California Policy and Politics Wednesday

Paramount wins European regulators’ blessing to buy Warner Bros. Discovery -- On Wednesday, the European Commission gave its consent, allowing tech scion David Ellison’s industry-reshaping merger to move forward in the countries that make up the European Union. Meg James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/22/26

 

Newsom’s populist act: Oppose state billionaire tax, embrace federal one -- With proposals to tax the rich, Gavin Newsom is playing to a 2028 national audience anxious about artificial intelligence. As governor, he’s walked a fine line on taxes for years. Jeanne Kuang Calmatters -- 7/22/26

Steve Hilton embraces his Trump endorsement. But in new ad, he asks voters to ignore it -- Republican Steve Hilton is trying to overcome one of his biggest challenges to becoming governor of California: his allegiance to President Donald Trump. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Ben Paviour in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/22/26

California Democrats blast FCC in KABC, KGO license reviews -- More than a dozen California Democrats are confronting the FCC over its rare early review of Disney’s ABC station licenses, calling the process ideologically tainted and aimed at punishing critical media coverage. Meg James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/22/26

 

Trump’s new immigration strategy revealed in purchase of 2 ICE detention centers in California -- The Trump administration is trying to lock down immigration detention capacity in California despite opposition from the state’s Democratic leaders. Wendy Fry and Nigel Duara Calmatters -- 7/22/26

HHS withholds $867 million in Medicaid payments to California as part of ‘crackdown on fraud’ -- The Trump administration is blocking $867 million in Medidaid funds to California and $199 million to Minnesota, citing suspected fraud in in-home care and immigrant eligibility. Gov. Gavin Newsom denounced the freeze as a political stunt. Ben Wieder and Dakota Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/22/26

Super pollutants — California sues Trump administration for ignoring climate-changing fridge chemicals -- California and 19 other attorneys generals are suing the Environmental Protection Agency for reversing action on high-polluting refrigerants. Blanca Begert in the Los Angeles Times$ Liz Essley Whyte in the Wall Street Journal$ Sarah Kliff in the New York Times$ -- 7/22/26

 

Wildfire survivors angered as utility-funded group claims to represent them -- A group claiming to represent California fire survivors began paying for social media ads this spring, calling on lawmakers to take action to reduce the rising cost of wildfires. The group was created by utilities that have ignited six of the state’s most destructive fires. Melody Petersen in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/22/26

S.F. approves city’s largest budget ever while closing $642 million deficit -- The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted on Tuesday to approve a $16.9 billion budget deal, closing a deficit of more than $640 million while avoiding many of the most painful cuts labor groups and nonprofits had feared. Alyce McFadden in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/22/26

‘The money is just obscene’: Inside Mayor Lurie's funding machine reshaping S.F. politics -- Well-heeled donors aligned with the mayor have been eager to support him financially, both at the ballot and at City Hall. J.D. Morris in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/22/26

Adam Schiff pushes federal judicial reform. ‘Americans deserve nothing less’ -- Schiff said years of reporting detailing undisclosed gifts, financial conflicts of interest and controversies involving Supreme Court justices have undermined public confidence in the federal judiciary and prompted the legislative package. Naomi Taxay in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/22/26

Foreclosure Tax

Oakland could tap its distressed downtown real estate for revenue with ‘foreclosure tax’ -- A rule of thumb for city finances: if the real estate market is doing well, so are city coffers. But now, as a number of Oakland apartment and office buildings face foreclosure, city leaders are looking to capture revenue from a downturn too. Kate Talerico in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/22/26

Marketplace

California wouldn’t be the right place to launch California Pizza Kitchen today, co-founder says -- One of the founders of California Pizza Kitchen says that if he were to open the once-hot gourmet chain today, he would choose Florida over California. Lily Wright in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/22/26

Workplace

Pixar and National Geographic hit in latest round of Disney layoffs -- Walt Disney Co. is laying off several hundred employees, including at Pixar Animation Studios and National Geographic, a company spokesperson said Tuesday. Samantha Masunaga in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/22/26

This coastal city promised farmworkers affordable housing. Now, opponents are lining up against it -- In the YIMBY vs. NIMBY world of state housing politics, all eyes will be on Half Moon Bay Tuesday night. J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/22/26

North America’s largest mushroom producer to cut 253 jobs in Bay Area -- The Watsonville-based company said it’s transitioning from a mushroom farm and packing facility at 642 Hale Ave. into solely a packing facility. The company was founded in 1971 and is North America’s largest mushroom producer, according to analyst reports. Roland Li in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/22/26

