California Policy and Politics Thursday

Newsom calls Trump ‘invasive species’ in major U.N. speech -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom called President Donald Trump an “invasive species” that is threatening progress around the globe and said he needs to be removed from office during a high-profile address Wednesday at a United Nations session on climate change. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/24/26

In rare challenge to Trump, Mayor Lurie asks feds to release S.F. Assembly staffer -- Mayor Daniel Lurie appealed to the federal government Wednesday for ICE to release Ho Yin Mo, a prominent San Francisco Chinese community organizer and Democratic staffer in the California Legislature. The White House, meanwhile, doubled down in defense of his arrest, calling Mo an “illegal alien.” Sara DiNatale, Ko Lyn Cheang in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/24/26

San Francisco sues Trump Media over subscriber-only access to Trump’s posts -- The city of San Francisco is suing President Donald Trump’s media company, challenging a pricey subscriber-only tool on his Truth Social media platform that allows Wall Street investors early access to the president’s posts. Sara DiNatale in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/24/26

Record diesel prices are squeezing Bay Area ferries. Riders could soon pay more -- Record-high fuel prices are putting strain on the Bay Area’s popular ferry system, prompting one of the biggest operators to cut a mid-day route and consider a surcharge for passengers. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/24/26

How a ban of diesel exports could lead to higher prices — even in the U.S. -- The United States is the largest exporter of diesel in the world, sending on average 1.4 million barrels of distillate fuel a day to trading partners mainly in Latin America and Europe. Experts say that a blanket ban on shipments would imperil those economic allies and push domestic refineries to cut production. That, in turn, would almost certainly lead to higher gasoline prices. Rachel Lerman and Federica Cocco in the Washington Post$ -- 9/24/26

Data Centers

Bay Area cities shut the door to new data centers -- Up and down the state, city councils and boards of supervisors have used emergency moratoriums to temporarily ban new data centers from being built in their communities, with even more eager to follow suit. Megan Fan Munce in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/24/26

Workplace

L.A. Comes to Grips With a Studio Merger Many Didn’t Want -- Hollywood’s battered entertainment economy avoided a potential catastrophe this week when Paramount said it would remain in Los Angeles after merging with Warner Bros. Discovery. That doesn’t mean Los Angeles is celebrating. Paul Kiernan and Ben Fritz in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 9/24/26

Housing

L.A. approves $466 million in affordable housing spending, the largest pool ever -- Los Angeles is set to go on an affordable housing spending spree. Jack Flemming in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/24/26

Climate

California and Washington to join forces on carbon markets, aiming to cut pollution and raise billions -- California is moving forward with plans to link its signature climate program, cap-and-invest, to that of Washington State, a major step officials say will cut more pollution and increase revenue for key state programs. Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/24/26

In blow to tribes, Newsom vetoes bill that would have remade little-known state forests -- Gov. Gavin Newsom has vetoed a bill aimed at deprioritizing commercial logging in a unique state forest system, arguing the measure would jeopardize the ability to test best management practices. Lila Seidman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/24/26

Education

Fensterwald: Steve Hilton’s campaign for governor revives divisive education issues among Democrats -- Steve Hilton’s education reforms are a trip back to the future. The Republican candidate for California governor has called for abolishing teacher tenure, reviving an issue that has been taboo for a decade in the state after bruising battles in court and the Legislature. John Fensterwald EdSource -- 9/24/26

Also

Rep. Kiley demands Sacramento TV station stop airing ‘Duck’ ad tying him to Trump -- Rep. Kevin Kiley’s campaign has sent a cease-and-desist letter to a Sacramento television station over a new political advertisement that compares the congressman to a duck and highlights his past endorsement from President Donald Trump. Mathew Miranda in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/24/26

POTUS 47

Judge orders White House to restore access to news outlets Trump banned -- A federal judge early Thursday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s move to ban three news outlets from the White House grounds and said CNN, MS NOW and Politico must have their access restored. Associated Press Michael Wright in the Wall Street Journal$ Erik Wemple in the New York Times$ -- 9/24/26

Major TV networks declined to film the Chinese leader’s arrival -- Since Monday, the networks that operate the White House TV pool — ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News and NBC — have declined to film Mr. Trump’s public events as an act of solidarity with CNN, which, along with MS NOW and Politico, has been barred by the Trump administration. Michael M. Grynbaum in the New York Times$ -- 9/24/26

The world wants to secure AI. It may have to try without the US. -- Proposals for global AI protections and guardrails abound this week at the U.N. General Assembly, but they can’t do much without the U.S. on board. Maggie Miller Politico -- 9/24/26

MAGA Podcasters Are Tuning Out Trump. We Tracked What They Are Talking About Now -- The Wall Street Journal analyzed nearly 70,000 hours of podcasts, using a new AI tool, to find out why conservative creators appear to be losing interest in the president. Neil Mehta, Brian Whitton and Sabrina Rodriguez in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 9/24/26