The judge also denied the defense request to retest a length of plastic twine found wrapped about the neck of the baby, which washed up separately from his mother after an April storm churned up the bay. The defense had hoped the twine would show DNA from other suspects to prove the theory 鈥� originally made and rejected by jurors during the original trial in 2004 鈥� that the baby was born after Laci disappeared and the assailants threw mother and son separately into the bay.

Like the original trial 20 years ago, national news media, including a crew from Dateline NBC, attended Wednesday鈥檚 hearing 鈥� a testament to the endless fascination with the case of the handsome Modesto fertilizer salesman accused of killing his substitute teacher wife while he made plans for a future with his mistress from Fresno.

Peterson, watching the hearing over a Zoom link from Mule Creek State Prison in Amador County, looked down and appeared to take notes as he heard the series of rulings against him. Several members of his family in the courtroom appeared dejected and declined to speak to the press.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not over,鈥� Peterson鈥檚 defense lawyer Paula Mitchell said after the ruling. 鈥淚t鈥檚 far from over.鈥�

Another hearing is scheduled for July 1 to go over details about the duct tape to be retested, and the defense team is still hoping to gain access to evidence from eyewitnesses who said they saw Laci walking her dog the morning she disappeared.

In her ruling from the bench Wednesday afternoon, San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Elizabeth M. Hill said that any suggestion the baby was actually born before Laci鈥檚 death amounted to 鈥渘othing but rumor and third-party hearsay.鈥澛� Autopsy evidence from the original trial was clear, she said, that Laci鈥檚 womb had protected the baby for months at the bottom of the bay until the top of her uterus gave way during the storm.

In denying the defense request to retest the stained mattress, Judge Hill said the mattress fabric had been tested for DNA as recently as 2019 and the results came back negative for blood or any female DNA.

The defense failed to show that new DNA testing would be more 鈥渄iscriminating or probative,鈥� she said.

The judge also said the defense failed to present any evidence that the burned-out orange van found on Christmas morning was connected to Laci鈥檚 murder, or a robbery across the street from her home that happened in the days surrounding Laci鈥檚 disappearance.

The defense lawyers鈥� singular victory 鈥� that they will be able to retest the duct tape from Laci鈥檚 pants 鈥斅� would have to show evidence that someone other than Peterson used it during her murder in order for Peterson to have any chance at a new trial.

Hill鈥檚 rulings came after defense and prosecution lawyers had battled in court over whether there was some other explanation for the murders.

鈥淭he case cries out for further investigation,鈥� Mitchell, Peterson鈥檚 defense lawyer, told the judge during her arguments.

鈥淭his is an entirely circumstantial case in which no murder weapon was found, no time or date was established, no cause or manner of death was established,鈥� Mitchell said.聽 鈥淒NA could have changed the outcome鈥� of the trial, she said.

Dave Harris, a Stanislaus County deputy district attorney who helped prosecute Peterson in 2004, argued that the circumstantial evidence was enough to convince jurors that Peterson killed his wife.

鈥淭he people know the truth,鈥� Harris said during his presentation. 鈥淭hey know he鈥檚 guilty of murdering his wife and unborn son.鈥�

Like he did in a 337-page brief, however, Harris again recounted what he called 鈥渙verwhelming鈥� evidence against Peterson, including that Peterson told his mistress he had 鈥渓ost鈥� his wife before she actually disappeared and he would be spending his first holidays without her.

Peterson鈥檚 defense team, Harris said, has never explained why Peterson was doing internet searches in early December studying the currents and depths of the bay, even before he bought the fishing boat he told no one about. The defense never explained, he said, what happened to all the extra cement he purchased, if it was not for making several anchors to weigh down his wife鈥檚 body. Harris also recalled a wiretapped phone call when Peterson鈥檚 mother encouraged him to fly to Washington where there had been a Laci sighting.

When he hung up, Harris said, 鈥測ou can hear the defendant laughing at his mother who thinks he鈥檚 going to go to Washington and search for his missing wife.鈥�

SACRAMENTO 鈥� As corporations increasingly weave artificial intelligence technologies into the daily lives of Americans, California lawmakers want to build public trust, fight algorithmic discrimination and outlaw deepfakes that involve elections or pornography.

The efforts in California 鈥� home to many of the world’s biggest AI companies 鈥� could pave the way for AI regulations across the country. The United States is already behind Europe in regulating AI to limit risks, lawmakers and experts say, and the rapidly growing technology is raising concerns about job loss, misinformation, invasions of privacy and automation bias.

