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California Policy and Politics Monday
Garden Grove chemical crisis: Threat of massive O.C. explosion ‘eliminated,’ officials say -- The threat of a massive chemical explosion has been “eliminated,” fire officials said Monday, marking a turning point in the five-day crisis over a ruptured tank at a Garden Grove aerospace facility. Evacuations, which cover more than 40,000 people and include six Orange County cities: Garden Grove, Cypress, Stanton, Anaheim, Buena Park and Westminster, remain in place as of Monday morning. The item is in the Los Angeles Times$ Leah Willingham Associated Press Sean Emery and Brian Rokos in the Orange County Register$ -- 5/25/26
Lawsuit against Garden Grove aerospace company alleges negligence in chemical storage -- A Garden Grove couple who evacuated their home because of the threat posed by a malfunctioning tank containing a toxic chemical filed a federal lawsuit against aerospace company GKN Aerospace on Saturday, May 23, alleging “negligent storage, containment, handling, monitoring, and release of methyl methacrylate and related hazardous chemical vapors.” Brian Rokos in the Orange County Register$ -- 5/25/26
Newsom requests federal aid to combat Orange County chemical emergency -- An overheated tank in Orange County containing thousands of gallons of highly flammable toxic liquid prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom to request federal emergency aid, his office announced Sunday. Sophia Bollag in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/25/26
Barabak: The ‘greatest threat’ to rule of law in decades. That’s how lawyers, judges see Trump -- A survey finds deep concern about presidential overreach, persecution of enemies and other unchecked abuses of power. The poll underscores the stakes in November when the integrity of the legal system will be on the line. Mark Z. Barabak in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/25/26
News Analysis: Uncertainty, frustration define messy midterm battles for mayor, governor and Congress -- With little more than a week left until primary voters winnow the candidates for Los Angeles mayor, California governor and Congress, there remains a palpable sense of political uncertainty among the electorate — attributable to a lack of clear front-runners, redrawn political maps, messy party infighting and competing voter frustration with both President Trump and the state’s Democratic establishment. Kevin Rector in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/25/26
He Name-Drops Ocasio-Cortez in His Bid for Congress. She Doesn’t Talk About Him at All -- Saikat Chakrabarti, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s former chief of staff, is running in San Francisco to succeed Representative Nancy Pelosi, whom Mr. Chakrabarti irked with an incendiary tweet seven years ago. Kellen Browning in the New York Times$ -- 5/25/26
Khanna says Democrats should run against Supreme Court after voting rights ruling -- In the wake of the Supreme Court’s latest move to gut the Voting Rights Act, Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Santa Clara, says his party needs to run on reforming the court in upcoming elections. Sophia Bollag in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/25/26
Skelton: My pick for California governor is ... I’m still working on it -- Like millions of Californians, I haven’t voted yet in the primary election. That’s because I can’t decide who should be our governor. Here’s what I’m thinking: It’s an underwhelming field. But one of these Democratic contenders will very likely replace Gov. Gavin Newsom in January. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/25/26
Garofoli: Many Dems are stuck: Becerra, Steyer or someone else? Here’s what to know -- Across California, blank ballots are sitting on kitchen tables, staring back at Democratic voters undecided about whom to back for governor. Many voters remain stumped, days before the June 2 primary. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/25/26
Lawmakers stripped the Board of Equalization of power. Now they’re fighting to join it -- California’s Board of Equalization has a quirky history dating back to the 19th Century. It’s a launching pad to statewide political office, too. Cayla Mihalovich and Adam Ashton Calmatters -- 5/25/26
State superintendent candidates slam Newsom proposal to strip position of its authority over schools -- California voters will soon choose the state’s next schools chief. But by the time the winner takes office, the job may no longer control the state Department of Education. Molly Gibbs in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/25/26
AI
