• In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court has shockingly done something positive in holding up the Voting Rights Act. The ruling, in which Chief Justice John Roberts was joined by Kavanaugh and the three liberal justices, is a slap in the face to Alabama's Republican legislature and its racist voting districts. [Associated Press / New York Times]
• The ferry flight from Air India that rescued over 200 stranded passengers in far east Russia whose plane diverted there due to engine trouble on Tuesday arrived safely Thursday morning, leading to emotional reunions at SFO. [KPIX / KTVU]
• The El Niño season that was predicted is arriving early, says the Climate Prediction Center, which now gives it a 56% chance of developing into a strong El Niño, and an 84% chance of exceeding "moderate" strength. [KRON4]
• A disruption in the BART system Wednesday afternoon stemmed from a person who was struck and killed by a BART train at San Leandro's Bay Fair Station. [Chronicle]
• Those right-wing Temecula school board members are doubling down in rejecting a state curriculum that mentions Harvey Milk's role California politics and the LGBTQ rights movement, because they have dubbed him a "pedophile." [Bay Area News Group]
• A boy bitten by a rattlesnake in Mount Diablo State Park on Wednesday had to be airlifted to John Muir Medical Center. [KTVU]
• There was some sort of coordinated effort to disrupt Walnut Creek's City Council meeting on Tuesday, in which multiple callers called in during the public comment period to spout antisemitic propaganda. [NBC Bay Area]

Photo: Josh Hild