AI

OpenAI Models Escaped and Hacked a Company in Cybersecurity Test Gone Wrong -- Before they could penetrate Hugging Face’s defenses, the models needed a way onto the internet. They found one. It’s the stuff of cybersecurity nightmares. On Tuesday, OpenAI said two artificial intelligence systems it was testing broke out of their test environment, hacked their way onto the internet and broke into another company. Robert McMillan and Amrith Ramkumar in the Wall Street Journal$ Matt O’Brien Associated Press Gerrit De Vynck in the Washington Post$ -- 7/22/26

They built AI. Now Silicon Valley workers protest its threat to jobs and humanity -- In the heart of Silicon Valley, tech workers are turning against the AI boom they helped create, staging protests over job losses, runaway algorithms and fears that powerful systems could imperil humanity. Queenie Wong in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/22/26

Sony Music Entertainment files new lawsuit against AI startup Udio -- Sony Music has filed a new lawsuit accusing AI music startup Udio of infringing on more than 30,000 recordings allegedly scraped from YouTube to train its song‑generating technology. Wendy Lee in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/22/26

ChatGPT Led to a Man’s Near-Fatal Health Crisis, Lawsuit Claims -- The case appears to be the first to argue that a chatbot’s advice harmed someone seeking guidance about a medical condition. Teddy Rosenbluth in the New York Times$ -- 7/22/26

Water

‘A five-alarm fire’: Western reservoirs that supply California fall to record low levels -- The Colorado River’s largest reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, have declined to their lowest combined levels on record. Researchers say the new low underscores the urgent need to cut water use in the seven states that depend on the river. Ian James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/22/26

Homeless

Over 3 years, homeless nonprofit paid more than $1.7 million to companies owned by its chief executive -- Once a small nonprofit, A Step to Freedom rapidly expanded on taxpayer funding while paying more than $1.7 million to companies owned by its chief executive. Andrew Khouri and Alene Tchekmedyian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/22/26

Housing

S.F. cuts millions in funding to troubled housing nonprofit after Chronicle investigation -- The move away from HomeRise represents a critical challenge for the city and Mayor Daniel Lurie, who now must seek new providers to serve more than 400 of the city’s most vulnerable residents. Matthew Mitchell, Susie Neilson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/22/26

Education

If your degree doesn’t pay enough, you can’t borrow. Federal loans cut for low-wage programs -- A new Trump administration rule will cut off federal student loans for college programs whose graduates consistently earn low incomes. Cosmetology, arts and some mental health programs face the highest risk. Andrew Khouri and Francesca Pinney in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/22/26

Also

The dark side of making daylight saving time permanent in California: How late would our sunrises get? -- Were Congress to adopt permanent daylight saving time year-round, eliminating the need to change the clocks twice a year, Los Angeles would see its latest sunrise of the year at 8 a.m. Sacramento would see sunrise as late as 8:24 a.m., and San Francisco, 8:25 a.m. Crescent City, on the northwestern tip of California? A sunrise of 8:44 a.m. Rong-Gong Lin II in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/22/26

Iconic Beachfront Estates Are on Discount in Malibu’s Sluggish Post-Fire Recovery -- One of the most desirable, celebrity-packed coastal stretches of California has a glut of luxury homes on the market. Nicholas G. Miller and Paul Kiernan in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 7/22/26

POTUS 47

‘A politically impossible situation’: New poll shows Trump voters losing patience with Iran war -- The share of MAGA voters who think the war is worth the economic cost has fallen to roughly over a third, down from 50 percent in May, the Politico Poll found. Megan Messerly Politico -- 7/22/26

Trump Says U.S. Will Bomb Iran’s Power Plants, Bridges if Tehran Strikes Ships -- President Trump threatened to destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant for every attack Iran makes on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Lara Seligman in the Wall Street Journal$ Edward Wong, Yan Zhuang, Leo Sands and Alan Yuhas in the New York Times$ -- 7/22/26

Judge says Trump must hand over financial records to BBC -- A federal magistrate judge ruled Tuesday that President Donald Trump must turn over detailed financial information in connection with his defamation lawsuit against the BBC. Josh Gerstein Politico -- 7/22/26

Trump Approves Landmark Nuclear Deal With Saudi Arabia in Big Win for Kingdom -- The deal could mean large profits for American companies but also is likely to raise concerns about nuclear proliferation in Middle East. Michael R. Gordon and Stephen Kalin in the Wall Street Journal$ David E. Sanger, Edward Wong and William J. Broad in the New York Times$ -- 7/22/26