diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index dd90738..f42035f 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -4,6 +4,14 @@
 
 [1]: https://pypi.org/project/google-cloud-core/#history
 
+## [2.4.0rc1](https://github.com/googleapis/python-cloud-core/compare/v2.3.3...v2.4.0rc1) (2023-12-03)
+
+
+### Features
+
+* Add support for Python 3.12 ([#256](https://github.com/googleapis/python-cloud-core/issues/256)) ([988a8af](https://github.com/googleapis/python-cloud-core/commit/988a8af3fe5cf2c5f37e08c62b10dcd89e6333c1))
+* Introduce compatibility with native namespace packages ([#260](https://github.com/googleapis/python-cloud-core/issues/260)) ([fd1ef6e](https://github.com/googleapis/python-cloud-core/commit/fd1ef6e03252edca3641cc26ec227a00b4f44221))
+
 ## [2.3.3](https://github.com/googleapis/python-cloud-core/compare/v2.3.2...v2.3.3) (2023-06-29)
 
 
diff --git a/google/cloud/_helpers/__init__.py b/google/cloud/_helpers/__init__.py
index 5a7e2b0..e0be5cc 100644
--- a/google/cloud/_helpers/__init__.py
+++ b/google/cloud/_helpers/__init__.py
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@
     grpc = None
 
 
-_NOW = datetime.datetime.utcnow  # To be replaced by tests.
+_NOW = datetime.datetime.now(datetime.timezone.utc)
 UTC = datetime.timezone.utc  # Singleton instance to be used throughout.
 _EPOCH = datetime.datetime(1970, 1, 1, tzinfo=datetime.timezone.utc)
 
diff --git a/google/cloud/version.py b/google/cloud/version.py
index a95986d..fa4c22e 100644
--- a/google/cloud/version.py
+++ b/google/cloud/version.py
@@ -12,4 +12,4 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 
-__version__ = "2.3.3"
+__version__ = "2.4.0rc1"
diff --git a/noxfile.py b/noxfile.py
index c79a18d..6a318e6 100644
--- a/noxfile.py
+++ b/noxfile.py
@@ -73,8 +73,8 @@ def default(session):
     )
 
     # Install all test dependencies, then install local packages in-place.
-    session.install("pytest", "pytest-cov", "grpcio >= 1.0.2", "-c", constraints_path)
-    session.install("-e", ".", "-c", constraints_path)
+    session.install("pytest", "pytest-cov", "-c", constraints_path)
+    session.install("-e", ".[grpc]", "-c", constraints_path)
 
     # Run py.test against the unit tests.
     session.run(
diff --git a/pytest.ini b/pytest.ini
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..76b110d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pytest.ini
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+[pytest]
+filterwarnings =
+    # treat all warnings as errors
+    error
+    # Remove once https://github.com/protocolbuffers/protobuf/issues/12186 is fixed
+    ignore:.*custom tp_new.*in Python 3.14:DeprecationWarning
+    # Remove once Release PR https://github.com/googleapis/python-api-common-protos/pull/191 is merged
+    ignore:.*pkg_resources.declare_namespace:DeprecationWarning
+    ignore:.*pkg_resources is deprecated as an API:DeprecationWarning
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 62b5cb6..eced53a 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -32,8 +32,12 @@
     "google-auth >= 1.25.0, < 3.0dev",
     "importlib-metadata > 1.0.0; python_version<'3.8'",
 ]
-extras = {"grpc": "grpcio >= 1.38.0, < 2.0dev"}
-
+extras = {
+    "grpc": [
+        "grpcio >= 1.38.0, < 2.0dev",
+        "grpcio-status >= 1.38.0, < 2.0.dev0",
+    ],
+}
 
 # Setup boilerplate below this line.
 
diff --git a/tests/unit/test__helpers.py b/tests/unit/test__helpers.py
index 77f32da..2901602 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test__helpers.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test__helpers.py
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ def test_w_utc_datetime(self):
         from google.cloud._helpers import UTC
         from google.cloud._helpers import _microseconds_from_datetime
 
-        NOW = datetime.datetime.utcnow().replace(tzinfo=UTC)
+        NOW = datetime.datetime.now().replace(tzinfo=UTC)
         NOW_MICROS = _microseconds_from_datetime(NOW)
         MILLIS = NOW_MICROS // 1000
         result = self._call_fut(NOW)
@@ -163,7 +163,7 @@ def test_w_naive_datetime(self):
         from google.cloud._helpers import UTC
         from google.cloud._helpers import _microseconds_from_datetime
 
-        NOW = datetime.datetime.utcnow()
+        NOW = datetime.datetime.now(datetime.timezone.utc).replace(tzinfo=None)
         UTC_NOW = NOW.replace(tzinfo=UTC)
         UTC_NOW_MICROS = _microseconds_from_datetime(UTC_NOW)
         MILLIS = UTC_NOW_MICROS // 1000