California Policy and Politics Tuesday

Trump administration freezes Medicaid funding to California over ‘suspected fraud’ -- Kennedy, alongside Medicare and Medicaid Administrator Mehmet Oz, did not provide specific examples or evidence of fraud when they announced the move but said the administration paused reimbursements because of “questionable spending.” Sara DiNatale in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Ali Swenson Associated Press -- 7/21/26

California fights Trump administration, again, over Santa Barbara oil pipeline: The coast is ‘not for sale’ -- California has filed another lawsuit against the Trump administration over the oil operation off the Santa Barbara County coastline, asserting in a petition Monday that the federal government — again — improperly permitted continued pipeline use. Grace Toohey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/21/26

Bonta says Paramount litigation isn’t ‘anti-Trump’ -- California Attorney General Rob Bonta insisted Monday that his antitrust challenge to Paramount Skydance’s purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery is about competition, not politics, pushing back on conservatives who argue the lawsuit is motivated by opposition to Donald Trump. Daniel Miller Politico -- 7/21/26

Republicans can’t stop talking about a California dog who voted. Here’s what really happened -- It’s a tale Republicans cannot resist telling: California mailed a ballot to a dog in Orange County and the dog successfully voted in the 2021 statewide recall election. Sara Libby in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/21/26

 

13 carmakers sign up for California EV rebate initiative -- Thirteen automakers have agreed to participate in California’s new electric vehicle rebate program that will roll out later this summer, including Tesla, which manufactures the top-selling model in the Golden State. Rob Nikolewski in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/21/26

Medicaid funding is restored to Planned Parenthood, but the pause cost California clinics -- Planned Parenthood clinics can bill Medicaid this month after a yearlong ban on covering its services put in place by congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump expired — but not before the health provider permanently closed four centers in the Bay Area because of the policy, officials said. Grant Stringer in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/21/26

Workplace

Gavin Newsom’s return-to-office rules are stricter than many states, including Texas -- California state workers must report to the office four days a week under an executive order from Gov. Gavin Newsom. Other states allow more remote work. Lynn La Calmatters -- 7/21/26

Gov. Gavin Newsom orders state agencies to shore up anti-trafficking protections -- California state agencies will draft new solutions for identifying and connecting victims of human trafficking to resources within the next two months, according to an executive order Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Monday. Lia Russell in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/21/26

Senior Living Facility in Distress as Immigrant Caregivers Are Forced Out -- Channing House, a senior living community just a mile from Stanford University, is home to pioneering scientists, tech executives and inventors. But during a recent meeting, its residents confronted a problem they felt powerless to fix: the sudden loss of their caregivers to immigration policies. Miriam Jordan in the New York Times$ -- 7/21/26

Marketplace

Armed robots are on the horizon, as Silicon Valley pitches new military tech -- Looking for his next business, San Francisco entrepreneur Sankaet Pathak sought an idea that might change the future. He settled on building humanlike robots with weapons. Ian Duncan in the Washington Post$ -- 7/21/26

California’s Anduril and Archer Aviation join forces to build muscular attack drones -- Anduril Industries, a military technology company based in Costa Mesa, approached the San José-based air taxi venture Archer Aviation two years ago with a concept for a dual-use, self-flying rotorcraft. Caroline Petrow-Cohen in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/21/26

Ben Affleck’s AI company is sold for more than $500 million -- Netflix has paid $587 million to acquire Ben Affleck’s AI film-tech startup InterPositive, a blockbuster bet on using generative tools to reshape how movies and series get made. Cerys Davies in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/21/26

Yosemite

Crushing crowds turn Yosemite into ‘Disneyland.’ Can visitors still have fun? -- Without a reservation system, thousands of people are flocking to Yosemite National Park each month. Visitors say if you want to avoid the crowds, either enter Yosemite early in the morning, later in the afternoon or wait until the peak season ends in October. Jaclyn Cosgrove in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/21/26

Cyclosporiasis

Cyclosporiasis cases climb; probe into Taylor Farms produce continues after false positive -- A recent sample of lettuce from Taylor Farms that detected the cyclosporiasis parasite was a false positive, federal officials say, but there is still “overwhelming” data to support the California-based company’s current recall of produce amid the outbreak. Karen Garcia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/21/26

Water

Central Valley farmers reluctantly turn to solar as water supplies dry up -- Solar is exploding in the Central Valley as drought-stressed farmers look to alternatives. Blanca Begert and Ian James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/21/26

Education

White House admits it used keywords to kill billions worth of California research grants -- Federal agencies that terminated more than a thousand research grants at the University of California last year admitted that they used keywords related to diversity, gender, vaccine hesitancy and COVID-19 to screen for projects that ran afoul of the Trump administration’s priorities. Mikhail Zinshteyn Calmatters -- 7/21/26

UC San Diego illegally uses race in admissions, Trump’s Justice Department alleges -- The Justice Department alleges the admissions process at UC San Diego’s medical school illegally favors Black and Latino applicants over white and Asian candidates. Federal civil rights officials say UCSD uses “hardship” questions as a proxy for race. Jaweed Kaleem in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/21/26

Amid LAUSD budget crisis, Supt. Chait touts gains, trades Carvalho’s flash for a quieter tone -- New LAUSD Supt. Andrés Chait delivers a calm first ‘state of the district’ address, stressing stability and community as the district faces financial crisis. Chait touts rising state test scores and ‘record-setting’ academic gains across English, math and science. Howard Blume in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/21/26

AI

Top American AI Execs Sound Alarm on Chinese Models -- Silicon Valley and Washington are debating a multibillion-dollar question: Should American companies be able to use Chinese artificial-intelligence models? Amrith Ramkumar and Tina Li in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 7/21/26

POTUS 47

The Pentagon, sinking billions into Iran war, is quickly running short on cash -- With some funds set to dry up within weeks, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is set to press lawmakers Tuesday to address the increasingly urgent shortfall. Noah Robertson, Riley Beggin and Jarrell Dillard in the Washington Post$ -- 7/21/26

 

The Man Who Runs the IRS Spied on Colleagues When He Worked at JPMorgan -- Frank Bisignano, head of the IRS and Social Security Administration, allegedly spied on fellow executives while co-COO of JPMorgan. Bisignano’s lawyer denied the allegations, stating he never directed anyone to engage in surveillance or look through employee communications. Alexander Saeedy in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 7/21/26

Trump to Impose 50% Tariff on Many Canadian Goods -- The administration will use an untested legal provision to put significant duties on Canadian exports, reigniting a clash with one of America’s biggest trading partners. Ana Swanson and Ian Austen in the New York Times$ David J. Lynch in the Washington Post$ -- 7/21/26

Nearly 100 U.S. troops injured in last two weeks of Iran war, Pentagon says -- The disclosure came as the U.S. military identified two U.S. soldiers who died following an attack in Jordan on Friday. Dan Lamothe, Joshua Yang and Mary Ilyushina in the Washington Post$ -- 7/21/26

18 U.S. service members have been killed during Iran war. Here’s where -- At least 18 U.S. service members have been killed supporting the United States during the now months-long war in Iran, including three killed since combat resumed a week ago. Sammy Westfall and Dylan Moriarty in the Washington Post$ -- 7/21/26