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The biggest tech battles many people face are things like frequent two-factor authentication, a time suck that makes you want to hurl a device across the room, and sigh-inducing texts to parents letting them know that the video of a cat cooking eggs they 100% believe is real is actually AI slop.

But in “Cupertino,” the legal minds at the center of the show are taking on more consequential tech disputes in the courtroom.

The series joins a wave of recent films and TV shows exploring and confronting the rapidly evolving tech sector. Created by Robert and Michelle King, veterans of the legal drama genre with shows like “The Good Wife” and its spinoff “The Good Fight,” the Silicon Valley-set courtroom drama is interested in David vs. Goliath tension. It follows Michael Price (Mike Colter), an attorney fired by his tech startup employer S-Talk, as he teams up with fellow ousted lawyer Olivia Siffre (Rachel Keller) to launch their own ad-hoc law firm to take on cases — including their own — for everyday people against tech giants.

“There are big companies that have a lot of money, deep pockets — they could suffocate you, they can bog you down in litigation to the point where you can’t financially match them,” Colter said. “They’re planning on people just rolling over because they don’t want to deal with it. That’s where Michael and Olivia come in. We get the justice for people who otherwise won’t see any. I’m just excited and intrigued by the stories they [the Kings] want to tell here.”

The Kings’ exploration of tech’s litigation underbelly arrives at at a critical moment. High-stakes conflicts over artificial intelligence, data privacy, workplace culture, antitrust laws and other issues are dominating the news and defining our modern era. “The headlines, the way that it lines up is crazy,” Keller said. “It’s really important some of the cases they’re bringing to the show — real things that are happening to real people.”

But the show’s origins are grounded in personal history — Robert grew up in San José; his father worked on mainframes for IBM and the now-defunct Control Data Corp. before personal computers took over — and a desire to bring a fresh backdrop to the Kings’ signature legal drama style.

“When you go back and visit family, you started to see how Silicon Valley — we just call it the Bay Area — was changing,” Robert said. “Not only in the make of cars that everyone was buying, but in these massive offices that were taking over suburban streets; homes were just being plowed under and house values were going up. There was good and bad. It started with that — how much it was changing the world.”

They were also inspired to explore a new legal angle: “It felt like other shows weren’t really looking at the way tech was impacting the law,” he said.

“We were less interested in looking at the tech titans than the Davids of this world — the people that were fighting them,” Michelle added. But she stresses the show is not anti-tech or meant to be a soapbox, even while showing the power everyday people can and do wield: “It wasn’t created to be vegetables. It’s created to be crème brûlée — it’s meant to be funny, or tasty. If it isn’t delicious to people, I really feel as though we’ve wasted our time.”

Fans of “The Good Wife” or “The Good Fight” are familiar with how the Kings turned emerging tech issues — particularly ones involving Google, Amazon or Facebook — into narrative catalysts for cases. It was often through the lens of a fictional tech giant known as ChumHum, a Google-like search engine created by a guy named Neil Gross (John Benjamin Hickey), that got embroiled in a variety of cases, including ones about secrecy and search result modifications. “Cupertino” blends real and fictitious companies.

The second episode of the CBS drama aired Thursday. We spoke with the Kings to unpack some of the cases they chose to kick off the season.

USC coach Lincoln Riley kept his offense on the field on fourth and four at the USC 13.

The decision was so confounding, Penn State coach Matt Campbell burned the Nittany Lions’ final timeout with 4:15 remaining. Riley grinned with his team protecting a 31-23 lead in front of a rowdy crowd of more than 106,000 fans decked in all white at Beaver Stadium Saturday night.

USC punted after the timeout and Riley watched his maligned defense recover Penn State receiver Brett Eskildsen’s fumble on the Nittany Lions’ first snap of the ensuing drive.

With no timeouts remaining, Penn State had no room for error while trying to stop USC. The Trojans burned as much clock as they could and were again prepared to snap the ball on fourth down when the Penn State defense jumped offside, effectively sealing the Trojans’ win.

Riley has long been scrutinized for clock management and late-game decision making, but in one of the most hostile environments in the country, he helped the No. 19 Trojans work their way to a 31-23 win.

USC (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten) had the better record and national ranking, but Penn State (3-3, 0-3) was favored to win by 1½ points in a sign of the plunging confidence in Riley and his Trojans.

