California Policy and Politics Saturday

Former FBI Director Robert Mueller dies. Says Trump: ‘I’m glad he’s dead’ -- Former FBI Director Robert Mueller, who transformed the FBI after 9/11 into a terrorism-fighting force and led the Russia-Trump investigation, has died at age 81. President Trump responded: ‘Good, I’m glad he’s dead.’ Mueller’s 12-year tenure began one week before the Sept. 11 attacks, shifting the agency’s focus from solving crime to preventing terrorism. Eric Tucker in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/21/26

ICE officers soon will help with airport security unless Democrats end shutdown, Trump says -- Trump threatens to deploy ICE officers to airports Monday unless Democrats pass a Homeland Security funding bill, citing immigration enforcement priorities. TSA workers continue screening passengers without paychecks as a partial shutdown continues; 376 have quit since mid-February amid rising call-out rates. Collin Binkley Associated Press -- 3/21/26

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco seizes more than half a million ballots -- Bianco’s investigation, which includes all the ballots cast in Riverside County in November, raises questions about how he would handle the election denialism movement if he is elected governor. The sheriff said his investigators are looking into allegations that the county’s tally was falsely inflated — a claim that local election officials have refuted. The unusual probe drew a sharp rebuke from California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta. Hailey Branson-Potts in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/21/26

 

Trump weighs ‘winding down’ war as Pentagon sends 2,500 California Marines to Mideast -- The San-Diego deployment departed from Camp Pendleton on Wednesday. The move comes amid sweeping attacks on Mideast energy facilities, as international oil prices remained over $100 per barrel and stocks were sliding for the fourth consecutive week. Gavin J. Quinton in the Los Angeles Times$ Gary Robbins in the San Diego Union Tribune -- 3/21/26

Gasoline price gouging in California draws a warning -- California’s petroleum market watchdog is warning about price gouging at some gas stations charging over $7 or $8 dollars a gallon as the Iran war sends oil prices soaring. Blanca Begert in the Los Angeles Times$ Rob Nikolewski in the San Diego Union Tribune -- 3/21/26

Flights are getting more expensive fast. What Bay Area travelers should know -- Jet fuel prices have surged 68% in the past month, causing average published fares for a transcontinental domestic flight booked three weeks in advance to rise from $167 to $414 on three major U.S. airlines. Jessica Roy in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/21/26

 

Homeless and stateless: Deportees from U.S. are trapped in Mexico -- Nearly 13,000 third-country nationals have been deported to Mexico under Trump, many with no connection to the country. The largest group of such deportees: immigrants from Cuba. Banished from the U.S., undocumented in Mexico and unable to go home, deportees are stuck in ‘a quasi-stateless limbo.’ Kate Linthicum, Alejandro Cegarra in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/21/26

In rare move, ICE drags criminal defendant out of a federal courtroom -- Plainclothes agents believed to be ICE pulled a man out of a downtown federal courtroom after a pre-trial hearing, surprising the judge and defense attorneys. The agents didn’t identify themselves or display a warrant before removing the defendant, a defense attorney says. Brittny Mejia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/21/26

 

Why the betting markets may have a unique impact on California governor’s race -- Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Castro Valley, has hovered between 13% and 17% support in recent independent polls, putting him neck and neck with the other four leading candidates in the race. But on prediction markets like Kalshi, where people can put money on the outcome of everything from elections to football games, he’s the front-runner. Sophia Bollag in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/21/26

Democrats excluded from USC gubernatorial debate urge rivals to boycott in solidarity -- Four Democrats running for governor called on their fellow candidates to boycott an upcoming debate at USC, reiterating concerns that the criteria used to determine who was invited to participate resulted in every prominent candidate of color being excluded from the forum. Seema Mehta and Nicole Nixon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/21/26

California attorney general asks judge to block Nexstar-Tegna merger -- California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta is asking a judge to unravel Nexstar Media Group’s $6.2-billion acquisition of rival TV station owner Tegna — the latest in a flurry of merger twists. Meg James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/21/26

California considers restrictions on social media for kids -- Meta, YouTube and Snapchat are already under scrutiny for risks they pose for young people. Now they are facing another hurdle in their home state. Queenie Wong in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/21/26

