Topline:
Participants will kick off the Badwater Ultramarathon, now in it's 46th year, in Death Valley National Park at 9 p.m.
The details: The self-described “toughest foot race” travels a 135-mile route over three mountains. The race starts below sea level at Badwater Basin and ends at Whitney Portal (8,300 feet elevation).
What’s it like? One runner put it this way: “I just get absolutely, just moved, looking at the mountains... and looking at the desert where you can see for like 50 miles.”
While many of us will spend the Fourth of July holiday barbecuing and enjoying firework shows, a group of athletes from around the world will be taking it to the limit in what’s known as the Badwater race.
Participants will kick off the Badwater Ultramarathon, now in its 46th year, in Death Valley National Park at 9 p.m Tuesday.
Watch the live webcast link here.
The self-described “toughest foot race” travels a 135-mile route over three mountains. The race starts below sea level at Badwater Basin and ends at Whitney Portal (8,300 feet elevation).
One hundred athletes are participating from over two dozen countries around the world.
Sonia Ahuja, 47, of Thousand Oaks is attempting her first finish at Badwater. Joshua Holmes, 45, of Los Angeles is a veteran of the race. Other local athletes include Maria Poso, 51, of West Covina; Michelle West, 51, of Costa Mesa; and Daniel Westergaard, 64, of Palos Verdes Estates.
Participants often train for years to reach the level of endurance needed to participate in the invitation-only race.
For many, the race has become an annual tradition of sorts.
Harvey Lewis is a veteran competitor and will participate again this year. He told LAist one of the main reasons he participates is “to connect with other people and hopefully inspire others in their own adventures and connect with the natural environment.”
Plus, he said, the scenery is extraordinary.
“It's moving to me, I just get absolutely, just moved, looking at the mountains... and looking at the desert where you can see for like 50 miles,” he said. “When you combine it with the running it's like dancing.”
Lewis is a high school government teacher visiting California for the race from Ohio.
This year track organizers changed the route, which typically takes runners through Owens Lake. Most years it’s dried up, but the lake is currently full of water due to our unusually wet winter.
Topline:
California’s largest state worker union says it’s ready to strike in the final months of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration.
Why it matters: SEIU Local 1000, which represents about 100,000 public employees, announced Thursday morning that its members overwhelmingly authorized a strike with 96% of people who voted in favor of walking out. The union wants better pay, more affordable healthcare coverage and more flexibility to work from home.
Why now: The union’s contract expired July 1. It’s pushing Newsom to provide a larger raise and boost to benefits than the administration offered. The union says the state has room to offer more, pointing to a $20 billion increase in general fund spending over the past two years.
Read on... for more on the strike authorization.
California’s largest state worker union says it’s ready to strike in the final months of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration.
SEIU Local 1000, which represents about 100,000 public employees, announced Thursday morning that its members overwhelmingly authorized a strike with 96% of people who voted in favor of walking out. The union wants better pay, more affordable healthcare coverage and more flexibility to work from home.
“It is an important step that state employees are taking,” said Anica Walls, the union’s president. “They’re exercising their right to hold the line and say, we deserve to be respected, paid and protected for the work that we do.”
The union’s contract expired July 1. It’s pushing Newsom to provide a larger raise and boost to benefits than the administration offered. The union says the state has room to offer more, pointing to a $20 billion increase in general fund spending over the past two years.
The union also filed a complaint with the state’s Public Employment Relations Board, accusing CalHR, the state agency that handles labor negotiations on behalf of the administration, of bad faith bargaining, delaying negotiations and rejecting proposals outright. In late September the board sided with the union, and concluded that CalHR “refused to meet and confer in good faith.”
In response to the board’s findings, Angela Musallam, CalHR’s deputy director of communications, said in an email to CalMatters that “the state has been, and remains open to negotiation, and is prepared to move into mediation to assist the parties in reaching an agreement.”
Musallam added that its focus “continues to be on achieving a fair and responsible agreement, and we remain available at the bargaining table.”
A strike would be unprecedented for the union, and it remains unclear when the strike would start and how long it would last. The union has never held a statewide walkout in the 44-year history of the labor groups that over time coalesced to become Local 1000. It came close to striking in 2016, but an eleventh-hour deal with then-Gov. Jerry Brown averted it.
The union represents almost half of the state government workforce, and includes a wide range of professionals including nurses, clerks, program analysts, information technology staff and custodians.
