Rough & Tumble ®
A Snapshot of California Public Policy and Politics
 
 
 
 

California Policy and Politics Wednesday

Have federal agents served warrants at California’s Capitol? The Legislature doesn’t want you to know -- California’s legislative leaders are refusing to disclose whether federal agents are investigating state lawmakers for corruption or if any taxpayer money was spent on their legal defense. Open government advocates argue the public has a right to know. Ryan Sabalow CalMatters -- 3/5/25

California Dems scoff at Newsom proposal to give $20M to SF private arts school -- Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal to provide $20 million in funding for a small private arts college in San Francisco backed by a tech CEO ran into fierce pushback from Democratic state lawmakers on Tuesday. Eric He Politico -- 3/5/25

Newsom’s ‘Sargent Shriver’ running for California lieutenant governor -- Josh Fryday, a Navy vet and former Northern California mayor who is in Gavin Newsom’s Cabinet, wants to elevate volunteer service in the statewide role. Christopher Cadelago Politico -- 3/5/25

Nicole Shanahan, ex-RFK Jr. running mate, seeds attempt to recall Los Angeles mayor -- Nicole Shanahan, the Silicon Valley philanthropist who helped fund Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s presidential campaign and served as his running mate, has a new cause: recalling Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. Blake Jones Politico Theodore Schleifer and Laurel Rosenhall in the New York Times$ -- 3/5/25

Fired Los Angeles fire chief loses appeal but strikes PR blow against Karen Bass -- The good news for Mayor Karen Bass: Her decision to sack the city’s fire chief in the wake of devastating wildfires was broadly upheld Tuesday by the City Council. Melanie Mason Politico -- 3/5/25

California tribal college looks to become independent, but financial questions loom --The college earned a key pre-accreditation status and is asking the state for $60 million this year. Michael Burke EdSource -- 3/5/25

 

Cuts Could Close Campsites and Trails in California, Forest Service Memo Says -- In California, summer could be on the chopping block. Almost 4,000 campsites across many of California’s 18 national forests could close for part or all of the summer season, according to an internal United States Forest Service spreadsheet viewed by The New York Times on Friday. Austyn Gaffney in the New York Times$ -- 3/5/25

California farmers backed Trump. Now, his tariffs could hurt them -- The state’s rich fertile ground is a major global supplier of produce and its farmers could be hit hard as Canada, Mexico, and China retaliate by slapping levies on U.S. exports. Farmers also rely heavily on fertilizer from Canada, which could cost more as the tariff’s take hold. Jessica Garrison and Rachel Uranga in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/5/25

Trump’s tariffs would make housing more expensive in the Bay Area. How much? It depends on what you’re building — and where -- High interest rates and increasing construction costs had already put a strain on efforts to increase the Bay Area’s inadequate housing supply. Now, as President Donald Trump places sweeping tariffs on imports from China, Canada and Mexico, building costs and home prices are expected to increase even further. Kate Talerico in the San Jose Mercury$ Roland Li in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/5/25

Trump tariffs and immigration policy create uncertainty for California economy, study shows -- The Trump administration’s tariff and immigration policies create uncertainty about California’s economy that’s “very much elevated,” a new UCLA Anderson forecast said Wednesday. David Lightman in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/5/25

China hits Illumina with import ban. What does that mean for the San Diego gene sequencer? -- China imposed an import ban on Illumina’s gene sequencers in response to President Trump’s escalating tariffs and trade war. Natallie Rocha in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 3/5/25

Under Trump, migrants in this part of California have been particularly targeted for deportation -- In the first 11 days of the Trump administration, people in San Diego County were issued a higher-than-expected number of notices to appear in immigration court, researchers found by analyzing immigration court data. Notices to appear are documents issued by the Department of Homeland Security as the first step of deportation proceedings. Ko Lyn Cheang in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/5/25

Sacramento has hundreds of millions of federal funding at risk under Trump administration -- Sacramento remains committed to not cooperating with President Donald Trump administration’s immigration agenda despite the risk of losing hundreds of million dollars in federal funding. Mathew Miranda in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/5/25

