Politics

Back in 1988, when Scott Reed was field director for Jack Kemp’s unsuccessful White House run, many of the twentysomething go-getters struggling to gain a toehold in politics came away from that bewilderingly disorganized campaign with one certain belief–their candidate might be going nowhere, but Reed would one day be the man in charge of … Read more

Demonstrators at the COP29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, display items recovered from extreme weather events. (Sergei Grits / Associated Press) With so much chaos in the world, from the United States’ slide toward authoritarianism to the wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Ukraine, you could be forgiven for not being focused on what’s going on … Read more

The TikTok logo on a cellphone. (Michael Dwyer / Associated Press) The fate of TikTok in the U.S. has been up in the air since 2020, when President Donald Trump moved to ban the popular video app because of national security concerns. That set off four years of back-and-forth between the app’s Chinese owners and … Read more

Chispa members Hairo Cortes, left, Bulmaro Vicente, Hector Bustos and Jennifer Rojas in downtown Santa Ana. (Michael Blackshire/Los Angeles Times) The $254,000 that Chispa spent in this year’s most expensive U.S. House race barely registers as a drop in the proverbial bucket. The money, which the Santa Ana-based nonprofit used to campaign for Democrat Derek … Read more

Dogs available for adoption look out of their kennels at the Chesterfield Square/South Los Angeles animal shelter in August. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times) Jake, a tawny 2-year-old mutt in L.A.’s West Valley shelter, wasn’t doing well. After six months at the shelter, he was running back and forth and jumping in his kennel. … Read more

Even in a state known for crafting first-in-the-nation progressive laws and leading on reproductive rights, men have long outnumbered women in the California Legislature. The Capitol’s male-dominated culture was evident when hundreds of women spoke out about sexual harassment during the #MeToo movement. Then came the shocking image of a masked lawmaker carrying her newborn … Read more

Co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski in a behind-the-scenes photo from the show “Morning Joe” on MSNBC. (MIller Hawkins) Last week in Columbus, Ohio, a dozen or so people marched through the city waving Nazi flags and yelling racial epithets. Disturbing, to be sure, and a grim sign of the times. But almost as troubling … Read more

Donald Trump lied with remarkable audacity and velocity as he sought restoration to the White House. The fact that he won raises questions about whether truth matters anymore in seeking elected office. (Alex Brandon / Associated Press) Donald Trump said violent crime was exploding across the U.S. It wasn’t. He said Haitian immigrants in Springfield, … Read more

A 70–foot flagpole flying a 25-foot-by-15-foot flag at Trump National Golf Course sparked a spat with the Coastal Commission in 2008. (Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times) Donald Trump, a Republican presidential candidate and the front-runner for the nomination, has real estate interests in Southern California. This story originally appeared in The Times on … Read more

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announces his economic development plans at a Fresno City College campus on Thursday, part of his effort to inject optimism into red counties. Gov. Gavin Newsom headed to the Central Valley on Thursday to tout his forthcoming jobs plan, saying California’s economic might was “cold comfort” to regions that feel like … Read more