“It’s the world as we knew it returning.”

The Biden administration on Wednesday restored California’s authority to set vehicle pollution standards stricter than those of the federal government, a powerful climate prerogative that was stripped away by former President Trump. The move reaffirms California’s influence over the type of cars Americans will drive for many years to come. At least 15 other states have adopted California’s standards, making them de facto national standards. N.Y. Times | A.P.

The Ukrainian woman who was killed along with her two children in Russian shelling as they fled the town of Irpin was identified as the chief finance officer for a startup in Palo Alto. Pictures of the bodies of Tatiana Perebeinis, 43, her son, Nikita, 18, and her daughter, Alise, 9, shocked the world. Perebeinis’ husband, Serhiy, who was away tending to his ailing mother, broke down in tears recounting the conversation he had with his wife the night before she died. “I told her, ‘Forgive me that I couldn’t defend you,’” he said. “I tried to care for one person, and it meant I cannot protect you.”

“She said, ‘Don’t worry, I will get out.’” N.Y. Times | S.F. Chronicle

Other Ukraine developments:

Coronavirus roundup:

The California quail, our state bird with fancy hats, have a curious hygiene ritual: flapping frantically in the dirt. They are highly social creatures, gathering in groups of about 10 known as coveys. To rid themselves of mites and other annoyances that collect in feathers, they take dust baths, tossing dirt onto their wings and backs as if it was water. One of the males typically stands guard to warn the others if danger arises. An example at Point Reyes. 👉 YouTube (~1 minute)

UC Berkeley said it would help provide housing for homeless people sleeping at Berkeley’s storied People’s Park. In partnership with the city, the campus planned to lease rooms at an inn for roughly 55 people, allowing it to move ahead with plans to develop the park as student housing. Nicholas Alexander, a park resident, discounted the move. “I’m glad that the university is doing something now,” he said, “but I don’t think it’s coming from a place of integrity, frankly.” Berkeleyside | Mercury News

During a penalty shootout in a high school championship soccer game in the Sierra foothills east of Sacramento Saturday, the crowd hushed as Ciara Wilson, a Black senior, approached to strike the ball. Just then, someone in the stands pierced the silence with an imitation of a howling monkey. Days of outrage and apologies have followed, with school leaders vowing to punish the student responsible, who was later identified. Perhaps most troubling, one former sports reporter noted, was that someone felt so at ease to hurl a racist taunt with other students and adults nearby. KCRA | Sacramento Bee

Klay Thompson is known to be a big fan of “Semi-Pro,” often quoting lines from the goofy basketball comedy starring Will Ferrell. With the Warriors in a slump, coach Steve Kerr and Ferrell “concocted a plan” to inspire the team. Before their game at the Chase Center Tuesday, Thompson got the surprise of a lifetime as Ferrell jogged out onto the floor in character as Jackie Moon and warmed up with the team. The Warriors went on to beat the Clippers, with 20 points from Thompson. “That was some of the most fun that I’ve had on the floor this year,” he said. Mercury News

See Ferrell make his entrance. 👉 YouTube (~2 mins)

At least 20 women say they were sexually assaulted at Los Angeles County’s all-girl juvenile detention facility between 1996 and 2008, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday. The women say the military-style boot camp fostered a culture of abuse in which officers claimed girls like property. Jo Kaplan, a lawyer with extensive experience in the Los Angeles juvenile justice system, said she didn’t know about abuse at the facility, but was unsurprised by the allegations. “The conditions were horrible,” she said. L.A. Times | The Signal

The Riverside County community of Desert Hot Springs on Tuesday approved plans to host one of the largest warehouses in the United States. At 3.4 million square feet, the facility will be the size of roughly 60 football fields. The tenant was not disclosed, but Amazon said “stay tuned for more information.” The economist John Husing recently compared the spread of warehouses across the Inland Empire to Pac-Man. “It looks like the Inland Empire is about to eat up the rest of Southern California,” he told the Real Deal. Desert Sun | KESQ

“They need to pay up.”

“Major potential for them.”

“They’re like the Anheuser Busch family $$$$.”

Jovan Vavic, a former USC water-polo coach, is fighting allegations that he misrepresented applicants as athletic recruits in exchange for bribes as part of the sprawling college admissions scam. His defense lawyers have introduced emails that show how USC officials spoke brazenly about applicant families’ wealth and ability to donate. L.A. Times | Wall Street Journal

To journey back to the Roaring Twenties, go rolling at Los Angeles’ oldest operating bowling alley. Highland Park Bowl first opened in 1927 in a garage where a doctor wrote prescriptions for medicinal whiskey that could be filled on the spot at a “pharmacy” next to eight bowling lanes. Over the years, the venue served as a dive for graying drinkers and a punk music venue for younger people with an acute sense of irony. Then in 2014, a nightlife group gave the alley an ambitious restoration of its prohibition-era aesthetic. Even the most nitpicky preservationists gushed at the result. Atlas Obscura | Secret Los Angeles