Its last three-year contract gave workers represented by Local 1000 three successive 3% raises and many received additional special salary adjustments. The total contract was expected to increase state spending cumulatively by $1.5 billion, according to estimates from the time.
A state budget crisis disrupted those plans. The deal was supposed to provide an additional 1% raise in 2025 if certain economic conditions were met, but the Newsom administration withheld that increase. Instead, unions in June 2025 agreed to temporary pay reductions that Newsom sought to balance the budget.
The reductions basically negated the contract's promised salary increase. Local 1000 also delayed a raise that was supposed to take effect July 1 until next summer.
Civil servants received additional days off of work in those deals, which they can cash out in the future.
If a strike occurs, some of the immediate effects on Californians could include delayed services at the DMV and the state’s unemployment and disability insurance offices, said Walls.
“Realistically we are less than 3% of the budget,” said Walls. “We do all the work that keeps all the necessary benefits for the Californians that deserve them. And in order for us to continue doing the jobs that we do, we simply want the administration to bargain with us in good faith.”
Asked whether the union is likely to strike a deal with Newsom or if it anticipates waiting until after the election when his successor steps in, Walls said the union would stand firm either way.
“Administrations change, but our demands won’t,” she said.
This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.
Topline:
The Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 4-1 on Wednesday night to clinch their NL Division Series, as they seek to become the first NL team to win three straight World Series.
What happened: Andy Pages drove in two runs with a bases-loaded single in the seventh inning to give Los Angeles the lead.
What's next: The Dodgers will face Milwaukee or San Diego in Game 1 of the NLCS on Sunday.
Andy Pages drove in two runs with a bases-loaded single in the seventh inning to give Los Angeles the lead, and the Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 4-1 on Wednesday night to clinch their NL Division Series.
The Dodgers won back-to-back games in Atlanta to take the best-of-five matchup 3-1 and advance to the National League Championship Series as they seek to become the first NL team to win three straight World Series.
Pages lined a 3-2 pitch from Robert Suarez up the middle to drive in Teoscar Hernández, who singled off starter Tyler Mahle, and pinch-runner Tommy Edman for a 3-1 lead. Didier Fuentes walked pinch-hitter Josue De Paula and Kyle Tucker to load the bases. Edman ran for De Paula.
Max Muncy’s solo shot off Raisel Iglesias in the ninth padded the lead and gave the slugger 19 postseason homers with the Dodgers, extending his franchise record.
Dodgers right-hander Tyler Glasnow, making his first start since Sept. 24, allowed only one hit but walked five batters in 4 2/3 innings. After he issued two walks in the fifth, left-hander Alex Vesia ended the inning on Matt Olson’s groundout to second base.
The missed opportunity left the Braves with 18 walks in the series, and none scored.
Glasnow and four relievers combined to give up just three hits. Tanner Scott pitched a perfect eighth before Edwin Díaz got three quick outs for the save.
Mahle, a native of Newport Beach, California, who grew up a Dodgers fan, allowed two runs — one earned — in 6 1/3 innings.
Michael Harris II hit Glasnow’s first pitch for a single before stealing second and eventually scoring from third on a wild pitch that bounced off catcher Will Smith’s chest protector.
The Dodgers pulled even in the second with the help of two Atlanta errors. Shohei Ohtani walked, stole second and advanced to third on catcher Sean Murphy’s errant throw into center field. Muncy’s pop fly into shallow left field was dropped by shortstop Mauricio Dubón for another error, allowing Ohtani to score.
Hernández crashed into the wall while attempting to catch Ozzie Albies’ double off Vesia leading off the sixth. Hernández pointed to his head and neck when talking to an athletic trainer but remained in the game.
Edgardo Henriquez stranded Albies at second. Henriquez allowed one hit in 1 2/3 scoreless innings for the win.
Dodgers second baseman Miguel Rojas was held out after leaving Tuesday night’s 3-1 win during an at-bat in the eighth inning with lower back soreness. Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said Rojas would not be available off the bench.
Ronald Acuña Jr. started in right field for Atlanta one day after being moved to designated hitter in a late lineup change due to right knee soreness.
The Dodgers will face Milwaukee or San Diego in Game 1 of the NLCS on Sunday.
