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California Policy and Politics Saturday

What California's Latino leaders want from Xavier Becerra -- Latino advocacy groups are stepping up a pressure campaign on Xavier Becerra, urging California’s likely next governor to expand protections and benefits for undocumented immigrants and make them harder for future administrations to unwind. Marisa Guerra Echeverria Politico -- 7/25/26

 

L.A.’s dangerous game of triage as aging water system hits breaking point -- The Los Angeles water system is so old — and money for replacements is exceedingly scarce — that officials are left playing a dangerous game of triage. Hannah Fry in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/25/26

California Dems ramp up anti-voter ID fight -- California Democrats are ramping up their campaign against a nationally-watched voter ID initiative in the state, with gubernatorial frontrunner Xavier Becerra leading a new effort to quash the measure. Melanie Mason Politico -- 7/25/26

Paramount agrees to months-long delay of Warner Bros. merger -- Paramount Skydance agrees to delay its $111-billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery until as late as June 2027 as it confronts a multistate antitrust challenge led by California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta. Meg James in the Los Angeles Times$ Joe Flint in the Wall Street Journal$ Miriam Waldvogel in the Washington Post$ -- 7/25/26

Lineage fined for flies, smell and ‘unsanitary’ conditions after Boyle Heights warehouse fire -- The agency, which issued its first citation Thursday, is requiring that the company remove the approximately 85 million pounds of food rotting inside the warehouse, eliminate all fly breeding sources, clean affected areas, implement vector-control measures and take action to stop flies from moving into nearby neighborhoods. Salvador Hernandez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/25/26

DHS surveilled peaceful protesters and then yanked their Global Entry, federal lawsuit alleges -- Plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit filed in California allege that the Department of Homeland Security revoked their Global Entry privileges in retaliation for exercising their constitutional rights. Brittny Mejia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/25/26

California rejected its highest percentage of mail ballots in a decade during June primary -- Election officials rejected the majority of ballots — more than 93,000 — because they were postmarked after Election Day or arrived too late. The rate at which ballots were rejected for lateness stayed steady between 2024 and 2026. Counties did, however, reject a higher rate of mail ballots than previous elections because workers could not verify envelope signatures. Sara DiNatale in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/25/26

Taylor Farms Called White House to Try to Delay Cyclospora Recall -- Representatives for produce giant Taylor Farms contacted the White House with an urgent plea: the company wanted to delay announcing a recall tied to one of the largest foodborne illness outbreaks in U.S. history. Sabrina Siddiqui, Jesse Newman and Josh Dawsey in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 7/25/26

Marketplace

Did L.A. businesses get the promised World Cup bump? -- World Cup crowds packed L.A. pubs and sports bars, driving a beer boom that lifted sales about 15% statewide and turned places like Ye Olde King’s Head into all-day parties. Yet the broader payoff was mixed: Hotel revenue fell short of some projections, with much of the revenue gains tied to higher room rates rather than fuller bookings. Annika Duneja in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/25/26

Southern California’s used EV market sizzles as gas prices soar -- The state’s new EV incentive market may fuel more used vehicle sales as consumers tap $1,750 credit for first-time buyers. Pat Maio in the LA Daily News -- 7/25/26

This picturesque California town is overwhelmed by tourists — but can’t afford to lose them -- A wealthy beach town is experiencing more trash on the streets, near-perpetual gridlock along a retail corridor and residential neighborhoods overrun with parked cars due to “overtourism.” Connor Letourneau in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/25/26

Corporate America Has Suddenly Decided to Stop Blowing Money on AI -- Fed up with ballooning costs, companies big and small are starting to use lower-priced models, including some built in China. In many cases, they are adding the new, cheaper models alongside OpenAI and Anthropic’s products, shopping a la carte for their artificial intelligence. Angel Au-Yeung, Katherine Bindley and Tina Li in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 7/25/26

Homeless

Bay Area homelessness is declining — except in this county -- The number of Bay Area residents experiencing homelessness fell in much of the region in the last two years, with some counties reporting that their unhoused populations had returned to pre-pandemic levels. Christian Leonard in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/25/26

Quartz Valley

Tribe to acquire 40,000 acres of ‘absolutely beautiful’ ancestral land in Northern California -- A small tribe in Northern California’s Siskiyou County is set to purchase nearly 40,000 acres of scenic, mountainous terrain near the Oregon border, in what would be the second largest “land back” deal in state history. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/25/26

Also

Fired ‘60 Minutes’ correspondent Cecilia Vega says she was told to report events ‘that never happened’ -- Vega, 49, said she was particularly disturbed by attempts by CBS News executives to shape her coverage after the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Minneapolis in January, alleging she was pressured to include events that “never happened” and slant stories toward Trump administration talking points. G. Allen Johnson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/25/26

California man drank all day then drove into a tree at 101 mph with a car full of people -- A man who drunkenly drove into a tree at more than 100 mph, killing five passengers riding with him, could spend the rest of his life in prison after he’s sentenced next month. Jazmin Alvarado in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/25/26