“We came in here against the odds,” Riley said during his postgame on-field interview with NBC. “Everybody in the country counted us out and said we weren’t going to win a tough road game.

“Trojans came [to] play. Great environment here. Tonight the white-out game went cardinal and gold.”

Quarterback Jayden Maiava, who had struggled at times the past few weeks, completed 21 of 33 passes for 301 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He was sacked once.

Trent Mosley, who returned after missing the past two games with an injury, and Tanook Hines delivered a series of highlight catches to support Maiava. Mosley hauled in nine passes for 111 yards and a touchdown, while Hines added four catches for 82 yards and another touchdown.

King Miller ran for 102 yards in 19 carries and scored off a Maiava option pitch.

USC wide receiver Kayden Dixon-Wyatt catches a touchdown pass ahead of Penn State linebacker Tony Rojas during the second half of the Trojans’ 31-23 win Saturday.

(Barry Reeger / Associated Press)

The teams traded touchdowns and field goals early, entering halftime tied 17-17.

Riley made the curious decision to open the third quarter with an onside kick, but his defense limited Penn State to a field goal.

Miller ran for a 13-yard touchdown on USC’s next drive.

Penn State mounted a long drive that the Trojans’ defense again limited to a field goal, giving USC a 24-23 lead with 14:52 left in the fourth quarter.

Maiava then led a 10-play, 71-yard scoring drive. On the final snap of the drive, Maiava had time to sit in the pocket, scan the field and connect with Kayden Dixon-Wyatt for a 10-yard touchdown. USC hit the extra point and led 31-23 with 11:11 left in the fourth quarter.

USC’s defense forced a Penn State punt and Riley worked the clock to protect the win.

Desman Stephens II returned from his one-game suspension for his hit on Oregon quarterback Dante Moore and led the Trojans with nine tackles.

Freshman Luke Wafle delivered five tackles and one massively important sack of Penn State quarterback Rocco Becht for a loss of 10 yards with six minutes left in regulation.

It was raining in State College late in the fourth quarter. The Trojans’ defense danced on the sideline as the song “Umbrella” played in the stadium and the Trojans lingered on the field to soak up a big road victory.

Oct. 9, 2026 10:38 AM PT

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has imposed sweeping new sanctions on the International Criminal Court as part of its campaign to dismantle the tribunal over investigations into the United States and its allies, including Israel.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the sanctions Friday, after the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to South African jurist Navi Pillay, a former judge at the ICC and other international courts whose selection was condemned by Israel. President Trump has coveted that prize for himself.

“We will ban transactions with this rogue court, cutting off their resources and crippling its ability to operate against us,” Rubio said in a video address posted to social media. “The United States and the American people are not subject to the jurisdiction of this fake ICC.”

The sanctions cut the court off from U.S.-based financial services, technology companies and even using U.S. dollars. They set a six-month timeline for U.S. companies and individuals that have business with the court to wind that business down.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks at the Pnyx hill, where ancient Athenians held democratic assemblies, with the ancient Parthenon temple atop the Acropolis in the background, in Athens,Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026.

(Mark Schiefelbein / Associated Press)

The ICC denounced the step as an attack on the rule of law and the foundations of international order, themes that Rubio had appeared to embrace only two days ago in a speech in front of the Acropolis in Athens.

“It is an attempt to obstruct the course of justice and to prevent the court from doing what it was created to do,” the court said in a statement. “It is an assault on the rule of law and on the very foundations of the international legal order which strikes at the simple principle that no one stands above the law.”

ICC President Tomoko Akane, a citizen of U.S. ally Japan, said the court would “continue to fully discharge its mandate, with independence and impartiality, acting only on the basis of the law and the evidence, for the sake of the countless victims of grave crimes.”

She also appealed to other ICC members for support. “This is not just about defending a single institution, but about safeguarding the international order grounded upon the rule of law.”

Rights groups also denounced the sanctions.

“This existential attack must fail,” said Erika Guevara Rosas, an Amnesty International senior director. “States must take concrete action to resist the imposition of these measures and actively protect the Court.”

A view of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, on August 22, 2026.