‘Will I be safe’? Transgender California youth feel threatened by Trump’s executive orders -- Calls to LGBTQ crisis lines spiked after President Donald Trump’s election. His policies target health care for young transgender people, creating uncertainty for a vulnerable community. Jocelyn Wiener and Kristen Hwang CalMatters -- 3/5/25

 

Sutter Health reaches agreement to settle major antitrust lawsuit -- Sutter Health has reached an agreement to settle a long-running class-action lawsuit that accused the Northern California health care giant of abusing its market power to drive up prices for insurers and individuals. Catherine Ho in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/5/25

Supreme Court sides with San Francisco in raw sewage case, limits EPA ability to enforce Clean Water Act -- Major case could have impacts around California and the nation. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 3/5/25

Menendez brothers continue fight for new trial, despite D.A. Hochman’s opposition -- L.A. County Dist. Atty. Hochman is opposed to a new trial for the Menendez brothers, but the incarcerated siblings say that won’t stop them from pushing for another opportunity to defend themselves in court. Clara Harter in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/5/25

Walters: California uses gimmicks instead of addressing the heart of its budget problem -- One of the many gimmicks that California’s governors and legislators employ to paper over budget deficits, thus avoiding real spending cuts or increasing taxes, is to assume some level of savings from making state agencies and programs more efficient. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 3/5/25

 

California is embracing psychiatric hospitals again. Behind locked doors, a profit-driven system is destroying lives --From 2019 to 2024, the state cited for-profit psychiatric hospitals over: 128 physical or sexual assaults on patients 77 improper restraints or seclusion of patients 17 potentially preventable deaths California is embracing psychiatric hospitals again. Behind locked doors, a profit-driven system is destroying lives. Cynthia Dizikes and Joaquin Palomino in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/5/25

Workplace

S.F.-based federal workers were ordered back to the office. Then half of them were laid off -- Initial perceptions that hundreds of federal workers would flood downtown San Francisco under President Donald Trump’s strict return-to-office mandate were dispelled Friday after hundreds of employees of several General Services Administration divisions received termination notices — or saw their units eliminated altogether. Laura Waxmann in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/5/25

Labor’s new front in the AI fight -- California’s powerful Labor Federation is channeling George Orwell in its latest fight to influence how and where surveillance tools are deployed in the workplace. The goal: keep big bosses (and Big Tech) from becoming Big Brother. Tyler Katzenberger Politico -- 3/5/25

The rise and fall of L.A.-based fashion pioneer Forever 21 -- At its peak, Forever 21 operated more than 800 stores worldwide and earned billions in revenue. Now, the U.S. operator of the once popular chain plans to close roughly 200 stores as well as its downtown Los Angeles headquarters. Caroline Petrow-Cohen in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/5/25

Homeless

First-of-its kind court order halts sweep of California homeless camp -- The Bay Area city of Vallejo is putting California cities’ newfound power to clear homeless encampments to the test. Marisa Kendall CalMatters -- 3/5/25

S.F. spent millions on a site for homeless RV dwellers. Now, they’re back on the street -- The demise of San Francisco’s only parking site for homeless people living in vehicles could be used as a case study on how difficult it is for one of the nation’s wealthiest cities to solve its intractable homelessness crisis. Maggie Angst in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/5/25

Street

Parents are blaming Snapchat for their teens’ fentanyl deaths. Will an L.A. lawsuit shape the future of social media? -- Puerta is among the more than 60 families who are suing Snap, arguing the Santa Monica-based company is responsible for drug sales to teens that are facilitated through its app. Marisa Gerber in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/5/25

Jail guards ignored screams for help as man tortured cellmate to death, lawsuit says -- Brandon Yates’s parents are suing San Diego County and its sheriff a year after a cellmate is alleged to have killed their son while guards dismissed pleas for help for an hour. Jonathan Edwards in the Washington Post$ -- 3/5/25

