Politics

Search crews work in Paradise, Calif., after the Camp fire in November. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) A month after tweeting that he might order FEMA to cut federal disaster funding to California fire victims, President Trump declined to renew that threat and indicated that talks with state officials were going well. Speaking to … Read more

Shown are the justices of the Supreme Court. Standing, from left, are Brett M. Kavanaugh, Elena Kagan, Neil M. Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett. Seated, from left, are Samuel A. Alito Jr., Clarence Thomas, John G. Roberts Jr., Stephen G. Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor. (Fred Schiller / U.S. Supreme Court) Four of the five Supreme … Read more

A nonpartisan federal watchdog says climate change is already costing U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars each year, with those costs expected to rise as devastating storms, floods, wildfires and droughts become more frequent in the coming decades. A Government Accountability Office report released Monday said the federal government has spent more than $350 billion over … Read more

California’s ballot is often crowded with measures known as citizen initiatives. But many of the citizens whose causes will come before voters Tuesday are not everyday Californians. International financier George Soros wants to change drug laws. Computer technology titan Henry T. Nicholas III — who has been indicted on federal fraud and drug charges — … Read more

I grind no party ax. Four years ago I was writing about a Democratic candidate’s coziness with organized-crime figures. I am glad that I and other reporters brought out Geraldine Ferraro’s unsavory history before that election. This year I simply find Michael Dukakis unappealing. But the way George Bush has been let off the hook … Read more

President Obama officially launched his re-election campaign with public rallies in Columbus, Ohio, and Richmond, Virginia, on Saturday.With that launch came a re-tooled stump speech which both defended his record in office and laid out the contrast with Republican nominee Mitt Romney. The speeches in both cities were largely the same. Here’s a full transcript … Read more

President Trump at a meeting with business leaders at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., on Tuesday. (Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press) The White House is seriously considering a new policy that would penalize legal immigrants seeking permanent status for accepting healthcare services paid for by the government. The rule, which is expected to … Read more

The Democratic Leadership Council, a group of self-styled centrists, opened its first national convention here Monday, with members vowing to steer their party toward the political mainstream, which they claim to be the surest course back to the White House in 1992. Inspired by the music of a kilted bagpipe band, banners, state placards and … Read more

On the same day that demonstrators filled the streets at Hollywood Boulevard and Western Avenue, as well as other places around the U.S., Gov. Brown signed bills to protect those in the country illegally. (Bret Hartman / For The Times) Over the past few months, immigrant advocates have rallied at sheriff’s departments, marched to the … Read more

This image contained in a court filing by the Department of Justice on Aug. 30 and redacted in part by the FBI, shows a photo of documents seized during the Aug. 8 search by the FBI of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. ( Department of Justice via Associated Press) At least 300 … Read more