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California Policy and Politics Wednesday
California Republican Party asks Supreme Court to halt new congressional map -- The California Republican Party Tuesday filed an emergency application asking the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the redrawing of congressional boundaries authorized by Proposition 50. David Lightman in the Sacramento Bee$ Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times$ Abbie VanSickle and Laurel Rosenhall in the New York Times$ -- 01/21/26
Rep. Swalwell’s eligibility for governor questioned in lawsuit -- East Bay Rep. Eric Swalwell, a leading Democratic candidate for governor, is facing a legal challenge that could threaten his place on California’s 2026 ballot, as a conservative filmmaker claims the congressman does not meet the state’s residency requirements. Chase Hunter in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 01/21/26
California’s newest ICE center has 1,400 detainees. What Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla saw there -- “The most frequent feedback we got was the inadequacy of the medical care they are receiving,” said Schiff. He described meeting a diabetic detainee who he said has not received treatment for her condition in two months. “That’s frightening,” he said. Wendy Fry Calmatters Brittny Mejia and Ruben Vives in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 01/21/26
Fresno’s Venezuelans tight-lipped, say family at home can be arrested for speech here -- “The reason that I don’t want to show my face is because I have relatives in Venezuela, and they have provided me information where they’re telling me that they have to be extremely careful because they can be arrested, extorted for money by the police,” said a Venezuelan American living in Fresno who asked to be identified as Carlos for fear of jeopardizing his family’s safety in Venezuela. María G. Ortiz-Briones in the Fresno Bee -- 01/21/26
Newsom tells world leaders their response to Trump is ‘pathetic’ -- Gov. Gavin Newsom had a stark message Monday for European leaders: “Stand tall and grow a spine,” he said, as they deal with President Donald Trump’s threats to take over Greenland. “It’s time to buck up, it’s time to get serious and stop being complicit,” he told reporters. “It’s time to stand tall and firm, have a backbone.” David Lightman in the Sacramento Bee$ Melody Gutierrez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 01/21/26
Covered California policyholders are downgrading their plans as new enrollees plummet -- The number of new Covered California enrollees has plunged about 32% compared with where it stood a year ago, and the state’s Affordable Care Act marketplace is bracing for the eventual loss of 400,000 policyholders, most of whom will be priced out. Sara DiNatale in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Grant Stringer in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 01/21/26
Top legislator says state ‘must do better’ on housing after Newsom budget plan -- The chair of the California Assembly’s budget committee said Tuesday that Gov. Gavin Newsom’s current spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year does not go far enough on housing and homelessness. Stephen Hobbs in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 01/21/26
Consumers in wait-and-see mode as San Diego home prices and sales drop -- November is typically a slower month for sales, but not to this extreme. It was the second-slowest sales for that month in nearly 40 years of data. Only November 2023 was slower with 1,779 sales. Experts point to several factors limiting sales: A slight increase in mortgage rates, affordability challenges and rising insurance rates causing sticker shock. Phillip Molnar in the San Diego Union Tribune$ -- 01/21/26
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan hosts governor candidate Republican Steve Hilton as he mulls his own bid for higher office -- The road to the Governor’s Office continues to run through San Jose, as Mayor Matt Mahan — who is seriously considering his own bid — hosted yet another candidate while pressing Sacramento leaders to take a more aggressive approach to California’s homelessness crisis. Grace Hase in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 01/21/26
Billie Joe Armstrong slams ICE, Stephen Miller ahead of Super Bowl performances -- It may be a new year, but Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong is still using his platform for pointed social commentary and political protest. Zara Irshad in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 01/21/26
Climate
California exceeds clean car goal despite declining federal support -- More than 2.5 million electric vehicles have been sold in California since 2010, exceeding one of the state’s EV goals despite setbacks in clean energy brought on by the Trump administration. Caroline Petrow-Cohen in the Los Angeles Times$ Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 01/21/26
Guns
Supreme Court appears likely to strike down California law banning guns in stores and restaurants -- California is among five states with new laws that forbid carrying guns into private places open to the public without the consent of an owner or manager. The Trump administration joined gun-rights advocates in urging the Supreme Court to strike down the laws as unconstitutional under the 2nd Amendment. David G. Savage in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 01/21/26
Education
