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Gov. Gavin Newsom, Democratic lawmakers and their allies on Thursday launched a special-election campaign to ask California voters to approve new congressional districts to decrease the size of the state’s Republican delegation — a move that could determine control of Congress next year and stymie President Trump’s agenda.

The effort is a response to GOP-led states, notably Texas, attempting to redraw their congressional maps to decrease Democratic ranks in the narrowly-divided U.S. House of Representatives at Trump’s behest.

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Newsom, speaking to a fired-up partisan crowd at the Japanese American National Museum in downtown Los Angeles, said the effort by Republicans represented a desperate effort by a failed president to hold on to power by keeping Congress under Republican control.

“He doesn’t play by a different set of rules. He doesn’t believe in the rules,” Newsom said. “And as a consequence, we need to disabuse ourselves of the way things have been done. It’s not good enough to just hold hands, have a candlelight vigil and talk about the way the world should be. We have got to recognize the cards that have been dealt, and we have got to meet fire with fire.”

The governor was joined by Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff; Rep. Pete Aguilar, (D-San Bernardino), the chair of the House Democratic Caucus, and union leaders essential to providing the funding and volunteers to convince Californians to vote for the “Election Rigging Response Act.” The proposed California ballot measure would temporarily toss out the congressional districts enacted by the state’s voter-approved, independent redistricting commission.

“Our union stands in full support of this ballot initiative. We are ready to do whatever it takes to stop this power grab and fight back against any and all attacks on our democracy, on our students and on public education,” said Erica Jones, the secretary treasurer of the California Teachers Assn., which represents 310,000 public school teachers.

She said school children have suffered because of the Trump administration’s immigration raids, as well as cuts to healthcare funding, after school programs and teacher trainings.

“Our students deserve better,” she said. “The majority of Americans are not with him on these vicious attacks. So what does Trump want to do? Rig the next election and steal our right to fair representation? He wants to stack the deck to keep slashing public services to pad the pockets of his billionaire donors.”

Outside the political rally, Border Patrol agents gathered and arrested at least one person. Newsom told the crowd inside that he doubted it was a coincidence.

Supporters of the independent commission that currently draws California’s congressional maps criticized Democrats’ efforts to conduct a highly unusual mid-decade redistricting plan. For Newsom’s plant to work, the Democratic-led state Legislature must vote in favor of placing the measure on the ballot in a special election in November, and then the final decision will be up to California voters.

“Two wrongs do not make a right, and California shouldn’t stoop to the same tactics as Texas. Instead, we should push other states to adopt our independent, non-partisan commission model across the country,” said Amy Thoma, spokesperson for the Voters First Coalition, which includes Charles Munger Jr., the son of a billionaire who bankrolled the ballot measure that created the independent commission.

Munger will vigorously oppose any proposal to circumvent the independent commission, she said.

Since voters approved independent congressional redistricting in 2010, California’s districts have been drawn once per decade, following the U.S. Census, by a panel split between registered Democrats, registered Republicans and voters without a party preference.

The commission is not allowed to consider the partisan makeup of the districts, nor protecting incumbents, but instead looks at “communities of interest,” logical geographical boundaries and the Voting Rights Act.

The current map was drawn in 2021 and went into effect for the 2022 election.

Newsom is pushing to suspend those district lines and put a new map tailored to favor Democrats in front of voters on Nov. 4. That plan, he has said, would have a “trigger,” meaning a redrawn map would not take effect unless Texas or another GOP-led state moved forward with its own.

Sara Sadhwani, who served on the redistricting commission that approved the current congressional district boundaries, said that while she is deeply proud of the work she and her colleagues completed, she approved of Newsom’s effort to temporarily put the commission’s work aside because of the unprecedented threats to American democracy.

“These are extraordinary times, and extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures,” said Sadhwani, citing the immigration raids, the encouragement of political violence and the use of National Guard troops in American cities. “And if that wasn’t enough, we are watching executive overreach that no doubt is making our founding fathers turn in their graves, and we have to take action. These are the hallmarks of a democracy in peril.”

If voters approved the ballot measure, the new maps would be in effect until the independent commission redraws the congressional boundaries in 2031.

To meet Newsom’s ambitious deadline, the state Legislature would need to pass the ballot language by a two-thirds majority and send it to Newsom’s desk by Aug. 22. The governor’s office and legislative leaders are confident in their ability to meet this threshold in the state Assembly and state Senate, where Democrats have a supermajority.

Newsom first mentioned the idea in mid July, meaning the whole process could be done in about five weeks. Generally, redrawing the state’s electoral lines and certifying a measure to appear before voters on the ballot are processes that take months, if not more than a year.

Trump’s prodding of Texas Republicans to redraw their congressional maps to create five new GOP seats has kicked off redistricting battles across the nation.

That includes Florida, Ohio, Indiana and Missouri, where Republicans control the statehouse, and New York, Maryland, Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington, where Democrats are in power.

Democratic lawmakers in Texas fled the state to block the Republican-led legislature from approving a new map that would gerrymander congressional districts to favor of the GOP. The Democrats maneuver worked, since it prevented the legislature from have a quorum necessary to approve the measure. A second special session is expected to begin Friday. The absent lawmakers are facing threats of fines, civil arrest warrants and calls for being removed from office; Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has vowed to call repeated special sessions until the map is approved.

In California, the gerrymandering plan taking shape behind closed doors would increase the Democratic Party’s dominance in the state by making five House districts more favorable to Democrats, according to a draft map reviewed by The Times.

Those changes could reduce by more than half the number of Republicans representing California in Congress. The state has the nation’s largest congressional delegation, with 52 members. Nine are Republicans.

