The Big Impacts of Small Dust Particles

Here are the morning’s top stories on Monday, April 27, 2026:

• State courts will start tracking and reporting on immigration arrests at their facilities, starting in June.
• Two of the most powerful men in tech are set to face off in a federal courtroom today in Oakland. Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, is suing Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI.
• It’s spring cleaning season. And that can involve wiping off something most of us may not otherwise notice: dust. But for researchers at UC Merced and throughout California, dust is much more top of mind. These particles, they say, affect many parts of life… and not just our health.

Immigration Arrests Will Be Tracked at CA Courts

California’s Judicial Council, which makes policies for the state’s court system, has decided that courts in the state will be required to collect data on civil arrests inside the state’s courthouses. This comes amidst a rise in arrests by federal immigration officials in or around courthouses throughout the country.

Prior to the second Trump Administration, federal policy barred Immigration and Customs Enforcement from arresting people at sensitive locations such as hospitals, schools, and courthouses. The reasoning behind this policy was to avoid discouraging people from going to these places.

The goal of tracking this this data is to increase transparency, and to provide more information to the state’s judiciary so that they can assess the impacts these arrests are having on people’s ability to access courts and justice. The data collection will begin May 1st.

Musk and Altman Set to Faceoff in Court

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, is suing Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI. The two are set to faceoff in a courtroom in Oakland today. Musk left OpenAI after a bitter falling out in 2018. Now he’s claiming Altman ran a “long con,” secretly planning to turn OpenAI into a for-profit company, while still asking Musk for millions to support a research lab to benefit all humanity. OpenAI says Musk is trying to kneecap a rival to his own AI company, xAI.

The lawsuit was filed in 2024. Today, the jury selection process will begin. Musk is seeking more than $150 billion in damages.

A Deeper Look Into Dust

For most people, dust is something we only think of when wiping it off counters or windowsills. But researchers at UC Merced and throughout California say these particles affect many parts of life — and it’s crucial to know about the risks they carry.

UC Merced professor and immunologist, Katrina Hoyer, and UC Merced researcher, Adeyemi Adebiyi, are finding ways to help people to limit the amount of dust we breathe in. They are part of a team of researchers throughout the state called the UC Dust Team. The consortium started several years ago because of the increasing prevalence of dust in California. Since launching, the team has published research that studied dust’s correlation with health, environmental drivers, and even the meteorology of dust storms in the state. Their goal is to inform people about dust’s impact. In a report the team released last year, they cited dust particles contributing to car accidents from dust storms, injuring livestock and even melting snowpack.

Members of the UC Dust team feel their work is creating change. Since the team started, Hoyer said, information has slowly started to spread to local leaders.