White Students Hurt by L.A. Desegregation Policy, Lawsuit Says -- Schools with more white children miss out on smaller class sizes and other benefits, the lawsuit says. The policy dates back to desegregation efforts in the 1970s. Sarah Mervosh in the New York Times$ -- 01/21/26
Also
Chess grandmaster running for CA insurance commissioner challenges voters to a game -- Patrick Wolff, a candidate for California Insurance Commissioner, is aiming to reach voters in a unique way. Hector Amezcua and Hannah Ruhoff in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 01/21/26
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Stocks Post Biggest Drop in Months as Tensions Over Greenland Mount -- The S&P 500 saw its biggest decline since October, and market jitters spread to Asia on Wednesday. Joe Rennison in the New York Times$ -- 01/21/26
Greenland Clash Risks Undermining America’s Place in World Economic Order -- The U.S. has long been a beacon of safety when uncertainty reigns. That is changing. Justin Lahart and Sam Goldfarb in the Wall Street Journal$ Zolan Kanno-Youngs in the New York Times$ -- 01/21/26
EU moves closer to using its trade bazooka against the US -- EU leaders have toughened their position and want the European Commission to ready its most powerful trade weapon against the U.S. if Donald Trump doesn't walk back his Greenland threats. Zoya Sheftalovich, Camille Gijs, Nette Nöstlinger, Gabriel Gavin, Jacopo Barigazzi and Clea Caulcutt Politico -- 01/21/26
The $100 Billion of U.S. Goods at Risk of Tariffs in Trump’s Greenland Push -- If President Trump follows through with a threat to put new tariffs on European allies over Greenland, some $100 billion worth of American exports—from Boeing aircraft to bourbon whiskey—could get caught in the crossfire. Kim Mackrael and Benjamin Katz in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 01/21/26
China pitches itself as reliable partner amid Trump threats -- Vice Premier He Lifeng says the world shouldn’t slide back into “the law of the jungle, where the strong bully the weak.” Carlo Martuscelli Politico -- 01/21/26
Trump administration concedes DOGE team may have misused Social Security data -- Two members of Elon Musk’s DOGE team working at the Social Security Administration were secretly in touch with an advocacy group seeking to “overturn election results in certain states,” and one signed an agreement that may have involved using Social Security data to match state voter rolls, the Justice Department revealed in newly disclosed court papers. Kyle Cheney Politico Meryl Kornfield in the Washington Post$ -- 01/21/26
California Policy and Politics Tuesday
Trump’s a T-Rex and ‘pathetic’ leaders need to confront him, rages California’s Newsom -- California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom on Tuesday called global leaders “pathetic” for failing to challenge U.S. President Donald Trump. Ketrin Jochecová, Kathryn Carlson and Jamie Dettmer Politico -- 01/20/26
This Supreme Court case could strike a major blow to California’s vote-counting system -- The future of mail-in voting — in particular, the power of states like California to count votes that are mailed by Election Day but received afterward — will soon be in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 01/20/26
Kamala in La La Land -- After a year of letting go, the former vice president is inching back towards the political fray. Will McCarthy Politico -- 01/20/26
‘Small change is how it starts’: Bay Area celebrates 40th MLK Day with marches and volunteer events -- At the Oshman Family Jewish Community Center in Palo Alto, children in neon T-shirts and grandmothers in worn cardigans gathered around tables to prepare food for homeless shelters, care packages for new mothers, and hygiene kits for people experiencing homelessness, part of a multi-day service effort commemorating the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. Ethan Varian, Chase Hunter, Luis Melecio-Zambrano and Nollyanne Delacruz in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 01/20/26
Civil rights leaders see another turning point one year into Trump’s term -- Nearly 60 years after Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, civil rights leaders say President Donald Trump is forcing the movement to reinvent itself again as protections are recast as discrimination. Emmanuel Felton in the Washington Post$ -- 01/20/26
U.S. overdose deaths fell through most of 2025, federal data reveal -- U.S. overdose deaths dropped 21% through August 2025 — the longest sustained decline in decades — but remain above pre-pandemic levels. Overdose deaths declined in 45 states, though the rate of improvement is slowing after falling 27% in 2024, CDC data show. Experts cite increased naloxone access, addiction treatment expansion, Chinese chemical regulations and pandemic stimulus effects as possible drivers of the decline. Mike Stobbe Associated Press in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 01/20/26
California agency tasked with scrutinizing jail deaths hasn’t completed a single review -- A state office created in 2024 to scrutinize local investigations into jail deaths has yet to complete a single review of the more than 150 people who have died in custody in California’s county jails over the past year-and-a-half. Jason Henry in the Orange County Register$ -- 01/20/26
