Politics

Pharrell Williams considers himself “more of a humanitarian” than an “activist.” (Rebecca Blackwell / Associated Press) This week, Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, marked National Voter Registration Day in the U.S. with a public service announcement declaring that “every voice matters” in the upcoming presidential election. Pharrell Williams might be happier … Read more

President Trump at the White House on Wednesday. (Alex Wong / Getty Images) When President Trump threatened to take action against Google last week unless it altered its search engine to show more positive news about him from conservative sites, even his aides were flummoxed. Was Trump proposingto regulate the internet, threatening to launch an … Read more

Rita M. Lavelle, former head of the Environmental Protection Agency’s toxic waste Superfund, surrendered Friday at a federal prison to serve a six-month sentence for lying to Congress. Lavelle, 37, arrived at 11:15 a.m. at the minimum-security Federal Correctional Institution in this small town about 40 miles southeast of San Francisco. “It is totally ludicrous … Read more

Alicia Baltazar, left, Erick R. Ojeda Garcia, and Cindy Guerrero clap during a ceremony for the Wilmington honorary mayor announcement on June 27, 2024, in Wilmington. (Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times) The political opponents looked at each other from their campaign tables outside the Wilmington Recreation Center. Alejandra Rodriguez’s display featured pamphlets about who … Read more

Scott Baugh, who is running for Congress in California’s 47th Congressional District, released an ad in which he talks publicly for the first time about his brother’s death from a fentanyl overdose. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times) The camera pans over framed photographs of five little boys with crew cuts, wide smiles and button-down shirts, … Read more

Nov. 8 — George Bush is elected President. Within days, FBI begins background check of his leading candidate for defense secretary, John Tower. The probe focuses on allegations of excessive drinking, womanizing and ties to the defense industry. Dec. 16–Bush ends weeks of speculation by announcing Tower’s nomination, saying the long investigation cleared Tower of … Read more

As concerns over human trafficking build nationwide, a California coalition is pushing what appears to be the most comprehensive state effort to combat forced labor. Proposed legislation that goes to the Assembly Appropriations Committee today would make human trafficking a felony offense in California and enable victims to sue their captors in state court years … Read more

Former President Trump gestures as he is introduced for a town hall event at the Dort Financial Center in Flint, Mich., on Tuesday. (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) Former President Trump on Tuesday made his first public appearance since Sunday’s second apparent assassination attempt against him, with an overflow crowd chanting, “God bless Trump!” and … Read more

Voters leave a precinct in Sun City West, Ariz., after casting their ballots in the state’s primary election in July. (Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press) The ability of nearly 100,000 Arizonans to vote in state and local elections is headed to court after election officials said they discovered an error in their system last … Read more

A congressman and a state assemblyman who have long been political allies have lashed out at each other in a dispute over how much of a Monterey Park dump site belongs on the federal Superfund list. Rep. Matthew G. Martinez (D-Monterey Park) has accused Assemblyman Charles M. Calderon (D-Alhambra) of spreading misinformation and acting irresponsibly … Read more