A Northern California district represented by Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) could shift to the south, shedding rural, conservative voters near the Oregon border and picking up left-leaning cities in Sonoma County. Sacramento-area Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin) would see his district shift toward the bluer center of the city.

The plan would also add more Democrats to the Central Valley district represented by Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford), who has been a perennial target for Democrats.

Southern California would see some of the biggest changes: Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Bonsall) would see his safely Republican district in San Diego County become more purple through the addition of liberal Palm Springs. And Reps. Young Kim (R-Anaheim Hills) and Ken Calvert (R-Corona) would be drawn into the same district, which could force the lawmakers to run against each other.

The plan would also shore up Democrats who represent swing districts, such as Reps. Dave Min (D-Irvine) and Derek Tran (D-Orange).

It could also add another district in southeast Los Angeles County, in the area that elected the first Latino member of Congress from California in modern history. A similar seat was eliminated during the 2021 redistricting.

Times staff writer Taryn Luna contributed to this report from Sacramento.

Already the home of Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles is now also the home of South Korea’s Shohei Ohtani.

Like Ohtani, Son Heung-min has been the most popular athlete in his home country by a wide margin for close to a decade. Like Ohtani, Son has a pleasant disposition that has endeared him to people from a wide range of backgrounds.

Son was introduced as the latest addition to LAFC at a news conference on Wednesday at BMO Stadium, and he was everything he was made out to be.

He came across as sincere.

He was warm.

He was funny.

“I’m here to win,” Son said. “I will perform and definitely show you some exciting …

“Are we calling it football or soccer?”

None of this means Son will turn LAFC into the Dodgers overnight, of course. By this point, Major League Soccer and its teams understand that profile players aren’t transformative figures as much as they are building blocks. Son will be the newest, and perhaps most solid, block that will be stacked on the foundation established by the club’s first designated player, the now-retired Carlos Vela.

Outside of Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, there might not be a player in the world who could be of a greater value than Son to LAFC, which continues to fight for relevance on multiple fronts. There was a reason the transfer fee paid by LAFC to Tottenham Hotspur of England was the highest in MLS history, a reported $26 million.

“Son’s arrival marks a new chapter, not just for LAFC but for the league and for football in the United States,” general manager John Thorrington said. “He brings not only incredible quality on the field but a magnetic presence off it, someone who inspires millions around the world and now will do so here in Los Angeles.”

The most talented Mexican player of his generation, Vela forged an immediate connection with the community, carving out a place for LAFC in the congested Los Angeles sports market. Son will do the same, as this city is home to a large Korean community.

Supporters of Mexico’s national soccer team also share a fondness of Son because of a late goal he scored against Germany in the group stage of the 2018 World Cup, which enabled El Tri to advance to the round of 16.

More than ethnic background, Vela’s success with LAFC was driven by performance. Son is expected to deliver on that front as well. Son might be 33, but he remains a world-class attacker. He should be one of MLS’ best players from the moment he steps on the field, if not the best after Messi of Inter Miami.

“We can say I’m old, but I still have good physicality, good legs and still I have good quality,” Son said.

South Korean national team Son Heung-min poses for a photo with his new LAFC jersey.

(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)

LAFC has become a model franchise in MLS not just because of how it markets itself. The club makes smart soccer decisions and Son is the latest.

What will distinguish Son from Vela is the opportunity he will present LAFC to build its global brand.

“From the early days of building this club, we’ve dreamt of building a club that would win trophies and make a major positive impact in our community and Los Angeles, but also make a mark on the world stage of global football,” lead managing owner Bennett Rosenthal said.

As much success as it has enjoyed domestically, as much attention as it received for participating in the recent Club World Cup, LAFC doesn’t have as much international name recognition as Inter Miami, which employs Messi; or the Galaxy, for which David Beckham played; or even the New York Cosmos, which made its name by signing Pele in the 1970s.

Son played 10 seasons with Tottenham, and by one estimate, the club had 12 million supporters in South Korea — or about one in four people in the country. Koreans traveled to London to watch Son play for Tottenham, just as many Japanese people travel to watch Ohtani at Dodger Stadium. Korean companies sponsored the Spurs.

The eyes of South Korea have shifted to LAFC. The team scheduled Son’s introductory news conference for 2 p.m. local time — or 6 a.m. in South Korea. An estimated 40 Korean journalists were issued credentials to cover the event.

Son acknowledged that as he prepared for life after Tottenham, LAFC was “not my first choice.” A conversation with Thorrington after the season changed his mind.

“He showed me the destination where I should be,” Son said.

Son attended LAFC’s Leagues Cup victory over Tigres of Mexico on Tuesday night and received a loud ovation when he was shown on the video scoreboard.

“It was just insane,” he said. “I just wanted to run into the pitch.”

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass presents new LAFC star Son Heung-min with a certificate of recognition during an introductory news conference on Wednesday.

(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)

Son will be reunited with goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, his former teammate at Tottenham.

“He’s back to [being] my captain,” Son said. “So I have to say something good about him because otherwise in the locker room, he’s just going to kill me.”

Son laughed.

His personality will play in Los Angeles, just as it did in London. He will make LAFC a known commodity in South Korea, perhaps beyond. He will further enhance a structure that was built by Vela, ensuring the team’s next star will have an even greater platform on which to perform. He won’t be as prominent locally as Ohtani or Luka Doncic, but he doesn’t have to be.

Israeli settlers attacked an aid convoy for the second time in days, delaying 30 trucks from Jordan on their way to Gaza. Video shows settlers chanting “May Palestine’s name be wiped out”. Jordan condemned the assault, accusing Israel of failing to stop repeated settler attacks.

Texas House fails to establish quorum as dozens of Democrats flee state to block redrawn congressional map.

