California Policy and Politics Tuesday

Atmospheric river storm slams into Southern California amid evacuation and flood warnings -- A flash flood watch is in effect for most of the county through Tuesday afternoon, with the heaviest rain predicted for Tuesday morning. Clara Harter in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/14/25

SFO chaos: Storms and shutdown caused hundreds of flight delays Monday -- Heavy rain and a shortage of air traffic controllers brought travel chaos to San Francisco International Airport on Monday, delaying nearly half of all flights and frustrating thousands of travelers just as Salesforce’s massive Dreamforce conference got underway. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/14/25

Salesforce commits $15 billion to S.F. as Benioff’s support for sending troops draws more backlash -- Salesforce said it was investing $15 billion in San Francisco over the next five years as CEO Marc Benioff’s support for deploying the National Guard to San Francisco continued to spark backlash on Monday. Roland Li in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/14/25

‘The only solution’: Elon Musk backs call to deploy federal troops to San Francisco -- Elon Musk has backed Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff’s call for federal troops to be sent to San Francisco, a city that has become the latest flash point in President Donald Trump’s escalating campaign to deploy the National Guard to Democratic-led cities. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/14/25

Newsom, siding with tech giants, vetoes online hate speech bill -- Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday vetoed a bill that threatened massive fines when social media companies intentionally feed their users violent or extremist content, avoiding a potential court fight over free speech rights. Tyler Katzenberger Politico -- 10/14/25

Social media must warn users of ‘profound’ health risks under new California law -- Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday signed a law mandating health warning labels for social media, making California the latest U.S. state to wield a rule originally designed to curb tobacco addiction as a digital safety feature. Tyler Katzenberger Politico -- 10/14/25

New California law forces chatbots to protect kids’ mental health -- Gov. Gavin Newsom approved mandatory monitoring and reminders when kids use chatbots. But a bill supported by child advocates was left unsigned -- Colin Lecher Calmatters -- 10/14/25

Newsom signs new AI laws, but rejects 'overly broad' ones -- Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday announced a handful of new laws regulating artificial intelligence and social media even as he vetoed what he said were overly broad measures to regulate the technology. Sophia Bollag in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/14/25

Bill to study inequalities in youth sports, attacked by critics as supporting transgender athletes, signed by Newsom -- Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday signed legislation to study inequalities in youth sports, a move likely to draw ire from Republicans who believe the measure is intended to support transgender athletes. Katie King in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/14/25

California shores up protections on transgender people amid White House attacks -- California will seal records of transgender adults who change their names and gender markers on official documents and limit data sharing with federal agencies after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a handful of bills shoring up protections for transgender and nonbinary people as the White House has targeted the community for attack. Lia Russell in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 10/14/25

California governor rejects bill to phase out “forever” chemicals used in cookware, children’s products -- Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed legislation Wednesday banning nonstick cookware and other consumer products containing cancer-linked PFAS, a.k.a. “forever chemicals.” Southern California tap water contains higher PFAS contamination levels than most other U.S. regions, federal data show. Katie King in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/14/25

Newsom signs law to authorize Bay Area transit sales tax -- The economic life raft that Bay Area transit agencies so desperately need is on its way from Sacramento, now bearing Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/14/25

California ballot design prompts false conspiracy theories that the November election is rigged -- Secretary of State Shirley Weber refutes viral claims that holes in ballot envelopes allow election officials to see how Californians voted on Proposition 50. The holes are an accessibility feature for sight-impaired voters. Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/14/25

‘Democracy is on the ballot,’ Obama says, urging Californians to pass Prop. 50 in new ad -- As Californians start voting on Democrats’ effort to boost their ranks in Congress, former President Barack Obama warned that democracy is in peril as he urged voters to support Proposition 50 in a television ad that started airing Tuesday. Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times$ Melanie Mason Politico -- 10/14/25