A slew of proposals aimed at addressing those concerns advanced last week, but must win the other chamber’s approval before arriving at Gov. Gavin 色情论坛om’s desk. The Democratic governor has promoted California as an early adopter as well as regulator, saying the state could soon deploy generative AI tools to address highway congestion, make roads safer and provide tax guidance, even as his administration considers new rules against AI discrimination in hiring practices.

With strong privacy laws already in place, California is in a better position to enact impactful regulations than other states with large AI interests, such as New York, said Tatiana Rice, deputy director of the Future of Privacy Forum, a nonprofit that works with lawmakers on technology and privacy proposals.

“You need a data privacy law to be able to pass an AI law,” Rice said. “We’re still kind of paying attention to what New York is doing, but I would put more bets on California.”

California lawmakers said they cannot wait to act, citing hard lessons they learned from failing to reign in social media companies when they might have had a chance. But they also want to continue attracting AI companies to the state.

Here’s a closer look at California’s proposals:

FIGHTING AI DISCRIMINATION AND BUILDING PUBLIC TRUST

Some companies, including hospitals, already use AI models to define decisions about hiring, housing and medical options for millions of Americans without much oversight. Up to 83% of employers are using AI to help in hiring, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. How those algorithms work largely remains a mystery.

One of the most ambitious AI measures in California this year would pull back the curtains on these models by establishing an oversight framework to prevent bias and discrimination. It would require companies using AI tools to participate in decisions that determine results and to inform people affected when AI is used. AI developers would have to routinely make internal assessments of their models for bias. And the state attorney general would have authority to investigate reports of discriminating models and impose fines of $10,000 per violation.

AI companies also might soon be required to start disclosing what data they’re using to train their models.

PROTECTING JOBS AND LIKENESS

Inspired by the months-long Hollywood actors strike last year, a California lawmaker wants to protect workers from being replaced by their AI-generated clones 鈥� a major point of contention in contract negotiations.

The proposal, backed by the California Labor Federation, would let performers back out of existing contracts if vague language might allow studios to freely use AI to digitally clone their voices and likeness. It would also require that performers be represented by an attorney or union representative when signing new “voice and likeness” contracts.

California may also create penalties for digitally cloning dead people without the consent of their estate, citing the case of a media company that produced a fake, AI-generated hourlong comedy special to recreate the late comedian George Carlin’s style and material without his estate’s permission.

REGULATING POWERFUL GENERATIVE AI SYSTEMS

Real-world risks abound as generative AI creates new content such as text, audio and photos in response to prompts. So lawmakers are considering requiring guardrails around “extremely large” AI systems that have the potential to spit out instructions for creating disasters 鈥� such as building chemical weapons or assisting in cyberattacks 鈥� that could cause at least $500 million in damages. It would require such models to have a built-in “kill switch,” among other things.

The measure, supported by some of the most renowned AI researchers, would also create a new state agency to oversee developers and provide best practices, including for still-more powerful models that don’t yet exist. The state attorney general also would be able to pursue legal actions in case of violations.

A bipartisan coalition seeks to facilitate prosecuting people who use AI tools to create images of child sexual abuse. Current law does not allow district attorneys to go after people who possess or distribute AI-generated child sexual abuse images if the materials are not depicting a real person, law enforcement said.

A host of Democratic lawmakers are also backing a bill tackling election deepfakes, citing concerns after AI-generated robocalls mimicked President Joe Biden’s voice ahead of New Hampshire’s recent presidential primary. The proposal would ban “materially deceptive” deepfakes related to elections in political mailers, robocalls and TV ads 120 days before Election Day and 60 days thereafter. Another proposal would require social media platforms to label any election-related posts created by AI.

Forty years and three generations later, the Bradley family has grown 鈥� and so has their home. In 2009, the family built an addition, which Mike got when his son, Michael 鈥淐asey鈥� Bradley, moved into the main house with his wife, Daphn茅e St Pierre, and their two children.

Last year, Mike鈥檚 daughter Kelly decided to move from Oakland to Berkeley, seeking to be closer to the rest of the family. After a few weeks of fruitless house-hunting around their neighborhood, Casey had an idea: Why didn鈥檛 they construct a house for Kelly on their existing lot?