Silicon Valley takes its AI pitch to the pope -- Silicon Valley has spent years trying to convince governments and the public that AI can be developed responsibly. Now, the industry has been making that case inside the Vatican. Océane Herrero Politico -- 5/25/26
Pope calls for robust regulation of AI in manifesto that ponders the future of humanity -- Pope Leo XIV called Monday for robust regulation of artificial intelligence and for its developers to work for the common good rather than profit, issuing a sweeping manifesto on safeguarding humankind as the technology impacts everything from work to war. Nicole Winfield, Kaitlyn Huamani, Paolo Santalucia Associated Press Margherita Stancati and Sam Schechner in the Wall Street Journal$ Motoko Rich, Elisabetta Povoledo and Elizabeth Dias in the New York Times$ -- 5/25/26
As A.I. Fever Rises in Silicon Valley, Pope Leo Has a Few Words -- The American pope wants to take artificial intelligence down a notch. Is he challenging the tech companies, or will tech take over the papacy? David Streitfeld in the New York Times$ -- 5/25/26
What to know about the AI models that are jolting Washington -- Politico spoke to nine of the nation’s top cyber researchers and tech leaders who have experimented with Mythos and GPT-5.5 in a controlled setting, and all of them came to the same startling conclusion: These tools are advancing much faster than anticipated — and will change the digital security landscape forever. Maggie Miller and Aaron Mak Politico -- 5/25/26
Inside the British Lab Hunting for Dangers Lurking in A.I. -- The government’s A.I. Security Institute, staffed by alumni from OpenAI and Google, is becoming a model for countries grappling with A.I.’s emerging risks. Adam Satariano and Paul Mozur in the New York Times$ -- 5/25/26
Meet Mark Zuckerberg’s Right-Hand Man Who’s Unleashing AI at Meta -- Technology chief Andrew Bosworth is leading Meta’s transformation into an AI-first company, which last week included a wave of layoffs. Meta is recording employee keystrokes and mouse clicks to train AI agents, a policy Bosworth defended amid privacy concerns. Bosworth, known for his blunt style, champions changes like large teams with few managers and believes AI will soon eliminate some human tasks. Meghan Bobrowsky in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 5/25/26
Water
Southern California could get 85% of its water locally and avoid Delta tunnel, groups say -- A coalition of conservation groups wants Southern California to get 85% of its water locally, up from the 50% it gets now, by 2045, and says a new plan shows how. Ian James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/25/26
ICE
After purge of judges forced San Francisco immigration court to shut, asylum cases in chaos -- The court, which had 21 judges when President Trump was sworn in last year, had only two left when it closed May 1. The rest had been fired, retired or resigned amid a White House purge of federal immigration judges. Olga R. Rodriguez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/25/26
Homeless
In Homeless Crisis, California ‘Is Waging a War on R.V.s’ -- The R.V.s are seen as an eyesore — the most visible sign of the state’s homelessness crisis. Neighbors and politicians want them gone. The people who call them home feel under siege. Bradley Berman in the New York Times$ -- 5/25/26
Inflation
Grocery prices are still rising. Here’s what’s gone up the most -- Since around this time last year, ground beef is up 18.9%. A block of cheddar is up 5%. And if you want lettuce on there, that’s 7.5% more expensive. A tomato will set you back a full 50% more than it did a year ago. And if someone wants a cup of coffee, that’s going to cost 29% more. Jessica Roy in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/25/26
Rising diesel prices pinching profits for CA farmers, spiking costs for consumers -- As diesel prices already at record levels keep going up, San Joaquin Valley farmers are seeing their operating costs swell amid concerns that prices for consumers also will continue to rise. Diesel prices in California now average around $7.30 to $7.50 a gallon depending on location and are up by nearly $3 a gallon prior to the start of the war in Iran. Robert Rodriguez in the Fresno Bee -- 5/25/26
Also
Hundreds of volunteers place 23,000 rippling flags across Miramar National Cemetery -- Mike Fuqua came to the Miramar National Cemetery on Saturday to take part in a program that he described as “the least we can do” to honor those who gave the most. The retired U.S. Navy captain was one of an estimated 550 volunteers for Operation Flags for Vets, which placed 23,000 American flags at veteran headstones at the 313-acre site at the northwest corner of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. Rob Nikolewski in the San Diego Union Tribune -- 5/25/26
