California Today: New Evidence Shows Federal Agents Using Slurs, Bolstering Profiling Claims

August 11, 2026, 6:31 a.m. Pacific time

Today’s Top Story

David Guttenfelder/The New York Times

New Evidence Shows Federal Agents Using Slurs, Bolstering Profiling Claims

Body-camera video and other court evidence capture agents using slurs and targeting Latinos while bypassing white bystanders during immigration sweeps in Chicago and Los Angeles

Wildfire Forces Evacuations in Big Sur, Along California’s Famed Central Coast

A fire broke out near Highway 1 on Sunday and spread rapidly overnight, prompting evacuation orders across Monterey County.

From Nest to Deathbed, Jackie the Eagle Entranced California and Beyond

The bald eagle and her mate gained fame during the pandemic, as a livestream tracked their nesting attempts. She died while being treated for anemia.

See Trump’s Plan to Fill the Gaps in the Border Wall

During his first term, President Trump promised to wall off the southwestern border of the United States, but he ended up mostly replacing existing barriers. Now, with almost $47 billion in dedicated funding for the wall, the current administration is aiming to finish the job.

Californians Criticize Federal Efforts to Control the State’s Coast

Environmentalists and others warned at a hearing on Monday that the Trump administration’s attempt to strip power from California’s coastal protection agency would endanger the shoreline.

Waymo Is Growing Faster Than Ever. So Are Its Glitches.

As Waymo deploys more driverless cars to 15 U.S. cities and counting, its vehicles keep encountering new and unexpected situations that they have no script to handle.

Internal Report on Avalanche That Killed 9 Skiers Assigns No Blame

The report was commissioned by Blackbird Mountain Guides, which was in charge of the trip near Lake Tahoe in February.

Jake Whisenant, Who Raced Up Yosemite’s El Capitan at Record Speed, Dies in a Fall

Authorities in California said he died in a climbing accident. He set a record in 2024 for climbing El Capitan’s Lurking Fear route in under three hours.

Dodgers Prospect Kendall George Has Knee Surgery 2 Months After Bat Dog Mishap

Los Angeles Dodgers outfield prospect Kendall George, one of the fastest players in the minor leagues, posted on his Instagram on Friday that he was undergoing left knee surgery months after suffering a patellar injury while avoiding a bat dog in a Double-A game.