California Policy and Politics Friday

Trump signs AI executive order to upend state laws. California has the most to lose -- It’s a direct rebuke to California and other states that have stepped into a void of federal action on the fast-developing technology with their own regulations, frustrating a powerful industry. And it promises to set off a new legal fight with state officials, who immediately condemned the order as an illegal infringement on California’s rights. Alexei Koseff, Sophia Bollag in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Gabby Miller Politico Alyssa Lukpat and Natalie Andrews in the Wall Street Journal$ Cecilia Kang in the New York Times$ Gabby Miller and Brendan Bordelon Politico Gerrit De Vynck in the Washington Post$ Khari Johnson Calmatters -- 12/12/25

California braces for disaster as Congress fails to come to a deal on health care plans -- nsurance premiums for nearly 2 million Californians who buy health plans through the Affordable Care Act exchange are almost certain to spike in a matter of weeks as a fractured Congress allows federal subsidies for those customers to expire. Alexei Koseff, Sophia Bollag in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/12/25

California sends rescue teams to Washington state due to severe floods -- Gov. Gavin Newsom has dispatched more than 100 California first responders to Washington state, where surging floodwaters have forced tens of thousands of residents to evacuate as back-to-back atmospheric river storms drenched the region. Brooke Park in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/12/25

Trump administration demands California drop proposal to ‘redistribute’ farmland to minorities -- The Trump administration is warning Gov. Gavin Newsom not to proceed with a proposal to help disadvantaged communities gain access to California’s farmlands, saying it violates federal and state laws that mandate equal treatment for Americans. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/12/25

 

Newsom’s troll energy takes over the DNC -- As the Democratic National Committee opened its winter meeting here, a throng of delegates jockeyed for selfies with the California governor for more than half an hour before his aides pulled him away for meetings — the crowds surrounding him growing so large at various points that Newsom resorted to group pictures. Melanie Mason and Liam Dillon Politico -- 12/12/25

Newsom expresses unease about his new, candid autobiography: ‘It’s all out there' -- “Just being honest — it comes with a cost,” said Newsom, who made the rounds at a Democratic National Committee meeting in Los Angeles on Thursday. Dakota Smith and Melody Gutierrez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/12/25

Bay Area county OKs tax hike to fund hospitals after federal Medicaid cuts -- Santa Clara County has certified a voter-approved increase in sales tax to help fund local hospitals — one of the first counties to adopt such an approach to offset major cuts in federal health care spending. Catherine Ho in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/12/25

California Coastal Commission approves land deal to extend last nuclear plant through 2030 -- California environmental regulators on Thursday struck a landmark deal with Pacific Gas & Electric to extend the life of the state’s last remaining nuclear power plant in exchange for thousands of acres of new land conservation in San Luis Obispo County. Hayley Smith and Noah Haggerty in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/12/25

Alameda lined up $400 million in federal funds to build a veterans clinic. Then Trump stepped in -- Alameda amassed nearly $400 million to transform an ex-naval base into a veterans clinic. The Trump administration torpedoed the project, declaring it dead without telling the people in charge. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/12/25

Will California farmers get their fair share of federal bailout money? -- As the Trump administration rolls out a $12 billion aid package mostly for farmers in Midwestern states hurt by rising costs, trade disputes and weak prices, California farmers are hoping they won’t get left out in the cold, again. Robert Rodriguez in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 12/12/25

Workplace

California loses jobs for fourth straight month as tech layoffs continue -- The state lost a net 4,500 jobs and its unemployment rate rose to 5.6% from 5.5% in August. That’s the highest rate in the nation and above the national rate of 4.4%. Roland Li in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Laurence Darmiento in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/12/25

The world’s largest beer company is shuttering its last Bay Area facility -- “The impacts for us will be loss of local employment and impact to our water utility operations and revenue,” Moy wrote, calling the imminent closing “devastating.” The Fairfield plant is one of the city’s largest employers. A spokesperson for Anheuser-Busch did not confirm the number of employees at the plant. Mario Cortez in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/12/25

Marketplace

Ford’s Car of the Future, Hatched in a Skunk Works Near Los Angeles -- Desperate to catch up with Chinese automakers, Ford is redesigning its fleet with a Silicon Valley-style team. Is it too late? Jack Ewing in the New York Times$ -- 12/12/25

