Politics

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris shake hands before Tuesday night’s debate. (Alex Brandon / Associated Press) Hello, and happy Thursday. There are 53 days until the election and like former President Trump, I have concepts of a plan for this newsletter. Let’s start with Elon Musk, who has reached new levels of creepy. Impressive, considering … Read more

It wasn’t my intention, but I played a role in shutting down John McCain’s Straight Talk Express. It happened on a warm July afternoon as McCain traveled from a West Virginia airport to a rally in Ohio. I had headed to the back of his bus with a small group of reporters, where as always … Read more

Inmates at the Mule Creek State Prison walk near their bunk beds in a gymnasium that was modified to house prisoners due to an increasing number of inmates in 2007. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images) After last year’s passage of Proposition 36 — a ballot measure that allows more theft and drug crimes to be … Read more

Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley, left, and Mayor Karen Bass address a news conference on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) It was just after noon on Friday, four days into the deadly conflagration in the Palisades, when Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley suddenly seemed to crack. “Three … Read more

Bradford Freeman is an old friend of President Bush and one of a handful described as a member of his inner circle. Freeman is also Bush’s California fundraising leader, and he loves to tell the story of how the president-elect called him with what Freeman hoped would be a prestigious appointment as an ambassador or … Read more

Starting in the late 1960s, one lurid killing after another spawned outrage and harsh sentencing laws in California. Above, from left, convicted killers Charles Manson, Angelo Buono Jr., Richard Ramirez and Lonnie Franklin Jr. (Associated Press) The Zodiac killer struck first. Then came the Manson family. Later, the Hillside Stranglers, the Night Stalker and the … Read more

Representative-elect Young Kim was one of four Republicans who won congressional races in California this year. (Washington Post) After narrowly losing a congressional seat to Democrat Gil Cisneros in 2018, Republican Young Kim focused her comeback effort on the burgeoning Asian American enclaves of Orange County. Kim, who was born in South Korea, worked with … Read more

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has spent much of the last month behind closed doors, putting the final touches on a presidential campaign-in-waiting. Her hectic schedule has been crammed with private lunches and phone conversations with elected officials and political operatives. She has sounded out Democratic Party officials from New York to Des Moines about her … Read more

Lou Dobbs had David from Freeport, N.Y., on the line, the caller musing darkly about President Obama “rushing all these programs through by whatever means,” knowing he will soon be exposed as a fake, a fraud, a . . . Kenyan. At that point, a scrupulous radio host had three options: (A) hit the kill … Read more

James T. Riady, a longtime Indonesian friend of President Clinton who heads the worldwide Lippo banking group, pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiracy related to illegal campaign contributions in the 1996 Democratic fund-raising scandal and during the previous eight years. Riady’s felony plea agreement, combined with LippoBank California’s plea to 86 misdemeanor charges, caps one of … Read more