鈥淲e already have this family compound,鈥� Casey said. 鈥淲hy not build it ourselves?鈥�

Within seven months, Casey 鈥� a former planner for the city of Oakland who now works in real estate development 鈥� built a 1,000-square-foot, two-story accessory dwelling unit on the back of the lot for about $350,000. That brings the total units on their 8,666-square-foot lot to three (four, if you include the tree house).

In recent years, the state of California has seen an explosion in ADUs, also known as mother-in-law units or backyard cottages. In 2023, one out of every five homes built in the state was an ADU, according to . Only three years ago, they represented just one in every 10 new units.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a generation that has a lot of wealth right now that can build these properties in their backyard and ease the pain of another generation,鈥� said David Gunderman, an Oakland-based real estate agent who helps advise homeowners about building ADUs. 鈥淚 do think, if anything, we鈥檙e on the front end of this wave.鈥�

Since 2017, the California state Legislature has passed several bills lowering the ADU building barriers. Most notably, AB 68, authored by San Francisco Democratic Assemblymember Phil Ting and passed in 2019, from 120 days to 60 and prohibited local officials from imposing requirements around lot size and parking. , passed the next year, prevented communities from requiring the owner to live on the property, opening up the possibility for landlords to build聽ADUs on their rental properties.

To address its decades-long housing shortage, housing advocates say California needs to build all types of housing 鈥� more single-family homes, more tall apartment buildings, more affordable houses, more everything. But supply is constrained by the lack of open land close to existing infrastructure and jobs, as well as strict local zoning laws that limit what can be built in infill areas.

鈥淥ur biggest challenge in California is that so much of our zoning is for single-family homes, which makes it next to impossible to build any new housing,鈥� Ting said in an interview. 鈥淭his is the one housing product that you can actually build in these single-family neighborhoods.鈥�

In the five-county Bay Area, ADU construction has more than doubled in the last four years, going from 1,179 new units in 2020 to 2,761 units in 2023. The units are especially popular in places like Berkeley and San Jose, where older homes often come with large lots, well-positioned to accommodate an ADU.

Oakland-based architect Matthew Baran can remember designing his first backyard cottage in 2010.

鈥淭here were a lot of people at the time that asked, 鈥榃hy would you want a house in your backyard?鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淭hese days, social norms like the idea of owning a single-family home with a big yard are not a given. We鈥檙e seeing a shift toward smaller, more efficient living.鈥�

Developers are also fueling some of the growth. In Antioch, BrightSky Residential leveraged the new legislation to build a 71-home subdivision with an ADU on each lot for a total of 141 units 鈥� effectively doubling the density without having to change the property鈥檚 zoning.

New companies have sprouted up that seek to take advantage of the demand for ADUs. Abodu, based in Redwood City, that start at $228,800 for a 340-square-foot studio, promising savings in engineering costs and shortening the construction timeline.

Custom-built ADUs, meanwhile, typically range from $500 to $600 per square foot, Baran said 鈥� meaning that a 1,000-square-foot ADU could cost upward of $500,000. And that鈥檚 without the hookup costs for water and electricity, which can also add around $15,000 to the total cost.

With its and the extra square footage, an ADU may boost the resale value of a home 鈥� but not always, Gunderman said. An analysis of sales data in Alameda County by his firm found that homes with ADUs sold for $325,000 more than those without them on similarly-sized lots. But houses with an ADU sold for $720 per square foot 鈥� $50 per square foot less than houses without an ADU.

鈥淵our lot size is diminished because you have this intimate neighbor,鈥� Gunderman said.

Starting in July, homeowners will be able to spin off their ADUs . For homeowners who are willing to sacrifice some privacy and yard space, the ADUs could offer a more affordable option than existing single-family properties on the market.

Hosting visiting relatives or generating income via Airbnb are all reasons property owners might build an ADU. Baran also has clients building a home addition who classify the project as an ADU to benefit from the streamlined permit process. (The home additions still have to include certain requirements 鈥� like a kitchen and bathroom 鈥� to access the shortened permitting timeline.)

For his part, Ting is proud to see that his legislation has been met with such enthusiastic demand, but he says that ADUs alone .

鈥淚t鈥檚 concerning that we haven鈥檛 seen an uptick in other housing types,鈥� he said. 鈥淎DUs are just a piece of our housing 鈥� but there is so much more housing that we need to get built.鈥�

SAN FRANCISCO 鈥� The man convicted of attempting to hold former Speaker Nancy Pelosi hostage and attacking her husband with a hammer two years ago apologized in federal court Tuesday, but still received 30 years in prison at an unusual resentencing hearing that resulted from judicial error.