POTUS 47

Supreme Court, by a 5-4 vote, turns down Trump appeal over disbursing foreign funds -- At issue are payments to nonprofit groups or private contractors who carry out work overseas that was funded by Congress and approved by the U.S. Agency for International Development. Justice Samuel A. Alito filed an angry dissent for four conservatives. David G. Savage in the Los Angeles Times$ Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney Politico Mariah Timms and Jess Bravin in the Wall Street Journal$ Adam Liptak in the New York Times$ -- 3/5/25

Defiant Trump signals full speed ahead on divisive policies -- Trump addressed a divided nation in a speech marked by acrimony, as a Texas Democrat was escorted from the chamber within the first few moments and as Trump taunted Democrats in the room. Matt Viser in the Washington Post$ Tyler Pager in the New York Times$ Tarini Parti in the Wall Street Journal$ Zeke Miller and Michelle L. Price Associated Press Eli Stokols Politico Michael Wilner and Faith E. Pinho in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/5/25

Garofoli: In long, combative speech, Trump targets trans people, electric vehicles and ‘Pocahontas’ -- President Donald Trump did not explicitly mention California (unless you count him deriding “radical left lunatics”) in his speech to a joint session of Congress Tuesday, but his address made clear that his war against the state is raging as fiercely as ever. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/5/25

Warning That Trump Will ‘Make You Pay,’ Slotkin Gives Democratic Response -- Senator Elissa Slotkin, a first-term Democrat from Michigan, delivered a simple message as her party’s official response to President Trump’s combative and lengthy address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night: Mr. Trump, she said, was “going to make you pay in every part of your life.” Annie Karni in the New York Times$ Annie Linskey and Gavin Bade in the Wall Street Journal$ Joey Cappelletti Associated Press Ben Leonard Politico -- 3/5/25

Fact-checking 26 suspect claims in Trump’s address to Congress -- Many of these claims have been fact-checked repeatedly, yet the president persists in using them. Here, in the order in which he made them, are 26 statements by the president that were untrue, misleading or lacked context. Glenn Kessler in the Washington Post$ Brittany Gibson, Russell Contreras Axios Natalie Andrews, Juanje Gómez and Kara Dapena in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/5/25

Trump Sets Record for Longest Presidential Speech to Congress -- President Trump concluded just before 11 p.m., making it the longest speech ever delivered in a joint address—whether a State of the Union address or the similar-style speech that presidents give in their first year. Natalie Andrews in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/5/25

News Analysis: Trump gave himself high marks. Polls, markets, courts, allies paint a different picture -- President Trump claimed in his joint address to Congress that the start of his administration has been “the most successful in the history of our nation.” Other views of the administration can be found all around, including in public polling, economic markets, federal courts and elsewhere. Kevin Rector in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/5/25

‘He Finally Shot the Hostage’: Trump’s Trade War Is a Brutal Reality Check -- Trump imposing new tariffs on top of broader policy uncertainty will mean a hit to growth. The question is how large of a hit it will ultimately be. Victoria Guida Politico -- 3/5/25

Wall Street worries Trump tariffs could wreck the souring economy -- All three major U.S. markets sank before regaining lost ground on fears a trade war will hobble the world’s largest economy and boost inflation. David J. Lynch, Jeff Stein and Evan Halper in the Washington Post$ -- 3/5/25

The Two-Headed Monster Stalking the Economy Has a Name: Stagflation -- Stagflation has entered the chat. President Trump’s decision to dramatically raise tariffs on imports threatens the U.S. with an uncomfortable combination of weaker or even stagnant growth and higher prices—sometimes called “stagflation.” Nick Timiraos in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/5/25

Trump administration makes hundreds of federal properties available for sale -- The targeted properties, including several prominent buildings across the country, are part of the administration’s effort to dramatically reduce the size of the federal government. Aaron Wiener, Joe Heim and Rachel Weiner in the Washington Post$ Madeleine Ngo, Christina Jewett and Rebecca Davis O’Brien in the New York Times$ -- 3/5/25

