California
Virginia women cruise, California men clinch 2026 ACC titles
Dominance and drama collided at the 2026 ACC Swimming and Diving Championships.
Virginia’s women swam with commanding control, stamping their imprint on nearly every race and locking up another ACC crown. On the men’s side, California edged past Stanford in a much closer battle for the conference title.
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Here are the main takeaways from this year’s ACC swimming and diving championships.
Virginia women stay dominant in post-Walsh era
After five straight NCAA titles, there was no doubt the Virginia women would continue to succeed in 2026. However, there was a question whether they would continue to dominate without Alex and Gretchen Walsh.
Virginia and head coach Todd DeSorbo reminded the rest of the NCAA that the Hoos are still the most dominant force in collegiate swimming.
The Cavaliers opened competition posting the second-fastest time in NCAA history in the 800 freestyle relay, surpassing a Stanford quartet that featured Katie Ledecky and Simone Manuel back in 2017.
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It seemed like the meet was over before it even started as the Virginia women had extended a sizable lead after the first full day of swimming competition, winning three out of the four swimming events. They again posted the second-fastest swim in history, this time in the 200 freestyle relay, trailing only themselves from the 2024 ACC Championships.
Olympic medalist Claire Curzan is the Hoos’ X-factor as she threw down an NCAA record in the 200-yd back, stopping the clock in 1:46.09. Curzan also clocked the second-fastest 100-yd backstroke in NCAA history, behind only Gretchen Walsh. Curzan was named the ACC most valuable swimmer of the meet after winning four gold medals.
Anna Moesch has had a major breakout season. This week, she became just the fourth woman to break 1:40 in the 200 freestyle. The sophomore is now just six-tenths of a second off Missy Franklin’s legendary NCAA record of 1:39.10 set back in 2015.
Overall, the Virginia women racked up 11 total titles en route to their seventh straight ACC championship. This team has young stars, suffocating depth, and will enter the NCAAs as the clear favorite for a sixth straight national title.
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California tops Stanford on the last day of competition
The California men are 2 for 2 as members of the ACC, but this year it came down to the last day of competition.
The Bears locked up the 2025 title early on, winning the meet by over 200 points, but it was a different story in 2026.
Stanford and Cal faced off in a seven-round heavyweight battle. Through a full week of competition, there was little separation.
Relay scoring was almost dead even between the two and the Cardinal outscored the Bears in diving; it was the points gained from individual swimming events that secured the win for the defending champs.
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California’s Yamato Okadome led the way, winning three gold medals in the 100-yd breast, 200-yd breast and 400-yd medley relay.
The Bears didn’t win the meet because of total titles, as California won only four individual and relay events overall. Stanford also won four and the North Carolina State men won seven ACC titles, but lacked the complete team that California brought to Atlanta.
The California men were second at last year’s NCAA championships and will look to compete for another top-three spot in March.
New stars emerge
Although seniors like Stanford’s Torri Huske and Lucy Bell found success, winning nine ACC medals, the conference has turned over a new leaf.
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Underclassmen found continued success throughout the week filling up championship finals and winning half of the ACC individual titles.
Freshmen and sophomores won a staggering 16 individual events. In comparison, they collected only seven wins in 2025.
Seven freshmen finished in the top eight in the men’s 500-yd freestyle, and NC State freshman Max Carlsen won it. The lone fifth-year, Cal’s Eduardo Oliveira de Moraes, was fourth.
Carlsen also won the 1,650-yd freestyle, and UVA sophomore and U.S. Olympian Katie Grimes doubled up winning the 500-yd free and 1,650-yd freestyle.
Louisville freshman true freshman Nikita Sheremet posted the second-fastest 18-and-under 100-yd freestyle of all-time, and he’s now tied with NC State’s Kaii Winkler, who placed second in the event this year as a sophomore. Sheremet also won silver in the 50-yd freestyle.
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Moesch, a sophomore, swept the 100-yd and 200-yd freestyles, knocking off Huske in the 100.