Democratic state legislators in Texas have blocked a vote on a United States congressional map that favours their Republican rivals by leaving the state, preventing the state House of Representatives from establishing a quorum.

The vote could not proceed on Monday afternoon, even as Republican Governor Greg Abbott threatened to remove the fleeing lawmakers from office and suggested that they could face charges. At least 100 legislators in the 150-member chamber needed to be present for the vote to proceed.

It is not clear when the next vote will be held.

The new redrawn map, backed by President Donald Trump, would give Republicans more safe seats to help them keep their majority in the US House in the midterm elections next year.

According to the Texas Tribune newspaper, the Texas House approved in an 85-to-six vote a mostly symbolic measure to track down and arrest more than 50 legislators who left the state. The warrants are only valid in Texas.

The controversy in the conservative-leaning state has dominated the political conversation in the country, more than a year ahead of the November 2026 midterm elections.

Gerrymandering – drawing districts around demographic and socioeconomic lines for partisan reasons – is not uncommon in the US. But Texas appears to have taken the practice to its limits, all but eliminating five seats held by Democrats.

“We’re not here to play political games. We’re here to demand an end to this corrupt process,” top Texas House Democrat Gene Wu said at a news conference in Illinois on Sunday.

Democrats in the Texas House left the state Sunday in a last-resort bid to block new congressional maps sought by President Trump that would give Republicans a better chance of preserving their narrow U.S. House majority in the 2026 midterm elections.

The dramatic revolt came before the GOP-controlled House was set to vote Monday on the proposed maps, which would give Republicans five more winnable congressional seats. In response to Texas’ rare mid-decade political gerrymander, Democratic governors in other states have floated the possibility of redrawing their own maps in retaliation, but their options are limited.

Many of the Texas Democrats were bound for Illinois and a welcoming from Gov. JB Pritzker, a potential 2028 presidential contender, who in recent weeks has offered them support. It was unclear how long they were prepared to stay out of Texas or whether the maneuver would succeed. Four years ago, House Democrats left Texas for 38 days in protest of new voting restrictions that still wound up passing once the holdout ended.

“This is not a decision we make lightly, but it is one we make with absolute moral clarity,” Rep. Gene Wu, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, said in a statement.

Lawmakers can’t pass bills in the 150-member Texas House without at least two-thirds of them present. Democrats hold 62 of the seats in the Republican-majority chamber, and at least 51 were leaving the state, said Josh Rush Nisenson, spokesperson for the House Democratic Caucus. In addition to the Illinois group, five lawmakers headed to New York and another group went to Boston, Rush Nisenson said.

Republican House Speaker Dustin Burrows said the chamber would meet as planned Monday afternoon.

“If a quorum is not present then, to borrow the recent talking points from some of my Democrat colleagues, all options will be on the table,” he posted on X.

Republican Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton, who is running for U.S. Senate, said on X that Democrats who “try and run away like cowards should be found, arrested, and brought back to the Capitol immediately.”

A refusal by Texas lawmakers to show up is a civil violation of legislative rules. The Texas Supreme Court held in 2021 that House leaders had the authority to “physically compel the attendance” of missing members, but no Democrats were forcibly brought back to the state after warrants were served that year. Two years later, Republicans pushed through new rules that allow daily fines of $500 for lawmakers who don’t show up for work.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment Sunday.

The quorum break will also delay votes on flood relief and new warning systems in response to last month’s catastrophic floods in Texas that killed at least 136 people. Democrats had called for votes on the flooding response before taking up redistricting and have criticized Republicans for not doing so.

Texas Republicans last week unveiled their planned U.S. House map that would create five GOP-leaning seats. Republicans currently hold 25 of the state’s 38 seats.

Pritzker, who has been one of Trump’s most outspoken critics during his second term, had been in quiet talks with Texas Democrats for weeks about offering support if they chose to leave the state to break quorum.

Last week, the governor hosted several Texas Democrats in Illinois to publicly oppose the redistricting effort, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom held a similar event in his state.

Pritzker also met privately with Texas Democratic Party Chair Kendall Scudder in June to begin planning for the possibility that lawmakers would depart for Illinois if they did decide to break quorum to block the map, according to a source with direct knowledge who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations.

Now, with many Texas Democrats holed up in Illinois and blocking the gerrymandered map proposal, the stage may be set for a high-profile showdown between Pritzker and Trump.

The Republican president is looking to avoid a repeat of his first term, when Democrats flipped the House two years into his presidency, and he hopes the new Texas map will aid that effort. Trump officials have also looked at redrawing lines in other states, such as Missouri, according to a person familiar with conversations but unauthorized to speak publicly about them.

Cappelletti and DeMillo write for the Associated Press. AP writer Nadia Lathan in Austin, Texas, contributed to this report.

US president has urged Republicans to redraw map to help the party net a handful of seats in the midterms next year.

Texas Democrats are leaving the state en masse in an attempt to prevent the state’s House of Representatives from holding a vote on Monday on new congressional maps that Republicans hope will win them several additional US House seats in the 2026 midterm elections to buttress their narrow majority.

The dramatic move on Sunday could expose Democrats to fines and other penalties, with the state’s attorney general having previously threatened to arrest them if they took such an action. Refusing to attend legislative sessions is a civil violation, so Democrats legally could not be jailed, and it is unclear who has the power to carry out the warrants.

Democrats have cast the decision to leave the state as a last-ditch effort to stop Republicans who hold full control of the Texas government from pushing through a rare mid-decade redrawing of the congressional map at the direction of President Donald Trump.

Trump is eager to avoid a repeat of his first term, when Democrats flipped the House just two years into his presidency, stymying his legislative plans, and hopes the new Texas map will aid that effort.