Trump’s Trade War Could Be His Biggest Economic Gamble -- President Trump has offered a mix of reasons for upending global trade relations, baffling and angering America’s biggest trading partners. Alan Rappeport and Ana Swanson in the New York Times$ -- 3/5/25

As Measles Spreads, Kennedy Embraces Remedies Like Cod Liver Oil -- As a measles outbreak expands in West Texas, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health and human services secretary, on Tuesday cheered several unconventional treatments, including cod liver oil, but again did not urge Americans to get vaccinated. Teddy Rosenbluth in the New York Times$ -- 3/5/25

 

California Policy and Politics Tuesday

Trump administration dramatically cuts staff at water agency in California -- The Trump administration has ordered firings and buyouts at the federal agency that operates water infrastructure in California, potentially jeopardizing the agency’s ability to manage dams and deliver water, according to Central Valley water officials. Ian James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/25

Supreme Court strikes down EPA rules on discharge of water pollution -- The ruling came in an unusual case that featured sewage and one of the nation’s greenest cities, San Francisco, battling the Environmental Protection Agency. Justin Jouvenal in the Washington Post$ Sara Libby, Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/4/25

Return to office: Newsom orders California state workers back four days a week -- The order is likely to inflame tensions between the governor and labor unions representing public employees, which have fought back against previous efforts to limit telework for the state workforce. About 95,000 employees continue to work remotely or in a hybrid capacity, according to the governor’s office. Alexei Koseff CalMatters Sophia Bollag, Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ William Melhado in the Sacramento Bee$ Jeremy B. White Politico -- 3/4/25

Republicans removed from California legislative committees. Did social media play a role? -- Freshman Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, R-San Diego, said he was taken off the Assembly budget committee as “retaliation” for his comments challenging “wasteful spending and money laundering,” in the current budget. For weeks, DeMaio has shared videos on X of himself challenging witnesses during committee hearings. Some videos have accrued hundreds of thousands of views. Nicole Nixon and Kate Wolffe in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/4/25

California Reps. Adam Gray, David Valadao are crucial to who will control House -- Gray and Valadao are among a handful of congressional incumbents with potentially close races next year, according to independent analysts who watch Congress closely. Democrats need a net gain of three seats to win control. David Lightman in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/4/25

Tony Strickland declares victory in 36th State Senate District special election -- Strickland will resign from his current Huntington Beach City Council position on March 10. Michael Slaten and Hanna Kang in the Orange County Register -- 3/4/25

S.F.’s parking garages are as empty as they’ve ever been. Here’s why it’s bad for the city -- Downtown has bottomed out, and so have its parking facilities. As a result, the amount of revenue the garage nets for the city — and specifically for public transit — has dropped. Rachel Swan, Emma Stiefel in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/4/25

Arellano: How California helped Trump make English the official national language -- It was the spring of 1985, and Californians were waging civic war on behalf of English. Some Monterey Park residents were pushing their City Council to ban Chinese-language business signs. Voters who had passed Proposition 38 a year earlier were waiting for Gov. George Deukmejian to implement the initiative, which required that he ask the federal government to print election material only in English. Gustavo Arellano in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/25

Tariffs

Costs could ‘fall on our customers’: San Diego businesses brace for tariffs, uncertainty -- San Diego companies that use materials and goods from other nations say in many cases costs would be passed to consumers. Phillip Molnar in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 3/4/25

Town Halls

DOGE firings provoke heated confrontations, shouts of ‘Nazi,’ at Republican town halls -- By the time U.S. Rep. Jay Obernolte, a Big Bear Lake Republican, tried asking for unity at his “community coffee” event, his audience had screamed, cussed and called him a Nazi. Hailey Branson-Potts and Rebecca Plevin in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/25

Workplace

California lawmaker seeks to expand protections for temporary migrant workers -- California lawmakers will consider a bill intended to expand protections for migrant workers who come to California through temporary work visa programs for jobs in agriculture, nursing, domestic care and other industries. Suhauna Hussain in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/25