On Your Left, Hollywood’s Fading Relevancy -- It’s hard to make a movie studio tour exciting when movies aren’t made there anymore. “A vibe of tiredness, like the end of something,” one guest said. Brooks Barnes, Ricardo Nagaoka in the New York Times$ -- 12/12/25

Behind the Deal That Took Disney From AI Skeptic to OpenAI Investor -- Disney’s deal with OpenAI will allow users to generate AI videos based on characters from Marvel, ‘Star Wars’ and other franchises. Keach Hagey and Ben Fritz in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 12/12/25

Diablo Canyon

California’s last nuclear power plant faces renewed scrutiny as it gains latest permit -- A state regulator is requiring California’s last nuclear power plant to conserve 4,000 acres of surrounding land to keep operating until 2030. Nadia Lathan Calmatters -- 12/12/25

Housing

State Supreme Court rejects California city’s long fight to avoid building housing -- In a long-running battle between the state and local governments over housing, the California Supreme Court required Huntington Beach on Wednesday to approve plans for residences that low-income people could afford in the Orange County community. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/12/25

This Bay Area county is experimenting with a first-in-the-state pilot program for faster housing construction. Can it help solve the affordability crisis? -- A new Alameda County pilot program called the Scalable Housing Investment Funding Toolkit, or SHIFT, seeks to make more housing for less money with a first-in-the-state approach to affordable housing. Chase Hunter in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 12/12/25

Rent payments will likely go up for thousands of low-income San Diegans -- The move affects approximately 14,500 households that rely on federally funded housing choice vouchers, which are often known as Section 8 vouchers. In certain cases, residents who’ve been directing 24% of their income toward rent will be required to contribute 40%. Blake Nelson in the San Diego Union Tribune$ -- 12/12/25

Homeless

20% of Sacramento shelter guests go on to permanent housing. Is there a better way? -- Sacramento city and county together earmarked $120 million in taxpayer money — from a mix of local, state and federal sources — on building and staffing eight homeless shelters with a total of about 950 beds since January 2020. Theresa Clift in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 12/12/25

Abalone

California bans harvest of ocean delicacy until 2036 -- The contentious vote is the most recent example of how this small mollusk has become a big political and cultural controversy. State managers and impassioned divers are still struggling to agree on how to manage the species moving forward, including when and how to open recreational abalone diving in the future. Claire Barber, Anna Hoch-Kenney in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Chaewon Chung in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 12/12/25

Environment

L.A. County sues oil companies over unplugged oil wells in Inglewood -- Unplugged wells can leak benzene, methane and other pollutants that can harm human health and the environment. The lawsuit seeks daily penalties of up to $2,500 per well to avoid taxpayers footing cleanup costs. Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/12/25

Education

California schools that need foreign workers for teacher jobs can’t afford Trump’s new visa fee -- The Trump administration is now requiring new H-1B visa applicants to pay $100,000. School districts that depend on hiring foreign workers to fill teacher jobs, especially in special education and bilingual education, say they can’t afford the new fee. Sophie Sullivan and Alina Ta Calmatters -- 12/12/25

DACA was once a lifeline for undocumented youth. It’s leaving the next generation behind -- A promise of work authorization and deportation protection pulled a generation of undocumented youth out of the shadows when DACA first went into effect in 2012. Yet, hundreds of thousands of today’s students like Alex are largely left out because of the ongoing legal battle that has largely frozen applications since 2017. Itzel Luna in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/12/25

‘Hate breeds hate’: How should school respond after ‘human swastika’ incident? -- Cormac, an 18-year-old senior at Branham High School in San Jose, was on the way to his AP Government class on Oct. 4 when a fellow Jewish student showed him her phone. What he saw on it was shocking: a photo of a group of his classmates arranging their bodies into the shape of a swastika on the school’s football field. Caelyn Pender in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 12/12/25

Homeless

Class action lawsuit says Fresno discriminates against the homeless with arrests -- A civil rights attorney filed a class action lawsuit against the city of Fresno alleging the homeless community has been criminalized and unduly prosecuted after the city adopted its anti-camping ordinance. Thaddeus Miller in the Fresno Bee -- 12/12/25