“This is not a decision we make lightly, but it is one we make with absolute moral clarity,” said Gene Wu, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, in a statement.

To conduct official business, at least 100 members of the 150-member Texas House must be present.

Democrats hold 62 of the seats in the majority-Republican chamber. At least 51 Democratic members are leaving the state, said Josh Rush Nisenson, spokesperson for the House Democratic Caucus.

“Apathy is complicity, and we will not be complicit in the silencing of hard-working communities who have spent decades fighting for the power that Trump wants to steal,” he said.

Standoff in 2021

The move marks the second time in four years that Texas Democrats have fled the state to block a vote.

In 2021, a 38-day standoff took place when Democrats left for Washington, DC, in opposition to new voting restrictions.

Republican Governor Greg Abbott called a special session of the legislature that started last month to take up the redistricting effort, as well as to respond to flooding in Texas Hill Country, which killed at least 135 people in July.

Texas Republicans last week unveiled their planned new United States House map that would create five new Republican-leaning seats. Republicans currently hold 25 of the state’s 38 seats.

UCLA offensive lineman Garrett DiGiorgio takes part in practice in April 2024.

(Meg Oliphant / Los Angeles Times)

Maybe Garrett DiGiorgio & Co. can land an NIL deal with STP oil treatment or the Stone Temple Pilots.

That’s because the offensive line has a new motto — STP, standing for “Something To Prove” — that would fit either brand.

It’s certainly an accurate assessment given the offensive line gave up 34 sacks last season and was part of a running game that averaged just 86.6 yards, ranking No. 131 out of 133 major college football teams.

“I think that’s very true,” DiGiorgio said of the motto, “because we do have something to prove as a unit.”

DiGiorgio split time between right tackle and left guard in spring practice as part of new offensive line coach Andy Kwon’s bid to get his best five players on the field. When DiGiorgio played left guard, Reuben Unije slotted in at right tackle.

Kentucky transfer Courtland Ford appears the front-runner to start at left tackle alongside DiGiorgio or Oluwafunto Akinshilo at left guard, Sam Yoon at center, Julian Armella at right guard and DiGiorgio or Reuben Unije at right tackle.

Armella’s story is similar to many of the new transfers on the roster. A widely heralded prospect who never fulfilled the hype in three seasons at Florida State, Armella is seeking a breakthrough with the Bruins.

Kwon’s strategy for improvement goes beyond catchphrases. DiGiorgio said there’s been a new emphasis on sustaining blocks instead of just making an initial block and releasing the defender.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that California’s policy of background checks for bullet-buyers violates the 2nd Amendment, effectively killing a 2016 ballot measure meant to strengthen the state’s notoriously stringent gun laws.

Writing for two of the three judges on the appellate panel, Judge Sandra Segal Ikuta said the law “meaningfully constrains the right to keep operable arms” guaranteed by the constitution, by forcing California gun owners to re-authorize before each ammunition purchase.

“The right to keep and bear arms incorporates the right to operate them, which requires ammunition,” the judge wrote.

The ruling is the latest blow to statewide efforts to regulate guns.

Both the 9th Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court have significantly restricted gun control measures in just the last decade. Two of the three controlling cases Ikuta cited in her decision were handed down in the last three years.

Thursday’s ruling drew primarily from a 2022 Supreme Court decision that sharply limited gun control measures passed by individual states, finding that such laws must be “consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.”

California had attempted to sidestep that test in part by pointing to Reconstruction-era loyalty oaths some Americans were required to make before buying guns.

But that didn’t sway the panel.

“The problem of ensuring that citizens are loyal to the United States by requiring a one-time loyalty oath is not analogous to California’s recurring ammunition background check rules,” Ikuta wrote. “These laws are not relevant.”

Judge Jay Bybee disagreed.

“California, which has administered the scheme since 2019, has shown that the vast majority of its checks cost one dollar and impose less than one minute of delay,” the judge wrote in his dissent. “The majority has broken with our precedent and flouted the Supreme Court’s guidance.”

Data from the California Department of Justice’s Bureau of Firearms shows the program approved 89% of purchases, most within about three minutes. It rejected slightly more than 10% on technicalities that were later resolved, and fewer than one percent because the buyer was banned.

Although the 2022 case had “ushered in a new era for Second Amendment jurisprudence,” Bybee wrote, it didn’t preclude the bullet-background check scheme.

“We have repeatedly rejected the majority’s boundless interpretation of the Second Amendment,” Bybee wrote. “It is difficult to imagine a regulation on the acquisition of ammunition or firearms that would not ‘meaningfully constrain’ the right to keep and bear arms under the majority’s new general applicability standard.”

It was not immediately clear if the ruling would lift restrictions in place for the last six years. California leaders have not yet said whether they would appeal the decision.

Gun rights activists were thrilled by the news.

“Today’s ruling is a major step forward for the Second Amendment and the rights of every law-abiding citizen,”said Dan Wolgin, CEO of Ammunition Depot, one of the plaintiffs in the case.

Reporting from Sacramento — In his first week in office, Gov. Gavin Newsom sent a strong warning to cities and counties: He was coming for their road repair dollars if they didn’t meet state goals for new housing.

“If you’re not hitting your goals, I don’t know why you get the money,” Newsom said when he announced his budget plans in January.

Two months later, Newsom is setting aside plans to withhold state transportation dollars from local governments for four years. The move, which comes after fellow Democrats pushed back on the idea, is part of a larger acknowledgment that revamping how California plans for growth will be more arduous than the governor implied on the campaign trail.

