California Policy and Politics Tuesday

As L.A. burned, online gamblers bet on how much the fires would destroy. ‘That was fun’ -- While Southern California was burning in January 2025, people online were placing money on potential outcomes. Experts say the possibility of making money on disasters can create dangerous incentives. Hannah Fry in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/18/26

Meta goes on trial in Oakland over alleged harms to children, with up to $1.4 trillion at stake -- Meta goes on trial this week in Oakland over allegations it built Facebook and Instagram to addict children, concealed the resulting harm and illegally collected young users’ data, a case that Meta says could expose it to as much as $1.4 trillion in penalties or force fundamental changes to two of the world’s largest social media platforms. Ethan Baron in the San Jose Mercury$ Tyler Katzenberger Politico Cecilia Kang and Eli Tan in the New York Times$ Scott Nover in the Washington Post$ -- 8/18/26

The Web of Hidden Deals That Snared the Dodgers Owner in a Federal Probe -- Under pressure from investigators and regulators, billionaire Mark Walter is racing to unwind bets and save his sports-and-finance empire. Justin Baer, Margot Patrick, Joe Wallace and Andrew Beaton in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 8/18/26

Jeanie Buss contests family sale of Lakers ownership stake to Bob Iger, Joshua Kushner -- For more than four decades, the Lakers were a family-run business. The sibling rivalries still remain. Jeanie Buss is fighting back after her siblings reportedly voted to sell the family’s remaining stake in the Lakers on Monday. Thuc Nhi Nguyen in the Los Angeles Times$ Greg Beacham Associated Press Sam Amick in the New York Times$ -- 8/18/26

Paramount demands $1.9 billion from states, citing Warner deal delays -- Paramount Skydance has asked a federal judge to order California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, 11 other states and the Writers Guild of America to post up to $1.9 billion for mounting Warner merger “ticking fees.” The states’ antitrust lawsuit is now the only barrier after approvals from Trump’s Justice Department and 68 jurisdictions, with a March trial threatening months of delays and spiraling daily costs. Meg James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/18/26

Poll showing Bass leading Raman by double digits was bogus, company says -- The phony poll by a company called Median Strategies showed Bass leading Raman by a wide margin, but the company acknowledged Monday that it was fake. Median said the “poll” was instead a “short term social experiment” to see how polling information could be distributed without verification. Noah Goldberg in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/18/26

House Ethics Committee announces sexual misconduct investigation into Rep. Jimmy Gomez -- Gomez acknowleged ‘personal mistakes outside my marriage,’ and said he is ‘ready to cooperate’ with the ethics probe. Ben Wieder in the Los Angeles Times$ Michael Gold in the New York Times$ -- 8/18/26

Republicans won the redistricting competition. Don’t tell that to this California congressman -- One thing Anne Smull, a retired feedstore owner, was looking forward to on Election Day was voting for the man who currently represents her in Congress, conservative Rep. Kevin Kiley. Now she can’t. Nicholas Riccardi Associated Press -- 8/18/26

Kiley, Pan put each other’s records on trial in first 6th District debate -- In their first general election debate Monday evening, U.S. Rep. Kevin Kiley, I-Rocklin, and former state Sen. Richard Pan offered competing explanations for the problems facing voters in California’s newly redrawn 6th Congressional District. Kiley pointed to Sacramento, while Pan pointed to Washington. Naomi Taxay in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/18/26

State Farm

State Farm defense lawyers admit AI generated fake cases in LA lawsuit -- The homeowner’s lawyers discovered in motions filed by State Farm “cases that do not exist, quotes that do not exist, and holdings that do not exist,” according to a filing by Eric Khodadian, who is representing Fa’alagilagi Meni-Siliga. Levi Sumagaysay Calmatters -- 8/18/26

Will California vote ‘progressive’ in insurance commissioner race? -- Jane Kim, backed by Bernie Sanders, could ride the progressive wave. Ben Allen has the CA Democratic party’s endorsement for the insurance commissioner job. Levi Sumagaysay Calmatters -- 8/18/26

Donald Trump made historic gains in California in 2024. Can Steve Hilton build on that? -- In his decisive 2024 presidential victory, Donald Trump achieved the best result for a Republican in the Golden State in 20 years — in part by attracting younger voters, Latino voters and less-educated voters to his camp in droves, flipping 10 counties in the process. Olivia Borgula in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/18/26

Garofoli: Do Democrats have ‘SWAMP’ disease? A major S.F. donor thinks so -- There’s been no shortage of critiques of the Democratic Party — not surprising given its 39% approval rating — but a new outside “audit” of the party’s funding priorities is taking a different angle. It has diagnosed the party with “Straight White American Male Preference — SWAMP,” an affliction that “imperils the Party’s chances of winning the 2026 midterm elections.” Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/18/26

Walters: How California’s midterm election could shape national political conflicts -- When a professional political operative describes an election as “nationalized,” it means the outcome could have consequences far beyond the locality in which it occurs and therefore is drawing outside attention and resources. This year’s congressional elections in California are a prime example, with two distinct and unusual aspects. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 8/18/26

HSR

‘More and more’ regulation at root of High-Speed Rail delays, CEO says in Fresno speech -- The head of the California High-Speed Rail Authority told a Fresno crowd Monday that a history of increasing regulation is at the root of the project’s slow movement since the state’s voters approved it nearly 20 years ago. Erik Galicia in the Fresno Bee -- 8/18/26

