California Policy and Politics Saturday

What California's Latino leaders want from Xavier Becerra -- Latino advocacy groups are stepping up a pressure campaign on Xavier Becerra, urging California’s likely next governor to expand protections and benefits for undocumented immigrants and make them harder for future administrations to unwind. Marisa Guerra Echeverria Politico -- 7/25/26

 

L.A.’s dangerous game of triage as aging water system hits breaking point -- The Los Angeles water system is so old — and money for replacements is exceedingly scarce — that officials are left playing a dangerous game of triage. Hannah Fry in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/25/26

California Dems ramp up anti-voter ID fight -- California Democrats are ramping up their campaign against a nationally-watched voter ID initiative in the state, with gubernatorial frontrunner Xavier Becerra leading a new effort to quash the measure. Melanie Mason Politico -- 7/25/26

Paramount agrees to months-long delay of Warner Bros. merger -- Paramount Skydance agrees to delay its $111-billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery until as late as June 2027 as it confronts a multistate antitrust challenge led by California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta. Meg James in the Los Angeles Times$ Joe Flint in the Wall Street Journal$ Miriam Waldvogel in the Washington Post$ -- 7/25/26

Lineage fined for flies, smell and ‘unsanitary’ conditions after Boyle Heights warehouse fire -- The agency, which issued its first citation Thursday, is requiring that the company remove the approximately 85 million pounds of food rotting inside the warehouse, eliminate all fly breeding sources, clean affected areas, implement vector-control measures and take action to stop flies from moving into nearby neighborhoods. Salvador Hernandez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/25/26

DHS surveilled peaceful protesters and then yanked their Global Entry, federal lawsuit alleges -- Plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit filed in California allege that the Department of Homeland Security revoked their Global Entry privileges in retaliation for exercising their constitutional rights. Brittny Mejia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/25/26

California rejected its highest percentage of mail ballots in a decade during June primary -- Election officials rejected the majority of ballots — more than 93,000 — because they were postmarked after Election Day or arrived too late. The rate at which ballots were rejected for lateness stayed steady between 2024 and 2026. Counties did, however, reject a higher rate of mail ballots than previous elections because workers could not verify envelope signatures. Sara DiNatale in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/25/26

Taylor Farms Called White House to Try to Delay Cyclospora Recall -- Representatives for produce giant Taylor Farms contacted the White House with an urgent plea: the company wanted to delay announcing a recall tied to one of the largest foodborne illness outbreaks in U.S. history. Sabrina Siddiqui, Jesse Newman and Josh Dawsey in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 7/25/26

Marketplace

Did L.A. businesses get the promised World Cup bump? -- World Cup crowds packed L.A. pubs and sports bars, driving a beer boom that lifted sales about 15% statewide and turned places like Ye Olde King’s Head into all-day parties. Yet the broader payoff was mixed: Hotel revenue fell short of some projections, with much of the revenue gains tied to higher room rates rather than fuller bookings. Annika Duneja in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/25/26

Southern California’s used EV market sizzles as gas prices soar -- The state’s new EV incentive market may fuel more used vehicle sales as consumers tap $1,750 credit for first-time buyers. Pat Maio in the LA Daily News -- 7/25/26

This picturesque California town is overwhelmed by tourists — but can’t afford to lose them -- A wealthy beach town is experiencing more trash on the streets, near-perpetual gridlock along a retail corridor and residential neighborhoods overrun with parked cars due to “overtourism.” Connor Letourneau in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/25/26

Corporate America Has Suddenly Decided to Stop Blowing Money on AI -- Fed up with ballooning costs, companies big and small are starting to use lower-priced models, including some built in China. In many cases, they are adding the new, cheaper models alongside OpenAI and Anthropic’s products, shopping a la carte for their artificial intelligence. Angel Au-Yeung, Katherine Bindley and Tina Li in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 7/25/26

Homeless

Bay Area homelessness is declining — except in this county -- The number of Bay Area residents experiencing homelessness fell in much of the region in the last two years, with some counties reporting that their unhoused populations had returned to pre-pandemic levels. Christian Leonard in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/25/26

Quartz Valley

Tribe to acquire 40,000 acres of ‘absolutely beautiful’ ancestral land in Northern California -- A small tribe in Northern California’s Siskiyou County is set to purchase nearly 40,000 acres of scenic, mountainous terrain near the Oregon border, in what would be the second largest “land back” deal in state history. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/25/26

Also

Fired ‘60 Minutes’ correspondent Cecilia Vega says she was told to report events ‘that never happened’ -- Vega, 49, said she was particularly disturbed by attempts by CBS News executives to shape her coverage after the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Minneapolis in January, alleging she was pressured to include events that “never happened” and slant stories toward Trump administration talking points. G. Allen Johnson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/25/26

California man drank all day then drove into a tree at 101 mph with a car full of people -- A man who drunkenly drove into a tree at more than 100 mph, killing five passengers riding with him, could spend the rest of his life in prison after he’s sentenced next month. Jazmin Alvarado in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/25/26

POTUS 47

The U.S. and Iran Are Stuck in a Cycle of Military Escalation -- The conflict between the U.S. and Iran is escalating just as the two warring parties are running up against the limits of what they can achieve through military force. Jared Malsin in the Wall Street Journal$ Maggie Haberman, Jonathan Swan, Tyler Pager and Eric Schmitt in the New York Times$ -- 7/25/26

Trump’s insult-laden speech to press dinner draws mostly stunned silence -- President Donald Trump attacked a slew of journalists and some of his favorite political foils at a slimmed-down redo of the White House correspondents’ dinner on Friday, comparing one female reporter to a transgender social media star, mocking politicians’ physical appearances, and bringing his audience to mostly stunned silence for more than an hour before pulling out a red Trump 2028 cap and declaring he was running for another term. Michael Birnbaum in the Washington Post$ Jocelyn Noveck Associated Press Shawn McCreesh in the New York Times$ -- 7/25/26

Hiltzik: Trump’s selling Wall Street early access to his Truth Social posts is ethically repugnant, but might be legal -- Donald Trump’s latest scheme to monetize his presidency — selling Wall Street traders the right to an early peek at his posts on his Truth Social platform — has raised two important questions. Michael Hiltzik in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/25/26

Inside the Rushed Effort to Get Trump His New Air Force One -- A New York Times investigation found that President Trump’s push to speed delivery of the aircraft led to ballooning costs and trade-offs in safety features. Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager and Maggie Haberman in the New York Times$ -- 7/25/26