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California Policy and Politics Tuesday
Federal judge blocks California from enforcing ICE mask ban -- A new California law banning federal and local law enforcement officers from wearing masks was blocked Monday by a federal judge in a suit by the Trump administration. U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder said the law’s exemption for state police discriminated against immigration agents and other federal officers covered by the ban. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Sharon Bernstein in the Sacramento Bee$ Laurel Rosenhall in the New York Times$ Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein Politico -- 2/10/26
Trump Administration to Cut $600 Million in Health Funding From Four States -- The programs slated to be cut are in California, Colorado, Illinois and Minnesota. They include grants to state and local public health departments as well as to some nongovernmental organizations. A list of the cuts was shared with relevant congressional committees on Monday. Apoorva Mandavilli in the New York Times$ -- 2/10/26
Bay Area congressman who viewed unredacted Epstein files says at least 6 men are implicated -- Two members of Congress who pushed the federal government to publicly release its investigations into the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein said they had identified at least six men who were likely incriminated in the well-connected financier’s crimes, but declined to share the names. Alexei Koseff in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/10/26
Trial starts in L.A. lawsuit alleging Instagram and YouTube knew apps harmed kids -- A landmark civil trial that will ask jurors to decide whether social media companies can be held liable for pushing a product that they allegedly knew was harmful to children began Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, with attorneys sparring for more than four hours in combative opening arguments. Sonja Sharp in the Los Angeles Times$ Eli Tan and Cecilia Kang in the New York Times$ -- 2/10/26
How Casey Wasserman entered Epstein’s orbit and why it might affect his role with the LA28 Olympics -- In 2002, former President Bill Clinton invited influential sports and marketing executive Casey Wasserman and others to join him on a humanitarian mission to Africa. Salacious emails with Epstein confidant Ghislaine Maxwell have prompted calls for Wasserman to give up his role overseeing the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Jenny Jarvie, Meg James and Dakota Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/10/26
Schiff endorses Swalwell for California governor -- Schiff, one of the state’s most prominent Democrats, previously served with Swalwell on the House Intelligence Committee, where they riled Republicans by investigating President Trump during his first term. Kevin Rector in the Los Angeles Times$ Blake Jones Politico -- 2/10/26
Lawmakers send $90 million grant package for Planned Parenthood clinics to Newsom -- Assembly and Senate Democrats backed identical bills in each chamber that would appropriate the money from the state’s general fund and make it immediately available to Planned Parenthood clinics that provide abortions, cancer screenings and other reproductive health care services. Andrew Graham in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/10/26
Workplace
S.F. schools will remain closed Tuesday as teacher strike talks continue -- With teachers on strike and a deal still pending, San Francisco school officials announced schools would be closed Tuesday, adding a second day the district’s 48,000 students would not be in class as the two sides battle over raises and health care benefits. Jill Tucker, Anna Bauman in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Hailey Branson-Potts and Christopher Buchanan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/10/26
Kaiser, nurses union spar over workers as strike enters 3rd week -- Kaiser says more than 35% of 31,000 striking nurses have returned to work, even as 3,000 pharmacists and lab workers join the walkout. Pat Maio in the LA Daily News -- 2/10/26
Guns
California sues companies that sell code for making 3-D printed ghost guns -- Two Florida companies that provide computer code and designs for making 3-D printed guns and ammunition magazines are being sued by the state of California and the city of San Francisco, who say its products are allowing people to create illegal ghost guns. Sharon Bernstein in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/10/26
Water
Central Valley farmers press Trump to increase Shasta Dam water storage capacity -- The development follows a series of letters sent late last year by local water agencies, state Republican lawmakers and water contractors, where they called the administration to fund the Shasta Dam raise project using money from Trump’s One Big, Beautiful Bill budget. Chaewon Chung in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/10/26
‘Little death bombs’: Illegal cannabis farms poison California’s forests. Who’s cleaning them up? -- Even after legalization, illicit cannabis grows continue to pollute California’s public lands. And the contamination, new research shows, lingers. Rachel Becker Calmatters -- 2/10/26
Homeless
City of L.A. seeks to dump the federal judge overseeing a homelessness settlement -- The City of Los Angeles is asking an appeals court to remove the federal judge overseeing a settlement that requires it to produce thousands of shelter beds and housing units and clear nearly 10,000 homeless camps from the streets. Doug Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/10/26
Street