In congressional bid, Richard Pan hopes to take vaccine fight back to Washington -- Dr. Richard Pan, a former Sacramento lawmaker and architect of California’s strict child vaccine laws, announced he will run for Congress in California’s 3rd Congressional District, setting up a challenge with incumbent Republican Rep. Kevin Kiley. Nicole Nixon in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 10/14/25

Skelton: Katie Porter’s meltdown opens the door for this L.A. Democrat -- Sen. Alex Padilla apparently dreams of becoming California’s next governor. He’s thinking hard about entering the race to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom. And Katie Porter may have just opened the starting gate for him. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/14/25

More ‘No Kings’ anti-Trump protests planned across California. See when and where -- Demonstrators will gather on Saturday, Oct. 18, to protest “violent authoritarian attacks” on American freedoms, organizers said, including the deployment of federal troops to Los Angeles, Chicago and other U.S. cities. Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado in the Fresno Bee -- 10/14/25

Campus

Newsom vetoes bill that would have granted priority college admission for descendants of slavery -- Legal experts were divided on whether the law will survive court challenges, with some calling it an unconstitutional racial proxy. Katie King in the Los Angeles Times$ Eric He and Lindsey Holden Politico Kate Wolffe in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 10/14/25

Israel and Hamas have a ceasefire deal. But college protesters say activism won’t stop -- At California universities Monday, the ceasefire in Gaza — and the accompanying hostage and prisoner exchange — emerged as an inflection point for the future of a student-led protest movement that for two years has roiled campuses. Jaweed Kaleem and Daniel Miller in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/14/25

Faculty union sues CSU to shield personal information from Trump -- A Trump administration subpoena seeking the personal contact information of all Cal State Los Angeles employees has prompted a new legal battle between the California State University system and the union representing 25,000 faculty and other employees across the 22-campus system. Amy DiPierro in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/14/25

Bay Area universities losing millions in minority grant funding -- Schools say they lost more than $2 million in funds after the Trump administration rerouted the money meant for minority programs to charter schools. Molly Gibbs in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 10/14/25

Workplace

Thousands of Kaiser health workers to strike in NorCal Tuesday -- Barring a late-hour breakthrough in negotiations, passers-by can expect to see picket lines outside of Kaiser hospitals in Oakland and Santa Clara starting Tuesday morning, when 2,800 health professionals in Northern California plan to stop work to seek higher pay and staffing improvements. Grant Stringer in the San Jose Mercury$ Pat Maio in the Orange County Register$ Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/14/25

California’s incarcerated firefighters to see ‘historic’ pay increase in laws Newsom signed -- Hundreds of California’s incarcerated firefighters will see an increase in pay, a new death benefit and a faster path to expungement of their criminal records under laws Gov. Gavin Newsom signed. Cayla Mihalovich Calmatters Lindsey Holden Politico -- 10/14/25

NASA’s JPL to lay off 550 employees in move to create ‘leaner’ workforce -- The laboratory, located near Pasadena on the border with La Canada Flintridge, will lose 11% of its workforce. Steve Scauzillo in the Los Angeles Daily News -- 10/14/25

Trump fires federal workers in California as part of shutdown layoffs -- The Trump administration fired federal employees in California on Friday after the president said he would use the ongoing government shutdown to reduce the size of the federal workforce. William Melhado in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 10/14/25

Jobs of the rich: What the highest-earning Bay Area residents do for work -- The Bay Area is known as one of the wealthiest places in the country. Turns out young professionals are some of the biggest beneficiaries of those riches, according to a Chronicle analysis of salary and jobs data. Hanna Zakharenko and Roland Li in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/14/25

Marketplace

California sets record for zero-emission vehicle sales. But what happens next? -- Nearly 125,000 ZEVs were registered ahead of the expiration of the federal tax credit. Rob Nikolewski in the San Diego Union Tribune$ -- 10/14/25

Wildfire

Fire survivors to get up to $350,000 for personal property without itemized list under new state law -- After the January fires that destroyed thousands of residences, victims who lost their clothing, furniture and other possessions faced a daunting task: creating a list of itemized losses to submit to their insurers — typically without records to rely on. Laurence Darmiento in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/14/25

