California Policy and Politics Sunday

Trump’s tirade puts San Diego Somali community on edge. ‘We are not garbage. We are neighbors.’ -- It was the words of President Donald Trump, spoken 2,300 miles away, that prompted Mikaiil Hussein — a U.S. citizen who first came as a refugee from Somalia over 30 years ago — to take steps to protect himself. Alexandra Mendoza in the San Diego Union Tribune$ -- 12/21/25

S.F. power outage: No timeframe for full restoration as thousands remain without electricity -- Pacific Gas and Electric Co. was working Sunday to restore power to roughly 21,000 customers in San Francisco after a series of blackouts on Saturday brought life in many parts of the city to a standstill. But the utility said it could not provide an estimate for when those homes and businesses would be brought back online. Sarah Ravani, Anna Bauman in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Katie King in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/21/25

San Jose races to become Bay Area’s data center capital — PG&E customers could pay the price -- In the rush to build colossal data-processing centers for Silicon Valley’s suddenly booming artificial intelligence industry, San Jose is positioning itself as the Bay Area’s epicenter for data center development, dominating PG&E’s internal “pipeline” of proposed and under-construction projects it plans to power. Ethan Baron in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 12/21/25

Tahoe is about to get a huge snowstorm — finally. Here’s when and how much snow -- A powerful series of storms is set to bury the Sierra under several feet of snow this week, likely forcing major mountain pass closures shortly before Christmas and finally delivering the kind of snowfall ski resorts have been waiting for. Greg Porter in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/21/25

California Cuts Back on Costly Immigrant Healthcare -- State’s widening budget deficit means immigrants living in U.S. unlawfully won’t be able to sign up for state-subsidized coverage. Paul Kiernan in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 12/21/25

Nick Reiner was prescribed schizophrenia medication before killings of Rob, Michele Reiner, sources say -- It is unclear the name of the drug and how long he had been prescribed it. No other details were available. The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly. Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/21/25

How ‘Turn and Burn’ Immigration Operations Unleash Chaos — and Sweep up U.S. Citizens -- A video analysis of one early morning raid in Los Angeles revealed the vast web of consequences brought by new aggressive Border Patrol tactics. Robin Stein, Shawn Killebrew, Devon Lum, Alexander Cardia, Jeff Bernier, Dmitriy Khavin and Mimi Dwyer in the New York Times$ -- 12/21/25

Man who lost key motion in Elon Musk suit alleges S.F. judge used faulty AI -- A man who sued Elon Musk for defamation and securities fraud has alleged that a San Francisco judge allowed artificial intelligence software to introduce multiple errors into a recent order that torpedoed a key motion in the man’s lawsuit. Megan Cassidy in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/21/25

A Brown University student returns to her Southern California home, a path to healing interrupted by another mass shooting -- Mia Tretta was a high school freshman at Saugus High School when a student shot five students and later shot himself. Her healing journey led to Brown University, where last week's violence was a reminder: "Gun violence doesn't care whether you've already experienced a shooting before." Julianna Lozada in the Orange County Register$ -- 12/21/25

Workplace

Prison health workers are among the best-paid public employees. Why are so many jobs vacant? -- Despite spending hundreds of millions of dollars to fill vacant medical and mental health positions at prisons and state hospitals, California has little to show for it, according to a new report from the state auditor. Kristen Hwang in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/21/25

Wildfire

Times Investigation: LAFD report on Palisades fire was watered down, records show -- The Times obtained seven drafts of the LAFD’s after-action report on the Palisades fire. Deletions and revisions in the drafts amounted to an effort to downplay the failures of city and LAFD leadership. The most significant edits involved the LAFD’s deployment decisions before the fire, as the wind warnings became increasingly dire. Alene Tchekmedyian and Paul Pringle in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/21/25

Housing

Here’s how much this swanky Marin County city will pay you to house its workforce -- The woodsy Marin County suburb is offering up to $14,000 in a one-time payment to property owners who agree to sign a one-year lease with someone who works in Mill Valley, following a model that has successfully converted vacant second homes in high-cost vacation destinations into workforce housing. J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/21/25