Topline:
The L.A. City Council voted Wednesday to ban tobacco and cannabis shops from selling nitrous oxide, a drug often called laughing gas or whippits. The new city ordinance will add penalties that include up to a $1,000 fine or six months in county jail if approved by Mayor Karen Bass.
Why it matters: The FDA warns that inhaling or misusing nitrous oxide, which is sometimes used by dentists and medical doctors to sedate patients, can lead to serious health problems or death. Many community members say they have seen the drug’s recreational use become normalized. Among those who advocated for the City Council to approve the ban were several students from Bert Corona High School in Pacoima.
“ I want to grow up in a community that's drug-free, where we feel safe just walking around, where this isn't just accepted as a part of everyday life,” Mayra Rodriguez said during public comment at the City Council meeting. “We shouldn't have to grow up around this.”
Other laughing gas bans: Local governments have banned nitrous oxide in places like Rialto, Huntington Beach, Santa Ana and unincorporated areas of Orange County. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two bills last month that put statewide bans on nitrous oxide from being sold at retail locations, with added flavors or in containers larger than 8 grams.
More context: It has been a misdemeanor under state law to knowingly sell or possess nitrous oxide for use as a recreational drug for more than a decade, but the state allows it to be used for things like medical care, vehicle performance and cooking.
Councilmember Imelda Padilla, who introduced the motion that passed Wednesday, said the city ordinance will strengthen existing protections enacted by the state. She asked community members to report any cannabis or tobacco shops selling nitrous oxide to the City Attorney’s office at TEP@lacity.org.
Topline:
The Democratic National Committee on Wednesday sued President Donald Trump’s administration for recent television advertisements that promoted his political message while costing taxpayers millions of dollars. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleges that the ads are illegal government-sponsored propaganda and accuses Trump of personally directing them. It asks the court to declare the ads illegal and stop the use of federal funds to pay for them.
The backstory: The spots, which began airing in September, already have cost more than $12 million to run, according to the media tracking firm AdImpact, and a total of $20 million in Homeland Security Department funding has been tapped to pay for them. Responding Monday to the criticism, Trump defended the ads as “positive promotion for our Great U.S.A.” but said he’d pay for them using his MAGA Inc. super PAC going forward.
What's next: The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleges that the ads are illegal government-sponsored propaganda and accuses Trump of personally directing them. It asks the court to declare the ads illegal and stop the use of federal funds to pay for them. Trump has faced bipartisan backlash for the ads, which glorify him and echo his campaign pitch as voters cast early ballots with the midterm elections less than a month away.
The Democratic National Committee on Wednesday sued President Donald Trump’s administration for recent television advertisements that promoted his political message while costing taxpayers millions of dollars.
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleges that the ads are illegal government-sponsored propaganda and accuses Trump of personally directing them. It asks the court to declare the ads illegal and stop the use of federal funds to pay for them.
Trump has faced bipartisan backlash for the ads, which glorify him and echo his campaign pitch as voters cast early ballots with the midterm elections less than a month away.
The spots, which began airing in September, already have cost more than $12 million to run, according to the media tracking firm AdImpact, and a total of $20 million in Homeland Security Department funding has been tapped to pay for them.
Responding Monday to the criticism, Trump defended the ads as “positive promotion for our Great U.S.A.” but said he’d pay for them using his MAGA Inc. super PAC going forward.
But on Tuesday, the fifth ad in the campaign began airing with the notice “paid for by the U.S. Government,” promoting Trump’s military actions in Venezuela earlier this year. The same day, Trump made it clear he hasn’t committed to reimbursing any money that has already been spent, telling reporters “we’ll decide.”
DNC Chair Ken Martin said in a statement that Trump is misusing taxpayer dollars in “a last-ditch attempt to save Republicans in November.”
“Americans deserve better than to have their hard-earned tax dollars used for Trump’s illegal schemes,” he added.
Legal experts have suggested the ads run afoul of a federal statute against congressionally appropriated money being used for “publicity or propaganda,” and potentially other federal laws. The Homeland Security money tapped for the ads comes from a $175 million package Congress gave to the department as part of Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda.
The White House has defended the ads as public service announcements akin to what past administrations have done to promote various policies. Legal experts have said the recent ads differ from many past public service announcements because they aren’t aimed at helping members of the public benefit from specific government programs.
The defendants in the lawsuit — Trump, the White House, DHS and the Office of Management and Budget — didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
