Governor Gavin Newsom just signed a fairly sensible-sounding bill allowing immigrant parents to name a caregiver for their kids in case they are deported. Crazed conservatives are reacting by calling it the “Legalized Child Kidnapping Bill.”

You are well aware by now that in the Bay Area, and nationwide, the Trump administration is detaining and deporting people like mad, even some who are legitimately US citizens. Many of the people being detained and deported are parents with children.

So what happens to the kids when their parents are deported? A recent CNN article notes that many have “ended up in the care of relatives, neighbors, friends, coworkers and even strangers after ICE detained or deported their parents,” and adds that quite a few just end up shoved into the foster care system.

Governor Gavin Newsom's office says that “In California, nearly a million US citizen children are estimated to be at risk of being separated from a parent because of immigration enforcement.” And for that reason, Newsom just signed a bill allowing immigrant parents to designate a caretaker for their children, as the Associated Press reports.

“Our children deserve to feel safe at home, in school and in the community,” Newsom said in a Sunday night press release after he signed the bill. “We are putting on record that we stand by our families and their right to keep their private information safe, maintain parental rights and help families prepare in case of emergencies.”

There are a few other aspects to this AB 495 bill that’s dubbed "Family Preparedness Plan Act of 2025." The bill also bars childcare providers from collecting immigration information about parents, and allows parents to nominate designated temporary legal guardians in family court. But the part allowing for parents who are the victims of family separation to “expand the type of relative who is authorized to execute a caregiver’s authorization affidavit,” (that is, letting relatives become the child’s caretaker when the parent suddenly disappears) has provoked right-wing outrage.

What kind of right-wing outrage?

Check out the tweet above from the Monterey County Republican Party, with an AI-generated Devil Gavin, calling the bill “A Child Trafficker’s and Kidnapper’s Dream Bill” and saying it “creates legal loopholes that make kidnapping children easy.” The inference seems to be that immigrants’ relatives are somehow much more likely to be kidnappers or involved in child trafficking.

Funny, though… who exactly have we seen legally kidnapping children here?

California has passed a number of other bills trying to push back against ICE in the current legislative session, though many of them are unlikely to accomplish anything. ICE is a federal agency that the state cannot control, and they will continue their lawbreaking at Trump’s behest regardless. But this particular new law could at least influence things, because ICE does not have jurisdiction over family courts, and how those courts resolve custody matters.

And there are likely many more cases of custody involving parents who’ve been deported coming to those family courts in the weeks and months to come.

Related: Leaders Across Bay Area Launch Fund for Families of Immigrants Targeted by ICE [SFist]

Image: SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 21: California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs bills related to redrawing the state’s congressional maps on August 21, 2025 in Sacramento, California. In a move to counter Texas House Republicans’ plan to redraw the state’s congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, California Democrats took up a proposed constitutional amendment to temporarily redraw their own congressional maps, potentially creating five additional U.S. House seats for their party. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

A UC Berkeley professor was shot multiple times on July 4 in an Athens, Greece suburb by a masked gunman who reportedly fled in a waiting vehicle and remains at large. Authorities are investigating whether it was a targeted hit.

As Polish website, TVP World reports, Przemyslaw “Przemek” Jeziorski, 43, was gunned down in the Athens suburb of Agia Paraskevi, near his ex-wife’s home on Friday, July 4. He died at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and neck. The shooter, who was described as a “tall, athletic man,” fled on foot, and Greek authorities are speculating that it may have been a targeted, professional hit. A car was reportedly waiting nearby, according to local media.

As Daily Cal reports, Jeziorski, was a Polish economist and associate professor at Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. He and his ex-wife, a Greek national he met in the US, had divorced six years ago and were involved in an ongoing custody dispute. She has reportedly cooperated with police and said she was unaware of anyone who would want to harm him.

Greek police are reviewing surveillance footage and investigating Jeziorski’s personal and family circumstances. His brother has traveled from Poland to assist with the case. No suspects have been identified publicly.

Jeziorski held degrees from institutions in Poland and the United States, including a doctorate from Stanford. He joined Berkeley in 2012 and became an associate professor and distinguished chair in 2018. His academic work focused on marketing, digital advertising, and antitrust issues. He was also a co-founder of a short-term rental startup and had taught and mentored hundreds of MBA and Ph.D. students.