District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley on May 17 sentenced David DePape to 20 years for attempting to kidnap Nancy Pelosi and 30 years for the October 2022 assault on Paul Pelosi, the maximum for both counts. The sentences would run simultaneously.

But she had failed to allow the defendant to address the court at that sentencing. Corley scheduled Tuesday’s hearing for the limited purpose of allowing DePape to speak for the purpose of mitigating his sentence.

On Tuesday, she apologized to DePape, 44, and to attorneys for her error and asked if he wished to address the court.

DePape, wearing an orange shirt and orange pants with his hair in a short ponytail, said yes and proceeded to speak quickly off of a piece of paper.

鈥淚鈥檓 sorry for what I did,鈥� he said, adding that he felt horrible and never meant to hurt Pelosi and that he should have left the house when he realized the former speaker was not there.

DePape said that looking back on that time in his life, he was not doing well. Since then, he said, he has reconnected with his mother and other family members, which is helping him to move forward. He became emotional at the end, prompting his lawyers to comfort him and pat his back.

Corley said the sentence needed to reflect the seriousness of the crime and act as a deterrence to others who may choose to break into the homes of elected officials and hold their spouses hostage and beat them.

鈥淭he message has to be out there that it鈥檚 absolutely unacceptable to our democracy,鈥� she said.

DePape will serve 30 years with credit served for the 19 months he has already served, she said. His federal sentence should run concurrently with any punishment given by the state in its trial of DePape. She said she expects him deported back to Canada after he completes his punishment.

Neither prosecutors nor DePape鈥檚 defense attorneys noted Corley鈥檚 oversight during the May 17 hearing. But hours after Corley handed down the sentence, prosecutors filed a motion noting that the court failed to offer DePape an opportunity 鈥渢o speak or present any information to mitigate the sentence鈥� as required by federal rule.

They asked the court to reopen the sentencing hearing to allow him that option.

DePape鈥檚 defense attorneys, however, said in a filing that they opposed bringing their client back to court because doing so would interfere with his state trial. DePape was charged in state court with attempted murder, elder abuse, residential burglary and other felonies. Opening statements in that trial are scheduled to start Wednesday.

鈥淕iven Mr. DePape’s neurodiversity and mental-health issues … preparing him for any resentencing hearing requires significant time, which necessarily takes away from time to prepare for his state trial,鈥� they wrote.

DePape’s defense attorneys had asked the judge to sentence him to 14 years, pointing out that he was going through a difficult period at the time of the attack, had undiagnosed mental health issues and had no prior criminal history.

A jury last year found DePape guilty in November of attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on an immediate family member of a federal official. Prosecutors had asked for a 40-year prison term.

The attack on Paul Pelosi, who was 82 at the time, was captured on police body camera video just days before the 2022 midterm elections and stunned the political world. He suffered two head wounds, including a skull fracture that was mended with plates and screws he will have for the rest of his life. His right arm and hand were also injured.

Ahead of sentencing, one of DePape鈥檚 attorneys, Angela Chuang, told the judge to consider the prison terms being given to those who participated in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

鈥淭he five most serious sentences for people who were convicted of seditious conspiracy, of literally conspiring to overthrow the government, range from 15 to 22 years,鈥� Chuang said.

Corley said the Jan. 6 analogy didn鈥檛 adequately reflect the seriousness of breaking into an elected official鈥檚 private home. The home attack may have a chilling effect on people seeking office in the future, she said.

DePape admitted during trial that he broke into the Pelosis鈥� home on Oct. 28, 2022, intending to hold the speaker hostage and get her to admit to corruption. 鈥淚f she lied, I would break her kneecaps,鈥� he said. Nancy Pelosi was not home at the time.

DePape also admitted to bludgeoning Paul Pelosi with a hammer when police showed up, saying his plan to end what he viewed as government corruption was unraveling.

Educators say that although they have not seen student-led demonstrations at their high schools, they still are prioritizing safety 鈥� and maintaining the “celebratory” environment 鈥� at upcoming commencement events, when thousands of graduates in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties will receive their diplomas.

鈥淪afety, it鈥檚 always our top priority, especially at events such as graduation,鈥� said Hilda Ramirez Horvath, a spokesperson for the Pasadena Unified School District. 鈥淕raduations are always a really important milestone for students and their families, and we want these events to be special and meaningful for our community.鈥�

Horvath said the district will take general safety precautions 鈥� with support from the Pasadena Police Department and venue security 鈥� at its six ticketed graduation ceremonies planned at Pasadena’s Civic Auditorium, starting with Blair High School’s commencement at 11 a.m. Thursday, May 30. But, she quickly added, those measures are “not related to the idea of any protest.”

