California Policy and Politics Monday

Years of Trump Support Came Undone in 15 Minutes in an Airport -- Brent Jindra, a tech salesman, voted for President Trump three times, drawn by his aggressive immigration agenda. He never imagined the crackdown would ensnare his own wife. Last month, moments after the couple got off their flight in Burbank, Calif., a young man in a brown hooded sweatshirt stopped Galina Bobreneva. Miriam Jordan in the New York Times$ -- 8/17/26

Meta, fighting accusations of hurting kids, is dealt major blow over key witness -- California can keep a star witness and introduce key evidence during opening statements in its case against Meta, a federal judge has ruled, dealing a blow to the tech titan on the eve of the landmark trial. Sonja Sharp in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/17/26

Nick Reiner renews demand for trust fund ahead of murder trial in parents’ deaths -- As he awaits trial in connection with the brutal slaying of his parents, Nick Reiner is waging war in probate court to wrest control of more than half a million dollars from the trust fund they left him. Sonja Sharp in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/17/26

Inside the bitter war over cows and wilderness at Point Reyes -- Point Reyes National Seashore, a cherished Northern California park, is again a political battleground as the Trump administration’s pro-cattle agenda collides with decades of efforts to restore its native ecosystems. Susanne Rust in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/17/26

Street

Sheriff posts photos of 27 suspected of ransacking AutoZone during East L.A. street takeovers -- Investigators are asking the public for help identifying more than two dozen people suspected of burglarizing an AutoZone in East Los Angeles during two consecutive nights of street takeovers. David Zahniser in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/17/26

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How a False Nuclear Claim About Iran Ricocheted From India to Washington -- A dubious post that spread on X became the basis of false claims that Iran’s leadership had declared it a nuclear power. Steven Lee Myers, Ronen Bergman and Farnaz Fassihi in the New York Times$ -- 8/17/26

Trump says White House needs ‘military complex’ as courts block his ballroom -- When Trump first unveiled his plans for the new East Wing addition, he said it was needed to host VIP guests. More recently, he is calling it a “desperately needed National Security structure.” Dan Diamond in the Washington Post$ -- 8/17/26

Blanche Refuses to Say He’ll Always Be Independent of Trump as Attorney General -- The new head of the Justice Department said on “Meet the Press” on Sunday that the president had never asked him to prosecute specific people — and never would. Glenn Thrush in the New York Times$ -- 8/17/26

 

California Policy and Politics Sunday

California planned a nuclear exit. Now it’s reconsidering -- Supporters say soaring demand for electricity for AI data centers and EVs is colliding with California’s push for 100% clean power, leaving a stubborn gap in round-the-clock, low-carbon supply that should be met by nuclear. Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/16/26

The Massive Moviemaking Exodus from Hollywood -- From Illinois to the Canary Islands and Cape Town, governments have turned film production into an auction with no clear winner — even in the industry's epicenter. Daniel Miller Politico -- 8/16/26

This Pesticide May Be Too Dangerous to Use. Farmers Say They Need It -- California announced that it’s phasing out paraquat, a pesticide widely used in the United States that is linked to Parkinson’s disease. Ted Alcorn in the New York Times$ -- 8/16/26

 

Palisades Village shopping center reopens, marking milestone for fire-weary community -- The January 2025 wildfires that swept through Pacific Palisades wreaked devastation practically beyond belief, destroying more than 5,600 homes and businesses. On Saturday, the Westside community marked a long overdue milestone for fire-weary residents: the reopening of the Palisades Village shopping center. Laurence Darmiento in the Los Angeles Times$ Teresa Liu in the LA Daily News -- 8/16/26

Federal Job Cuts Are Making Wildfires Harder to Fight -- The Trump administration pushed out thousands of veteran U.S. Forest Service staff. An ‘extraordinary’ fire season is testing those who are left. Scott Dance in the New York Times$ -- 8/16/26

 

Democrats’ 2028 presidential calendar gives Black and Latino voters and union members an early say -- The primary lineup pushes Iowa from the traditional top spot and makes South Carolina the leadoff state, voting on Jan. 22, 2028, followed by Nevada on Feb. 1. New Hampshire, New Mexico, Michigan and Virginia round out the early states, throughout February, according to the plan endorsed by the Democratic National Committee at its meeting in Texas. Mike Catalini, Bill Barrow Associated Press Lisa Kashinsky Politico Shane Goldmacher in the New York Times$ -- 8/16/26