California Sen. Alex Padilla to rework national park bill honoring Cesar Chavez -- California Sen. Alex Padilla has promised to rework legislation that proposed the creation of a multi-state national park honoring Cesar Chavez, the civil rights icon whose legacy has been tarnished after numerous allegations of sexual abuse surfaced earlier this week. Mathew Miranda in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/21/26

Swalwell drops lawsuit against Trump housing official over mortgage fraud allegations -- Rep. Eric Swalwell has dropped his lawsuit against Bill Pulte after accusing the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency of weaponizing mortgage fraud investigations to silence opponents. Brock Hrehor Politico -- 3/21/26

Paramount deal for CNN and Warner Bros. draws concerns about news independence -- Should Paramount Skydance prevail in its $111-billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, the Larry Ellison family would control two historic Hollywood film studios, dozens of cable channels, HBO and two legendary newsrooms, CBS News and CNN. Meg James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/21/26

CBS News layoffs, radio shutdown could impact KCBS in San Francisco -- CBS News began a new round of layoffs Friday and said it will shut down CBS News Radio in May, a move that could affect national news updates heard on KCBS All News 740 AM and 106.9 FM in San Francisco. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/21/26

Google completes massive project to restore Hangar One in South Bay -- Google has completed a major effort to restore and reutilize Hangar One at Moffett Federal Airfield, a project that could transform the landmark into a future hub for innovation and technology. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 3/21/26

What does the March heat wave mean for fire season? -- The five-day heat wave that broke records across California and the West this week is winding down, with temperatures in the Bay Area forecast to fall from the 90s to the 70s in many places over the weekend. But the impact of the overall hot, dry month of March is likely to be felt all summer, experts say, through increased fire risk around the state. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 3/21/26

Water

As precious groundwater vanishes, a few in California find ways to bring it back -- New research highlights areas in California and elsewhere that have managed to raise depleted water tables. One farm water agency in Kern County shows what decades of efforts can accomplish. Ian James, Myung J. Chun in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/21/26

Marketplace

Uber and Rivian plan to bring robotaxis to California -- Uber and Rivian announced a partnership Thursday that could bring up to 50,000 self-driving R2 vehicles to cities across the U.S., Canada and Europe by 2031. Caroline Petrow-Cohen in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/21/26

POTUS 47

Trump administration lifts sanctions on millions of barrels of Iranian oil -- As the cost of oil continues to soar, the Treasury Department on Friday lifted sanctions on 140 million barrels of Iranian crude already loaded onto vessels, which the Trump administration says will help ease prices — but which is also likely to provide revenue for Iran’s war effort. Evan Halper in the Washington Pos t$ -- 3/21/26

Trump signals U.S. may leave allies to manage Iran fallout -- President Donald Trump on Friday evening said the United States was considering “winding down” its military efforts in Iran even as thousands of Marines sailed toward the region, leaving unclear whether the White House planned to walk away or escalate its three-week-old war. Michael Birnbaum, Emily Davies and Dan Lamothe in the Washington Post$ -- 3/21/26

Trump administration waves the white flag in some ICE cases -- In a growing number of cases, the Trump administration has recently begun admitting to judges it is unable to defend some of its decisions to detain immigrants. Kyle Cheney Politico -- 3/21/26

Judge sides with New York Times in challenge to policy limiting reporters’ access to Pentagon -- Federal Judge Paul Friedman blocked the Pentagon’s policy restricting journalist access, ruling it violates First and Fifth Amendment rights protecting free speech. The policy barred reporters who refused new credentialing rules from accessing the Pentagon, prompting The New York Times to sue in December. Michael Kunzelman Associated Press Joseph Pisani and Alexandra Bruell in the Wall Street Journal$ Erik Wemple in the New York Times$ Scott Nover in the Washington Post$ -- 3/21/26

Denmark Was Ready to Blow Up Airfields to Stop a U.S. Invasion of Greenland -- The Danes brought blood supplies, explosives and live ammunition to Greenland as part of contingency plans in case President Trump acted on his threats to seize the island. Jeffrey Gettleman, Christopher F. Schuetze and Maya Tekeli in the New York Times$ -- 3/21/26

A massive border wall expansion is underway -- The aggressive pace of expansion has alarmed advocates who say the construction will destroy pristine country, threaten endangered species, and cut off access to sacred Indigenous and archaeological sites. Arelis R. Hernández, Jake Spring, John Muyskens and Thomas Simonetti in the Washington Post$ -- 3/21/26