(Karolina Janik/NurPhoto via Associated Press)

The court’s host country of the Netherlands has been preparing for weeks for the move. One possible measure to mitigate sanctions is the EU “blocking statute,” which could be used to protect European court staff by preventing European companies from complying with the U.S. measures. Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen has called the blocking statute the “nuclear option” in countering possible sanctions, but said the Netherlands has been in talks with the European Commission to ensure that if it is necessary it can be quickly enacted.

In a joint statement, Canada, Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom expressed strong disagreement with the U.S. sanctions.

“We will continue to work together to support the court’s vital work, uphold the rules-based international system, and advance accountability,” the statement said.

“If put into effect, these sanctions will have a significant impact on the court’s work, its dedicated staff and their families. They work every day to bring those accused of the most serious international crimes to justice and to support their victims.”

Rubio said U.S. allies should join in the U.S. actions. “If they do not, the United States will continue its campaign to dismantle the ICC, piece by piece, until Americans are threatened no longer,” he said.

A number of countries have withdrawn from the court this year, including Venezuela and Chad. The South Pacific island nation of Naoero was the most recent to announce it would quit.

Lee and Quell write for the Associated Press. Quell reported from The Hague, Netherlands. AP writer Mike Corder contributed to this report from The Hague.

Since the beginning of the republic, there has been a dynamic tension between constantly expanding diversity driven by immigration and the relentless homogenizing force of common American culture. And there’s nothing like a long drive on an interstate highway to remind a person of that reality.

On Monday, I traveled 600 miles on I-5 cutting through the center of California, from Redding to Los Angeles. The force of homogenization was apparent at every major exit and interchange. I was hungry, but I was hoping to find something beyond McDonald’s, Burger King, Subway, Wendy’s, Arby’s or Taco Bell. That was not an easy task.

As anyone who has driven an interstate anywhere in this great nation knows, the America one sees from the freeway lanes is the same from coast to coast. The fast-food restaurant choices are the same. The slower food choices are the same – Olive Garden, Denny’s, Pizza Hut and their equivalents. The stores are the same – Target, Best Buy, Starbucks, Wal-Mart.

There is comfort in this level of reliability. A traveler can always find a familiar vendor to buy the thing that did not make it into the suitcase or a hamburger that tastes exactly like the one at the last stop. Still, it can be dispiriting, as well. I remember driving down a highway in rural Indiana marveling that not a single shop or restaurant was unique to that place. It was franchised, homogenized America at its most appalling.

The happy surprise was to discover that, within a minute or two of turning off that Indiana highway, I was rolling through pristine farmland where Amish families riding in horse-drawn buggies sustained a unique culture. And that is still true in most places. I drive to Montana a couple of times a year, and I know once I exit the freeway and bypass the fast-food emporiums, I will find a little cafe filled with ranchers and farmers lunching on homemade soup and sandwiches and talking about the weather, their cows and the upcoming potluck at the VFW hall.

On Monday’s run down I-5, though, I was in a rush and had no time to find the unique places in the countryside that I know must be there. I had to seek diversity from another source: the radio.

Just out of Redding, Christian preachers hung out at the high end of the dial while country music stations predominated in the stronger frequencies. Those stations played song after song extolling the virtues of small towns, back-country roads and girls in tank tops and tight jeans eager to park down by the river and get frisky on the tailgate of a pickup truck.

Approaching Sacramento, the country songs faded and a political talk show took over. The host was part of the legion of small-time Rush Limbaughs across the country. This particular pundit was going off on guns and immigration, sometimes making sense, other times spouting hunches that veered seriously from verifiable facts.

I also began finding more unusual stations broadcasting from the Bay Area. On one, a man with a very earnest voice described how the Earth is actually a prison where all the psychotics from other planets are sent by the overlords of intergalactic civilization. That’s news you don’t hear just anywhere. Another station was nonstop hip-hop. Like the country music, there were reliable themes: wearing gold chains and gold watches, having sex, partying in the crib, having sex, hanging with the homies, having sex, voluptuous female bodies and having sex.

The college stations kicked in at various points. Some offered BBC reports from Jamaica, Mali, the Netherlands, Brazil and other locales most Americans cannot find on a map. Others played music by undiscovered alternative musicians who should probably stay undiscovered. The bad music was, at least, distinctive. On the pop stations, homogenization was really in evidence. Interchangeable divas – was that Beyonce or Mariah Carey? – sang interchangeable songs with bland “I want you, baby, I need you, baby” lyrics.

