Politics

“The place is failing,” former President Trump said of California at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland last month. (Alex Brandon / Associated Press) Donald Trump is running against California — again. In his campaign to win a second term, the former president frequently excoriates the state as a terrifying dystopia — the inevitable … Read more

Anika Chillis spends time with her children, Makhi, 2, and Myla, 9, at a playground in Memphis, Tenn. (George Walker IV / Associated Press) Taylor Cagnacci moved from California to Tennessee with hopes of starting a new chapter in a state that touts a low cost of living and natural beauty. But she’s infuriated by … Read more

Devin Nunes (R-Tulare) gives reporters an update about the ongoing Russia investigation. (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press) At home, Devin Nunes remains what he has always been, an auspiciously successful man who rose swiftly to unexpected heights, a man high school teachers point to when they tell kids in this often-overlooked place what is … Read more

Choosing a Republican ally whose politics mirror his own, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday nominated former state Sen. Bruce McPherson as California’s chief elections officer. If his selection as secretary of state is not blocked in the Legislature, McPherson — who edited his family’s Santa Cruz newspaper for years before entering politics — will replace … Read more

Hours after riots erupted in Los Angeles last May, Gov. Bill Clinton debated whether to visit an inner-city neighborhood and speak about racial tensions. The inspiration was political but also historical: During the 1968 presidential campaign, Robert F. Kennedy had given a dramatic speech in Indianapolis after Martin Luther King Jr. was slain, trying to … Read more

DACA supporters rally outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Phoenix. (Associated Press) Tawheeda Wahabzada was tired of hoping she would ever have a permanent place in the country that had been home for nearly her entire life. So in February 2020, after hosting a “self-deportation party” where she said goodbye to her … Read more

Bruce Costello, 62, spends a quiet moment surrounded by the rubble of his home, destroyed in the wildfires, on Carriage Lane in Wikiup, Calif., on Oct. 15. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) Napa County assessor John Tuteur has listened to people in disaster relief centers share stories of how they lost their homes and … Read more

Fulton County Dist. Atty. Fani Willis speaks during a news conference in 2023 in Atlanta. (John Bazemore / Associated Press) A judge has ruled that the Georgia state Senate can subpoena Fulton County Dist. Atty. Fani Willis as part of a inquiry into whether she has engaged in misconduct during her prosecution of President-elect Donald … Read more

Former Rep. Katie Hill, in a 2021 portrait, filed for bankruptcy protection on June 30. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) Democrat Katie Hill, a former California congresswoman who owes hundreds of thousands of dollars to media parties she unsuccessfully sued over the publication of salacious pictures while she was in office, has filed for … Read more

In this courtroom sketch, Stormy Daniels testifies as Judge Juan Merchan looks on in Manhattan criminal court Tuesday. (Elizabeth Williams / Associated Press) Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at former President Trump’s hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006 that resulted … Read more