Street

Crime in San Francisco is declining even faster than other cities -- Crime decreases this year have beaten even last year’s historic lows. This data shows how much it’s fallen — and where it hasn't. Danielle Echeverria in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/12/25

Medical Cannabis

Review of Medical Cannabis Use Finds Little Evidence of Benefit -- Researchers found a chasm between the health reasons for which the public seeks out cannabis and what gold-standard science actually shows about its effectiveness. Jan Hoffman in the New York Times$ -- 12/12/25

Also

L.A. traffic is actually getting better. That’s not entirely a good thing -- Los Angeles was the 10th-most congested city in the world in 2025, according to the Global Traffic Scorecard from INRIX, a transportation analytics firm. That’s not exactly something to brag about, but L.A. was the eighth-most-congested in 2024. Terry Castleman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/12/25

Walters: Some Newsom detractors make up stuff, though there’s fodder for legitimate criticism -- As Gavin Newsom ramps up his almost certain campaign for president, and polls put him in contention for the Democratic Party’s nomination in 2028, he has become a favorite target of right-leaning commentators on network television and in YouTube videos and social media. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 12/12/25

POTUS 47

This holiday season isn’t very merry for consumers, an AP-NORC poll finds -- Roughly half of Americans say it’s harder than usual to afford the things they want to give as holiday gifts, and similar numbers are delaying big purchases or cutting back on nonessential purchases more than they would normally. Josh Boak and Amelia Thomson-Deveaux Associated Press -- 12/12/25

Indiana GOP rejects Trump’s map in major blow to his gerrymandering push -- The GOP-controlled state Senate voted down a bill that would have wiped out Indiana’s two Democratic-held seats in the House. Adam Wren Politico Joseph De Avila and Alyssa Lukpat in the Wall Street Journal$ Mitch Smith in the New York Times$ Patrick Marley in the Washington Post$ -- 12/12/25

6 Takeaways From Indiana’s Defiance of Trump -- President Trump’s failure to ram through a Republican-friendly House map was a new sign that his iron grip on the party has slipped, and was likely to reverberate nationally. Nick Corasaniti and Mitch Smith in the New York Times$ -- 12/12/25

House Republicans weigh vote on Obamacare extension -- Moderate House Republicans are talking with GOP leaders about possibly setting up an amendment vote that could add an extension of expiring Obamacare subsidies to a health care package expected to move across the floor next week, according to four people granted anonymity to describe internal conversations. Meredith Lee Hill Politico -- 12/12/25

A Grand Jury Again Declines to Reindict Letitia James -- A federal grand jury in Alexandria, Va., declined on Thursday to indict Letitia James, the New York attorney general, the second time in a week that jurors had rejected the effort — a rebuke of President Trump’s bid to order up prosecutions against his political enemies. Jonah E. Bromwich, Devlin Barrett and Glenn Thrush in the New York Times$ -- 12/12/25

Trump seeks to cut restrictions on marijuana through planned order -- The president is expected to direct agencies to reclassify marijuana as a Schedule III drug, similar to some common prescription painkillers. Jacob Bogage, Dan Diamond and David Ovalle in the Washington Post$ -- 12/12/25

Federal Judge Blocks FEMA From Canceling Climate Resiliency Grants -- A federal judge in Massachusetts ruled Thursday that the Trump administration could not unilaterally cancel a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant program that states used for disaster preparation, imposing a potential hurdle in the administration’s efforts to tighten FEMA’s purse strings. Scott Dance in the New York Times$ -- 12/12/25

From Chips to Security, China Is Getting Much of What It Wants From the U.S. -- For China, President Trump’s moves to loosen chip controls, soften U.S. rhetoric and stay silent on tensions with Japan amount to a rare string of strategic gains. Lily Kuo in the New York Times$ -- 12/12/25

Meet the Trump administration’s 12 billionaires -- At a net worth of $390 billion, it’s the wealthiest White House in modern history. Aaron Schaffer and Clara Ence Morse in the Washington Post$ -- 12/12/25

National Trust sues to stop Trump’s ballroom construction -- The organization, which is charged by Congress with historic preservation, has retained President Barack Obama’s former lawyer as it seeks to pause the project. Dan Diamond and Jonathan Edwards in the Washington Post$ -- 12/12/25