California Policy and Politics Saturday

Steve Hilton challenges Xavier Becerra to agree to a series of debates in California’s governor’s race -- In a video shared by his campaign Friday, Hilton listed six debate invitations he has received from cable broadcaster CNN and television news stations around the state, beginning in late September. Nicole Nixon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/1/26

In reversal, Hilton says he would not extradite California abortion doctor -- Republican candidate Steve Hilton said Friday he would not seek to extradite a California doctor charged with violating Louisiana’s abortion laws if were elected governor, reversing a stance he took during the primary. Ben Paviour in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/1/26

Though California could be key to House control, it now has few battlegrounds -- The redistricting carried out in California and nine other states since 2024 has left the nation with an unusually low number of truly competitive districts, narrowing the battle for U.S. House control in this year’s historically consequential midterms cycle to a few dozen races at best. Justine McDaniel in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/1/26

Mayor Bass outpaces challenger Raman in fundraising, new campaign finance reports show -- Bass reported $510,000 in campaign contributions for the latest reporting period, more than double the $170,000 reported by Raman. Bass qualified for more than $675,000 in publicly funded matching funds from the city. Raman received more than $500,000 in matching funds in the period. Noah Goldberg in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/1/26

Eric Swalwell is still paying lawyers with campaign funds as scrutiny mounts -- Former East Bay Rep. Eric Swalwell has continued to use campaign contributions he collected while running for governor to pay lawyers, according to his latest campaign finance filing. Sophia Bollag in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/1/26

ICE

Little worms in water: ICE detainees in Adelanto say poor conditions persist despite court order -- Immigrant rights attorneys say they’ve received a number of complaints from detainees at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center alleging poor drinking water, food, sanitation and medical care despite a federal judge’s order requiring improvements at the facility. Ruben Vives in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/1/26

Judges nix Trump’s mandatory immigrant detention policy, teeing up Supreme Court fight -- The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals dealt another blow to the Trump administration’s mass deportation project Thursday, ruling alongside the 7th Circuit that most immigrants cannot be held without bond while fighting to remain in the U.S. Sonja Sharp in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/1/26

‘No one wants to be exposed’: Haitians in San Diego dread what might happen after Trump ends immigration protection -- 'I had no choice but to leave Haiti,' says one man who works in City Heights. He just lost his temporary protected status, or TPS, protection along with hundreds of thousands of others nationwide. Maura Fox in the San Diego Union Tribune -- 8/1/26

Paramount

Paramount, state attorneys general spar over antitrust trial date -- California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta would like Paramount-Warner antitrust trial to unfold in April. Paramount is pushing for November. Meg James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/1/26

David Ellison’s Risky Courtroom Strategy to Save His $81 Billion Warner Deal -- After opting to go straight to trial, Ellison’s team adds legal muscle, games out options such as getting states to drop out of the suit to get the Paramount-Warner merger done. Jessica Toonkel and Joe Flint in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 8/1/26

 

Longtime Bay Area tech conference is leaving San Francisco after a 50-year run -- One of the technology industry’s longest-running conferences is leaving San Francisco for Phoenix, a setback for a city that has promoted the return of conventions and visitors as evidence of its downtown recovery. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/1/26

Workplace

Newsom boasts of California’s upcoming minimum wage increase, criticizes Trump for ignoring workers -- California’s minimum wage automatically increases each year to keep pace with inflation. The current system was established in 2016, when then-Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law a first-in-the-nation plan to gradually boost the state’s hourly minimum wage to $15 an hour, then adjust the wage annually based on inflation starting in 2024. Iris Kwok in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/1/26

Wildfire

The percentage of homes surviving California wildfires is dropping, despite efforts to harden them -- At the turn of the century, wildfires destroyed only about 3% of the California homes they came into contact with. By 2020, the rate had risen to 18%, according to a new study from UC Merced. Noah Haggerty in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/1/26

Woodside Fire’s rare behavior stunned wildfire expert -- The Woodside Fire along the Sonoma coast spread in a highly unusual manner: Besides burning from tree to tree and shrub to shrub, it jumped from coastal headland to coastal headland, carried by embers blown over the ocean. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/1/26