Okadome, who was the ACC’s most valuable men’s swimmer of the meet, is just a sophomore as well. Additionally, half of Cal’s 20 athletes who scored points were underclassmen.
The trend continued in diving, as Stanford freshman Ellie Cole and Stanford sophomore Misha Andriyuk swept the platform events.
The ACC is ready to compete with the rest of the country
This week showcased that the ACC is ready to compete for national titles and top-five finishes at the NCAAs in March.
The Virginia women are the standard in collegiate swimming, but Stanford, Louisville, California, and NC State were also impressive.
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The Louisville women knocked off Virginia in the 200-yd medley relay and NC State’s Eneli Jefimova 100-yd breaststroke is now the fastest in the country after this week.
The California women have been in rebuilding mode over the past several years and are now catching stride as they broke a school record in the 200-yd medley relay. Sophomore Mia West also won Cal’s first ACC title in the 200-yd butterfly.
On the men’s side, Texas and Arizona State are going to be tough to catch nationally, but Cal, Stanford, and NC State look ready to race come the end of March.
Stanford’s Henry McFadden posted a top-five time in the country this year in the 200-yd freestyle, and Okadome’s times in breaststroke stack up with the best in the NCAA this season.
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NC State’s 200-yd freestyle relay and 400-yd freestyle relay teams broke the ACC meet and conference record. In the 400-yd freestyle relay they finished four-tenths of a second faster than the SEC champion Florida Gators.
The impressive times in the pool and exquisite diving on the boards set up the ACC for an exciting close to the 2026 season.
Full Team Results
Men
California: 1,154
Stanford: 1,076
North Carolina State: 973
Louisville: 844
Virginia Tech: 715.5
Florida State: 624.5
Virginia: 577.5
North Carolina: 572.5
Notre Dame: 488
SMU: 407
Pittsburgh: 401
Georgia Tech: 357
Miami (FL): 162
Duke: 138
Boston College: 112
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Women
Virginia: 1,410.5
Stanford: 1,039
California: 1,027.5
Louisville: 925
North Carolina State: 851.5
Pittsburgh: 552
North Carolina: 522.5
Duke: 432.5
Virginia Tech: 409.5
Florida State: 371
Notre Dame: 366
Miami (FL): 322
Georgia Tech: 274
SMU: 261
Boston College: 98
California
JD Vance accuses California of letting Medicaid fraudsters cash in at taxpayer expense | Fox Business Video
Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., joins ‘Mornings with Maria’ to discuss the Trump administration’s crackdown on Medicaid fraud, Republicans’ push for new immigration enforcement funding and President Donald Trump’s latest trade negotiations with China.
California
Live Updates: Candidates face off in the CBS News California and San Francisco Examiner Governor’s Debate
Learn more about candidates’ stances on the issues in the California Governor’s Race interactive guide
CBS News California launched an interactive tool to help voters navigate this year’s gubernatorial race. The California Governor’s Race Candidate Guide features 20 hours of interviews with top-polling candidates to provide voters the opportunity to compare each candidate’s responses side-by-side on the issues that matter most to them.
Those running to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom as California’s next chief executive offered their thoughts on more than a dozen issues, including homelessness, housing affordability, gas prices and environmental policy, immigration, healthcare, crime and public safety funding, and the state’s ongoing insurance crisis.
Here’s what to know about the CBS News California/San Francisco Examiner Governor’s Debate format
The format of the CBS News California and San Francisco Examiner Governor’s Debate on Thursday will allow candidates to question each other directly.
Candidates will also participate in segments in which they address real-world issues California voters may face in their daily lives. The Californians who will be featured include a working single mother pursuing education; a couple struggling to achieve homeownership; and a scientist warning of the long-term consequences of inaction on climate change.
This structure for Thursday’s debate differs from the previous face-off hosted by CBS News California stations, which comprised three segments focused on affordability, accountability and social issues that lasted roughly half an hour each.
