Politics

This American city has a long history of racism. Now, all top mayoral candidates are women of color The voters of Boston, a city with a notorious history of racism, face a once-unimaginable political tableau in the mayor’s race this year. For the first time, the four top candidates are all women of color. Boston … Read more

The Supreme Court building in Washington. (Susan Walsh / Associated Press) The federal courts will not refer allegations that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas may have violated ethics laws to the Justice Department, the judiciary’s policymaking body said this week. Thomas has agreed to follow updated requirements on reporting trips and gifts, including clearer guidelines … Read more

House Speaker Mike Johnson seeks to retain his position as the new Congress is sworn in Friday. (Jose Luis Magana / Associated Press) The new Congress convenes Friday with one major task at hand — the election of the House speaker. But current Speaker Mike Johnson’s weak grip on the gavel threatens not only his … Read more

You folks in the 43rd Congressional District won’t have to wash your hands after going to your mailbox; this election’s over. The Ick Factor that made voters squirm was perhaps nowhere ickier than in this Riverside County race, where GOP freshman Rep. Ken Calvert was in a rematch with Democrat Mark Takano, who lost to … Read more

Former President Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at Trump Tower in New York in September. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson / Associated Press) U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is “strong and unpredictable,” which can be a decisive factor in his policy approach to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. However, Zelensky said it … Read more

Stuart K. Spencer spent decades as one of the most successful and admired consultants in the campaign business. He recently celebrated his 90th birthday with fellow GOP elders. (Steve Lopez / Los Angeles Times) It was a cool and rainy day when elders of the Republican tribe recently gathered to honor one of their own. … Read more

GOV. ARNOLD Schwarzenegger presents members of the Republican conservatocracy with a dilemma: They love his popularity. But they hate how he got it. So what’s a right-wing pundit to do? Rush Limbaugh, for one, says he still likes the guy but that, as a conservative, Schwarzenegger is a sellout (this after the governor told NBC’s … Read more

Michael Schroeder, the chairman-to-be of the California Republican Party, is known for crushing his enemies. One of those was Doris Allen, the former Cypress assemblywoman whose consignment to political oblivion Schroeder engineered when she broke ranks with the GOP leadership. Then there was Paul Horcher, whose political career Schroeder helped scuttle when the Diamond Bar … Read more

The 83-year-old senator, asked about the state of race relations in America, offered his opinion: “They are much, much better than they’ve ever been in my lifetime,” he said, despite the presence of a few “white niggers.” The venue was the television show “Fox News Sunday.” The date was March 2001. And the speaker was … Read more

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order that attempts to limit access to unhealthy foods (ASSOCIATED PRESS) Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order on Friday attempting to limit access to ultra-processed foods, a directive he cast as a continuation of California’s “nation leading” nutrition and health standards. “The food we eat shouldn’t make … Read more