Related:

Similarly, Temecula Valley Unified is “not aware of any incidents or info related to either side of this issue on our campuses,” spokesperson James Evans said, but he noted that security measures will be in place as they routinely are at large campus events.

“As always, safety and security is our number one priority,鈥� said Evans, noting that the district’s graduations are scheduled for June 6 and 7.

In the Long Beach Unified School District, which will hold its graduation ceremonies in June, spokesperson Elvia Cano said, “We remain confident in our safety preparedness for a successful graduation season.鈥�

The Orange Unified School District, which will have its commencement events June 5 and 6 at Fred Kelly Stadium, is making聽 preparations “to ensure a safe and memorable experience for our graduates and all attendees,” spokesperson Hana Brake said.

Other Orange County districts, including Newport Mesa Unified, Garden Grove Unified, Santa Ana Unified and Irvine Unified, echoed similar sentiments for upcoming late May and June graduations. Officials said they haven’t seen protest activity on high school campuses, and schools have established safety protocols in place to ensure a smooth graduation.

“We do not have any indication that protests will occur during graduation ceremonies,” Irvine Unified spokesperson Annie Brown said. “As with any IUSD-related event or activity, our priority is the safety and well-being of our students, staff and families.”

And in the Jurupa Unified School District, where graduations for its four high schools already are underway, spokesperson Jacqueline Paul said, “Everything is going well.”

College protests

School district officials throughout the region are mindful that their graduating seniors have been exposed to widespread media coverage of at universities for more than a month. Locally, and have been

And, recently, some graduates have walked out of commencement ceremonies nationally 鈥� notably, at Yale, Tufts and George Washington University 鈥� and others聽at during his address to highlight their support of a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and

Columbia University, ground zero for the pro-Palestinian campus protests, canceled its main commencement, which pivoted to smaller ceremonies for individual schools after tensions boiled over partly because of the cancelation of a , a Chino Hills resident.

Different rules for high schoolers

Whether graduating high school seniors in Southern California feel empowered to emulate their college counterparts, of course, is unknown, but public secondary schools operate under slightly more restrictive free expression rights.

High schoolers are limited partly because public schools mandate attendance up to a certain grade level, while going to college is voluntary, said Aaron Terr, director of the which defends and promotes free speech on school campuses. Additionally, he said, teachers and administrators, working under strict district guidelines, stand in the place of parents to some extent while students are at school.

Still, Terr said, public schools cannot punish students for free speech just because “it expresses a view that makes students or administrators uncomfortable.”

Student speech on public secondary school campuses, the Supreme Court has ruled, is protected unless it substantially disrupts or interferes with school operations. That standard emerged from a high court decision in 1969, that affirmed public school students鈥� First Amendment right to wear black armbands to school to protest the Vietnam War.

鈥淪tudents don’t shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate,” the justices wrote, affirming the right to the armband protest because it was quiet and passive, and did not interfere with other students’ learning environment.

鈥淭he following year, millions of college and high school students around the country participated in walkouts to and, soon after, the Kent State shooting,鈥� Terr said. “Like the current campus protests, they were a mix of peaceful protest, civil disobedience, and violence or lawlessness.鈥�

Terr also recalled the 2018 walkout of students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, to protest gun violence in the wake of the shooting that killed 14 students and three staff members, and injured others.

That demonstration, he said, is “another historical precedent” for the current student-led, pro-Palestinian protests.

Balancing expression with civil behavior

Public school districts say they are mindful of the need to balance student rights to free expression with the desire to avoid disruptions at school events, such as commencement exercises.

“We strive to allow students the opportunity to express their viewpoints in a way that is consistent with maintaining safe and welcoming environments,” said Los Angeles Unified School District spokesperson Rebekah Salgado.

LAUSD 鈥� which this year has in grades 9 through 12, including thousands of graduates 鈥� has specific plans in place to “ensure that graduations are safe and welcoming events,” Salgado said, noting that commencement ceremonies begin in early June.

At all events, she said in an email, the district will welcome students’ voices “amplified and supported as appropriate to the ceremony. We support each school on a case-by-case basis, factoring in several elements such as size of the graduation, venue, etc.”