Becerra, Hilton, Steyer lead field in latest polling on California governor’s race
An Emerson College poll released the day before the CBS News California and San Francisco Examiner Governor’s Debate showed Xavier Becerra leading the field with likely voters surveyed at 19%, followed by Steve Hilton and Tom Steyer both receiving 17%. Chad Bianco came in at 11%, followed by Katie Porter at 10%, Matt Mahan at 8%, Antonio Villaraigosa at 4% and Tony Thurmond at 1%. Twelve percent said they remained undecided.
In a CBS News/YouGov poll last month conducted before the April 28 CBS California Governor’s Debate, Hilton received support from 16% of likely voters polled, with Steyer and Becerra following at 15% and 13% respectively. Bianco came in at 10%, Porter received 9%, Matt Mahan and Antonio Villaraigosa both received 4%, and Tony Thurmond received 1%. The survey also found that a significant 26% of those polled were undecided.
California’s June 2 primary is an open primary where the top two vote-getters, regardless of party affiliation, advance to face off in the November general election.
By Dan Walters, CalMatters
This commentary was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.
Two decades ago, when California got serious about reducing or even eliminating carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, its political leaders weighed two potential tactics about industrial emissions.
The state could impose direct facility-by-facility limits, generally favored by climate change advocates. Or it could set overall emission reduction goals that would gradually decrease and auction off emission allowances, assuming their costs would encourage reductions.
The latter, known as cap-and-trade, was favored by corporate interests as being less onerous and was adopted, finally taking effect in 2012.
Since then, the California Air Resources Board has conducted quarterly auctions of emission allowances, collecting a total of $35 billion dollars so far, which, in theory, is being spent on projects that would reduce emissions.
The revenues have varied from year to year, but they have generally increased as the emission caps have declined. Since reaching a peak of $8.1 billion in the 2023-24 fiscal year, however, auction proceeds have been declining.
Roughly half of the money has been given to utilities to minimize cap-and-trade’s impact on consumer costs. However, the program has been widely criticized as a de facto tax on gasoline and other fuels, which were already among the most expensive of any state.
The remaining revenues have been deposited into a Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund that governors and legislators have tapped for various purposes, not all of them connected to emission reductions. In a sense, it’s been a slush fund.
Last year Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature overhauled the program in two bills, Senate Bill 840 and Assembly Bill 1207. The program was extended, it was renamed as cap-and-invest and new priorities for spending auction proceeds were set.
Notably, the state’s cash-strapped and long-stalled bullet train project would get a flat $1 billion a year, rather than the 25% share it had been getting. Project managers hope that lenders will advance enough money to complete its first leg in the San Joacim Valley; the plan is to repay the loans from the $1 billion annual cap-and-invest allocation.
Early this year, the Air Resources Board released new regulations to implement the legislative changes but faced criticism that they would increase consumer costs. That led to a revision in April that softens the rules’ impact — most obviously on refiners who have been threatening to leave California — but environmental groups are very critical.
The April version would also sharply reduce net revenues from emission auctions, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office, providing barely enough for the $1 billion allocation to the bullet train and another $1 billion for the governor and Legislature to spend. Other programs that have been receiving cap-and-invest support, such as wildfire protection and housing, would probably get nothing.
The program has been tapped in recent years to backfill programs that a deficit-ridden state budget could not cover, so the projected revenue drop would exacerbate efforts by Newsom and legislators to close the state budget’s yawning gap.
“The (Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund) is a relatively small portion of the overall state budget, but it has been a noteworthy source of funding for environmental and other programs in recent years,” the state Assembly’s budget advisor, Jason Sisney, says in an email. “Collapse of its revenues would change the state budget process noticeably. The state’s cost-pressured general fund seemingly would be unable to make up much, if any, of a significant (Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund) revenue decline at this time.”
When Newsom presents his revised budget this week, he may reveal how he intends to cover the cap-and-invest program’s shortfall, particularly whether he will maintain the $1 billion bullet train commitment that project leaders say is vital to continuing construction of its Merced-to-Bakersfield segment.
It could boil down to bullet train vs. wildfire protection.
This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.
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