Clinton is projected to win the popular vote once all the ballots (especially those in California) are counted.

Many things have been projected this election cycle.

That's ... not a valid argument against a different point. It's 1:41 AM on the west coast and despite the NY Times clearly calling the election for Trump, Clinton still has a forecasted 1% lead in the popular vote. Given California is incredibly blue, this will most likely hold true.

Yes, I believe that the NYT are projecting the final outcome of the popular vote based on all those West Coast votes that are still being counted.