Politics

Fifteen years after taking office after her first campaign, a successful bid to be district attorney of San Francisco, Sen. Kamala Harris has officially set her sights on the top of America’s political pyramid. The junior senator from California is running for president. HARRIS: ‘BRING OUR VOICES TOGETHER’ The announcement — the confirmation of what’s … Read more

President Trump called Democrats “un-American” and perhaps “treasonous” for not clapping during the State of the Union address last week. The White House quickly responded that the president was joking, although Trump hasn’t said — or tweeted — as much. (Win McNamee / Pool via AP) President Trump’s call in the State of the Union … Read more

The Great American Smear is back. In 2000, the victim was Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, and the vector for transmission was telephone lines and leaflets left on windshields in church parking lots. This year, the victim is Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, and the vector is e-mail messages that appear to have … Read more

The late Jess Unruh once summarized state politics: “There are only two significant power positions–the governor and the Speaker of the Assembly.” The impact of the 1980 Speakership fight plus the 1982 gubernatorial election defined a decade of politics–and Californians will experience the consequences well into the 1990s. The 1980 Assembly races became a precedent–and … Read more

Former Republican Assemblyman Bill Hoge has agreed to pay a $1,700 fine and admitted he violated state law when he initiated a raise for a staffer who loaned him $10,000. The Fair Political Practices Commission today will decide whether to approve the proposed agreement recommended by its staff. Hoge, a two-term assemblyman defeated last November … Read more

Incumbents took early leads in northern Los Angeles County congressional races Tuesday night, despite predictions by analysts that an anti-incumbent mood was sweeping the country. Veteran Democrat Anthony C. Beilenson of Tarzana was leading his heavy-spending Republican opponent and Republicans Carlos J. Moorhead of Glendale and Elton Gallegly of Simi Valley appeared to have defeated … Read more

Congratulations, Harry and Louise. As Congress huffs and puffs toward a health-care finale, you two earnest fortysomethings should have plenty of champagne on ice. Thanks to you and your backers, Congress is unlikely to dramatically reform the insurance industry, even as insurers mount a sweeping takeover of health care in America. Talk about a turnaround. … Read more

Police in riot gear clear a hallway inside the Capitol during the insurrection on Jan. 6. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) Former security officials told Congress on Tuesday that faulty intelligence was to blame for failing to properly prepare for last month’s bloody insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, testifying in dramatic detail about their … Read more

Landini Brothers is an old-fashioned Italian joint that lacks the sleek aesthetic of the power lunch spots in Washington, and makes no apologies for it. The walls are stone, the ceilings are low and a sign behind the bar declares: “Unattended children will be given an espresso and a free puppy.” But it’s one of … Read more

President Reagan said Thursday that he has decided not to visit the site of a Nazi concentration camp during his trip to Europe next month because he wants to focus on peace rather than the past. He added that he believes West Germany’s present sense of collective guilt for the Holocaust of World War II, … Read more