In fire-scorched Palisades, a library and rec center become linchpins of fury with City Hall -- Hundreds of Pacific Palisades residents turned out for a meeting Tuesday, many angry with City Hall over what they called a slow rebuilding process. Hailey Branson-Potts in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/14/25

Street

San Francisco’s homicide rate is on track to be the lowest since the 1950s -- Even as President Donald Trump and even local magnate Marc Benioff have called on federal troops to quell disorder in the city, San Francisco is on track to have the lowest number of homicides in more than 70 years, the Chronicle found — potentially beating last year’s 60-year low. Danielle Echeverria in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/14/25

Water

California cracks down on water theft but spares data centers from disclosing how much they use -- The centers, full of equipment, generate lots of heat and can use large quantities of water to cool their servers and interiors. Many companies don’t reveal how much they use. Ian James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/14/25

Also

‘Very lucky’: High Sierra backpackers with one bar of cell service rescued from icy cliff -- Stranded on an isolated ridge and facing an 800-foot drop, two California backpackers were rescued by helicopter in the nick of time. Gregory Thomas in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/14/25

Tech prankster sends 50 Waymo robotaxis to a San Francisco dead end street -- Fifty driverless cars converging on a single dead-end street sounds like a software glitch. In reality, it was a coordinated prank. Aidin Vaziri, Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/14/25

‘Terrifying’: Charging gorilla breaks enclosure glass at San Diego Zoo -- Denny the gorilla charged at a visitor at the San Diego Zoo over the weekend, slamming into the glass and leaving a huge crack. Clara Harter in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/14/25

POTUS 47

Trump draws praise from more than just MAGA as Israeli hostages return home -- Some Democrats and former GOP rivals are lining up with congratulations for the president and his team. Gregory Svirnovskiy Politico -- 10/14/25

How China and the U.S. Are Racing to De-Escalate the Trade War -- President Trump is trying to publicly de-escalate tensions with China to soothe markets while privately keeping up pressure on Beijing—a difficult balancing act that is being closely watched by Wall Street. Brian Schwartz, Lingling Wei and Gavin Bade in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 10/14/25

Congress is losing its grip on the power to spend Americans’ money -- “Congress doesn’t really have a say on anything,” said former Michigan congressman Fred Upton. “No one’s putting their hand up to say ‘stop.’” Liz Goodwin, Marianna Sotomayor and Riley Beggin in the Washington Post$ -- 10/14/25

Shutdown polls show Democrats’ economic messaging still falling flat -- Democrats’ hardline opposition to rising health care costs isn’t earning them voters’ trust on economic issues — a disconnect that lays bare the party’s challenge heading into next year’s midterms. Lisa Kashinsky Politico -- 10/14/25

Trump Allies Sold Sponsorships to What Appeared to Be a Treasury Event. It Wasn’t -- An investment fund run by prominent Trump supporters pitched companies on sponsoring a conference it called the “Inaugural U.S. Treasury A.I. Summit,” during which it said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent would unveil the Treasury Department’s artificial-intelligence strategy. Josh Dawsey in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 10/14/25

This is ‘a test,’ Obama says of the U.S. under Trump. He gets candid with podcaster Marc Maron -- Former President Obama, speaking on stand-up comedian Marc Maron’s final podcast on Monday, said the Trump administration’s policies are a “test” of whether universities, businesses, law firms and voters — including Republicans — will take a stand for the nation’s founding principles and values. Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/14/25

Airports say they won’t air Kristi Noem shutdown video at TSA checkpoints -- Travelers in Cleveland, L.A., Phoenix, Seattle and other cities will not see the footage, which blames congressional Democrats for shutdown-related flight delays. Shannon Najmabadi and Aaron Gregg in the Washington Post$ Jason Green in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 10/14/25