California Today: A Teen Autopsy Marks the Arrival of a Deadly Drug in San Francisco
Today's top stories from California.
The New York Times
California Today
September 14, 2026, 6:31 a.m. Pacific time

Today’s Top Story

More California News

Some in Silicon Valley Are Questioning the Calls for an A.I. Slowdown

The debate over the safety of artificial intelligence grew personal as key tech leaders said calls for government regulation were self-serving and misplaced.

Inside the Snowballing Conversations at A.I. Companies About a Doomsday

Researchers at Anthropic, OpenAI, Meta and Google are increasingly trying to raise awareness about the risks of artificial intelligence.

San Francisco Opera Cancels Opening Night After Musicians Strike

The labor action forced the opera to cancel as patrons were finding their seats, and threw the season of one of the nation’s premier companies into limbo.

How Candidates Have Addressed Affordability in the Midterm Campaigns

Inflation and the cost of living have been the biggest drivers of campaigns this year, but the broad term “affordability” breaks down into specific issues, from housing to health care.

What a Hunchbacked Raccoon Teaches Us About Kindness in a Fractured World

A neckless raccoon named Jimothy captivated the internet, and sent this Seattle resident out looking.

Crashing a Plane for Clicks: Influencers Push Shock Content to Get Views

A growing number of social media creators are pushing the boundaries of safety and good taste to feed algorithms and win followers.

A Mastodon Tooth From the Ice Age Is Discovered in a California Creek

A researcher surveying a San Mateo County creek stumbled upon a preserved Pacific mastodon molar estimated to be at least 10,000 years old.

Who’s to Blame in the Shohei Ohtani Injury Saga? Everyone.

Shohei Ohtani was placed on the 15-day injured list Friday.

Today's Recipe

An overhead image of a baking dish filled with tube pasta coated in a red sauce and finished with cheese and herbs.

Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.

Baked Tomato Pasta With Harissa and Halloumi

By Hetty Lui McKinnon

Filled StarFilled StarFilled StarFilled StarUnfilled Star

1,087

45 minutes

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Take a break, play a game

Wordle

Wordle →

Connections

Connections →

Strands

Strands →

Spelling Bee

Spelling Bee →

Crossword

Crossword →

Mini

Mini →

Get notified about extreme weather before it happens with custom alerts for places in the U.S. you choose.

Sign up for Your Places: Extreme Weather.

Get notified about extreme weather before it happens with custom alerts for places in the U.S. you choose.

Get it in your inbox.

If you received this newsletter from someone else, subscribe here.