Politics

Labor Secretary R. Alexander Acosta at a news conference this week in which he defended his role in the Jeffrey Epstein case. (Alex Brandon / Associated Press) Embattled Secretary of Labor R. Alexander Acosta announced his resignation Friday amid mounting criticism of a lenient plea deal he struck with a now-convicted sex offender while Acosta … Read more

Gov. Gavin Newsom, left, was the focus of an effort to oust him from office. Conservative radio host Larry Elder, right, was the GOP front-runner to replace him. (Kent Nishimura / Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) A recall campaign that at one point appeared poised to upend Democratic politics in sapphire-blue California … Read more

Janisse Quiñones, chief executive officer and chief engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, at the agency’s solar and battery storage plant in the Mojave Desert. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) The chief executive of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has asked the utility’s board to … Read more

Beachgoers walk near the Jalama Creek estuary at Jalama State Beach, where Southern California steelhead travel up the creek to breed. Sometimes referred to as the “elbow of California,” it exists as the demarcation between the state’s distinct southern and northern ecosystems, a place where the cold Pacific current meets the warmer waters sweeping up … Read more

Kristin Jenn, shown in her ranger uniform at Denali National Park in Alaska in October, was a seasonal worker for the National Park Service. (Kristin Jenn / Associated Press) Scrambling to replace their health insurance and find new work, some laid-off federal workers are running into another unexpected unpleasantry: relatives cheering their firing. The country’s … Read more

Outside the Texas Capitol in Austin, an activist holds up a sign about high egg prices during a protest Tuesday against the Trump administration’s policies. (Mikala Compton / American-Statesman / Associated Press) As their party struggles to navigate the early days of Donald Trump’s second presidency, some Democrats are convinced that their road to recovery … Read more

IT COULD have been different. If Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had signed a bill in 2005 legalizing same-sex marriage instead of vetoing it, the California Supreme Court would have been spared the task of deciding, as it probably will this year, whether a voter-approved ban violates the state Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection under the law. … Read more

While President Trump wavered Thursday on whether he will stop shielding from deportation people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children, his aides have identified at least two ways to quietly end their protections without his fingerprints. An executive order has already been drafted to end the program, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, … Read more

No need to tell the American people what this election is all about. With unprecedented clarity, up and down the ticket, the essence of the exercise has been exposed for all to see and smell. It’s not about, as Clinton would tell it, building a bridge to the future. It’s not about, as Dole would … Read more

Today’s topic: Have California’s efforts to legalize and regulate medical marijuana — including Proposition 215, the 1996 voter initiative — been successful? Scott Imler and Stephen Gutwillig will finish their discussion on Monday. Complete Dust-Up: | Day 2 A success, yes, but there are many unintended consequencesPoint: Scott Imler About four weeks before the 1996 … Read more