California
Laws combating California campus antisemitism receive wide support, despite JVP criticism
New laws targeting campus antisemitism and ensuring K-12 education on the Holocaust and genocide will be signed into law by California Governor Gavin Newsom, his office announced this week.
The policies, authored by Assembly members Laura Friedman and Josh Lowenthal, Senator Steve Glazer, and Senator Henry Stern respectfully, will see increased education on the Holocaust in K-12 classrooms and antisemitism training included in California colleges’ diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
The three new legislations were rated the highest priority by the Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California in light of growing antisemitism. JPAC is also supporting several dozen other bills. To date, 16 have been signed into law.
The new legislation
The deadline to submit or veto bills is September 30, meaning the legislation may still be turned down. Should bill AB 2925 pass, then, from January 1, Californian college campuses will be required to teach on antisemitism, and staff will be trained on how to combat discrimination against the five most targeted groups. This would likely see antisemitism training added to existing DEI policies.
Under SB 1287, the second of the three bills up for consideration, college campuses could be required to enforce and update student codes to prevent intimidation, harassment, and violence. Students would be given training on appropriate channels of civil discourse, allowing room for debates and discussions.
Finally, under SB 1277, the California Teachers Collaborative on Holocaust and Genocide Education would become an official state program. This is led by the JFCS Holocaust Center in San Francisco, which brings together 14 genocide education institutions across the state to create curriculum and training materials for K-12 teachers. If implemented, the educational materials would reach one million students by 2027.
Campus life
The legislation comes in the wake of campus protests over the Israel-Hamas war. Some American universities saw pro-Palestinian groups set up illegal encampments on campus, preventing the free movement of students paying to attend the institutes.
In one such instance, at the California-based University of Berkeley, anti-Israel protesters allegedly firebombed buildings. In another, a pro-Palestinian group interrupted a private dinner being held at the home of a Jewish professor. Other incidents have seen students physically assaulted for supporting Israel.
Wide support for bills
All three of these bills faced fierce opposition from the Council on American-Islamic Relations and Jewish Voice for Peace, the governor’s office said. However, the bills have maintained strong bipartisan support – thanks in part to the advocacy efforts made by JPAC and a coalition of over 40 Jewish organizations. Additionally, over 3,500 letters of support for the bill were sent to the governor.
However, they passed out the legislature with overwhelming, bipartisan majorities in both houses. JPAC led advocacy efforts throughout the legislative process – building a coalition of over 40 Jewish organizations – and organized over 3,500 letters to the Governor. These bills were also top priorities for the California Legislative Jewish Caucus.
“In a post-October 7th world, our school and campus leaders need more tools to keep students safe and provide accessible educational opportunities for all,” said David Bocarsly, JPAC Executive Director. “This is true for both Jewish students and other targeted students. These bills meaningfully counter antisemitism and hate by creating greater empathy and understanding and ensuring all students feel safe on their campus. We are incredibly grateful to our partners and champions in the Legislative Jewish Caucus, led by Assemblymember Gabriel and Senator Wiener, and we thank Governor Newsom for signing these bills into law.”
California
Man charged with murder, kidnapping their 5-year-old child before fleeing to Mexico
A 40-year-old Los Angeles man was charged with murder after allegedly killing his girlfriend and kidnapping their young child before fleeing to Mexico, according to authorities.
Ruben Fregosojuarez has been charged one count of murder and one misdemeanor count of child abuse under circumstance or conditions other than great bodily injury or death, according to a Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office news release. Authorities first identified him as Ruben Fregoso but Los Angeles County prosecutors listed him as Ruben Fregosojuarez.
On Monday around 12:39 p.m., the Los Angeles Police Department conducted a welfare check in the 2600 block of South Alsace Avenue in West Adams, police said in a news release.
Officers found a woman dead inside the home “as a result of violence” and the woman’s daughter missing, police said. On Monday night, the California Highway Patrol issued an Amber Alert for the child, Daleza.
Photos obtained by NBC4 appear to show Fregosojuarez in a parking garage in San Ysidro with the girl on Sunday. The California Highway Patrol has listed her age as 4 years old but Los Angeles police say the girl is 5. She is also described as the suspect’s daughter.
The alert said that the girl was last seen with Fregosojuarez, who allegedly abducted her in a 2019 Land Rover Discovery, on Sunday at about 4 a.m.
The CHP posted in an update that the vehicle was found but that the child and man were still missing. The girl is described as 3 feet tall, 45 pounds, and having black hair and brown eyes.
California
23andMe Sued by California Over Massive 2023 Data Breach
California’s attorney general is suing the consumer genetics testing company formerly known as 23andMe, alleging the company failed to protect customers’ sensitive personal information in a massive 2023 data breach that exposed the ancestry and genetic data of nearly 7 million people.
Attorney General Rob Bonta filed the lawsuit on Thursday in San Francisco Superior Court against Chrome Holding Co., formerly known as 23andMe, accusing the company of failing to properly investigate or respond to numerous warnings that its systems had been compromised. The company’s mail-in self-testing kits became synonymous with DNA testing before it filed for bankruptcy in 2025.
