handed bill — but, especially after several rounds of revisions in the State Assembly, the actual law does fairly little.

It would offer whistleblower protections to tech workers, along with a process for people who have confidential information about risky behavior at an AI lab to take their complaint to the state Attorney General without fear of prosecution. It also requires AI companies that spend more than $100 million to train an AI model to develop safety plans. (The extraordinarily high ceiling for this requirement to kick in is meant to protect California’s startup industry, which objected that the compliance burden would be too high for small companies.)

So what about this bill would possibly prompt months of hysteria, intense lobbying from the California business community, and unprecedented intervention by California’s federal representatives? Part of the answer is that the bill used to be stronger. The initial version of the law set the threshold for compliance at $100 million for the use of a certain amount of computing power, meaning that over time, more companies would have become subject to the law as computers continue to get cheaper. It would also have established a state agency called the “Frontier Models Division” to review safety plans; the industry objected to the perceived power grab.

Another part of the answer is that a lot of people were falsely told the bill does more. One prominent critic inaccurately claimed that AI developers could be guilty of a felony, regardless of whether they were involved in a harmful incident, when the bill only had provisions for criminal liability in the event that the developer knowingly lied under oath. (Those provisions were subsequently removed anyway). Congressional representative Zoe Lofgren of the science, space, and technology committee wrote a letter in opposition falsely claiming that the bill requires adherence to guidance that doesn’t exist yet.

But the standards do exist (you can read them in full here), and the bill does not require firms to adhere to them. It says only that “a developer shall consider industry best practices and applicable guidance” from the US Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute, National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Government Operations Agency, and other reputable organizations.

A lot of the discussion of SB 1047 unfortunately centered around straightforwardly incorrect claims like these, in many cases propounded by people who should have known better.

SB 1047 is premised on the idea that near-future AI systems might be extraordinarily powerful, that they accordingly might be dangerous, and that some oversight is required. That core proposition is extraordinarily controversial among AI researchers. Nothing exemplifies the split more than the three men frequently called the “godfathers of machine learning,” Turing Award winners Yoshua Bengio, Geoffrey Hinton, and Yann LeCun. Bengio — a Future Perfect 2023 honoree — and Hinton have both in the last few years become convinced that the technology they created may kill us all and argued for regulation and oversight. Hinton stepped down from Google in 2023 to speak openly about his fears.

LeCun, who is chief AI scientist at Meta, has taken the opposite tack, declaring that such worries are nonsensical science fiction and that any regulation would strangle innovation. Where Bengio and Hinton find themselves supporting the bill, LeCun opposes it, especially the idea that AI companies should face liability if AI is used in a mass casualty event.

In this sense, SB 1047 is the center of a symbolic tug-of-war: Does government take AI safety concerns seriously, or not? The actual text of the bill may be limited, but to the extent that it suggests government is listening to the half of experts that think that AI might be extraordinarily dangerous, the implications are big.

It’s that sentiment that has likely driven some of the fiercest lobbying against the bill by venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, whose firm a16z has been working relentlessly to kill the bill, and some of the highly unusual outreach to federal legislators to demand they oppose a state bill. More mundane politics likely plays a role, too: Politico reported that Pelosi opposed the bill because she’s trying to court tech VCs for her daughter, who is likely to run against Scott Wiener for a House of Representatives seat.)

Why SB 1047 is so important

It might seem strange that legislation in just one US state has so many people wringing their hands. But remember: California is not just any state. It’s where several of the world’s leading AI companies are based.

And what happens there is especially important because, at the federal level, lawmakers have been dragging out the process of regulating AI. Between Washington’s hesitation and the looming election, it’s falling to states to pass new laws. The California bill, if Newsom gives it the green light, would be one big piece of that puzzle, setting the direction for the US more broadly.

The rest of the world is watching, too. “Countries around the world are looking at these drafts for ideas that can influence their decisions on AI laws,” Victoria Espinel, the chief executive of the Business Software Alliance, a lobbying group representing major software companies, told the New York Times in June.

Even China — often invoked as the boogeyman in American conversations about AI development (because “we don’t want to lose an arms race with China”) — is showing signs of caring about safety, not just wanting to run ahead. Bills like SB 1047 could telegraph to others that Americans also care about safety.

Frankly, it’s refreshing to see legislators wise up to the tech world’s favorite gambit: claiming that it can regulate itself. That claim may have held sway in the era of social media, but it’s become increasingly untenable. We need to regulate Big Tech. That means not just carrots, but sticks, too.

Newsom has the opportunity to do something historic. And if he doesn’t? Well, he’ll face some sticks of his own. The AI Policy Institute’s poll shows that 60 percent of voters are prepared to blame him for future AI-related incidents if he vetoes SB 1047. In fact, they’d punish him at the ballot box if he runs for higher office: 40 percent of California voters say they would be less likely to vote for Newsom in a future presidential primary election if he vetoes the bill.

