• Wed. Jun 3rd, 2026

The Pulse of Southern California

Value of Huntington Beach defense tech startup balloons to $1.8 billion

California defense tech startup Mach Industries said Tuesday it raised $300 million, nearly quadrupling the company’s valuation to $1.8 billion within a year. The Huntington Beach startup’s soaring valuation underscores…

Martin Scorsese is betting on AI to transform storyboarding process

Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese is joining the ranks of entertainment industry power players embracing generative AI. Black Forest Labs, the German AI startup behind the text-to-image model Flux, announced Tuesday…

Trump signs an executive order to vet top AI models for national security risks

WASHINGTON — President Trump signed an executive order Tuesday directing the federal government to establish a voluntary early review process for the country’s most advanced artificial intelligence models, following a…

Aspiration co-founder sentenced to 14 years for fraud

The co-founder of Aspiration, Joseph Sanberg, was sentenced to 14 years in prison on Monday after defrauding investors and lenders of over $248 million. The startup, an eco-friendly digital banking…

Ex-girlfriend of former Google CEO ordered to pay him $10 million

An arbitrator has sided with former Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt, ruling that he was not guilty of sexual assault against his former girlfriend and business partner Michelle Ritter. The…

Meta provides details about layoffs in Playa Vista and Menlo Park

Meta Platforms announced more details about its latest round of layoffs. As part of its already-announced plans to cut close to 10% of its workforce, more than 2,000 employees will…

‘People are getting hurt’: Florida suing OpenAI amid safety concerns

Florida sued OpenAI and its chief executive, Sam Altman, on Monday, alleging that the San Francisco tech company failed to inform people about the dangers posed by its popular artificial…

Malibu Bookstore Owner Wins 2026 Grit & Wisdom Award

The owner of Malibu’s only independent bookstore has been named one of ADP’s 2026 Grit & Wisdom Award winners, recognized for keeping her business open through a punishing series of…

AI company Anthropic files to list shares, heating up race with OpenAI

Anthropic, the company behind the powerful artificial intelligence chatbot Claude, has filed to go public, the company said Monday. The development comes days after the company raised $65 billion, valuing…

Pacific Palisades Teen Creates Miniature Memorial After Wildfires

When the January 2025 wildfires damaged his family’s Pacific Palisades home and devastated much of the surrounding community, Loyola High School junior Luca Dal Bello received money to replace what…