Politics

Adam Gray, shown in 2023 at UC Merced, was elected to a House seat in the Central Valley by 187 votes. (Paul Kuroda / For The Times) Hi, and happy Thursday. There are 46 days until President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, but hey, who’s counting? Well, we are. And, it seems, Gov. Gavin Newsom is too. … Read more

Contributions to the Treasury Department’s MyRA program can be made through direct deposit from a paycheck or a banking account. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said the department is emphasizing the program in hopes that people will use some of their tax returns to begin saving for retirement. (J. David Ake / Associated Press) A recent … Read more

An investigative panel of the House Armed Services Committee has begun a probe into administrative problems at the Pentagon’s main business office in Southern California, which has been late in paying its bills to thousands of defense contractors. A House staff member investigating the agency, known as the Defense Contract Administration Service, said the subcommittee … Read more

The state Legislature’s actions in the past week should mark a watershed in California’s power crisis–a point at which the state is beginning to gain control over the situation. But much of the most complex and difficult work remains to be done, and it will not get any easier for politicians who are hard pressed … Read more

In some ways, Barack Obama’s speech on race last week was as brilliant as it was nuanced. But for all its rhetorical beauty, it was also an enormous step backward and, in the end, a rather self-serving call for more discussion about racial grievance in a country that has already done way too much talking. … Read more

Oregon Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Ore.), Trump’s nominee for Labor secretary, tours a union factory in October during her unsuccessful reelection campaign (Mark Z. Barabak/Los Angeles Times) Dear readers: Hang on to your hats. I’m about to praise Donald Trump for one of his Cabinet nominees. She’s Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Ore.), who will be the nominee … Read more

People attend a rally as part of a Transgender Day of Visibility on March 31, 2023, by the Capitol in Washington. (Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press) The Supreme Court’s conservatives said Wednesday they are inclined to uphold state laws in half the nation that prohibit the use of hormone treatments for transgender teens. Led by … Read more

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, meets with Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, at the Capitol in Washington on Monday. (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press) Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s Pentagon pick, was fighting to hold on to his Cabinet nomination amid growing questions Wednesday about … Read more

A conservative activist told the Senate Armed Services Committee today that he encountered Defense Secretary-designate John Tower in an inebriated condition on several occasions accompanied by women other than his wife. The witness, Paul Weyrich, chairman of the Free Congress Foundation, has opposed Tower’s nomination on grounds he is soft on “Star Wars,” a space-based … Read more

L.A. Unified board members Scott Schmerelson, left, Karla Griego, center, and Sherlett Hendy Newbill. (L.A. Times; Handout) Newly elected Los Angeles school board members say they are united in a mission to protect the district’s most vulnerable — students and staff who are immigrants or LGBTQ+ — following wins that are generally a plus for … Read more