In the Torrance Unified School District, activities at commencement ceremonies must abide by the which maintains that “all speech and expression will comport with norms of civil behavior,” spokesperson Sara Myers said by email.

About 2,000 seniors will be graduating from the district’s four high schools the week of June 10, and Myers said commencement events will have “well-communicated rules and security protocols” to help manage crowds.

“We recognize the effect that global events and tragedies can have on our students, so we have continued to work as a community to support each other and promote wellness, safety and kindness during these trying times,” Myers said.

Torrance schools, she said, have hosted multicultural events that celebrate all backgrounds, customs and traditions, and they welcome that spirit of diversity at school events.

Similarly, Pasadena Unified’s Horvath said, “As far as protests, our position is always that the best place for students to talk about concerns or issues is in school with teachers and staff. We actively encourage dialogue and campus activities where all opinions are respected in both words and actions. And so we have structures for that to happen.鈥�

‘Our voices are important’

One high school senior who participated in an off-campus, said she hopes to see more activism from secondary school students in her community and beyond.

“I feel like our voices are always the most important because we have staff members, adults and community members looking at us, and we’re the next generation, so it means even more,” said Bayan Yousef, a member of a student-led group called “Sometimes, because we’re young, we get more attention on the cause when we do it, too.”

Yousef, who plans to attend community college, acknowledged that those who protested with her in early May at Sylvan Park were concerned about retaliation from school officials or college admissions offices. But compared to what’s happening in Gaza, she said, that seems unimportant.

“I was a little worried that they were going to take our graduation away for protesting, and some people were worried their university acceptance letters would be revoked,” she said, “but it doesn’t stop us, of course.”

Staff writers Sarah Hoffman, Madison Hart, Teresa Liu and The Associated Press contributed to this report.聽

Memorial Day traditionally marks the beginning of the summer travel season, and airport officials reminded travelers that passenger numbers and vehicular traffic will be rising over the next few days and remain high for the next few months.

“With school breaks, relaxed workdays, and a strong demand for travel to and from Los Angeles, we expect a busy summer,” Doug Webster, interim chief operations and maintenance officer for Los Angeles World Airports, said in a statement. “Our airport staff and airline partners are aware of the projected wave of travelers to the region, and are ready and well-equipped to provide our guests with the best possible experience at LAX.”

Airport officials urged travelers to arrive at least two hours ahead of domestic flights, and three hours for international flights. Parking is also expected to be at a premium, so travelers were urged to consider booking spaces in advance at parking.flylax.com.

According to the Automobile Club of Southern California, a record 3.5 million Southern California residents are expected to travel over the Memorial Day weekend, besting the level from last year and marking the second straight year the number has exceeded the pre-pandemic record set in 2019.

The 3.5 million travelers estimate is a 4.7% increase over last year’s record number, and 4.2% above the 2019 figure, according to the Auto Club, with the holiday traveling period set to begin Thursday.

Of the 3.5 million anticipated travelers, 2.9 million are likely to travel by car, while 371,000 will fly and 237,000 will rely on other modes, such as bus, train or cruise ship.

Nationally, 43.8 million people are expected to travel for the holiday, a 4.1% increase from last year and 2.4% above 2019.

The top destinations for Southern California travelers are expected to be Las Vegas, San Diego, the Grand Canyon, Hawaii and Seattle/Alaska cruises. The top destinations for nationwide travelers will be Orlando, New York, Las Vegas, Seattle and Anaheim/Los Angeles. Top international destinations for U.S. travelers will be Rome, Vancouver, London, Paris and Dublin.

OAKLAND 鈥� The federal Bureau of Prisons will go to trial next year over claims it allowed an environment where guards at a now-shuttered California prison sexually abused incarcerated women, a judge ordered Wednesday.

In the first public hearing since FCI Dublin closed last month, U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers also ordered an outside legal expert to keep handling the cases of some 600 women transferred out of the prison. Many of the inmates sent to other federal lockups claimed they suffered mistreatment during the transfer process.

In an order earlier this month, Gonzalez Rogers said the decision to shut the facility “created serious concerns” for the inmates’ well-being.

The judge on Wednesday scheduled a case management conference for Sept. 9 and ordered both sides to be ready for trial on June 23, 2025.

Attorneys for the women who blew the whistle on abuse said they have let the government know they are amenable to a settlement, and that those discussions are ongoing. But plaintiffs’ attorney Amari Montes said the bureau would have to agree to “lasting changes, including medical and mental health care,” before any deal is reached.