Strangely, on the Christian music station in the Central Valley, the music was essentially the same as on the secular stations, the main difference being that Jesus was substituted for the usual love interest in the songs. Somehow, making Christ sound like a really neat boyfriend seems vaguely sacrilegious.

The closer I drew to L.A. the more the Spanish-language stations took over. I suppose this is a clear example of diversity. On the other hand, most of the music sounded as formulaic as the pop and country tunes. (Does every Mexican song contain the word corazon?). One hombre stood out, however. Like them all, he was singing with a mariachi band blaring in the traditional three-beats-to-a-measure rhythm, but his voice sounded as if he had just rolled out of bed on the third day of a tequila binge. That was distinctive.

As night fell, I entered the swirl of L.A. traffic. National Public Radio was reporting that immigration reform is suddenly a popular item in Congress. That sounded good to me. We need the different sounds, tastes, talents and ideas that are brought to our shores from all over the world to be integrated, co-opted and fused onto old forms to create something distinctively American. After all, our national motto is E pluribus unum – one from many.

So, sure, secure the borders, but let’s not lock the doors. And please, let’s build some sushi bars at a few exits on the interstate.

SACRAMENTO — Carlos Cortes and Zack Gelof each hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning as the Athletics rallied past the Angels 9-7 on Tuesday night.

Cortes launched a drive to right-center off Sam Bachman (1-3) to give the A’s a 7-6 lead, and Gelof cemented the comeback from a 6-0 deficit they faced just two innings before.

Cortes came off the bench as a pinch-hitter in the seventh and finished two for two with a triple and three RBIs. He also scored twice.

Hogan Harris gave up a run in the ninth but earned his 16th save by striking out pinch-hitter Oswald Peraza with two runners aboard.

Luis Medina (6-3) pitched a scoreless inning for the win as the Athletics clinched the season series with one game remaining between the bottom two teams in the AL West.

JSerra converted on three fourth downs in the second half Friday, allowing the Lions to battle back from a seven-point, first-half deficit to beat host Bishop Amat 37-28.

With the nonleague victory, JSerra improves to 4-1, while Bishop Amat falls to 4-1.

JSerra quarterback Hayes Cloutier, who threw for two touchdowns and rushed for three, engineered all three second-half conversions, two with his legs and one with his arm.

The first, and most impressive, came on the Lions’ first possession of the half. Trailing 28-21 and facing fourth and three on the Bishop Amat 27-yard line, Cloutier zigged and zagged across the field, eluding most of the defense.

After the Lions tied the score, sophomore defensive back Sean Veritch snagged a deflected pass by Bishop Amat quarterback Domenico Doran, and the Lions drove to the Lancers’ 16-yard line. On fourth and 10, Evan Leddy kicked a 33-yard field goal to give JSerra an apparent 31-28 lead, but the Lions accepted a penalty on Bishop Amat that moved the ball to the 11-yard line.

JSerra coach Hardy Nickerson opted to go for it on fourth down, and Cloutier rewarded his gamble, scoring on an 11-yard run. Leddy’s extra point was blocked, and JSerra settled for a 34-28 lead.

JSerra High quarterback Hayes Cloutier leaps as he tries to evade a tackle by a Bishop Amat defenders.

(Nick Koza)

The Lions’ defense, which had given up scores on four of Bishop Amat’s five first-half possessions, then stiffened, forcing the Lancers to punt. With about two minutes remaining in the third quarter, the Lions reeled off a 23-play drive, which included four JSerra penalties and ate up more than 10 minutes.

A 22-yard run by Cloutier was key, as was his four-yard completion to Clark Cokely on a fourth-and-two play. The drive ended with a 44-yard field goal by Leddy that gave JSerra a 37-28 lead.

After surrendering 28 first-half points, JSerra held Bishop Amat scoreless, and running back Justin Clinton, who rushed for more than 130 yards, including a 67-yard burst and a 43-yard touchdown, in check in the second half.

“It was a heavyweight fight,” Nickerson said of the first half. “But my defensive staff just put it together in the second. We turned things up and made adjustments.

“We knew that if we could get in the throwing lanes and forced them to have to pass the football … we felt we would have a chance. And those guys went out and executed the second half and it was beautiful.”