Spotted owls are disappearing fast, and federal cuts could mean no one’s left to count them -- Federal job cuts have upended spotted owl surveys in Northern and Southern California. It’s unclear whether wildfire mitigation strategies such as forest thinning can happen if the surveys are not completed. Lila Seidman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/25

Wildfire

Bass aides were warned of growing fire danger before she flew to Ghana -- The day before Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass left for Ghana, her aides received an email from the city’s Emergency Management Department warning of a “high confidence in damaging winds and elevated fire conditions occurring next week.” Dakota Smith and David Zahniser in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/25

California’s effort to streamline wildfire prevention could have long-term consequences -- Wildfire experts and environmentalists expressed concern that Gov. Gavin Newsom’s move to suspend environmental regulations in order to fast-track wildfire prevention projects in California could ultimately weaken some of the state’s landmark environmental laws. Tara Duggan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/4/25

Lost in a sea of ash: When wildfire destroys a home — and a loved one’s urn — the search begins -- Specially trained dogs help find the ashes of people who had been cremated. A pair of archaeologists have worked 19 burn sites in recent years and recovered cremains from more than 300 destroyed homes. David Wharton, Myung J. Chun, Albert Brave Tiger Lee in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/25

The L.A. fire recovery effort: Colliding egos, ambitions and financing -- Promises to unify and work together to rebuild a wide swath of the region have given way to a far messier reality. Maeve Reston and Reis Thebault in the Washington Post$ -- 3/4/25

Housing

Home-Selling Season Starts After L.A. Wildfires—and There Is Demand -- More than 80 new listings of scorched plots in Pacific Palisades and Altadena have hit the market since the middle of February. Land parcels where homes once stood are commanding selling prices above early expectations. Rebecca Picciotto in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/4/25

‘Too damn hard to build’: A key California Democrat’s push for speedier construction -- Oakland Democrat Buffy Wicks said lawmakers will soon see 20 bills to speed up housing construction, along with more on energy, water and transit. Ben Christopher CalMatters -- 3/4/25

Homeless

Nonprofit founded by Daniel Lurie is giving $11 million to prevent family homelessness in S.F. -- As a mayoral candidate, Daniel Lurie said he wanted to tap private dollars to fund San Francisco’s efforts to fight homelessness. Now, as mayor, he’s declaring his first official public-private partnership to that effect — with the charity he founded. J.D. Morris in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/4/25

Education

New test score labels seek positivity, ditching the term ‘standard not met’ for ‘below basic’ -- Officials to decide Wednesday how to describe student performance on state tests. New plan moves away from using ‘inconsistent’ for lowest-scoring students. Howard Blume in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/25

AI chatbots can cushion the high school counselor shortage — but are they bad for students? -- The more students turn to chatbots, the fewer chances they have to develop real-life relationships that can lead to jobs and later success. Tara García Mathewson CalMatters -- 3/4/25

Street

30 L.A. County probation officers indicted over ‘gladiator fights’ at juvenile halls -- Thirty officers from the Los Angeles County Probation Department have been indicted on criminal charges after an investigation into allegations they allowed — and in some cases encouraged — fights between teens inside the county’s juvenile halls. James Queally and Rebecca Ellis in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/25

S.F. DA files felony charges against man in $16K theft at Walgreens -- A Pittsburg man who prosecutors say stole over $16,000 in merchandise during retail theft incidents at a San Francisco Walgreens store was charged with multiple felonies, including two counts of grand theft, officials said Monday. Jordan Parker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/4/25

California deputy seized fentanyl during an arrest, then OD’d while on duty, report says -- Morales later told sheriff’s officials that he had ingested the drug “with the intent to commit suicide” because he had been suffering from depression. The investigation would reveal, however, that this was not the first time Morales had used drugs he’d seized. Karen Garcia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/25

Also

After exam fiasco, California State Bar staff recommend reverting to in-person exams -- After California’s bar exams were plagued last week with technical problems, the State Bar of California is recommending that the agency return to in-person tests as it scrutinizes whether the vendor behind the new testing system met the obligations of its contract. Jenny Jarvie in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/25