The prisons bureau said in a statement after the hearing that “it appreciates Judge Gonzalez Rogers’ work in this area and stands ready to engage” with the judge and the outside expert, known as a special master.

The prisons bureau didn’t immediately respond to a request for a statement about Wednesday’s hearing. But the bureau has said repeatedly that it doesn’t comment on matters pending before the court.

The bureau announced suddenly on April 15 that it would close FCI Dublin despite attempts to reform the beleaguered facility after an Associated Press investigation exposed rampant staff-on-inmate assaults. Just 10 days before the closure announcement, the judge took the unprecedented step of appointing a special master to oversee the prison near Oakland.

Prisons officials have reiterated that the closure plan was carefully considered over months.

FCI Dublin inmates sued the prisons bureau last August alleging the agency had failed to root out sexual abuse.

A McCarthy protege who also had the former speaker’s endorsement, Fong defeated fellow Republican and Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux in the 20th Congressional District, in the state’s Central Valley farm belt.

Because of Trump’s involvement, the race will be watched as a possible proxy vote on the former president’s clout as he heads toward an all-but-certain matchup against President Joe Biden in November.

“With the campaign over, the real work now begins,” Fong said in a statement, adding that he will focus on border security, supporting small business and investing in water storage critical to the region’s agriculture.

It wasn’t immediately clear when Fong will be sworn in 鈥� that decision falls to current House Speaker Mike Johnson.

Turnout appeared to be light for the unusual May election, for which mail-in voting began last month.

Trump endorsed Fong in February, calling him “a true Republican.” Boudreaux’s supporters include Richard Grenell, a former acting director of national intelligence in the Trump administration, and Republican state Sen. Shannon Grove of Bakersfield, Fong’s home turf.

Republicans occupy only 11 of the state’s 52 U.S. House seats. With the district once held by McCarthy remaining in GOP hands, it will give Republicans 12 seats in the state delegation and boost the party’s fragile edge in Congress by a single vote.

There are 217 Republicans in the House, 213 Democrats and five vacancies, including McCarthy’s former seat.

The special election only covers the time remaining in McCarthy’s term. Fong and Boudreaux will reprise their contest again in November for a full two-year term in the district, though the winner of the special election will gain the advantage of incumbency.

In a statement Boudreaux said he congratulated Fong in a phone call, thanked volunteers and donors for their support and signaled that he already was gearing up for November.

“California faces a crime crisis unlike any other in its history. That’s why I will be stepping up the fight for a safer Valley and safer California,” Boudreaux said.

Some voters might be confused, since Fong and Boudreaux already have appeared on two House ballots this year 鈥� the March 5 statewide primary for the full House term, and the March 19 primary in the special election to fill out McCarthy’s term.

The two conservative Republicans and Trump supporters occupy much of the same policy terrain. Boudreaux has spotlighted his decades of law-and-order experience and promised to harden the nation’s porous border. Fong also promised to “end the chaos” at the border with Mexico while prioritizing water and energy needs in the farm belt.

He carried 42% of the vote in the March primary, with Boudreaux getting nearly 26% and the remainder divided among other candidates. Fong hails from the most populous part of the district, Kern County, and he outraised the sheriff by about 3 to 1 in campaign funds, according to federal records through the end of March.

McCarthy’s dramatic fall in the House 鈥� he is the only speaker in history to be voted out of the job 鈥� left behind a messy race to succeed him that exposed rivalries within his own party. He has worked behind the scenes to promote Fong’s candidacy 鈥� a political action committee linked to McCarthy steered over $700,000 into the 20th District contest to boost Fong’s campaign.

McCarthy resigned last year after being ousted as speaker.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors directed its lobbying staff Tuesday to advocate for the preservation of state funding for the California State University Immigration Legal Services Project, which is facing the potential of its annual $7 million in funds being cut to $1.8 million.

Gov. Gavin 色情论坛om’s May budget revision released on May 10 included about $33 million in proposed cuts to programs that fund local service providers offering free legal support for immigrants, officials said.

Among the programs is CSU-ILSP, which was started in 2018 by the California Department of Social Services and provides free legal help to immigrant students, staff, faculty and recent graduates.

All 23 CSU campuses have assigned immigration attorneys and paralegals who offer consultation and representation for matters such as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, asylum, naturalization, family based petitions and more. The program also offers education and outreach programs. Students who are renewing their deportation protection and work visas are among those who benefit from the program, according to a motion by Supervisor Hilda Solis.