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The U.S. and Iran Are Stuck in a Cycle of Military Escalation -- The conflict between the U.S. and Iran is escalating just as the two warring parties are running up against the limits of what they can achieve through military force. Jared Malsin in the Wall Street Journal$ Maggie Haberman, Jonathan Swan, Tyler Pager and Eric Schmitt in the New York Times$ -- 7/25/26

Trump’s insult-laden speech to press dinner draws mostly stunned silence -- President Donald Trump attacked a slew of journalists and some of his favorite political foils at a slimmed-down redo of the White House correspondents’ dinner on Friday, comparing one female reporter to a transgender social media star, mocking politicians’ physical appearances, and bringing his audience to mostly stunned silence for more than an hour before pulling out a red Trump 2028 cap and declaring he was running for another term. Michael Birnbaum in the Washington Post$ Jocelyn Noveck Associated Press Shawn McCreesh in the New York Times$ -- 7/25/26

Hiltzik: Trump’s selling Wall Street early access to his Truth Social posts is ethically repugnant, but might be legal -- Donald Trump’s latest scheme to monetize his presidency — selling Wall Street traders the right to an early peek at his posts on his Truth Social platform — has raised two important questions. Michael Hiltzik in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/25/26

Inside the Rushed Effort to Get Trump His New Air Force One -- A New York Times investigation found that President Trump’s push to speed delivery of the aircraft led to ballooning costs and trade-offs in safety features. Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager and Maggie Haberman in the New York Times$ -- 7/25/26

 

California Policy and Politics Friday

Paramount agrees to months-long delay of Warner Bros. merger -- Paramount Skydance has agreed to delay its purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery to as late as next June as David Ellison’s media company mounts its defense to the antitrust challenge brought by California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and his coalition of 11 other state attorneys general. Meg James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/24/26

 

California sues Trump over emergency funding rules that pressure states on elections -- California is taking the Trump administration to court a third time over its attempts to tie crucial emergency preparedness funding to the president’s preferences on immigration enforcement and election administration. Lynn La Calmatters Iris Kwok in the Los Angeles Times$ Evelyn Ronan in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/24/26

Nearly 150,000 mail ballots rejected in California’ primary despite efforts to count every vote -- Yet even with that generous week-long window, the primary driver of the higher rejection numbers is late-arriving ballots, according to data compiled by the secretary of state’s office. Voting experts suspect the main problem is postmarks on ballots that came after Election Day, making them ineligible to be counted. Michael R. Blood Associated Press -- 7/24/26

Trump wages court battle over rules for detaining migrant children -- For more than a quarter-century, a lawsuit settlement from a case brought in Los Angeles federal court has dictated conditions for children held in immigration detention. Sonja Sharp in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/24/26

 

Newsom appointed a close ally to this state board. Environmental groups say he has a conflict of interest -- Environmental groups want Board of Environmental Safety member Rhys Williams to resign over ties to a lobbying firm — the latest Newsom aide to land a plum state board seat. Legal experts say his appointment isn’t illegal — but one ethics scholar says it raises a much bigger question about public trust. Alejandra Reyes-Velarde and Jeanne Kuang Calmatters -- 7/24/26

Mayor’s press team uses disappearing WhatsApp messages, avoiding scrutiny -- Mayor Karen Bass’ press relations office communicates through WhatsApp messages that auto-delete every 24 hours, potentially shielding the messages from public records requests, according to three sources familiar with the office. Noah Goldberg in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/24/26

California House Democrats and Republicans urge FCC to stop AT&T landline plan -- More than two dozen Californian congressional members, including Reps. Doris Matsui and James Gallagher, are urging the Federal Communications Commission to stop AT&T’s plan to discontinue landline services in the state. Mathew Miranda in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/24/26

 

California can’t replant its forests fast enough to keep up with wildfires -- California’s wildfires are destroying forests faster than the state can replant them, and federal cuts are making the gap worse. One expert says the crisis is barely known — even though it could reshape half the state’s forests by 2071. Rachel Becker Calmatters -- 7/24/26

Great Highway controversy to return to S.F. voters this November — once again -- San Francisco voters will have to decide on the fate of the city's westernmost coastal boulevard — again. A proposal to reopen the Great Highway during weekdays has qualified for the ballot this November, threatening Sunset Dunes Park, which opened on the shuttered highway last year. Ko Lyn Cheang in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/24/26

Workplace

Despite tax credits, filming in L.A. is still sluggish -- For the three-month period that ended June 30, there were a total of 4,711 shoot days in the greater L.A. area, a nearly 13% decline from the same time last year, according to second-quarter data from FilmLA, a nonprofit that tracks local filming. Samantha Masunaga in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/24/26

