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California Policy and Politics Monday

Years of Trump Support Came Undone in 15 Minutes in an Airport -- Brent Jindra, a tech salesman, voted for President Trump three times, drawn by his aggressive immigration agenda. He never imagined the crackdown would ensnare his own wife. Last month, moments after the couple got off their flight in Burbank, Calif., a young man in a brown hooded sweatshirt stopped Galina Bobreneva. Miriam Jordan in the New York Times$ -- 8/17/26

California groups have a new way to get Newsom’s attention: Bash him in swing states -- As the end of Gavin Newsom’s governorship approaches, groups hoping to sway his decisions on California policy are seeking to hit him where it hurts: in states critical to his potential 2028 presidential run. Sophia Bollag in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/17/26

As a Sacramento teen, Xavier Becerra had drive, smarts and a steely poker face -- It was not hard to find Xavier Becerra at Sacramento’s C.K. McClatchy High School in the mid-1970s. Every lunch, Becerra and half a dozen friends would around a picnic table, huddled over a deck of cards. Becerra was the one with long, wavy hair, flared pants and a poker face that his old friend Steve Franco will never forget. Ben Paviour in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/17/26

Skelton: Xavier Becerra won’t deliver the home runs — or strikeouts — racked up by Newsom, Schwarzenegger -- California’s next governor, Xavier Becerra, is a “small ball” player, to borrow a baseball term. He probably won’t be swinging for the fences like Govs. Gavin Newsom and Arnold Schwarzenegger. But he also won’t be striking out a lot trying to hit home runs, like Newsom and Schwarzenegger. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/17/26

California backtracks on good-government policies in divided Trump era --California’s good-government experiments — independent redistricting and the top-two “jungle” primary — face rollbacks as voters, parties and strategists move to reinstate gerrymandering and to scrap the primary system. Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/17/26

Nancy Pelosi is leaving Capitol Hill. Her team is still calling shots -- The aides who worked for the California Democrat throughout her 39-year congressional career are now running leadership offices, directing committees and helming new teams as chiefs of staff. Riley Rogerson Politico -- 8/17/26

Meta, fighting accusations of hurting kids, is dealt major blow over key witness -- California can keep a star witness and introduce key evidence during opening statements in its case against Meta, a federal judge has ruled, dealing a blow to the tech titan on the eve of the landmark trial. Sonja Sharp in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/17/26

Inside the bitter war over cows and wilderness at Point Reyes -- Point Reyes National Seashore, a cherished Northern California park, is again a political battleground as the Trump administration’s pro-cattle agenda collides with decades of efforts to restore its native ecosystems. Susanne Rust in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/17/26

Workplace

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 ByteDance 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$ -- 8/17/26

Climate

Hydrogen failed as car fuel. Now California’s big dollar bet on it for green energy is fading, too -- California once bet big on clean hydrogen for cars and industry, but market turmoil, federal funding cuts and stalled projects have turned the promise into a “non moment.” Hydrogen costs run about four times gasoline per mile. Blanca Begert in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/17/26

Port of Long Beach could bring new nuclear power to California for first time in 50 years -- Bluecore Energy is working to develop small modular nuclear reactors to generate electricity to power the port’s operations and vessels, in partnership with POLB and the U.S. Maritime Administration. Kristy Hutchings and Donna Littlejohn in the LA Daily News -- 8/17/26

Water

The Colorado River Is Shrinking. See How Authorities Are Trying to Save It -- After years of impasse between states, the federal government has stepped in to try to save the beleaguered Colorado River. The plans include a short-term fix for an ailing reservoir and longer-term efforts to keep the river flowing. It is unclear how effective these measures will be. Josh Ulick in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 8/17/26

Street

Sheriff posts photos of 27 suspected of ransacking AutoZone during East L.A. street takeovers -- Investigators are asking the public for help identifying more than two dozen people suspected of burglarizing an AutoZone in East Los Angeles during two consecutive nights of street takeovers. David Zahniser in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/17/26

Also

The state says he stole millions from California seniors. Courts missed warning signs for years -- A CalMatters investigation found that many of the safeguards designed to protect against fiduciary abuse have been abandoned or ignored. Byrhonda Lyons Calmatters -- 8/17/26

‘There is nothing else’: Californians face eviction as insurer cancels assisted living benefit -- Health Net’s decision to cut assisted living benefits for roughly 3,500 low-income seniors could force some of them onto the streets, critics fear. Kristen Hwang Kristen Hwang Calmatters -- 8/17/26

Nick Reiner renews demand for trust fund ahead of murder trial in parents’ deaths -- As he awaits trial in connection with the brutal slaying of his parents, Nick Reiner is waging war in probate court to wrest control of more than half a million dollars from the trust fund they left him. Sonja Sharp in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/17/26

Teenage lifeguard to visit White House after heroic Santa Cruz beach rescue -- A teenage lifeguard who saved a boy from thrashing waves at a Santa Cruz beach is set to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday, after video of the dramatic rescue went viral. Delilah Brumer in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/17/26

POTUS 47

Supreme Court turns down Trump’s last-ditch bid to overturn $5M verdict in E. Jean Carroll suit -- The Supreme Court has rejected, once again, President Donald Trump’s bid to challenge a $5 million award writer E. Jean Carroll won against him in 2023 for sexual abuse and defamation. Josh Gerstein and Erica Orden Politico -- 8/17/26

Iran’s Secret Plan to Escalate the War -- Intercepted communications and other intelligence suggest a strategic shift by hard-line leaders to raise the costs for the U.S. and its regional allies. Benoit Faucon and Summer Said in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 8/17/26

Trump Threatens to Bomb Oman if It ‘Gets in the Way’ of Iran Conflict -- President tells Fox News U.S. forces could strike Gulf nation if it interferes in Strait of Hormuz blockade. Gareth Vipers and Shelby Holliday in the Wall Street Journal$ Luke Broadwater in the New York Times$ Rachel Chason in the Washington Post$ -- 8/17/26

How a False Nuclear Claim About Iran Ricocheted From India to Washington -- A dubious post that spread on X became the basis of false claims that Iran’s leadership had declared it a nuclear power. Steven Lee Myers, Ronen Bergman and Farnaz Fassihi in the New York Times$ -- 8/17/26

Trump says White House needs ‘military complex’ as courts block his ballroom -- When Trump first unveiled his plans for the new East Wing addition, he said it was needed to host VIP guests. More recently, he is calling it a “desperately needed National Security structure.” Dan Diamond in the Washington Post$ -- 8/17/26

Blanche Refuses to Say He’ll Always Be Independent of Trump as Attorney General -- The new head of the Justice Department said on “Meet the Press” on Sunday that the president had never asked him to prosecute specific people — and never would. Glenn Thrush in the New York Times$ Matthew Choi in the Washington Post$ -- 8/17/26