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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
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
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
POTUS 47
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
California Policy and Politics Monday
MLK Day: S.F. and Oakland marchers honor civil rights icon amid national turmoil -- Thousands of Bay Area residents gathered in streets, parks and community centers Monday in an effort to keep the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream of equality, justice and transformation alive. Danielle Echeverria, Jessica Flores, J.D. Morris in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 01/19/26
Before Urban Raids, Border Patrol Tested Tactics in California Farm Country -- Just before President Trump took office, Border Patrol agents led by Gregory Bovino arrested immigrants in Kern County using the same playbook later seen in places like Chicago and Minneapolis. Then a federal judge ordered them to stop. Orlando Mayorquín and Jesus Jiménez, Mark Abramson in the New York Times$ -- 01/19/26
Newsom says California homelessness is declining. Here’s what the data shows -- California saw a 9% drop in unsheltered homelessness last year, a shift Gov. Gavin Newsom has touted as a sign of his successful leadership. But the number of people living on the streets or in vehicles remains significantly higher than when Newsom took office in 2019. Christian Leonard, Sophia Bollag in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 01/19/26
Skelton: New California Senate leader Monique Limón, ‘kind, generous’ and a ‘badass’ -- People often ask me how things have changed at the state Capitol since I began covering news there many decades ago. My latest short answer: Look at the new California Senate leader. In fact, look at the entire Senate. Actually, the other legislative house, too, the Assembly. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 01/19/26
As California’s schools struggle, governor hopefuls clash over who’s to blame — and who should fix it -- Education is California’s largest state expense, consuming more than a third of the state budget through K-12 schools alone. Yet as voters prepare to choose a successor to outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom, candidates across the political spectrum agree the system is falling short. Molly Gibbs in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 01/19/26
Stockton mass shooting: New clues in killings at child’s birthday party -- Authorities investigating November’s mass shooting at a children’s birthday party in Stockton released new details Saturday, saying detectives have identified two vehicles believed to be involved and are asking the public for help as the case remains unsolved. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 01/19/26
How California governor candidates say they will tackle homelessness -- In fact, a recent Public Policy Institute survey found 8 in 10 Californians are at least somewhat concerned about homelessness in their area. Linh Tat and Kaitlyn Schallhorn in the Orange County Register$ -- 01/19/26
Deported to danger: Returning migrants discover a Mexico transformed by cartels -- Deported migrants returning to Mexico after decades away discover they must learn to navigate hometowns dominated by cartels. Returnees are easy targets for criminal groups: their American clothing, haircuts and Spanglish make them stand out as outsiders. Many returnees face kidnapping, extortion or violence, forcing them to flee their hometowns again in what experts call double displacement. Steve Fisher and Kate Linthicum in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 01/19/26
Santa Barbara County officials crack down on unsanctioned Deltopia spring break rager -- The future of Deltopia, an annual unsanctioned street party that draws thousands of college students and is often marked by chaos and arrests, is uncertain after Santa Barbara County supervisors approved a 72-hour ban on amplified music that would coincide with the event. Brittny Mejia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 01/19/26
See You Later, Claude: San Francisco Mourns Its Beloved Alligator -- The 30-year-old albino resident of the California Academy of Sciences died last month. On Sunday, thousands paid tribute. Heather Knight, Poppy Lynch in the New York Times$ -- 01/19/26
The current US political climate is spurring a 'reclaim' and rallying on the MLK holiday -- As communities across the country on Monday host parades, panels and service projects for the 40th federal observation of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the political climate for some is more fraught with tensions than festive with reflection on the slain Black American civil rights icon’s legacy. Terry Tang Associated Press -- 01/18/26
Workplace
L.A.’s defense industry is booming. Federal funding crunch could change that -- L.A. defense-tech startups like Gambit face funding shortfalls as the Small Business Innovation Research program expired in September amid a Capitol Hill dispute. Laurence Darmiento in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 01/19/26
Rich people are leaving California, inspired by tech founders’ online campaign -- The campaign against a proposed billionaire tax was sparked by industry leaders that have long bashed San Francisco. It has consumed the tech world, and it’s driving some of the state’s richest residents to relocate. Elizabeth Dwoskin and Caroline O'Donovan in the Washington Post$ -- 01/19/26
Explaining California’s billionaire tax: The proposals, the backlash and the exodus -- The battle over a new tax on California’s billionaires is set to heat up in the coming months as citizens spar over whether the state should squeeze its ultra-rich to better serve its ordinary residents. Queenie Wong in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 01/19/26
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Trump Links Greenland Threats to Missing Out on Nobel Prize -- Denmark dispatched additional troops to Greenland on Monday as President Trump added a new dimension to his pursuit of the Danish island, telling Norway that he no longer needed to think “purely of peace” after being snubbed for the Nobel Peace Prize. Max Colchester, Laurence Norman and Kim Mackrael in the Wall Street Journal$ Seb Starcevic Politico Jeffrey Gettleman and Henrik Pryser Libell in the New York Times$ Ellen Francis and Steve Hendrix in the Washington Post$ -- 01/19/26
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$ -- 01/19/26
Trump’s Greenland threats push Europe toward divorcing America -- With NATO thrown into question, some officials see the “coalition of the willing” as the basis for a new alliance without the U.S. Tim Ross Politico -- 01/19/26
European Union Officials Lean Toward Negotiating, Not Retaliating, Over Trump Tariff Threat -- European Union ambassadors held an emergency meeting on Sunday, and leaders from across the 27-nation bloc will meet in Brussels later this week. Jeanna Smialek and Anushka Patil in the New York Times$ -- 01/19/26
Noem Denies Use of Chemical Agents in Minnesota, Then Backtracks -- Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, said officers had not used pepper spray and similar measures limited by a judge’s order, then was confronted with a video that showed chemical agents deployed. Minho Kim in the New York Times$ -- 01/19/26
‘60 Minutes’ story held for lacking interview with Trump official airs without one -- After accusations of “corporate censorship,” CBS aired a postponed “60 Minutes” segment about the CECOT prison that was largely unchanged. Liam Scott and Scott Nover in the Washington Post$ -- 01/19/26