Lou Cannon

Ronald Reagan biographer, legendary California journalist Lou Cannon dies -- Journalist and author Lou Cannon, who was widely considered the nation’s leading authority on the life and career of President Reagan, died Friday in a Santa Barbara hospice. He was 92. His death was caused by complications from a stroke, his son Carl M. Cannon told the Washington Post, where his father served for years as a White House correspondent. Roger Vincent in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/21/25

POTUS 47

Hakeem Jeffries says Obamacare subsidy extension 'will pass with a bipartisan majority' -- House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Sunday he remains confident that Congress will extend expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits despite persistent opposition from Republicans. Jacob Wendler Politico -- 12/21/25

Lawmakers weigh impeachment articles for Bondi over Epstein file omissions -- Lawmakers unhappy with Justice Department decisions to heavily redact or withhold documents from a legally mandated release of files related to Jeffrey Epstein threatened Saturday to launch impeachment proceedings against those responsible, including Pam Bondi, the U.S. attorney general. Kevin Rector and Michael Wilner in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/21/25

Epstein Files Photos Disappear From Government Website, Including One of Trump -- A total of 16 photos were taken down at some point on Saturday from the website that the Justice Department created. One featured an open drawer containing other photos, including at least one of President Trump. Alan Feuer, David Enrich and Dylan Freedman in the New York Times$ -- 12/21/25

At least 16 files have disappeared from the DOJ webpage for documents related to Jeffrey Epstein -- At least 16 files disappeared from the Justice Department’s public webpage for documents related to Jeffrey Epstein — including a photograph showing President Donald Trump — less than a day after they were posted, with no explanation from the government and no notice to the public. Michael R. Sisak and David B. Caruso Associated Press -- 12/21/25

U.S. Coast Guard Boards Tanker Carrying Venezuelan Oil -- Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, said a vessel had been “apprehended.” It was the second action this month against a tanker carrying Venezuelan oil. Nicholas Nehamas, Anatoly Kurmanaev and Christiaan Triebert in the New York Times$ Tara Copp, Karen DeYoung, Samantha Schmidt and Ana Vanessa Herrero in the Washington Post$ -- 12/21/25

Trump World Is Picking Sides in the Battle for Warner Bros. -- Some of the most influential people in President Trump’s orbit, past and present, are facing off in the unfolding drama over the future of Warner Bros. Discovery. Netflix, which wants to buy Warner’s studios and HBO Max streaming business, is in a multibillion-dollar game of tug of war with Paramount, which wants to buy the entire company. Ken Thomas in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 12/21/25

Trump AI czar David Sacks starts to worry the industry -- President Donald Trump’s aggressive move to block states from regulating artificial intelligence is splitting the tech lobby — and steering its frustration squarely toward David Sacks, the president’s top AI adviser. Brendan Bordelon, Gabby Miller and Yasmin Khorram Politico -- 12/21/25

Government’s historic role as trusted information source is under threat -- The U.S. government for decades has been the world’s leading provider of reliable data. Many researchers wonder if that is still the case. Naftali Bendavid in the Washington Post$ -- 12/21/25

Don't call it a tax hike? Trump's demand for a cut of Nvidia's China profits raises novel questions -- President Donald Trump’s decision to allow Nvidia to sell chips to China has produced a flood of national security concerns, but that’s not all. His demand that the government also get a cut of the proceeds is raising a whole other set of questions, including: Did he just raise taxes? Brian Faler Politico -- 12/21/25

Trump Takes America’s ‘Imperial Presidency’ to a New Level -- In his first year back in the White House, President Trump has greatly expanded executive power while embracing the trappings of royalty in ways not seen in the modern era. Peter Baker in the New York Times$ -- 12/21/25

The year Trump broke the federal government -- How DOGE and the White House carried out a once-unthinkable transformation of the nation’s sprawling bureaucracy. Hannah Natanson and Meryl Kornfield in the Washington Post$ -- 12/21/25