Newsom made the announcement Monday when he unveiled a new bill that will be debated as part of the state budget. The legislation calls for $750 million in new funding for cities and counties to plan for increased housing production and then receive financial rewards as new building occurs. The money would begin flowing, according to the bill, in August.

“Our state’s affordability crisis is undermining the California Dream and the foundations of our economic well-being,” Newsom said in a release.

Gov. Gavin Newsom threatens to cut state funding from cities that don’t approve enough housing »

But the bill released Monday also laid out a lengthy timeline for the governor to implement more contentious parts of his housing agenda.

As a candidate, Newsom called for the building of 3.5 million new homes in the state by 2025, an amount that would more than quadruple the current rate of production.

For five decades, the state has required cities and counties to plan for housing production at a rate sufficient for all residents to live affordably. But the process hasn’t resulted in nearly enough homebuilding, especially for low-income residents, to meet demand.

Newsom pledged to reset housing supply goals so cities and counties would have to set aside more land for housing, concentrate production in existing urban areas to support climate change efforts and receive greater financial incentives to actually approve development. California’s tax system generally provides local governments with more tax revenue if they authorize hotel or commercial projects instead of housing.

Under Newsom’s new proposal, the state could take until 2023 — after the governor’s first term in office has ended — to put the new housing supply goals in place. When he unveiled his budget in January, Newsom also said he wanted to withhold money from the state’s recently approved increases to the gas tax and vehicle registration fees from communities that blocked housing. The bill says that wouldn’t happen until 2023 as well.

Giving new money to cities and counties before implementing new planning rules is an effort to show local governments that the governor sees their support as vital to meeting his housing goals, said Jason Elliott, Newsom’s chief deputy cabinet secretary.

“The best way to do that is to work with cities,” Elliott said.

When Newsom first announced his plans to tie transportation funding to housing goals, he didn’t provide a timeline. But some Democratic lawmakers made clear they weren’t fans.

At a budget committee hearing last month, Assemblywoman Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters) noted that voters upheld the gas tax hike at the ballot last year and said the governor shouldn’t consider restricting that money.

“We worked too hard on that and to all of a sudden have that used as a potential is disturbing to me,” Aguiar-Curry said.

It’s unclear if pushing off the plan for four years will lessen legislators’ concerns.

Sen. James Beall (D-San Jose), who authored the gas tax increase in 2017, said in a statement after the bill was released Monday that he remains against linking road construction funds to housing supply goals.

“Their use for any other purpose, such as to be used as leverage, is a violation of the trust of the voters and taxpayers,” Beall said.

[email protected]

@dillonliam

July 8 (UPI) — The Trump administration has announced it will work to limit Chinese nationals and nationals from other so-called adversarial countries from purchasing U.S. farmland, saying their ownership of U.S. crops poses a national security risk.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture released a seven-point National Farm Security Action Plan on Tuesday aimed at protecting U.S. farmland and food from becoming owned by foreign governments and entities, specifically the People’s Republic of China.

During a press conference in Washington, D.C., with the Trump administration’s leading law enforcement and military officials, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said U.S. farmland was under threat from “criminals,” “political adversaries” and “hostile regimes” seeking to use it as a weapon against the American people.

“American agriculture is not just about feeding our families but about protecting our nation and standing up to foreign adversaries who are buying our farmland, stealing our research and creating dangerous vulnerabilities in the very systems that sustain us,” she said.

According to the plan, the USDA will seek state and congressional lawmakers to pass legislation and the president to institute executive action to end the direct and indirect purchase or control of U.S. farmland by nationals from countries of concern or other foreign adversaries.

Rollins explained that they are also working to “claw back” land already purchased by Chinese nationals and nationals from other foreign adversarial countries.

She said they have already canceled seven active agreements with entities in foreign countries of concern and that she signed a memo Tuesday to immediately remove 70 citizens from those countries who have contracts or research arrangements with the USDA. She added that another 550 entities were in the process of being removed.

The announcement comes amid deepening competition between the United States and China and concern over Chinese nationals potentially working in the United States to further the objectives of Beijing, whether that be through stealing technology or recruiting potential assets.

According to a USDA Farm Service Agency report for 2023, Chinese, Iranian, North Korean and Russian investment in U.S. agricultural land accounts for less than 1% of foreign-held agricultural property across the country, with Chinese investors owning 277,336 acres as of the end of that year.

Also participating in the press conference were Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, emphasizing the national security attention the Trump administration intends to place on U.S. ownership of U.S. cropland.

Hegseth, as the head of the Pentagon, said he wants to know who is buying farmland in the United States near his bases, calling that “common sense.”

“We would be asleep at the wheel if we were not fully a party to an effort like this, to ensure that our nation had the food supply it needs,” he said.

July 1 (UPI) — Cloudflare announced it will begin blocking AI web crawlers to prevent them from “accessing content without permission or compensation,” from all of its clients beginning on Tuesday.

Cloudflare blocking AI crawler bots builds off the tool launched in September last year that allowed publishers the ability to block crawlers with one click but announced Tuesday the option to block them will be implemented by default for all of its clients.

“AI crawlers have been scraping content without limits. Our goal is to put the power back in the hands of creators, while still helping AI companies innovate,” said Matthew Prince, co-founder and CEO of Cloudflare. “This is about safeguarding the future of a free and vibrant Internet with a new model that works for everyone.”

Cloudflare is a content delivery network which helps businesses and applications by caching the data closer to end users and it estimated that 16% of global internet traffic goes directly through it’s service in a 2023 report.

The company also announced it will implement a Pay Per Crawl program that will allow some publishers to set a price that can be viewed by companies to decide whether they want to pay the fee for its content.

AI crawlers are automated bots with the intent to extract large amounts of data from websites, to train large language models from companies such as OpenAI and Google.