In 2023, cybercriminals breached 23andMe’s systems by using a “credential-stuffing attack,” which involves bombarding online accounts with huge sets of user names and passwords stolen in previous unrelated attacks. Over a period of months, the intruders were able to make off with the personal data of more than 6.9 million people.
“23andMe’s security measures were so lax that the threat actor was able to operate undetected within 23andMe’s systems for over five months, and remarkably, 23andMe only began investigating after the threat actor offered the stolen user data for sale on the dark web and reached out to 23andMe to demand a ransom,” Bonta’s office said in the complaint.
The San Francisco-based company, which allowed people to submit genetic materials and get a snapshot of their ancestry, revealed in October 2023 that hackers had accessed customer information in the prolonged data breach that targeted customers with Chinese or Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry. The stolen data of more than 1 million Asian-Pacific Islander and Ashkenazi Jewish users was later posted for sale on the dark web.
“The sale of this data on the dark web took place amidst a period of mounting anti-Asian American and Pacific Islander and antisemitic hate and violence,” Bonta said in a press release. “This is disturbing and incredibly dangerous.”
A January 2024 lawsuit accused the company of not doing enough to protect its customers and not notifying certain customers that their data had been targeted specifically. It later settled the lawsuit for $30 million.
23andMe representatives didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
At its peak, 23andMe became the best-known name in the emerging area of DNA self-testing, with users paying upwards of $99 for kits that gave them insights into their genetic makeup, potential relatives and ancestry. But the company’s momentum slowed down in recent years after its $3.5 billion public offering in 2021.
Last July, TTAM Research Institute, a nonprofit led by Anne Wojcicki, 23andMe’s cofounder and former CEO, acquired 23andMe’s assets for $305 million.
California
Newsom signs law to shield California elections from federal interference
Gavin Newsom, California’s governor, signed legislation Wednesday that aims to shield California elections from federal interference, saying he expected Donald Trump’s administration to try to meddle in the midterms this year.
The law, which took effect immediately and came days before next Tuesday’s primary, prohibits any person – including federal agents – from accessing voter rolls or election technology without a court order. Law enforcement officers are restricted from disrupting election workers, except in public safety emergencies.
Trump administration officials so far have said they have no plans to send immigration agents to polling locations across the US, a concern raised this year by several Democratic secretaries of state. But Newsom warned “we have to be prepared for everything” because “there’s no rules any more with the Trump administration”.
Voting is already under way in California’s closely watched primary for governor, where a crowded field of Democrats and two viable Republicans are vying for just two spots on the November ballot. Under the state’s open primary system, only the top two vote-getters advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation.
Newsom, who cannot seek a third term, said the election law is a response to “legitimate anxiety” about Trump’s tactics, primarily in Democratic-led states, where the president has deployed federal agents over the objections of local leaders. The Democratic governor warned against underestimating someone who “doesn’t believe in free and fair elections”.
“I expect the worst with Trump because he’s done the worst,” he said at a news conference.
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told the Associated Press later Wednesday that Trump is committed to ensuring that Americans have full confidence in the administration of elections.
“Instead of levying false attacks at the President, Newscum should look in the mirror,” she said in a statement, using Trump’s derogatory nickname for Newsom.
In an interview last year with Vanity Fair, Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff, knocked down the idea that Trump would deploy the military to suppress voting, saying it was “categorically false”.
The California law also makes it a crime to knowingly take voted ballots out of the custody of election officials.
Earlier this year, the FBI under Trump seized the 2020 general election ballots from Georgia’s most populous county, which is heavily Democratic and has long been at the center of the president’s false claims that fraud cost him the race. The FBI and justice department also have sought records from previous elections in the largest counties in Arizona and Michigan.
Trump triggered a national redistricting frenzy ahead of the midterms when he urged Republicans in Texas and elsewhere to redraw their US House districts to help the party retain control of the closely divided chamber. Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Florida and Tennessee also have enacted new maps that could benefit Republicans, and Louisiana is expected to be next.
Republicans so far think they could gain as many as 14 seats from redistricting in November, while Democrats think they could gain six in California and Utah.
-
Texas2 minutes agoWhy are Mississippi State softball fans wearing broccoli shirts vs Texas at WCWS?
-
Utah8 minutes agoVideo: Utah startup employs those right out of prison and celebrates new milestone – KSLTV.com
-
Vermont14 minutes agoWith two major vacancies, who will lead the Vermont House and Senate? – VTDigger
-
Virginia20 minutes agoNetflix casting Central Virginia singles for “Love on the Spectrum” after Danville man joins show
-
Washington26 minutes agoAs an AI tech-hub, Washington must lead with conscience
-
Wisconsin32 minutes ago
Wisconsin National Guard troops return after yearlong deployment in Middle East
-
West Virginia38 minutes agoWheeling launches West Virginia’s first recovery housing program for young adults
-
Wyoming44 minutes ago
Critics oppose Wyoming hydroelectric project, pointing to climate-driven drought crisis