Marketplace

S.F. agrees that, yes, six years is too long to open a restaurant. Can the city fix it? -- This week, when Mayor Daniel Lurie posted one of his signature chipper Instagram videos cheering the debut of a new San Francisco restaurant — this time, fast food chain Jollibee, finally opening after six years of delays — many commenters’ response was: What took so long? Elena Kadvany in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/24/26

Section 8

Lawmakers tackle a severe housing shortage for renters who have federal vouchers -- The biggest federal housing program for low-income renters is failing to help many Californians because there aren’t enough landlords who accept Section 8 vouchers for rent. State lawmakers are considering two solutions, a carrot and a stick. Manuela Tobias and Jackie Botts Calmatters -- 7/24/26

Homeless

L.A.’s homeless authority is in a fight for its survival -- Los Angeles’ chief homeless agency is battling a federal suspension that would cut off access to roughly $240 million in Housing and Urban Development funds, alleging it threatens core operations that underpin the region’s homelessness response. Doug Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/24/26

Homelessness has increased in L.A., dealing fresh setback to Mayor Karen Bass -- Homelessness in L.A. rose 3.4% citywide and 7.9% among people living outdoors or in their vehicles, sources familiar with the numbers said. The numbers could complicate Mayor Karen Bass’ bid for a second term. David Zahniser and Doug Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ Jill Cowan and Shawn Hubler in the New York Times$ -- 7/24/26

Education

California pulled the plug on new school air conditioners, leaving $200 million unspent -- A program that promised schools upgraded AC systems was cut short in 2024, leaving hundreds of districts with broken systems and no money to fix them. Lawmakers are now debating whether to spend the leftover interest on an unrelated energy program — instead of finishing the job schools were promised. Alejandra Reyes-Velarde Calmatters -- 7/24/26

AI

For years, they worried AI might break free. Now they have to stop it -- An AI model developed by OpenAI hacked another tech firm, triggering debate about how to contain the technology as it grows more capable. Gerrit De Vynck, Nitasha Tiku and Ian Duncan in the Washington Post$ Robert McMillan and Sam Schechner in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 7/24/26

COVID

COVID-19 is on the upswing in California. How bad will it get this summer? -- COVID-19 is on the upswing in California and across a swath of the West and the South, a sign that the virus may be starting its seasonal summer uptick. Rong-Gong Lin II in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/24/26

Street

Thousands of complaints, few punished: How LAPD handles claims of racial bias -- Studies have repeatedly shown that Blacks and Latinos in L.A. are subjected to police stops at significantly higher rates than whites. Despite receiving many complaints from the public alleging racial bias, it’s extremely rare for officers to face discipline. Libor Jany in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/24/26

Also

Public funding cuts, lost grants, stagnant wages: How economic woes are dimming a vibrant art scene -- With world-renowned cultural campuses, San Diego is one of the country’s top 100 arts communities, but can it hold its position amid shrinking arts investment and rising costs? Deborah Brennan Calmatters -- 7/24/26

‘Fast & Furious’ coaster screams rattle quiet neighborhood: ‘Like someone is getting murdered’ -- Universal Studios Hollywood’s new Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift is a relatively quiet coaster, at least when no one is on it. Todd Martens in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/24/26

Dodgers visit Trump at White House to celebrate World Series win -- Dodgers squeezed in a 2025 World Series celebration with President Trump during an off day on an East Coast road trip. Dodgers chairman Mark Walter gave Trump a personalized 2025 World Series ring and Dodgers jersey. Maddie Lee in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/24/26

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Oil Prices Roar Back, Threatening Economy and GOP’s Midterm Hopes -- Oil prices roared back Thursday to crack the $100 a barrel mark, an inflation-triggering threshold that threatens to bedevil the U.S. economy while putting pressure on the Republicans ahead of the midterm elections. Benoît Morenne, Alison Sider and Sam Goldfarb in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 7/24/26

US military launches new strikes on Iran as clashes escalate over shipping routes -- The U.S. military announced the 13th night of strikes Thursday against Iran as clashes escalate over shipping routes. The attacks came after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels said they attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, potentially widening the Iran war as international oil topped $100 a barrel. Elena Becatoros, Fatma Khaled, Collin Binkley Associated Press -- 7/24/26

Trump Is Losing Patience Over an Iran War With No Clear End in Sight -- President grows skeptical of diplomacy and is in ‘revenge mode’ against Tehran, according to senior administration official. Annie Linskey and Josh Dawsey in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 7/24/26

Number of U.S. Troop Deaths Suddenly Appears Lower on Pentagon Website -- Three military officials and a Pentagon spokesman gave conflicting explanations for why the number of Americans killed in the Iran war had changed. Helene Cooper, Lara Jakes and John Ismay in the New York Times$ -- 7/24/26

Trump’s Trade Wars Are Back—Despite the Supreme Court -- The president’s proposed use of an obscure Depression-era law shows courts and Congress haven’t curbed Trump’s ambition to impose tariffs at will. Greg Ip in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 7/24/26