AI crawlers are typically seen as more invasive and selective when it comes to the data they consumer. They have been accused of overwhelming websites and significantly impacting user experience,” Matthew Holman, a partner at U.K. law firm Cripps, said.

“If effective, the development would hinder AI chatbots’ ability to harvest data for training and search purposes,” he added. “This is likely to lead to a short term impact on AI model training and could, over the long term, affect the viability of models.”

The Clippers got the backup center they have yearned for when Brook Lopez agreed to a two-year, $18-million deal, according to people not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Lopez, who spent the last seven seasons with Milwaukee, averaged 13 points, 5.0 rebounds and shot 37.3% from three-point range.

Lopez will be the backup to starting center Ivica Zubac, and he gives the Clippers depth and experience at the position.

The 7-1 Lopez still is a good rim-protector, averaging 1.9 blocks per game last season. Lopez has won an NBA championship with the Bucks.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Environmental groups filed a federal lawsuit Friday to block a migrant detention center being built on an airstrip in the heart of the Florida Everglades.

The lawsuit seeks to halt the project until it undergoes a stringent environmental review as required by federal law. There is also supposed to be a chance for public comment, according to the lawsuit filed in Miami federal court.

The center dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” by Gov. Ron DeSantis is set to begin processing people who entered the U.S. illegally as soon as next week, the governor said Friday on “Fox and Friends.”

The state is plowing ahead with building a compound of heavy-duty tents, trailers and other temporary buildings at the Miami-Dade County-owned airfield in the Big Cypress National Preserve, about 45 miles west of downtown Miami.

The lawsuit names several federal and state agencies as defendants.

Payne and Anderson write for the Associated Press.

June 27 (UPI) — German officials on Friday raised the alarm over the spying capabilities of Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Basic Technology Research Company, calling on Apple and Google to consider blocking access to the app.

Berlin Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information Meike Kamp said in a statement, the watchdog believes DeepSeek is illegally sending user data to China.

Germany is the latest country to raise concerns over DeepSeek’s data practices, after Italian officials earlier this year called on that country’s government to block the Chinese AI company’s access to Italy.

Italy opened an investigation after DeepSeek officials did not supply required documentation to regulators.

In February, South Korea took similar steps, banning downloads of DeepSkeek over data privacy concerns.

“DeepSeek’s transfer of user data to China is unlawful. DeepSeek has not been able to convincingly demonstrate to my authority that German users’ data in China is protected to a level equivalent to that of the European Union.” Kamp said in the agency’s statement Friday.

“Chinese authorities have far-reaching rights of access to personal data within the sphere of influence of Chinese companies. Furthermore, DeepSeek users in China do not have the enforceable rights and effective legal remedies guaranteed in the European Union. I have therefore informed Google and Apple, as operators of the largest app platforms, of the violations and expect a timely consideration of a blocking.”

DeepSeek does not have an office located inside the European Union, while the app itself is available for download from the Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store.

The watchdog said the company is required to abide by the European General Data Protection Regulation, adding Google and Apple “must now promptly review the report and decide whether to block it.”

Kamp said after notifying Google and Apple, he expects “a timely consideration of a blocking” of DeepSeek from both of the American tech giants.

DeepSeek gained prominence when it began using less-advanced microprocessing chips produced by American tech firm Nvidia to produce its AI platform at a much cheaper price point than competitors.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court has limited the power of federal district judges to hand down orders that apply nationwide.

By 6-3 vote, the justices said Friday that judges may not issue orders that apply to people beyond those who sued.

“Federal courts do not exercise general oversight of the Executive Branch,” said Justice Amy Coney Barrett. And while judges can give full relief to plaintiffs, including groups of people, their injunctions should not be “broader than necessary” to shield those people.

The court’s three liberals dissented.

In her dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the Trump administration is trying to defend a blatantly unconstitutional order repealing birthright citizenship.

“The gamesmanship in this request is apparent and the Government makes no attempt to hide it. Yet, shamefully, this Court plays along,” she said.

The procedural ruling is a victory for President Trump and a setback for advocates who seek to block his executive orders.

It prevents a single district judge in Boston or San Francisco from blocking Trump’s policies from taking effect nationwide.

However, it does not decide on the constitutionality of Trump’s plan to limit birthright citizenship.

Three federal district judges—in Maryland, Massachusetts and Washington—issued nationwide orders declaring Trump’s plan unconstitutional.

The 14th Amendment, adopted in 1868, says “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”

On his first day in office, Trump issued an executive order disagreeing with the traditional understanding and asserting the Constitution does not “extend citizenship universally to everyone born within the United States.”

He said it would be U.S. policy to not recognize citizenship for newborns if the child’s mother or father was “not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth.”

But in quick succession, judges declared Trump’s order may not be enforced across the nation. They said his proposed restrictions violated the federal law and Supreme Court precedent as well as the plain words of the 14th Amendment.

Rather than challenge those rulings directly, Trump’s lawyers sent an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court with “a modest request.”

Rather than rule on birthright citizenship, they urged the justices to rein in the practice of district judges handing down nationwide orders.

They have “reached epidemic proportions since the start of the current administration,” they said.

AUSTIN, Texas — A group of Dallas-area families and faith leaders have filed a lawsuit seeking to block a new Texas law that requires copies of the Ten Commandments be posted in every public school classroom.

The federal lawsuit, filed Tuesday, claims the measure is an unconstitutional violation of the separation of church and state.

Texas is the latest and largest state to attempt a mandate that has run into legal challenges elsewhere. A federal appeals court on Friday blocked a similar law in Louisiana. Some families have sued over Arkansas’ law.