“Immigrants are the fabric of Los Angeles,” Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said in support of Solis’ motion, which called on the county’s Legislative and Intergovernmental Relations Division to lobby for preservation of the program’s funding.

In a statement after the vote, Solis said, “Los Angeles County has long worked to offer support for immigrant residents, especially DACA recipients, many of whom were brought into this country at a young age.”

She also noted that last year the immigrant community in the Los Angeles area contributed nearly $109 billion in spending and paid more than $38 billion in state, local and federal taxes.

“At a time when the county is facing a workforce shortage in many professional industries, it is imperative that we support these students to ensure that they can contribute to the Los Angeles economy,” Solis said.

Several people spoke in favor of the motion during the meeting. Among them were individuals who have benefited from and are currently a part of the program, including student Samantha Gomez, who told the board, “California State University Immigration Legal Services Project has helped me through my DACA renewal. They are currently helping me in applying for my green card.”

Frustrated mayors and city councilmembers say the new planning requirements are needlessly confusing and that regulators have been slow to review the plans that have been submitted. They argue the convoluted process is leaving some cities vulnerable to unfair penalties for failing to get state approval.

Auditors will now examine whether the state is doing enough to help local governments satisfy the requirements and plan for many more homes than ever before.

鈥淲e do have an affordable housing crisis, and the vast majority of cities are doing their best effort to help, but there has been inconsistent guidance,鈥� said state Sen. Steve Glazer, a Democrat from Orinda. He鈥檚 pushed for some new housing laws and programs but he has聽received 聽from housing advocates.

In a to the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, which approved the audit last week, Glazer wrote the complaints he鈥檚 received from cities 鈥� which he declined to identify because they have not all received approval for their proposals聽鈥� point to 鈥渟tructural problems鈥� in how the state reviews the every-eight-year plans, dubbed 鈥渉ousing elements.鈥�

While the audit will not be legally binding, he hopes it can 鈥渞eveal the sources of these problems and how to cure them for current and future review processes.鈥�

A of how the state sets goals for the number of homes different regions are expected to approve found errors in the process, which may have led regulators to underestimate the housing need in some areas and overestimate it in others. While the state completed some of the audit鈥檚 recommendations for calculating future housing goals, the review did not force any legislative reforms.

Ahead of the new audit, Glazer raised concerns that cities still waiting to get approval are now subject to penalties such as losing state funding, less time to complete mandatory zoning reforms and the dreaded 鈥渂uilder鈥檚 remedy,鈥� which could force local officials to accept massive housing projects.

More than a year after California cities and counties were supposed to finalize their plans, many have yet to get state approval. Most are smaller cities that haven鈥檛 received much scrutiny on past plans.

Pleasanton Vice Mayor Julie Testa, a vocal critic of the state鈥檚 push to build, said 32 Bay Area jurisdictions without compliant plans are evidence of serious flaws in the review process. Testa said that before Pleasanton received approval last summer, it was sometimes difficult to get a timely response from reviewers. She said local planners were often left guessing how to meet the housing element requirements.

鈥淚t is absolutely a moving target,鈥� Testa said.

Meanwhile, housing advocates said that as recent laws made the planning process more stringent, state and regional officials alerted cities about the new requirements while offering additional training and other resources.

鈥淢any cities ignored it and just thought they were going to do the same thing they鈥檝e always done,鈥� said Mathew Reed, director of policy with the Silicon Valley pro-housing group SV@Home. He said a backlog of half-baked housing element drafts for regulators to review likely contributed to delayed review times.

For its part, the Department of Housing and Community Development said in a statement that it鈥檚 proud of its work to 鈥渆nsure that communities plan for their fair share of housing.鈥� It took credit for an increase in homebuilding in recent years, though high interest rates and other economic factors have since .

To help reverse that trend, the state is now asking local officials to do much more meticulous planning to meet their latest housing targets, which in some cases are double that of the previous cycle. That includes proving sites identified for future homes have a realistic chance of development and providing specifics on programs to streamline the local permitting process.

In 2021, the state also created its Housing Accountability Unit to crack down on local officials skirting state housing laws and flouting the planning process. Last year, the unit and the state attorney general sued Huntington Beach for failing to develop a housing element. In March, a judge stripped the city of some of its authority to block new housing projects.

The newly approved audit is set to begin this fall, but it鈥檚 unclear when it could be finalized. A high-profile audit of the state鈥檚 homelessness spending released last month took more than a year to complete.