Tahoe parking enforcement is getting brutal with $450 tickets -- Two Austrian women visiting Lake Tahoe for the first time were excited to get to Speedboat Beach, a tiny-but-gorgeous swim area tucked in a residential neighborhood on the north shore. But they didn’t dare drive there. Gregory Thomas in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/25/26
POTUS 47
Iran Talks Bog Down Over Nuclear Program and Sanctions Relief -- Both sides have incentives to reach an agreement but are digging in, with Trump saying he won’t do a bad deal. Benoit Faucon and Summer Said in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 5/25/26
Trump says not to rush as details emerge of a potential Iran deal -- The United States is close to reaching a deal with Iran that would end the war, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and see Iran give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, regional officials told The Associated Press on Sunday, though U.S. President Donald Trump said he told representatives “not to rush into a deal.” Samy Magdy, Darlene Superville and Melanie Lidman Associated Press Summer Said, Anat Peled and Alexander Ward in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 5/25/26
To Get the Strait Open, Trump Had to Leave the Hardest Issues for Later -- President Trump is hailing the agreement with Iran as groundbreaking, even as he admits it “isn’t even fully negotiated.” But the nuclear stockpile, enrichment and missiles have not been discussed. David E. Sanger and Tyler Pager in the New York Times$ -- 5/25/26
What to Know About the Citizenship Lists Trump Wants to Create -- President Trump is seeking to create state-by-state citizenship lists, saying they are necessary to block noncitizens from voting, a virtually nonexistent issue that the president has described as widespread despite his own administration’s inability to substantiate the claim. Adam Sella in the New York Times$ -- 5/25/26
California Policy and Politics Sunday
Fire chief says discovery of crack in Garden Grove tank a ‘step in the right direction’ -- Firefighters conducted a mission Saturday to get eyes on the tank and saw a crack, McGovern said in a Sunday update. “Last night was a successful operation for this emerging incident,” he said. “There is going to be a lot more information coming today, as we sit here right now and vet and validate all the information we got last night.” Summer Lin in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/26
Garofoli: Many Dems are stuck: Becerra, Steyer or someone else? Here’s what to know -- Across California, blank ballots are sitting on kitchen tables, staring back at Democratic voters undecided about whom to back for governor. Many voters remain stumped, days before the June 2 primary. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/24/26
News Analysis: Uncertainty, frustration define messy midterm battles for mayor, governor and Congress -- With little more than a week left until primary voters winnow the candidates for Los Angeles mayor, California governor and Congress, there remains a palpable sense of political uncertainty among the electorate — attributable to a lack of clear front-runners, redrawn political maps, messy party infighting and competing voter frustration with both President Trump and the state’s Democratic establishment. Kevin Rector in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/26
‘Yes, this is an ad’: Steyer’s paid influencer blitz is roiling California’s governor race -- Last month, Carly Nelson, a Tampa, Florida-based influencer and social media consultant, made an unusual departure from her typical stream of fashion photos and motivational quotes by weighing in on California politics. Kate Talerico, Joaquin Palomino in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/24/26
Leaked files, ‘nuclear verdicts,’ bruising attacks: Inside the L.A. city attorney race -- City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto faces a tough reelection fight from challengers on opposite ends of the political spectrum. Sonja Sharp and James Queally in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/26
GOP governor hopefuls give closing arguments to Central Valley Republicans -- The rivals promised sweeping conservative overhauls — new dams, tougher crime policies, gutting environmental rules — as Central Valley voters, anxious over water and culture wars, weighed which Republican could win statewide. Nicole Nixon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/26