She begged CARE Court to help her son. He died 10 days after it dismissed his case -- CARE Court was Gavin Newsom’s big mental health care initiative. In San Francisco, fewer than 11 people have completed the program. Sophia Bollag in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/10/26
Bill in California Legislature would make it a crime to collect DNA without consent -- Ta’s bill includes broad exemptions for law enforcement, prosecutors and court-ordered DNA collection, leaving criminal investigations and forensic evidence gathering unaffected while targeting nonconsensual use by private individuals. Daniel Hunt in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/10/26
Also
Bad Bunny vs. Kid Rock: Here’s how many people watched each Super Bowl halftime show -- The numbers were never expected to be close. Early viewership data from the 2026 Super Bowl shows that Bad Bunny’s official halftime performance far outpaced the conservative counterprogramming mounted against it, even as millions still tuned in to watch both. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/10/26
Mark Zuckerberg Is the Latest California Billionaire to Buy a Florida Home -- The couple is purchasing a newly completed waterfront mansion on Miami’s Indian Creek, according to sources with knowledge of the transaction. Zuckerberg already has an extensive luxury real-estate portfolio, with properties in Lake Tahoe, Palo Alto, Calif., and on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. Katherine Clarke and Deborah Acosta in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 2/10/26
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Trump Allies Near ‘Total Victory’ in Wiping Out U.S. Climate Regulation -- A small group of conservative activists has worked for 16 years to stop all government efforts to fight climate change. Their efforts seem poised to pay off. Lisa Friedman and Maxine Joselow in the Los Angeles Times$ Meridith McGraw and Benoît Morenne in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 2/10/26
Legality of Trump’s $400M in private funding for White House ballroom at issue -- A federal judge weighing whether the project may proceed has focused on whether the administration can use private donations to bypass congressional approval. Dan Diamond, Aaron Schaffer and Jonathan Edwards in the Washington Post$ -- 2/10/26
California Policy and Politics Monday
S.F. public schools closed as teachers strike for first time in nearly 50 years -- San Francisco’s 48,000 public school students weren’t in class Monday for day one of the city’s first teachers strike in nearly 50 years, with the union and district still at odds over raises and health care benefits. Educators started forming picket lines at schools across the district around 7:30 a.m., the playgrounds behind them empty even as the bells rang signaling the start of the day. Jill Tucker, Anna Bauman in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Soumya Karlamangla, Laurel Rosenhall and Shawn Hubler in the New York Times$ -- 2/9/26
Kaiser strike expands with 3,000 pharmacy, lab workers joining nurses -- More than 3,000 pharmacy and lab workers with the United Food and Commercial Workers union in Southern California joined a “second wave” of health care professionals striking Kaiser Permanente on Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. Meanwhile, the strike is showing signs of spilling over beyond just Kaiser. Pat Maio in the Orange County Register$ -- 2/9/26
Hollywood Braces for New Round of Labor Talks -- It has been just 26 months since some of the most grueling strikes in Hollywood history came to an end. Now comes the possibility that it will happen all over again. John Koblin in the New York Times$ -- 2/9/26
Arguments to begin in landmark social media addiction trial set in Los Angeles -- The world’s biggest social media companies face several landmark trials this year that seek to hold them responsible for harms to children who use their platforms. Opening arguments for the first, in Los Angeles County Superior Court, begin this week. Kaitlyn Huamani and Barbara Ortutay Associated Press -- 2/9/26
Trump administration demands citizenship checks for S.F. public housing tenants -- The Trump administration has given the San Francisco Housing Authority 30 days to verify the citizenship status of an unspecified list of tenants who are receiving rental assistance from the agency. The housing authority has reached out to residents in at least one building, the Chronicle has learned. Laura Waxmann in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/9/26
Trump, California and the multi-front war over the next election -- California election officials are preparing for scenarios where Trump administration officials demand ballots or place agents at voting sites. State Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta vows to seek restraining orders within hours if the administration interferes. Kevin Rector, Hailey Branson-Potts and Ana Ceballos in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/9/26
U.S. Olympic athletes in Italy are speaking out about the political situation at home -- Olympic skiers Mikaela Shiffrin and Hunter Hess are among the athletes who’ve talked about the political situation in the U.S. while at the Milan-Cortina Games. President Trump called freestyle skier Hess a “loser” on social media after Hess said he had mixed emotions about representing the U.S. at the Olympics. Kevin Baxter in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/9/26
California congressman among those speaking out against ICE at the Super Bowl -- U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna stood outside of Levi’s Stadium on Sunday as thousands of football fans streamed inside the Santa Clara venue. The congressman wasn’t there to cheer on his favorite team. He had stopped by to send a message: Federal immigration agents were not welcome at the Super Bowl. Katie King in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/9/26