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Rob Reiner and wife found dead in Brentwood, California home

Published

7 minutes ago

December 15, 2025

Press Room

Rob Reiner and wife found dead in Brentwood, California home

Celebrated actor, director, producer and activist Rob Reiner, whose work shaped American television and cinema for decades, has died at 78, according to Variety and TMZ. His death, alongside that of his wife, Michele Singer, 68, is under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department after the couple was found in their home in Brentwood, California.

A dedicated political activist, Reiner was slated to speak on Tuesday, Dec. 16, in Palm Springs, Calif., about his career and his book “A Fine Line Between Stupid and Clever: The Story of Spinal Tap.”

Reiner, born March 6, 1947, in the Bronx, New York, grew up in the entertainment business − his father was comedy legend Carl Reiner and his mother, Estelle, was an actress. He became famous in his own right for his portrayal of Michael “Meathead” Stivic on the groundbreaking sitcom “All in the Family,” winning two Emmy Awards as Archie Bunker’s son-in-law.

Though he had dozens of acting credits to his name, he transitioned to directing and created beloved films including “This Is Spinal Tap,” “Stand by Me,” “The Princess Bride,” “Misery,” “A Few Good Men” and “When Harry Met Sally …” He cast his mother as an extra in the rom-com classic for a scene at a New York deli where Meg Ryan faked an orgasm.

“First couple of times, she didn’t do it full out,” Reiner said of directing Ryan in the scene. “Finally, I sat across from Billy (Crystal). And I acted it for her. … And I’m pounding the table, ‘Yes! Yes! Yes!’ And I’m realizing I’m having an orgasm in front of my mother, you know? There’s my mother over there.” His mother’s line – “I’ll have what she’s having” – became one of the most famous lines in film.

Similarly, his mockumentary “This Is Spinal Tap” was a part of the cultural landscape (and earned a spot in the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry), with memorable songs like “Gimme Some Money.”

Reiner admitted that was the very reason “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues” came to be: “We never got any money from the first movie, really,” Reiner said in an interview with USA TODAY earlier this year about his three stars, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer. “Lots of people had the rights, and the four us had 10% each, and while it’s going to sound crazy, we only got like 82 cents apiece over the years, despite all the DVD and foreign sales. Call it creative accounting on steroids. So Harry said, ‘I’m going to sue to get the rights back,’ and though it took him years, he got it done.”

The sequel was largely improvised. “The fun thing for me was falling back with old friends,” he said. “You just start doing your thing with each other, Chris used to call it ‘schneedeling,’ and right away, we were schneedeling as if no time has gone by. You can’t beat that.”

Reiner was a progressive and outspoken voice in the Hollywood community, supporting issues including marriage equality and gun control. He was a vocal critic of President Donald Trump and advocated for social and political change. In 2006, his name was floated as a possible candidate for governor of California, but he decided not to run.

Reiner was slated to speak on Tuesday, Dec. 16 in Palm Springs at the historic Plaza Theatre about his career and his book “A Fine Line Between Stupid and Clever: The Story of Spinal Tap.” Bruce Fessier, who covered entertainment for The Desert Sun in Palm Springs for four decades, was to moderate.

“I was preparing for my Q&A with Rob Reiner … when I heard two people had been murdered at his house in West L.A.,” Fessier said. “I felt like I knew him well.”

He had rewatched both “Spinal Tap” movies that afternoon and had also read his book in preparation.

“I prayed the victims weren’t Rob and his wife, Michele,” he said. When the deaths were confirmed, he cried “Why them? Rob was way more than a great film director and actor. He did so much good as a political activist. He was a renaissance man.”

Rob Reiner was married to actress and director Penny Marshall from 1971 to 1981. During their marriage, Reiner adopted Marshall’s daughter, Tracy, who later became an actress.

In 1989, Reiner married Michele Singer, a photographer. Together they shared three children: Nick, Jake and Romy. Reiner often credited Michele with inspiring the happy ending of “When Harry Met Sally …,” which he was filming when they met.

Kate Franco, executive editor of The Desert Sun, contributed to this report.

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De La Salle vs. Santa Margarita: live score, updates, highlights from California’s Open Division state championship bowl | Sporting News

Published

1 day ago

December 14, 2025

Press Room

De La Salle vs. Santa Margarita: live score, updates, highlights from California’s Open Division state championship bowl | Sporting News

MISSION VIEJO, California, Dec. 13 — The No. 7/SN No. 15 Santa Margarita [Rancho Santa Margarita, CA] Eagles ended a 14-year state championship drought Saturday night in a 47-13 romp past the No. 15/SN No. 25 De La Salle [Concord, CA] Spartans in California’s CIF Open Division state championship bowl.