L.A. is safer than it’s been in decades, but crime is an issue dominating the mayor’s race -- Homicides in Los Angeles are down to levels not seen since the 1960s. Neighborhoods once awash in gang violence now sometimes go weeks, even months, without a shooting. And the follow-home robberies and street takeovers that captured the public’s attention in recent years have largely subsided. Libor Jany in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/26
Lopez: Spencer Pratt, please call me. You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into -- More than 30,000 people are waiting for their broken sidewalks to get fixed, but there’s no money. The mayor’s power is limited in Los Angeles, and the fixes aren’t as easy as we’d like them to be. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/26
Orange County chemical
Garden Grove chemical tank remains intact Sunday morning, no contaminants found in air nearby -- Air quality officials say they have not detected any contaminants in the area of the malfunctioning chemical storage tank in Garden Grove. The news comes as fire officials prepared to update the public on Sunday, May 24. The tank did not explode or leak overnight. Brian Rokos in the Orange County Register$ -- 5/24/26
Why experts, emergency crews haven’t been able to find a solution to Garden Grove chemical threat -- Experts and emergency crews have been working for nearly two days to try and prevent a potentially catastrophic chemical spill or explosion at Garden Grove aerospace manufacturing facility, but have so far been unable to find a fix. Sean Emery in the LA Daily News Rong-Gong Lin II and Hannah Fry in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/26
Explosion would cause significant damage around Garden Grove plant, blast zone map shows -- If the failing chemical tank in Orange County does explode, the aerospace plant where it sits and dozens of homes surrounding it could suffer severe damage, according to a map released by authorities Saturday. Areas within roughly 1,100 feet of the tank would suffer severe damage; and beyond that, areas within about 0.3 miles, moderate damage; and beyond that, areas within about 0.4 miles, light damage, from the blast. Rong-Gong Lin II and Sean Greene in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/26
Outrage, frustrations grow as residents await word on possible Garden Grove chemical blast find few answers -- Frustrations boiled over Saturday as displaced residents and community leaders awaiting the possible explosion of a chemical storage tank in Garden Grove demanded answers from public officials — and consequences for the company behind the potential disaster. Jason Henry, Sean Emery,Tony Saavedra and Victoria Le in the Orange County Register$ -- 5/24/26
How worried should you be about a Garden Grove chemical spill or explosion’s impact on your health? -- A potential explosion or chemical spill in Garden Grove involving the substance methyl methacrylate, or MMA, used in aerospace manufacturing, could cause serious harm to residents’ respiratory or nervous systems if they are exposed to it, experts said Friday, May 22. Sierra van der Brug and Andre Mouchard in the Orange County Register$ -- 5/24/26
What we know about GKN Aerospace, the firm at center of O.C. chemical leak -- The chemical leak that triggered evacuations across a swath of Orange County on Friday is located at GKN Aerospace, a manufacturing company based in the United Kingdom. Hannah Fry and Rong-Gong Lin II in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/26
San Diego mosque shooting one in long line of racist terror attacks. ‘A throughline that does not stop.’ -- Hate ideology now moves rapidly through mainstream social media, gaming platforms, encrypted chats and anonymous online forums. Kristen Taketa, Kelly Davis in the San Diego Union Tribune -- 5/24/26
Shot after San Diego mosque attack, landscaper says he’s the ‘luckiest guy on the planet’ -- 'If not for my helmet, I would probably not be alive today,' 52-year-old Tafu Letuli said in a statement. Rob Nikolewski in the San Diego Union Tribune -- 5/24/26
‘Broad-based panic’: White House green card policy alarms Bay Area immigration advocates -- Bay Area immigration advocates expressed bewilderment and alarm after the Trump administration announced that people seeking green cards in the U.S. will soon be forced to return to their home countries to apply. Lucy Hodgman, St. John Barned-Smith in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/24/26
Los Angeles hotels are still waiting for a surge in demand from the World Cup -- Hotel rooms in Los Angeles and other FIFA World Cup host cities could sit empty, despite high expectations that the global sporting event would be a boon to the city. Caroline Petrow-Cohen in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/26
Education
