California Policy and Politics Saturday

Two of California’s largest insurers seek new rate hikes -- Two major insurers, together covering nearly 760,000 households in California, are seeking to raise insurance rates for single-family homes, according to new filings with the California Department of Insurance. Megan Fan Munce in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/2/26

Your guide to the California insurance commissioner’s race: Who will replace Ricardo Lara? -- The California Department of Insurance calls itself the largest consumer protection agency in the state, with nearly 1,400 employees regulating home, auto and other insurance. But the election to replace outgoing Commissioner Ricardo Lara is virtually about only one topic: home insurance. Laurence Darmiento in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/2/26

California Union, Billionaires Face Off Over Proposed Wealth Tax. What Comes Next? -- California’s voters are heading toward a stark choice this November: whether to levy a big tax on billionaires. They could also vote on whether to pump the brakes and make it harder to tax the state’s wealthy elite. Paul Kiernan and Laura J. Nelson in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 5/2/26

Candidate interview: Katie Porter admits she’s ‘tough.’ Here’s why she says that’s necessary -- A year ago, it seemed likely that California would elect its first female governor in 2026. Sophia Bollag in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/2/26

Thousands rally in L.A. for May Day to protest immigration sweeps, high cost of living -- Thousands of people took to the streets in Los Angeles on Friday to mark International Workers’ Day amid heightened concerns about affordability, immigration sweeps and the Iran war. Genaro Molina, Gina Ferazzi and Ruben Vives in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/2/26

Crypto billionaire puts $3.5 million behind Alex Bores in New York -- Chris Larsen told POLITICO he is wading in to defend Bores against opposition from OpenAI and other industry players. Dustin Gardiner and Madison Fernandez Politico -- 5/2/26

Workplace

California gained jobs in March as unemployment rate drops to 5.3% -- California added 28,700 payroll jobs in March, lowering its unemployment rate to 5.3% despite a series of high-profile layoffs that have rocked the tech sector. Laurence Darmiento in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/2/26

SoFi Stadium workers threaten to strike if ICE isn’t banned from World Cup games -- About 2,000 SoFi Stadium workers are threatening to strike ahead of the World Cup if ICE agents aren’t kept out of the venue. The union Unite Here Local 11 and more than 100 human rights groups are urging FIFA to request a moratorium on ICE raids during the World Cup. Kevin Baxter in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/2/26

LAPD scrambles to find enough officers to police the Olympics -- A request from Los Angeles police officials to boost staffing and purchase new vehicles in time for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games has been met with deep skepticism by City Council members who worry about committing funding amid uncertainty around the plan to secure the venues. Libor Jany in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/2/26

What Silicon Valley layoffs hide about the future of the job market -- Tech giants are investing heavily in artificial intelligence --- but haven’t significantly shrunk their workforces. Shira Ovide in the Washington Post$ -- 5/2/26

Marketplace

Consumers sue to block Paramount-Warner Bros. deal -- A group of five consumers have filed a lawsuit against Paramount Skydance seeking to block its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery and unwind the earlier merger that joined the storied Melrose Avenue studio with David Ellison’s Skydance Media, alleging that both deals reduce marketplace competition. Samantha Masunaga in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/2/26

A.I. Deepfakes

Oscars tighten AI rules, emphasizing human authorship -- In new rules announced Friday for next year’s 99th Academy Awards, the academy said screenplays must be “human-authored” to be eligible for awards consideration, and that only performances “demonstrably performed by humans with their consent” will qualify for acting prizes. Josh Rottenberg in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/2/26

Spotify adds verification badge to distinguish human artists from AI -- Spotify is adding a new level of verification to artists’ profiles, in an effort to reassure subscribers worried about AI-generated music. Cerys Davies in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/2/26

Bald eagle ‘massaging’ its mate? AI deepfakes collide with the laws of the wild -- AI-generated videos of Big Bear’s celebrity bald eagles, Jackie and Shadow, are racking up millions of views, tricking fans with realistic but invented behaviors like eagle “massages.” They’re part of a wave of deepfake wildlife videos taking over social media that experts warn may create a false sense of safety around predators and erode the perceived urgency of conservation efforts. Lila Seidman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/2/26

Water

California, Arizona and Nevada announce new water-saving plan for dwindling Colorado River -- Representatives of the three states said in a written statement that their plan aims to “stabilize the Colorado River through 2028.” It will require larger cuts in water use than they had offered previously in talks with other states and the federal government. Ian James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/2/26

ICE

Man shot by ICE in Central Valley charged with assaulting federal agents -- Federal officials say he weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to hit officers. His attorney says agents opened fire first, prompting him to flee. Clara Harter and Ruben Vives in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/2/26

Quake Risk

Ferry Building has significant earthquake risks, previously unpublicized report reveals -- Parts of the San Francisco Ferry Building could collapse in an extreme earthquake, as foundation supports fail beneath sections of the building, its south promenade and back waterfront plaza, according to a previously unreported engineering analysis. Brooke Park in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/2/26

Street

In a first, LAPD officers could lose their certification over an improper shooting -- In a first, California’s police accreditation body is weighing whether to strip two LAPD officers of their license to carry a badge over a controversial shooting. Libor Jany in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/2/26

POTUS 47

Trump is running out of options to contain gas price backlash -- Gas prices are surging, voter backlash is building, and inside the White House, the options to lower prices at the pump are dwindling. Cat Zakrzewski in the Washington Post$ -- 5/2/26

Germany and Europe Have Bigger Trump Problems Than U.S. Troop Withdrawal -- German officials shrugged off President Trump’s decision to withdraw 5,000 U.S. troops from the country as symbolic, but analysts warned the broader trans-Atlantic rift risks leaving Europe’s economy and security dangerously exposed. Bertrand Benoit and Daniel Michaels in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 5/2/26

Trump’s Qatari-Gifted Air Force One Will Keep Its Luxurious Royal Interior -- A luxury Boeing 747 gifted by the Qatari government is expected to become President Trump’s new Air Force One this summer. Marcus Weisgerber in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 5/2/26

Trump Tells Congress Why He Doesn’t Need Its Authorization for the Iran War -- In letters to the House and Senate, the president asserted that the hostilities had “terminated,” in an apparent attempt to avoid having to seek congressional approval. Erica L. Green and Megan Mineiro in the New York Times$ -- 5/2/26

Poll: Trump’s Iran war reaches Iraq- and Vietnam-era disapproval levels -- A Post-ABC-Ipsos poll shows most Americans call the military action a mistake, even as Republicans remain strongly supportive. Many Americans fear the conflict will lead to a recession. Michael Birnbaum and Scott Clement in the Washington Post$ -- 5/2/26