While the win ended Santa Margarita’s drought, it prolonged De La Salle’s own dry spell in championship bowl games, extending the Spartan’s losing streak to eight games in these contests.

Santa Margarita is ranked as high as No. 4 in the country by three selectors (High School Football America, MaxPreps, and USA Today’s Super 25). In the High School Football America rankings, they’re ranked ahead of both the No. 1/SN No. 1 Buford [GA] Wolves and the No. 3/SN No. 5 Carrollton [GA] Trojans – two teams that will play for Georgia’s GHSA Class 6A championship on Tuesday night.

Whether the win over De La Salle can get the Eagles – who will finish the season with three losses at 11-3 – a share of the national title remains to be seen.

De La Salle, meanwhile, ends its season at 12-1.

WATCH ON THE NFHS NETWORK: No. 7/SN No. 15 Santa Margarita [Rancho Santa Margarita, CA] Eagles vs. No. 15/SN No. 25 De La Salle [Concord, CA] Spartans

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Refresh for updates

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End of the fourth quarter: Santa Margarita 47, De La Salle 13

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SANTA MARGARITA 47, DE LA SALLE 13

Santa Margarita gets a pick six to put capper on this one.

Siua Holani with finished touches on this one. 43-yard pick 6. Santa Margarita 47, De La Salle 13. 1:36 4Q. pic.twitter.com/VVVEN5bvr6
— Mitch Stephens (@MitchBookLive) December 14, 2025

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SANTA MARGARITA 41, DE LA SALLE 13

Johnson finds Gazzaniga for his second touchdown of the game. The tight end entered the game with two touchdown receptions all year, and he’s got two in the state title game.

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End of the third quarter: Santa Margarita 35, De La Salle 13

The first quarter is in the books, and it’s all Santa Margarita so far.

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SANTA MARGARITA 35, DE LA SALLE 13

De La Salle forces another turnover and converts it to points to give them a glimmer of hope that they can climb out of this deep hole.

Two forced De La Salle turnovers and two Jaden Jefferson touchdowns.
Jefferson is the state record holder in the 100-meter dash 💨
De La Salle cuts the Santa Margarita lead to 35-13 with 4:09 left in the 3rd pic.twitter.com/05dJ7Q9Mmy
— West Coast Preps (@westcoastpreps_) December 14, 2025
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The third quarter is under way, and to make matters worse for De La Salle, Santa Margarita is on offense first.

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End of the second quarter: Santa Margarita 35, De La Salle 7

The first quarter is in the books, and it’s all Santa Margarita so far.

Santa Margarita has been a different team offense since Mosley’s return around midseason. And they’re one half away from a state championship in Carson Palmer’s first year at the helm.

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SANTA MARGARITA 35, DE LA SALLE 7

Just over a minute to play in the first half, Mosley scores again on another short play, and then he adds the 2-point conversion. This feels like it’s over.

Trent Mosley finishes off the half with another touchdown. Also adds run for two-point conversion. 1:07 left. Santa Margarita 35, De La Salle 7. Complete domination. pic.twitter.com/hMsSsI0svB
— eric sondheimer (@latsondheimer) December 14, 2025
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SANTA MARGARITA 27, DE LA SALLE 7

It’s Duce plus a deuce. Santa Margarita marches right back down the field after the Spartans’ touchdown, and Duce Smith carries it in for another touchdown. And even with the score by De La Salle, Santa Margarita still has its biggest lead of the night after converting the 2-point conversion. It’s Johnson to Ryan Clark on the extra two.

Jaion Smith TD. Two-point conversion good. Santa Margarita 27, De La Salle 7 pic.twitter.com/1zpn1ETZyW
— eric sondheimer (@latsondheimer) December 14, 2025
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Santa Margarita into the red zone again.

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SANTA MARGARITA 19, DE LA SALLE 7

Helped along by the turnover and a couple of penalties, De La Salle’s offensive line shows some muscle in the trenches and they power their way down near the goal line where Jaden Jefferson carries it across. That felt like a must-score situation, and they get the touchdown. Now, can they stop Santa Margarita’s offense again?

Jaden Jefferson TD. Santa Margarita 19, De La Salle 7. 6:43 left in second. pic.twitter.com/QzsKMWP58i
— eric sondheimer (@latsondheimer) December 14, 2025

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De La Salle gets its first real break. Mosley fumbles, and the Spartans pounce on it inside the Eagles’ 40. If they want to have any chance of staying in this game, they need to make the most of this short field.

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End of the first quarter: Santa Margarita 19, De La Salle 0

The first quarter is in the books, and it’s all Santa Margarita so far.