Why this Cal State program produces some of the highest-paid grads in the country -- What does the nursing program at Cal State East Bay have in common with Stanford University, the academic powerhouse down the road in Silicon Valley? Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/24/26
Oakland schools struck a costly teachers deal. Now no one seems sure they can pay for it -- It’s been nearly three months since Oakland teachers celebrated a decisive victory at the bargaining table after district officials gave in to nearly all their demands to avoid a strike. Jill Tucker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/24/26
Environment
Defying Trump, California continues to bet big on offshore wind -- While the Trump administration takes extraordinary measures to halt the development of offshore wind power in the United States, Southern California is advancing a $4.7-billion plan to deploy hundreds of towering wind turbines in waters off the state’s coast. Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/26
California cap-and-trade overhaul could slash funding for transit, housing and fire prevention -- Scores of agencies and advocates, from big-city mayors to housing departments to BART and Muni, are urging the California Air Resources Board to reject the updated “cap and trade” regulation, now called “cap and invest,” for fear of missing out on big money. The air board is scheduled to vote on the overhaul at its meeting next week. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/24/26
Inspired by Jane Goodall, students build nurseries to reforest L.A.’s fire-scorched communities -- Students traumatized by the 2025 fires are cultivating campus nurseries to reforest Southern California’s fire-scarred landscapes, fulfilling an idea co-conceived by the late conservationist. Lila Seidman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/26
Trump proposal to eliminate ‘roadless areas’ in forests draws ire among Southern Californians -- A 25-year-old rule keeping certain wilderness regions in the Angeles, other forests, roadless may be revoked, thereby inviting mining or logging operations. Steve Scauzillo in the LA Daily News -- 5/24/26
Yosemite traffic backs up as holiday weekend crowds test no-reservation policy -- Drivers visiting Yosemite National Park on Saturday ran into long delays at multiple entrances, and in some cases were directed to turn around as Memorial Day weekend crowds overwhelmed parking areas and roads into the park. Kate Talerico in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/24/26
Insurance
Here’s exactly what roof types California’s 20 largest insurers won’t cover -- Does your home have a flat roof? Is it made of wood, or past its expected lifespan? These are a few factors that could cause you to be dropped or denied coverage by California’s largest home insurance companies. Megan Fan Munce in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/24/26
Housing
Maxine Waters and Elizabeth Warren, progressive stalwarts, tangle over housing bill -- Two icons of the American left — Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Maxine Waters — are feuding over an unlikely subject: Congress’ approach to housing policy. Jasper Goodman Politico -- 5/24/26
AI and Biological Weapons
A.I. Bots Told Scientists How to Make Biological Weapons -- One evening last summer, Dr. David Relman went cold at his laptop as an A.I. chatbot told him how to plan a massacre. Gabriel J.X. Dance in the New York Times$ -- 5/24/26
POTUS 47
Trump’s Justice Department scrubs its website of news releases about Jan. 6 defendants -- The Department of Justice is acknowledging it has removed from its website news releases about criminal cases related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, calling the information about the prosecutions “partisan propaganda.”Eric Tucker Associated Press -- 5/24/26
Trump Is Setting His Sights on Restricting Legal Immigration -- After a year focused on immigrants here illegally, the Trump administration is now making it harder for legal migrants to stay in the country. It is a risky pivot. Hamed Aleaziz in the New York Times$ -- 5/24/26
This congressman's family was swept up in WWII Japanese detention. He sees a repeat in today's raids -- The congressman returned home last Fourth of July to startling stories in Southern California as immigration patrols swept through communities and one constituent told him about starting to carry a passport as proof of the right to be in the country. Lisa Mascaro Associated Press -- 5/24/26
Barabak: The ‘greatest threat’ to rule of law in decades. That’s how lawyers, judges see Trump -- A new survey finds deep concern about presidential overreach, persecution of enemies and other unchecked abuses of power. The poll shows the stakes in November. Mark Z. Barabak in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/26