ICE

ICE gives detention centers high marks for health under Trump even as deaths climb, report finds -- Regular reports out of immigrant detention facilities, some as recent as last month, indicate a pattern of complaints: Bad water, untrained staff and slow response times to acute and chronic medical conditions. Nigel Duara Calmatters -- 8/18/26

San Diego County Supervisors want to kick ICE out of the county firing range -- San Diego County is considering banning federal immigration agencies from using county firearms training facilities, as two supervisors argued that local firing ranges should not be “a training ground for President Trump’s mass deportation agenda.” Deborah Brennan Calmatters -- 8/18/26

Workplace

Disney sues FCC over challenge to broadcast licenses, claiming retaliation over ‘Jimmy Kimmel’ -- Disney filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the Trump administration’s Federal Communications Commission alleging a violation of its First Amendment rights. Mike Catalini Associated Press -- 8/18/26

Hollywood strikes first AI copyright truce with ByteDance -- The Motion Picture Assn. has struck its first agreement with an artificial intelligence company, saying Monday that BytWendy LeeeDance has strengthened copyright guardrails into its AI video and image tools that drew legal threats from every major Hollywood studio in February. Wendy Lee in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/18/26

California prison towns grasp for new jobs after closures: ‘No one is coming to save us’ -- California prison towns made a grim bargain decades ago. They built their economies around an industry that relied on an ever-growing prison population, mostly from California’s major metropolitan areas. Nigel Duara Calmatters -- 8/18/26

Blow to Westside child care: UCLA to close infant and toddler centers charging $3,000 a month -- Parents and advocates say the closures deepen an already dire child-care shortage in the Westside, where licensed spaces serve just a fraction of infants and soaring costs strain both families and underpaid educators. Kate Sequeira and Jaweed Kaleem in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/18/26

Housing

Why S.F. neighborhoods are up in arms over new environmental rankings that could cost them money -- California recently updated the system it uses to decide which communities get top priority for state environmental cleanup funding, and dozens of groups in the Bay Area aren’t happy with it. Alejandra Reyes-Velarde Calmatters -- 8/18/26

Aging Californians aren’t leaving their longtime homes. It’s worsening the housing crisis -- California‘s aging population is driving down the state’s average household size, as senior residents are increasingly staying in their single-family homes well after their children move out. The declining birthrate is also contributing to this trend of shrinking households. Grace Toohey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/18/26

Guns

Trump Administration Moves to Restore Felons’ Gun Rights -- The Justice Department expects 330,000 people to apply to reclaim ability to own firearms under a new regulation Dave Michaels in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 8/18/26

Also

Trump praises 16-year-old lifeguard who saved a drowning boy in Santa Cruz -- A 16-year-old lifeguard, whose viral video rescue of a boy at a Santa Cruz beach last month drew widespread praise, met with President Trump at the White House on Monday afternoon. Ryder Williams, 16, met with Trump at the Oval Office, after the president announced that Ryder would receive a “High Civilian Honor” for the rescue. Summer Lin in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/18/26

Man who fell from personal watercraft off Long Beach found next day — alive — off Seal Beach’s coast -- A 53-year-old man floating more than two miles off Seal Beach’s coast — and 12-plus hours after going missing — was rescued by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter after its crew spotted his neon-green life vest and noticed him moving his legs as they got closer, officials said. Nathaniel Percy in the Orange County Register$ -- 8/18/26

POTUS 47

As Iran Truce Expires and Options Shrivel, Trump Lashes Out -- As a crumbling truce with Iran officially collapsed on Monday, President Trump signaled his frustration at his inability to resolve a war that he started but cannot seem to end. In an interview with Fox News, the president lashed out at an American ally, Oman, that has been trying to mediate negotiations with Iran. Luke Broadwater in the New York Times$ Cleve R. Wootson Jr. and Rachel Chason in the Washington Post$ -- 8/18/26

Trump threatened to bomb Oman because he’s unhappy with country’s deal with Iran, officials say -- U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to bomb Oman because he is unhappy the country is close to a deal with Iran to manage ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, two regional officials said Tuesday, a day after Trump leveled the threat. Samy Magdy Associated Press -- 8/18/26

Trump’s rosy Hormuz claims collide with tanker data -- The Trump administration has said the Strait of Hormuz is open for business and oil is flowing. Market trackers suggest a less rosy picture. Scott Waldman Politico -- 8/18/26

Trump votes by mail again in his home state of Florida -- President Donald Trump voted by mail in Florida’s Republican primary, according to local voting records, even as he continues to rail against mail-in voting with wide-ranging allegations of fraud. Gary Fineout Politico Chris Cameron in the New York Times$ -- 8/18/26

U.S. Airman Says He Would Accept Punishment for Protesting Iran War -- Major Watson characterized the war in Iran as an act of American aggression and compared the U.S. military actions to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Minho Kim in the New York Times$ -- 8/18/26

Supreme Court rebuffs Trump’s bid to overturn $5 million verdict in Carroll case -- The Supreme Court on Monday again rebuffed President Donald Trump’s bid to overturn a $5 million verdict against him in a case in which he was found liable for sexually abusing former advice columnist E. Jean Carroll. Justin Jouvenal in the Washington Post$ -- 8/18/26