Two LA businessmen say a California state senator is part of their nonprofit to help wildfire victims. He isn't. -- Lee West and Steven Dietz plan to raise up to $250 million to buy lots and build homes in Pacific Palisades. They told residents that state Sen. Ben Allen was on their nonprofit board, but Allen told Politico he's not affiliated with the organization. Liam Dillon Politico -- 8/1/26

'We can have seven homes or we can have 70.' In wake of Los Angeles wildfires, homeowners and developers clash -- Many LA wildfire survivors are united against 'predatory developers,' who they say are exploiting vulnerable residents and changing their communities. Lawmakers are trying to balance the need to build with protections for homeowners. Liam Dillon Politico -- 8/1/26

‘To cover hate with more love’: Burned Pasadena temple’s mural restored after more antisemitic vandalism -- A defaced mural at the Pasadena Jewish Temple & Center was restored after an act of antisemitic vandalism. Community members gathered in solidarity. Jasmine Mendez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/1/26

Education

This School Was Priscilla Chan’s Bold Education Experiment. It Just Closed. -- The school’s demise marks the end of one of the highest-profile education efforts funded by the couple’s philanthropic arm, which has shifted its focus from social issues toward scientific research. Laura J. Nelson in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 8/1/26

AI

Another bot from a top AI company escapes and hacks multiple firms -- Another leading artificial intelligence company unveiled details of its cutting-edge bot apparently going rogue. On Thursday, Anthropic said an internal investigation found that its Claude AI models gained unauthorized internet access and hacked three companies during testing. Nilesh Christopher in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/1/26

Street

LAPD officer who recorded colleagues’ racist comments charged with felony eavesdropping -- Prosecutors charge that LAPD officer Daniel Flores violated the California Invasion of Privacy Act, which prohibits recording others without their consent. Flores filed an internal affairs complaint against his LAPD colleagues after recording them making racist, homophobic and sexist comments. Flores’ lawyer said the case sends a message that “if you document bigotry inside the LAPD, you will be the one who ends up in a courtroom.” Richard Winton and Libor Jany in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/1/26

POTUS 47

Trump puts his ‘anti-weaponization fund’ back on the table -- President Donald Trump said early Saturday he would push to get the $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” codified into law if the Senate does not confirm his attorney general pick, Todd Blanche. Gregory Svirnovskiy and Ben Johansen Politico Dan Diamond, Jeremy Roebuck and Theodoric Meyer in the Washington Post$ -- 8/1/26

Trump appeals judge's ruling that accused him of manipulating courts in IRS lawsuit -- President Donald Trump is appealing a federal judge’s decision to continue investigating whether his lawsuit against the IRS was part of a greater scheme to mislead the court. Danny Nguyen Politico Alan Feuer and Andrew Duehren in the New York Times$ -- 8/1/26

Trump touts Hamas disarmament deal, but uncertainties remain -- The agreement capped months of negotiations overseen by the Board of Peace, a body created by the Trump administration. Several Israeli officials expressed skepticism if not outright rejection of the proposal. Ana Ceballos and Nabih Bulos in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/1/26

Fact-Checking Trump’s Recent Comments About Costs of Iran War -- The president misleadingly blamed the Biden administration’s weapons transfers to Ukraine for current concerns over munitions stockpiles, among other claims about the Iran war. Linda Qiu in the New York Times$ -- 8/1/26

DOJ drops Reflecting Pool charge, citing ‘botched’ work and contradicting Trump -- Trump claims vandals deliberately damaged the pool, but prosecutors dropping charges against David Hearn say a contractor probably rushed installation. Dan Diamond and Jasmine Golden in the Washington Post$ -- 8/1/26

At typically tranquil Camp David, Trump publicly lashes out at political enemies -- The president criticized a GOP senator, a Democratic governor and Iranian leaders at what he said was the first televised Cabinet meeting from the retreat. Dan Diamond in the Washington Post$ -- 8/1/26