His colleague Zsolt Katona described him as an “outstanding scholar” and a supportive friend. “It’s hard to come to terms with this senseless tragedy,” Katona said. “If there is any consolation in these moments, it’s knowing the lasting impact that he left on so many people’s lives.”

“I am heartbroken by the tragic and sudden death of Professor Przemyslaw Jeziorski, a beloved member of our marketing faculty and Haas community,” said Haas Dean Jennifer Chatman in a statement. “While authorities are investigating what happened, our immediate focus is on supporting our community during this difficult period. My heart goes out to Przemek’s family and loved ones. We will miss him.”

As SFGate reports, a fundraiser set up by Jeziorski’s family is collecting money for legal expenses, funeral costs, and repatriation of his remains to Poland.

Image: Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley

One of Elon Musk's baby mamas, Grimes, a.k.a. Claire Boucher, made a legal filing in San Francisco Superior Court Friday that may indicate all is not copacetic between the two parents, who now share three children together.

The details of the filing are not clear, but Grimes filed what's called a "petition to establish parental relationship," and as the Daily Beast reports, such petitions are common when two parents are not married. But this filing comes a month after Grimes posted a since-deleted tweet in which she implied she had been kept from seeing her son — three-year-old X, or X Æ A-Xii, who was born in May 2020.

The tweet was a reply to a post by biographer Walter Isaacson in which he shared photos of the twins that Musk has with another woman, Neuralink executive Shivon Zilis. Per Daily Beast, Grimes' tweet said, "Tell Shivon to unblock me and tell Elon to let me see my son or plz respond to my lawyer. I have never even been allowed to see a photo of these children until this moment, despite the situation utterly ripping my family apart."

The "plz respond to my lawyer" part suggests that there has been some disagreement about custody or something that dates back over a month.

Grimes would soon delete that reply and then post an extended follow-up saying, "I wud prefer to not breathe any more life into this current press cycle but I want to de-escalate the narrative. I spoke with Shivon at length finally, which was long overdue.  This wasn't her fault, plz don't be angry at her!  We respect each other a lot and we're excited to become friends and have the kids grow up together."

Grimes added, "Women are so often pitted against each other."

Zilis replied publicly, saying, "At the end of the day it all ended up for the best! Thank you for taking the time to really connect and understand each other... You’re a total badass and I respect you very much as well. I can’t wait for kiddo play date."

It's not actually clear which of the three children shared by Musk and Grimes is the subject of the legal filing — TMZ speculates it's the youngest, Tau a.k.a. Techno Mechanicus, and that this could be a path toward seeking specific custody rights and child support.

The existence of this third baby, born at a date not shared with the public, was first revealed in Isaacson's book, which was released three weeks ago. In her tweet reply, Grimes said on September 10, "I wish I could show u how cute little Techno is but my priority rn is keeping my babies out of the public eye."

Musk, 52, has been in a relationship with Grimes, 35, since 2018. He now has had a total of 11 children with three different women, one of whom died as an infant.n

Of their relationship, Grimes told Vanity Fair in early 2022, "There’s no real word for it. I would probably refer to him as my boyfriend, but we’re very fluid. We live in separate houses. We’re best friends. We see each other all the time. ... We just have our own thing going on, and I don’t expect other people to understand it."

Related: Now Elon Musk Says SF Supervisor Dean Preston ‘Should Go To Prison’

Top image: Elon Musk and Grimes attend the Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & The Catholic Imagination Costume Institute Gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 7, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images)

Intensely disliked Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (D) was taken into custody by the feds this morning at his Chicago home; his spokesman initially told a reporter, "Haven't heard anything -- you are first to call." While Blago has been the subject of a three-year corruption investigation, the Chicago Tribune reports the probe has "expanded to include his impending selection of a new U.S. senator to succeed President-elect Barack Obama." More fun: Blago also was angling to be named Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Obama administration AND wanted to get members of the Trib's editorial board fired for, uh, editorials critical of his administration. (Check out Chicagoist for live updates.)