California launches environmental youth council after EPA program lapses under Trump -- After the EPA’s national youth advisory program quietly lapsed, California is creating its own council to give teens a direct voice in state climate policy. CalEPA’s Environmental Youth Advisory Council is now accepting applications from Californians ages 14 to 20. Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/16/26

UCSF cannabis study finds unexpected heart rhythm results -- Regular marijuana users had fewer early heartbeats — a pattern associated with a higher risk of developing certain abnormal heart rhythms — on days they used cannabis compared to days they didn’t, according to a two-week study at UCSF that appears to challenge some previous thinking about the relationship between pot and heart health. Erin Allday in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/16/26

Senate bill, other measures, look to solve problematic Bay Area e-bike use -- Electric bicycles have been lauded as climate-friendly alternatives to gas-powered cars, but as more and more e-bikes appear in public spaces, local and state officials are grappling with how to regulate devices that reach far greater speeds than those powered only by humans. Sierra Lopez in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/16/26

ICE

Armed men claiming to be ICE agents tried to enter Sacramento immigration law firm -- Multiple U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement agents armed with guns attempted to inspect a Sacramento immigration law firm — and threatened to return later and break windows — on Friday morning, according to several employees of the building. Mathew Miranda in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/16/26

Housing

Program on California ballot could cut home down payments to 3%. What’s the catch? -- Proposition 37, embedded deep in the laundry list of potential policies that Californians will vote on later this year, would allow the state to loan middle-income residents up to 17% of the purchase price of a newly constructed home. Combined with a traditional mortgage, the loan could allow homebuyers to put down as little as 3% on their new home. Christian Leonard in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/16/26

San Jose considers quadrupling housing density in single-family neighborhoods -- Facing intense pressure to meet state housing goals, San Jose is considering a major overhaul of its land use laws that would allow more apartments, townhouses or duplexes in single-family neighborhoods, streamline development along transit routes, and permit housing on school and church lands. Ryan Macasero in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/16/26

AI

Safety testing was an obscure part of building AI. Then models went rogue -- A string of incidents in which hacking evaluations of powerful artificial intelligence systems spilled out onto the open internet is prompting security experts and some lawmakers to question whether those tests are creating more trouble than they’re preventing. John Sakellariadis Politico -- 8/15/26

AI Just Had Another Math Breakthrough—With Help From a High-School Dropout -- On a recent Sunday night, an employee at Anthropic was out for a jog in San Francisco, opened the Claude app on his phone and instructed the outrageously powerful AI model in his pocket to solve the most notorious problem in all of math. Ben Cohen in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 8/16/26

Also

What’s at stake for Dodgers’ owner Mark Walter as authorities probe his businesses -- Mark Walter, Dodgers majority and Lakers controlling owner, sold the basketball franchise for $12.5 billion amid a federal probe into his insurance businesses. Two Delaware life insurers controlled by Walter have restated $21 billion in loans as related-party transactions that are the focus of parallel criminal and SEC investigations. Laurence Darmiento in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/16/26

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Blanche refuses to say he’ll always be independent of Trump as attorney general -- Todd Blanche, the newly confirmed attorney general, refused to say on Sunday that he would always act independently of White House control but claimed during an interview that President Trump has “never” demanded he prosecute specific people. Glenn Thrush in the New York Times$ -- 8/16/26

The buck stops somewhere else: A look at Trump’s tendency to avoid blame when things go awry -- It is among the most famous phrases in presidential history: “ The buck stops here.” Except with President Donald Trump, it almost never does. Will Weissert Associated Press -- 8/16/26

Trump’s Ballroom Was His Dream of Beauty and Space. Now It’s a ‘Military Complex.’ -- As courts have questioned the president’s authority for the project, he has leaned in to arguments of national security. Will Hobson and Louise Radnofsky in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 8/16/26

Appeals court sides with Trump in fight over subpoena of gender-affirming care provider -- President Donald Trump’s goal of ending gender-affirming care is not improper and cannot be the basis for quashing a subpoena issued by the Justice Department against a provider of medical treatment for transgender youth, a divided federal appeals court ruled Friday. Sudhin Thanawala Associated Press -- 8/16/26

Trump shows off article on lower drug prices that says Biden deserves credit, not him -- The White House flooded social media on Saturday with an image of Donald Trump showing off the recent Washington Post headline “Prescription drug prices record sharpest drop in more than 60 years”, but failed to mention that experts cited in the article actually attributed the price drop to Joe Biden, not Trump. Robert Mackey in The Guardian -- 8/16/26