Tracy Rosenberg

The AI boom is heralding a new gold rush in the American west Once home to gold and prospectors, the Nevada desert is now the site of a new kind of expansion: tech datacenters

"The gold rush is long history, but Storey county is once again one of the fastest-growing economies in Nevada. A new boom is happening here in the high desert – fueled by artificial intelligence" #AI #DataCenters theguardian.com/technology/2025/dec/04/nevada-ai-data-centers

California’s Child Farmworkers: Exhausted, Underpaid and Toiling in Toxic Fields State officials are failing to protect the health and safety of thousands of young field laborers, an investigation has found.

"In California, laborers as young as 12 can legally work in #agriculture. But many of them toil in punishing and dangerous conditions, and the state is failing to ensure their health and safety" #farmworker capitalandmain.com/californias-...

Attacks on ICE up 1,000%? Trump administration claim not backed up by court records The Trump administration has cited a more than 1,000% increase in assaults on immigration agents to justify aggressive tactics. But court records reviewed by The Times show the majority of the alleged...

"The object that Assistant U.S. Atty. Patrick Kibbe said was wielded as a #weapon: An umbrella that an investigator needed a special scale to weigh because it was less than one pound." #ICE www.latimes.com/california/s...

Mind-altering ‘brain weapons’ no longer only science fiction, say researchers UK academics say latest chemicals are ‘wake-up call’ and urge global action to stop weaponisation of neuroscience

"The only time a CNS-acting weapon was used was by the Russian Federation in 2002 to end the Moscow theatre siege. Security forces used fentanyl derivatives to end the siege, in which armed Chechen militants had taken 900 theatregoers hostage". #brain #weapons www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...

Former Vallejo police chief says city ignored threats Former Vallejo Police Chief Shawny Williams resigned after receiving a series of anonymous threats, according to newly-released deposition testimony. He is the latest in a string of former city offici...

"They’re not going to stop until I fire you or you quit,’” Williams recalled Malone telling him. “And he said that over half a dozen times.” #Vallejo #Police openvallejo.org/2025/11/24/f...

What happens when you kick millions teens off social media? Australia’s about to find out | CNN In the next two weeks, social media platforms will start deactivating accounts for children under 16 in Australia under new laws designed to reduce harm online. Other countries are watching, but some ...

"An alarmed murmur spreads around the room as the students realize what’s about to be lost. “Can you get your account back when you turn 16?” one girl asks. “What if I lie about my age?” asks another." #socialmedia www.cnn.com/2025/11/29/a...

‘Northern Exposure’ actor gave ICE agents in Redmond her tribal ID. They called it ‘fake,’ she says Indigenous actor Elaine Miles of "Northern Exposure" was detained by ICE at a Redmond bus stop. When she showed them her Tribal ID, they told her it was fake.

"Federal agencies recognize #tribal ID as a valid form of identification, and Miles has used it to travel back and forth to Canada and Mexico. Yet, Miles recalled one agent calling it “fake.” “Anyone can make that,” she recalled another agent saying". #ICE www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

Flock Uses Overseas Gig Workers to Build its Surveillance AI Flock accidentally exposed training materials and a panel which tracked what its AI annotators were working on. It showed that Flock, which has cameras in thousands of U.S. communities, is using worke...

#Flock is sending scans and video and audio footage collected by police departments to the Philippines for #Upwork workers to train its #AI system. #ALPR www.404media.co/flock-uses-o...

Oakland cops toss student journalist from news conference about John Beam’s death First Amendment advocates are now calling for an end to a policy requiring journalists to have police-issued credentials.

Oakland Police Department pitches student reporter from press conference due to restrictions at police headquarters not present at Oakland City Hall. #press www.eastbaytimes.com/2025/11/28/o...

18 prisoners seek reduced sentences under California's rarely used Racial Justice Act Attorneys from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and Stanford Law School filed 18 petitions seeking to reduce the prison terms of people in five counties — including Los Angeles and Riverside — citing “gro...

"One of the prisoners seeking a reduced term is John Crawford sentenced in L.A. County to 45 yrs to life for attempted second degree robbery. In 2018, Crawford, “approached a man on the street and asked for his wallet and phone and the man ran away”# RacialJusticeAct www.latimes.com/california/s...

Kaiser Permanente disbanded 8-person California security team amid concerns about illegal searches The scandal’s statewide reach vastly expands the known number of Kaiser security personnel whose employment ended after the allegations arose.

"It all erupted after a #Kaiser security official-turned-whistleblower reported in fall 2024 that the head of the health care giant’s security team presented information that could only have come from the California Law Enforcement Telecom System" #CLETS www.mercurynews.com/2025/11/22/k...?

‘We’re basically pushers’: Court filing alleges staff at social media giants compared their platforms to drugs Meta said the allegations “rely on cherry-picked quotes and misinformed opinions” to present a misleading narrative.

"IG [Instagram] is a drug,” Shayli Jimenez, a #Meta senior researcher, is quoted as saying in one internal communication. “LOL, I mean, all social media. We’re basically pushers,” another Meta employee then allegedly responded". #socialmedia www.politico.com/news/2025/11...?

Vallejo surveillance board tightens rules for controversial gunshot detection tech The city is also working on a new audit plan for how the Vallejo Police Department uses all Flock Safety products.

Vallejo's #surveillance advisory board taking a close look at how the small East Bay city uses #Flock technology. www.vallejosun.com/vallejo-surv...