42 seconds left in first quarter. Santa Margarita 19, De La Salle. Luke Gazzaniga TD. About the only thing the Eagles need to work on are PATs. 1 for 3. pic.twitter.com/WA6IY0blgI
— eric sondheimer (@latsondheimer) December 14, 2025

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SANTA MARGARITA 19, DE LA SALLE 0

Johnson finds Luke Gazzaniga on a wide-open post against a blown coverage. It’s too easy for the Eagles right now, and with their elite defense, it’s possible they’ve already scored enough to win this game.

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De La Salle with a quick three-and-out on offense, and they punt on a 4th-and-19. Mosley returns it inside De La Salle’s 35. This is already starting to look ugly.

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SANTA MARGARITA 13, DE LA SALLE 0

Trace Johnson finds Mosley with a short swing pass to the right side of the field, and the senior standout does his thing winding and weaving his way 34 yards through traffic before running over the final defender at the goal line. Again, the early feeling watching this is not good for De La Salle.

What a luxury.
Just get it to Trent Mosley and watch.
Santa Margarita 13, De La Salle 0 (missed PAT)pic.twitter.com/3cp3hBbUJ5
— Tarek Fattal (@Tarek_Fattal) December 14, 2025
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Santa Margaria quickly approaching the red zone again.

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De La Salle puts together a good drive to get into position for a short field goal attempt. But it’s blocked by Santa Margarita, ending the scoring threat. If you’re a De La Salle fan, you’re encouraged by the offense being able to move against the Eagles. But combined with the defensive personal fouls on Santa Margarita’s first drive, you also get the feeling early that this could be a really tough night for the Spartans. It’s early, we’ll see how they rebound from the lost scoring opportunity.

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SANTA MARGARITA 7, DE LA SALLE 0

Helped along by a couple of personal foul penalties, Santa Margarita drives quickly on its first possession, scoring on a short run by Trent Mosley out of the Wildcat formation.

Tulane bound Trace Johnson and Griffin Brahm connect get in the red zone.
4⭐️ USC bound Trent Mosley then scores. He’s a freakish talent.
Santa Margarita up 7-0 on De La Salle with 8:00 left in the 1st pic.twitter.com/vpo2yvYp9R
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— West Coast Preps (@westcoastpreps_) December 14, 2025

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Santa Margarita won the toss and deferred to the second half. De La Salle picks up one first down against this stout Eagles’ defense before being forced to punt.

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They’re under way in California! This is the final game of California’s high school football season.

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Coming soon!

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De La Salle vs. Santa Margarita start time

Date: Saturday, Dec. 13
Start time: 11 p.m. EST (8 p.m. PST local)

The game between De La Salle and Santa Margarita is being played at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, California.

How can I watch De La Salle vs. Santa Margarita today?

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Two girls, 9 and 11, awarded $31.5m after sister’s California torture death

Published

2 days ago

December 13, 2025

Press Room

Two girls, 9 and 11, awarded .5m after sister’s California torture death

A lawsuit over the death of an 11-year-old California girl who was allegedly tortured and starved by her adoptive family reached a settlement on Friday totaling $31.5m from the city and county of San Diego as well as other groups.

The suit was brought on behalf of the two younger sisters of Arabella McCormack, who died in August 2022. The girls were ages six and seven at the time. Their adoptive mother, Leticia McCormack, and McCormack’s parents, Adella and Stanley Tom, are facing charges of murder, conspiracy, child abuse and torture. They pleaded not guilty to all charges, and their criminal case is ongoing.

Arabella McCormack. Photograph: San Diego county sheriff’s office

The lawsuit alleged a systemic failure across the city and several agencies and organizations to not report Arabella McCormack’s abuse.

The settlement includes $10m from the city of San Diego, $10m from San Diego county, $8.5m from the Pacific Coast Academy and $3m from the Rock church, the sisters’ attorney, Craig McClellan, said. The school oversaw Arabella McCormack’s home schooling, and her adoptive mother was an ordained elder at the church.

“The amount is going to be enough to take care of the girls for the rest of the lives,” McClellan said. But it “isn’t going to be enough and never could be enough … to replace their sister, nor is it going to erase the memories of what they went through”.

The lawsuit said county social workers did not properly investigate abuse claims and two teachers at the Pacific Coast Academy failed to report the girl’s condition. It also said a San Diego police officer, a friend of the girl’s adoptive mother, gave the family a wooden paddle that they could use to hit their children.

San Diego sheriff’s deputies responded to a call of a child in distress at the McCormack home 30 August 2022. They found Arabella McCormack severely malnourished with bruises, authorities said. She was taken to a hospital, where she died.

Her sisters are now nine and 11 and living with a foster mother. They are in good health and “doing pretty well considering all things”, McClellan said.

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