California politicians face rampant threats. Some want to use campaign cash for protection By Sameea Kamal | CalMatters Last spring, Assemblymember Isaac Bryan received a letter calling for him to be lynched because of a bill he introduced to change how ballot measures are presented to California voters. It’s not the only time he’s been subjected to threats or harassment. Bryan said he and fellow Assemblymember Mia Bonta received hundreds of threats when they didn’t vote in a committee on a bill increasing penalties for child trafficking, until it added language that he said would pr ..read more

California’s population growing again California’s population grew for the first time in three years as legal immigration rebounded and the great California exodus during the COVID pandemic dramatically slowed as remote workers returned to the office, according to a state report released Tuesday. The overall population gains were relatively small — a net increase of some 67,000 people to raise California’s population to 39.1 million people in 2023, according to the California Department of Finance. San Diego County’s population also grew, adding nearly 700 people to 3,291,101, but less than th ..read more

General Atomics selected to build Collaborative Combat Aircraft for U.S. Air Force General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) has been selected to build production representative flight test articles of the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) for the U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC). This award exercises the critical design, build, and flight test on the existing CCA contract with General Atomics following an initial six-month phase that culminated in a successful CCA preliminary design review earlier this year. The CCA program aims to be a force multiplier, develop ..read more

Coming next to Downtown’s Embarcadero — a 5.7-acre over-the-water park next to the USS Midway Museum Freedom Park will be a tribute to San Diego’s military history Sometime in early 2028, a 5.7-acre over-the-water park will be opened alongside the USS Midway Museum on the Downtown Embarcadero — a tribute to the San Diego region’s rich military history. On its completion, Freedom Park will boast an array of features, including nature gardens, memorials and monuments, play elements, and concessionaires. Developed by the USS Midway Museum and the Port of San Diego, Freedom Park’s overall design w ..read more

‘Devastating’ wait times at Mexico border strain California small businesses By Wendy Fry | CalMatters Government agencies are spending billions of dollars to improve wait times at the U.S.-Mexico border, but the checkpoints remain severely clogged — and border communities are hurting. In recent months lines at the border often stretched for several hours, frustrating more than 150,000 students, cross-border families, health care workers, small business owners, and others who daily cross to and from Mexico. Experts say some fronterizas have stopped crossing the border as often ..read more

The Cal Grant expansion for California college students is in jeopardy as the state deficit grows By Mikhail Zinshteyn | CalMatters When California’s budget surplus was in the tens of billions two years ago, legislators passed a law that would expand the state’s nationally renowned free-tuition and cash aid program to an additional 137,000 college students by fall 2024 — but only if the money is there. Whether the Cal Grant tuition program grows will play out in the next two months, as state legislators and Gov. Gavin Newsom grapple with a budget deficit now estimated at between $38 billi ..read more

Electronic health records unlock genetics of tobacco use disorder By Miles Martin (UC San Diego) By analyzing electronic health records, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have identified hundreds of new genes associated with tobacco use disorder. They also identified hundreds of potential drug candidates that could help treat the disease. The study was published on April 17, 2024, in Nature Human Behavior. “Tobacco use disorder has an enormous impact on public health,” said Sandra Sanchez-Roige, an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at UC San ..read more

Visual Capitalist Global Smartphone Market Share: Apple Steals the Crown by Less than 1 percent Overview What we’re showing Global smartphone market share for the year 2023, based on data from the International Data Corporation’s (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker. Apple and Samsung nearly tied The two companies are the dominant names in the global market, holding a 20.1percent and 19.4 percent market share. In terms of growth from 2022, though, Apple managed +3.7 percent, while Samsung shrank by -13.6 percent. Chinese firms round out the top five Next in the rankings are ..read more

Northrop Grumman completes assembly of Manta Ray uncrewed underwater vehicle Northrop Grumman Corporation completed assembly of a full-size uncrewed underwater vehicle (UUV) prototype known as Manta Ray. A new class of UUV, it is an extra-large glider that will operate long-duration, long-range and payload-capable undersea missions without need for on-site human logistics. Manta Ray was built through a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program aimed at advancing key technologies to benefit future UUV designs, including techniques to manage energy, increased payload capacity, lo ..read more

Why tortillas sold in California may be forced to add a new ingredient By Ana B. Ibarra | CalMatters Corn chips, tortillas, tamales and pupusas — while all delicious may be missing a key vitamin for women of reproductive age. Folic acid has long been used to prevent serious birth defects and help babies develop. Medical and public health experts advise daily consumption during pregnancy, but also in the months before becoming pregnant. This B vitamin is so important the federal government requires folic acid in certain foods  such as enriched breads and cereals. Now a California lawm ..read more