The plaintiffs in the Texas lawsuit are a group of Christian and Nation of Islam faith leaders and families. It names the Texas Education Agency, state education Commissioner Mike Morath and three Dallas-area school districts as defendants.

“The government should govern; the Church should minister,” the lawsuit said. “Anything else is a threat to the soul of both our democracy and our faith.”

Ten Commandments laws are among efforts, mainly in conservative-led states, to insert religion into public schools. Supporters say the Ten Commandments are part of the foundation of the United States’ judicial and educational systems and should be displayed.

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed the Ten Commandments measure into law on June 21. He also has enacted a measure requiring school districts to provide students and staff a daily voluntary period of prayer or time to read a religious text during school hours.

Opponents say the Ten Commandments and prayer measures infringe on others’ religious freedom and more lawsuits are expected. The American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation have said they will file lawsuits opposing the Ten Commandments measure.

Under the new law, public schools must post in classrooms a 16-by-20-inch or larger poster or framed copy of a specific English version of the commandments, even though translations and interpretations vary across denominations, faiths and languages and may differ in homes and houses of worship.

The lawsuit notes that Texas has nearly 6 million students in about 9,100 public schools, including thousands of students of faiths that have little or no connection to the Ten Commandments, or may have no faith at all.

The Texas Education Agency did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. The law takes effect Sept. 1, but most public school districts start the upcoming school year in August.

Vertuno writes for the Associated Press.

More than 100 Labour MPs are supporting a fresh effort to block the government’s planned changes to the benefits system.

The MPs have signed an amendment that would give them an opportunity to vote on a proposal to reject the welfare reform bill in its entirety.

Dozens of Labour MPs have expressed concerns about the plans to cut disability and sickness-related benefits payments to save £5bn a year by 2030.

Ministers have attempted to soften the impact of the welfare changes, but many Labour MPs remain discontented with the package of benefits reforms.

The welfare reform bill – called the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill – will include proposals to make it harder for disabled people with less severe conditions to claim personal independence payment (Pip).

The amendment, published on the UK Parliament website, notes “the need for the reform of the social security system” before outlining reasons why the bill should be rejected.

The reasons it lists for thwarting the bill include the number of people the plans are expected to push into relative poverty, a lack of consultation, and an inadequate impact assessment on the consequences on the jobs market and on people’s health.

It is known as a reasoned amendment, which is a parliamentary mechanism which allows MPs to record their reasons for objecting to a bill.

If the reasoned amendment is selected by House Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle, and the majority of MPs vote in favour of it, the bill will not be allowed to continue its passage through Parliament.

While the success of the amendment is not assured, the level of support for it among Labour MPs indicates the extent of the potential rebellion facing ministers.

The Labour MPs who have signed the amendment include 10 Labour select committee chairs.

These are Tan Dhesi, Helen Hayes, Florence Eshalomi, Patricia Ferguson, Ruth Cadbury, Dame Meg Hillier, Ruth Jones, Sarah Owen, Debbie Abrahams and Cat Smith.

This number of Labour opponents to the government’s welfare plans could be enough to inflict defeat on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in the House of Commons, were all the opposition parties to oppose the plans too.

The government has a working majority of 165 in the Commons, meaning that 83 Labour MPs would need to oppose the bill to force a parliamentary defeat.

Earlier, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said she did not want to alert Labour to her plans before the welfare reform bill was voted on.

A senior Conservative source said the shadow cabinet would be discussing whether to help the government vote through the welfare reforms when they meet on Tuesday morning.

It is thought about half the amendment’s signatories so far are from the new intake of Labour MPs – those elected at the general election last year.

The vote on the government’s bill is currently due to take place a week tomorrow – on Tuesday 1 July.

In a meeting of Labour MPs on Monday evening, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall defended the welfare reforms, arguing greater spending on benefits alone was “no route to social justice”.

“The path to fairer society – one where everyone thrives, where people who can work get the support they need, and where we protect those who cannot – that is the path we seek to build with our reforms,” Kendall said.

“Our plans are rooted in fairness – for those who need support and for taxpayers.

“They are about ensuring the welfare state survives, so there is always a safety net for those who need it.”

One of the main co-ordinators behind the amendment, who did not wish to be named, told the BBC the government’s U-turn on cutting winter fuel payments for pensioners “demonstrates that they are susceptible to pressure”.

They said the decision emboldened many of those who have signed the amendment, saying MPs “all voted for winter fuel [cuts] and have taken so much grief in our constituencies, so colleagues think why should I take that on again?”.

It is understood that plans for the amendment began when the government offered a partial olive branch, by expanding the transition period for anyone losing the personal independence payment.

The same MP who has been helping to co-ordinate the amendment said the offering by the government earlier this month was “pathetic” and “angered people even more”.

They said direct phone calls from Sir Keir and Chancellor Rachel Reeves that were supposed to placate would-be rebels had instead “been entrenching people” to vote against the bill.

They accused Number 10 of thinking MPs can be “bullied into voting with them” and said the aim of the amendment was to “send the government back to the drawing board” by forcing them to withdraw next week’s vote.

The welfare package as a whole could push an extra 250,000 people, including 50,000 children, into relative poverty, according to the government’s impact assessment.

The Department for Work and Pensions says it expects 3.2 million families – a mixture of current and future recipients – to lose out financially, as a result of the total package of measures, with an average loss of £1,720 per year.

This includes 370,000 current Pip recipients who will no longer qualify and 430,000 future claimants who will get less than they would previously have been entitled to.

But ministers have stressed the figures do not factor in the government’s plans to spend £1bn on helping the long-term sick and disabled back into work, or its efforts to reduce poverty.

Ministers hope these efforts will boost employment among benefits recipients, at a time when 2.8 million people are economically inactive due to long-term sickness.