Towing companies can sell your car — and the DMV gets to keep the profit without telling you -- Since 2016, the DMV has collected more than $8 million from nearly 5,300 car sales, according to a CalMatters analysis. Byrhonda Lyons CalMatters -- 3/4/25

Walters: Reflecting on 50 years of writing about California’s politics — and still counting -- This week is a personal milestone, marking a half-century of writing about California’s ever-changing political ambiance. My move into the Sacramento Union’s Capitol bureau on March 3, 1975, was part of its effort to become more competitive with The Sacramento Bee. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 3/4/25

POTUS 47

Trump halts military aid to Ukraine -- President Donald Trump on Monday evening hit pause on all U.S. military aid to Ukraine, a show of force following last week’s dressing down of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office aimed at pressuring him back to the negotiating table. Eli Stokols Politico Nancy A. Youssef, Alexander Ward and Jared Malsin in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/4/25

Trump's Tariffs on Canada and Mexico Take Effect, With Added Duties on China --President Trump’s 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada took effect Tuesday at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time. U.S. stocks fell Monday after Trump confirmed that the tariffs would go ahead. In response, Canada said it intends to immediately impose 25% tariffs on nearly $100 billion of imported U.S. goods in two waves. The item is in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/4/25

Stocks Drop as Investors Weigh Prospects of Global Trade War -- The S&P 500 added to recent losses in early trading. German automakers, many of which have plants in Mexico that make vehicles that are sold in the United States, were especially hard hit. Joe Rennison, Eshe Nelson and Melissa Eddy in the New York Times$ Katy Barnato and Karen Langley in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/4/25

From Groceries to Cars, Tariffs Could Raise Prices for U.S. Consumers -- President Trump’s tariffs target countries that are major suppliers of a wide range of goods to the United States. For American families, the likely result is higher prices nearly everywhere they turn — in grocery aisles, at car dealerships, at electronics stores and at the pump. Danielle Kaye in the New York Times$ -- 3/4/25

From beer to barley: How Trump’s Mexico tariffs could affect your wallet -- Mexico makes all kinds of things the average American uses. It manufactures 88 percent of the pickup trucks sold in America; a 25 percent tariff could add about $3,000 to the price tag of that new Ford or GM truck, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said recently. Mexico supplies around half of America’s imported fruit and two-thirds of imported vegetables, in dollar terms — tomatoes, berries, bell peppers, cucumbers. Mary Beth Sheridan and Valentina Muñoz Castillo in the Washington Post$ -- 3/4/25

Trump Tariffs Usher in New Era of Protectionism -- The U.S. economy entered a new era at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, as President Trump’s tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada took effect. The new tariffs on imported goods ended decades of free trade among the three countries, and stood to disrupt entire industries. Konrad Putzier and Justin Lahart in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/4/25

Dems’ DOGE problem may be bigger than they thought -- Publicly, Democrats are practically salivating at the made-for-midterms message that President Donald Trump and Elon Musk seemed to give them with the chaos of the federal cuts backed by the Department of Government Efficiency. Privately, however, they’re sounding a note of caution that attacking DOGE may not be a slam dunk. Adam Wren and Elena Schneider Politico -- 3/4/25

Trump Threatens to Pull Funding From Universities Over Protests -- President Trump threatened to take away federal funds from universities that allow what he called “illegal protests,” a move legal experts say would violate the First Amendment. Alyssa Lukpat and Ken Thomas in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/4/25

Trump vs. the media: Press access, wild accusations and big-money lawsuits -- An emboldened president and his allies have launched a vigorous campaign to use levers of government to intimidate an increasingly fragmented and polarized media, experts say. Meg James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/25

Asylum requests surge in Mexico amid U.S. border crackdown -- Over the last decade, the annual number of asylum applications in Mexico has grown a hundredfold. There are growing fears that Mexico’s asylum system is unprepared to deal with the increase. Kate Linthicum in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/4/25