California’s newest ICE center has 1,400 detainees. What Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla saw there -- “The most frequent feedback we got was the inadequacy of the medical care they are receiving,” said Schiff. He described meeting a diabetic detainee who he said has not received treatment for her condition in two months. “That’s frightening,” he said. Wendy Fry Calmatters -- 01/20/26
Marketplace
Netflix amends Warner Bros. deal to all cash in bidding war -- Netflix Inc. reached an amended, all-cash agreement to buy Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.’s studio and streaming business as it battles Paramount Skydance Corp. to acquire one of Hollywood’s most iconic entertainment companies. Lucas Shaw and Michelle F. Davis in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 01/20/26
Waymo
Parents are letting teens ride in Waymos without an adult. That poses a dilemma for the company -- This practice breaks the rules imposed by Waymo and its state regulators, which require that riders be 18 or older unless they have an adult chaperone. But parents have found they’re unlikely to get caught, and the need is clear. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 01/20/26
Housing
San Diego shows what happens when a city actually lets builders build -- San Diego is building apartments at nearly twice the rate of Los Angeles, with new construction up 10%, while L.A.’s has plummeted 33% over three years. Roger Vincent in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 01/20/26
Climate
Sacramento’s tree canopy is at risk. Experts say these steps can help -- For generations, Sacramento has proudly called itself the City of Trees. That identity didn’t grow by accident. It came from decades of intentional planting, civic pride and a shared belief that shade, beauty and livability mattered. Today, that legacy is under real pressure. Daryl V. Rowland KVIE Abridged -- 01/20/26
Also
‘Call a Republican’: Tech startup tries high-stakes social experiment connecting liberal S.F. and Texas -- Anyone who walks by the Black Serum Tattoo Shop, in San Francisco’s Mission District, might notice a strange artifact by the front entrance: A shiny red public phone with a hand-held receiver mounted to a pay phone pedestal. Above it are the words “Call a Republican.” The phone provides a direct line to a bookstore in Abilene, Texas. A similar phone, with a blue receiver, sits at the receiving end. It too bears a sign: “Call a Democrat.” Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 01/20/26
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Trump threatens 200 percent tariffs on French wine after Macron snubs peace board -- The U.S. leader threatened trade penalties against French booze after the French president rejected a place on his Gaza oversight body. Alex Spence Politico -- 01/20/26
Justice Department weighs rollback of gun regulations -- The Justice Department is considering loosening a slate of gun regulations as it seeks to bolster support from ardent Second Amendment advocates, according to three people familiar with the changes who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss plans that have not been made public. Perry Stein in the Washington Post$ -- 01/20/26
Judge refuses to block new DHS policy limiting Congress members’ access to ICE facilities -- A federal judge refused Monday to temporarily block the Trump administration from enforcing a new policy requiring a week’s notice before members of Congress can visit immigration detention facilities. Michael Kunzelman Associated Press -- 01/20/26
Trump ties his stance on Greenland to not getting Nobel Peace Prize -- U.S. President Donald Trump linked his aggressive stance on Greenland to last year’s decision not to award him the Nobel Peace Prize, telling Norway’s prime minister that he no longer felt “an obligation to think purely of Peace,” in a text message released Monday. Aamer Madhani, Geir Moulson and Emma Burrows Associated Press Ellen Francis and Steve Hendrix in the Washington Post$ -- 01/20/26
The EU’s magical, mystery trade weapon — and other options to nail Trump -- The trade war is back. Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on European countries over Greenland has blown up last year’s transatlantic trade truce and forced the EU into a familiar dilemma: hit back hard, or try to buy time. On paper, Brussels has options. Koen Verhelst and Carlo Martuscelli Politico -- 01/20/26
Americans Are the Ones Paying for Tariffs, Study Finds -- Research contradicts President Trump’s claim that foreigners are footing the bill, and could weaken his hand in the dispute over Greenland Tom Fairless in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 01/20/26
Trump’s $1 Billion-a-Seat Diplomacy Club Takes Aim at the U.N. -- President Trump has expanded the mission of his proposed Gaza Board of Peace into a global body that would take on the role mediating conflicts currently held by the United Nations and carry a $1 billion fee for a permanent seat, according to a charter sent to prospective members. David S. Cloud, Summer Said and Dov Lieber in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 01/20/26
How Trump Is Testing the Limits of the Presidency -- In his second term, Mr. Trump is asserting that presidents can take actions that were not previously understood to be within their authority. Kush Desai, a White House spokesman, said Mr. Trump was keeping his campaign promises, adding: “The Trump administration will continue to legally use every lever of power granted to the executive branch by the Constitution and Congress to finally put Americans and America first.”Charlie Savage and Lazaro Gamio in the New York Times$ -- 01/20/26