If nothing changes, the health and disability benefits bill is forecast to reach £70bn a year by the end of the decade, a level of spending the government says is “unsustainable”.

The government is planning to put the welfare reforms in place by November 2026 and no one will lose out on benefits payments until that happens.

Officials at the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball organisation asked federal agents to leave the stadium car park Thursday after dozens of agents wearing face masks converged on the site. Protesters amassed shortly after demanding an end to immigration raids in LA.

In another emotional instalment, two people who are foundlings, tell Davina and Nicky their stories and hope to trace family

Every single story from Long Lost Family could be turned into a daytime sobathon movie in its own right. Pretty much every episode leaves viewers weeping into their wine, and this show is the perfect example of a cast-iron format that nails it every time. Davina McCall is walking along a coastline in a coat we all want to buy immediately.

She tells us the sad story of someone searching for their relative. Cut to said person’s kitchen and Davina has news. Pause. She produces a photo. Maybe even a letter. Everyone is in floods of tears, and that’s before the reunion even happens. Kleenex anyone?

Elsewhere, Nicky Campbell is providing a shoulder to cry on, while someone spits into a test tube. The spin-off series, Long Lost Family: Born Without Trace (tonight June 18, ITV, 9pm) focuses on foundlings, people left as babies, often in the most extraordinary places and in the first hours or days of life. We’ve heard about babies left in cardboard boxes, on doorsteps, at churches, in hospital car parks, and in one case a London phone box and even under a hedge.

In tonight’s emotional episode, Simon Prothero tells how he was found as a newborn in the summer of 1966 in the outside toilet block of a children’s home in Neath, Wales. Simon, who was adopted and grew up 10 miles away, says: “I don’t know where I was born, when I was born, what the circumstances were. I don’t know who my mother is.” As the team cracks into action, it’s especially sad as we learn that Simon’s adoptive parents and his wife Helen have died, but a DNA search connects to a large family from North Wales. Watch out for the moment Simon discovers his birth mother is alive and in her 80s, though she’s not yet ready for contact.

In another story, Lisa Dyke tells how she was discovered as a newborn in May 1969, just a few hours old, outside a health clinic in Christchurch, Dorset. She’d been put into another baby’s pram. She says: “Why was I left in another child’s pram? Who left me? I just want to know the truth.”

Long Lost Family: Born Without Trace is airing on ITV tonight at 9pm.

There’s plenty more on TV tonight – here’s the best of the rest..

RACE ACROSS THE WORLD, BBC1, 9pm

It’s been emotional, as five intrepid pairs have taken on the 14,000km race of a lifetime, from the Great Wall of China to the southern tip of India. In the end, mother and son Caroline and Tom took first place in a hard-fought win. Six months later, the contestants meet for the first time in this reunion episode, sharing their greatest highs and agonising lows. The teams reminisce about being forced out of their comfort zones and traversing the two most populated countries on earth.

For former married couple, Yin and Gaz, it’s a chance to learn who has won the race. Brothers Brian and Melvyn look back at how the race enabled them to make up for lost time, while sisters Elizabeth and Letitia tell how the adventure changed them. Teenage couple Fin and Sioned, who were catapulted into the deep end for their first backpacking experience together, share their future plans. An intimate insight with behind-the-scenes insights and unseen moments. “I wish we were starting it all again,” says Caroline.

THE BUCCANEERS, APPLE TV+

For anyone not familiar with ‘The Buccaneers’, they are a group of fun-loving young American girls, who exploded into the tightly corseted London of the 1870s, setting hearts racing. Now, the Buccaneers are no longer the invaders – England is their home. In fact, they’re practically running the place.

Nan (Kristine Froseth) is the Duchess of Tintagel, the most influential woman in the country. Conchita (Alisha Boe) is Lady Brightlingsea, heroine to a wave of young American heiresses. And Jinny (Imogen Waterhouse) is on every front page, wanted for the kidnapping of her unborn child.

All of the girls have been forced to grow up and now have to fight to be heard, as they wrestle with romance, lust, jealousy, births and deaths. Last time we got a taste of England. This time we’re in for a veritable feast. Also starring Christina Hendricks as Nan’s mum Patti, this is an addictive culture-clash historical romp.

EMMERDALE, ITV1, 7.30pm

Getting increasingly frustrated with his motorbike, Bear snaps and threatens Kammy. Paddy sees this from a distance and puts a stop to it. Paddy and Mandy are dumbfounded when Bear later acts as if nothing has happened. Bear becomes irritated by their questioning and heads away upstairs, leaving Paddy and Mandy to fear that things are getting worse. Vinny continues to give Kammy the cold shoulder. Vanessa tries to get through to Tracy, but Tracy’s not interested in her excuses.

EASTENDERS, BBC1, 7.30pm

Kat doesn’t feel any better following her conversation with Alfie and feels that he isn’t being completely honest with her. The drinks start flowing at Elaine’s divorce party. As the night gets steadily messier, Elaine shocks Linda by declaring that the Prosecco is on the house all night. Later, a tipsy Elaine offers to book Priya a singles cruise, saying she can pay her back later. Linda is then horrified to see £5k leave the business account and confronts Elaine.

CORONATION STREET, ITV1, 8pm

Glenda and Sean hand out leaflets advertising the Rovers’ Drag Night. Todd suggests to Theo they should go. When Debbie admits to Bernie that she finds it hard being in the same room as Ronnie, Bernie suggests they head to her hotel. Dee-Dee opens a letter stating that Laila is due for her vaccinations but when Michael tells her that James is in Leeds, she realises that she’ll have to take Laila herself. Kevin gets ready to leave for his chemo session.

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