How Casey Wasserman entered Epstein’s orbit: Bill Clinton, a trip to Africa and Ghislaine Maxwell -- When Casey Wasserman boarded Jeffrey Epstein’s private jet for a two-week tour of Africa in 2002, he had little inkling he was embarking on a journey that could imperil his fortune. Jenny Jarvie, Meg James and Dakota Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/9/26
California reserved $165 million for Tesla to electrify its trucking industry. The result may stifle EV innovation -- A California clean-air program, designed to rapidly electrify the state’s truck and bus fleets, has recently faced intense criticism for reserving its largest-ever tranche of funding to subsidize Tesla’s all-electric semi-truck, a largely unproven vehicle with a dubious production timeline. Tony Briscoe in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/9/26
New mayoral challenger in Los Angeles draws Mamdani comparisons -- Nithya Raman stunned the LA political world — and her former ally, Mayor Karen Bass — with her challenge to Bass' reelection bid. Melanie Mason Politico -- 2/9/26
Pelosi to Endorse Jack Schlossberg, Again Backing a Kennedy for Congress -- The former speaker, a prodigious fund-raiser and shrewd campaign strategist, seldom intervenes in primaries but has made an exception for a Kennedy before. Andrew Trunsky in the New York Times$ -- 2/9/26
Skelton: Knives are out for California’s golden goose -- California may be headed toward killing the billionaire birds that lay the golden eggs needed to nourish this Golden State. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/9/26
Workplace
Torrance residents call for the ban of ‘flesh-eating’ chemical used at refinery -- Residents and advocates gathered Saturday to demand the ban of a chemical that’s used at a Torrance oil refinery and that they say has the potential to cause a mass casualty disaster. Jasmine Mendez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/9/26
Job Hunters Are So Desperate That They’re Paying to Get Recruited -- Landing a white-collar job is getting so tough that candidates—not companies—are paying recruiters to match them with positions. Lindsay Ellis in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 2/9/26
Education
Can a passionate social justice warrior take San Diego City College to the next level? -- President Ricky Shabazz has been raising enrollment and expanding classes at a school that’s struggled for years. Gary Robbins in the San Diego Union Tribune -- 2/9/26
Also
These A.I. Dreamers Don’t Fit the Stereotype -- Young tech entrepreneurs in San Francisco are hoping to cash in, even as they wonder how artificial intelligence will affect society. Guy Trebay in the New York Times$ -- 2/9/26
A wolf has come to Los Angeles County for the first time in more than a century -- Around 6 a.m., the 3-year-old female sporting a black coat reached the mountains north of Santa Clarita, according to Axel Hunnicutt, gray wolf coordinator for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Lila Seidman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/9/26
Can Mountain Lions Survive as Humans Close In? California Is Trying to Find a Way -- A giant freeway crossing for wildlife is due to open outside Los Angeles this year. Here’s the story of one young cat hemmed in near the city. Catrin Einhorn, Loren Elliott, Loren Elliott in the New York Times$ -- 2/9/26
Should some L.A. beaches be a national park? It’s being studied. Here’s how you can weigh in -- Northern California has Point Reyes National Seashore. New York has Fire Island National Seashore. And North Carolina has Cape Hatteras National Seashore. But should some of L.A.’s most famous beaches also receive such a designation? Ian James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/9/26
Sweet victories, tearful goodbyes: A departing photographer shares his favorite Bay Area images -- For the past 12 years, if you read the San Francisco Chronicle, you saw the work of Scott Strazzante. Career highlight photos are in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/9/26
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Bad Bunny delivers historic Super Bowl halftime show as Trump calls it ‘one of the worst, EVER!’ -- Rather than leaning into overt political provocation, he staged an exuberant celebration of Latino culture and identity, confounding expectations from critics who had braced for a more confrontational moment. Aidin Vaziri, Zara Irshad, Mariecar Mendoza in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/9/26
Garofoli: Donald Trump lost the Super Bowl. Who will he take his anger out on next? -- Donald Trump lost the Super Bowl. He didn’t even show up. Said it was “too far.” The guy who complains that pro football has gotten “too soft” was afraid to face the tsunami of boos that would have power-washed his fake tan. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/9/26
Abcarian: Trump’s attacks on journalists are just tired political theater -- Unlike Kaitlan Collins of CNN, Catherine Lucey of Bloomberg, Mary Bruce of ABC, Nancy Cordes of CBS or Rachel Scott of ABC, I have never been yelled at or insulted by a president. Robin Abcarian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/9/26
Americans at the Olympics Can’t Escape the Politics at Home -- A backlash to Trump administration policies has followed U.S. athletes to Italy. One skier’s comments drew a furious response from the president himself. Motoko Rich, Tariq Panja, Heather Knight and Juliet Macur in the New York Times$ -- 2/9/26