OU College of International Studies professor reportedly arrested by ICE U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reportedly arrested an OU professor at Will Rogers International Airport Saturday.

Another academic kidnapped at an airport by #ICE. www.oudaily.com/news/ou-prof...

FCC pulls ID shield from CA free internet program, risking immigrant data The federal Lifeline Program began in 1985 under former President Ronald Reagan to provide phone service to low-income residents.

Trump administration revocation of CA's #Lifeline optout means that it is no longer safe for anyone who is undocumented or adjacent to #undocumented people to apply for broadband or telephone subsidies through the program. #AB1303. san.com/cc/fcc-pulls...

Georgia police chief charged with using license plate readers to stalk and harass people A police chief in suburban Atlanta has been arrested on charges of using the city's license plate cameras to stalk and harass people.

Police Chief resigns in Brasleton, GA following charges of using automated license place readers to harass, track and stalk people. #ALPR apnews.com/article/geor...

Victory! Court Ends Dragnet Electricity Surveillance Program in Sacramento For more than a decade, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District coordinated with police to sift through the granular smart meter data of residents without suspicion to find evidence of cannabis grow...

Court rules program where SMUD searched #utility data and gave high end users over to law enforcement to support #cannabis busts constituted illegal dragnet #surveillance. www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...

How Alameda County’s stonewalling legal approach has cost taxpayers millions Cases that could have been settled quickly for a fraction of the ultimate cost have instead become years-long courtroom battles.

"A jury awarded the Loggervale family $8.25M for their unlawful detention, but the county’s attorney moved for a new trial. The appeal cost the county an additional $3M for a total settlement of $11.26M. The initial settlement offer was approximately $750,000" www.eastbaytimes.com/2025/11/24/h...?

Women in S.F. jail say they were forced to undress while deputies filmed them Women being held in a San Francisco jail say deputies ordered them to strip while the deputies laughed and filmed them with body cameras.

"At least 11 of the women told attorneys that the deputies wore vests and face shields, and were carrying large #weapons with scopes. They appeared to be dressed in “assault gear,” said one woman in an interview with Mission Local" #Jail #StripSearch missionlocal.org/2025/11/sf-j...

California Doctors Urge Ban on Engineered Stone as Silicosis Cases Surge | KQED California stoneworkers are becoming severely ill from silica dust exposure from cutting engineered stone, prompting urgent warnings from doctors and workplace safety experts as Australia’s 2024 ban u...

"Between 1,000 to 1,500 stoneworkers in CA could develop #silicosis within the next decade, leading to roughly 285 deaths, according to Cal/OSHA. The state is home to about 5,000 #countertop fabrication workers, predominantly Latino immigrants" www.kqed.org/news/1206469...

NJ lawmakers hear pleas to save public broadcasting • New Jersey Monitor With NJ PBS set to close, media and business leaders urged lawmakers to find funding and protect NJ's only public broadcast station.

After New Jersey Public Broadcasting announces an end to operations in July, the state legislature looks at how to save it. #PBS newjerseymonitor.com/2025/11/17/n...

ICE agents sighting near Oakland elementary school prompts lockdown Oakland school district leaders said the vehicle was tied to federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has aggressively ramped up its presence in the East Bay this year.

DHS car spotted outside East Oakland elementary school. #ICE www.eastbaytimes.com/2025/11/19/o...?

Database | The SLAPP Back Initiative Explore our collection of hundreds of SLAPP-related cases.

NYU created a new database of #SLAPP claims filed across the country. SLAPP suits (strategic lawsuits against public participation) are often used against media and against advocates to prevent speaking out or covering issues with lawfare. slappback.org/data/

San Mateo County moves to tighten limits on cooperation with ICE San Mateo County logged 45 immigration-related detentions from September to October

San Mateo County unanimously passes further limits on #immigration cooperation including prohibitions on staging raids using county property and reports on all contact and communications between the sheriff's department and federal agents. www.mercurynews.com/2025/11/18/s...

Border Patrol agent arrested in Long Beach was combative, asked police if they are ‘stupid’ Long Beach police released several body-worn camera and security videos of the July 7 arrest of 29-year-old Isaiah Anthony Hodgson.

This is your customs and border patrol. Died of a cocaine overdose a month after this arrest. www.ocregister.com/2025/11/18/b...

Oakland public safety committee votes down #Flock expansion after 4+ hours of community comment in opposition.

Only 2.6% on list of 614 ‘Operation Midway Blitz’ arrestees had criminal histories, DOJ records show Meanwhile, the other 598 people on the list had no listed criminal history at all.

598 of 616 people arrested in Chicago's #immigration surge had no criminal record. www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/14/o...

Ken Paxton sues Harris County (Houston) for providing public funds for #immigration defense. www.borderreport.com/hot-topics/b...

Riverside County social justice groups will take sheriff’s oversight proposal to voters Nonprofits and families of people who died in Riverside County jails are pushing for 35,000 petition signatures by April 3, 2026.

Riverside activists plan ballot initiative to create #Sheriff Oversight Commission and hire an Inspector General. www.pressenterprise.com/2025/11/12/r...

In U.S. first, pioneering Mountain View robotaxi company Waymo will take to Bay Area freeways Google spinoff Waymo claims its driverless cars are safer than humans, but expert says evidence so far is lacking.

Driverless cars about to hit Bay Area freeways. #Waymo www.mercurynews.com/2025/11/12/u...?