House Majority Whip Rep. Steve Scalise and several others were shot this morning in Alexandria near Washington DC at a congressional baseball practice game; a suspect is in custody.
LA Times' DAVID LAUTER/MICHAEL A MEMOLI/LISA MASCARO: "House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) was shot at a Republican congressional baseball practice Wednesday morning by a gunman who appeared to have targeted members of Congress."
"Police in Alexandria, Va., located just outside of Washington, D.C., said they were investigating a "multiple shooting" and a suspect was in custody."
"Five wounded people, including the suspect, were taken to area hospitals for treatment, the police said. Scalise, 51, the third-ranking Republican in the House, was shot in the hip and was in stable condition, undergoing surgery, according to a statement issued by his office."
The Delta Tunnels project will soon be reaching critical mass.
Saxcramento Bee's RYAN SABALOW/DALE KASLER: "Love it or hate it, the Delta tunnels project is reaching a decision point."
"The state’s most powerful water agencies have set a September goal to decide whether they’re going pay for the biggest and most controversial water project California has undertaken since the 1960s: overhauling the plumbing system that pumps billions of gallons of water through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to the Bay Area, Southern California and one of the nation’s most productive farm belts."
"After more than a decade and nearly a quarter billion dollars of study and planning, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and other agencies will vote in September on whether to pay for Gov. Jerry Brown’s $15.5 billion plan for re-engineering the fragile estuary on Sacramento’s doorstep."
READ MORE related to Environment: State part of suit against new administration over energy standards -- The Chronicle's BOB EGELKO; Some anti-drought programs face cuts -- Capitol Weekly's JESSICA DUNCAN; Here's why California scientists want neighborhood-by-neighborhood smog data -- The Press-Enterprise's DAVID DANELSKI; California AG will fight White House over possible changes to six national monuments -- San Gabriel Valley Tribune's STEVE SCAUZILLO; Cancer-causing contaminants rise sharply in East Bay drinking water -- East Bay Times' DENIS CUFF
The pervasive local coverage of the Bracamontes slayings has prompted the defendant's counsel to push for an out-of-county trial due to what counsel alleges is a jury media bias.
Sacramento Bee's SAM STANTON: "Media coverage of accused cop killer Luis Bracamontes has referred to his deportations to Mexico 224 times."
"He has been called an “evil monster” in at least eight stories, and “evil in heart” two dozen times."
"Bracamontes has been the subject of coverage so overwhelming since the October 2014 slayings of two Sacramento-area deputies that he cannot get a fair trial in the county, and the case must be moved elsewhere, a nationally known expert testified Tuesday."
A new program in the budget allows the top 9% of all statewide high school graduates to be automatically elligible for UC enrollment.
Sacramento Bee's ALEXEI KOSEFF: "More than 30,000 students who meet California State University admissions requirements are turned away each year because there is no space for them in the system’s most popular programs."
"Under a state budget deal unveiled Tuesday, CSU will soon have to offer those applicants a slot somewhere at one of its 23 campuses campuses statewide."
"The policy, which CSU must develop and approve by next May, is based on a guarantee at the University of California: All California high schoolers who rank in the top 9 percent of graduates statewide, or finish among the top 9 percent of the graduating class at certain high schools, are eligible to attend UC; if they are not admitted to the campus of their choice, UC offers those students a spot at another campus where there is space, which in recent years has been only Merced."
Beltway Democrats are more emphatic than ever in their crusade against Russian election interference.
Sacramento Bee's ALEX ROARTY: "Democrats have a blunt message for colleagues worried the party has become dangerously obsessed with Russia: Get over it."
"Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ testimony Tuesday put Democrats in a familiar position, reacting to news about President Donald Trump and the ongoing investigation into his campaign’s alleged Russia connections. To skeptics, the story is a distraction from bread-and-butter issues that voters actually care about, like the unpopular Republican-backed health care bill, and a sign the party is already over-reaching well before the midterm congressional elections."
"But Democratic operatives are arguing that the party has no choice but to launch these attacks. A weekly barrage of breaking news has forced their hand, demanding Democrats seize on an issue some of them now believe has increasing relevance beyond the Beltway anyway."
Kamala Harris was praised during her tenure as California's top cop and prosecutor, but she has been a thorn in the side of her Senatorial colleagues during the Kremlingate probe.
East Bay Times' KATIE METTLER: "During Sen. Kamala D. Harris’ 25-year career in law enforcement, she has established herself as a formidable presence in the courtroom, on the campaign trail and ultimately in government."
"She grew up watching her African American dad and Indian American mother protest for civil rights in Berkeley and took that fierce fight for justice with her to law school. She served two terms as San Francisco’s first female district attorney and was the first woman elected as California’s attorney general."
"It’s the résumé of hard-charging legal advocate, not unlike many others in Congress, where she is now a freshman senator from California. Those who know her also know she doesn’t back down."
READ MORE related to Beltway/Kremlingate: California senators question Sessions on his ability to answer questions -- McClatchy's NATALIE FERTIG; Will the Warriors visit the White House? a lose-lose proposition -- The Chronicle's SCOTT OSTLER; Democrats sue Trump over foreign payments -- AP's JULIE BYKOWICZ; Trump advisers question Mueller's impartialitry in Russian probe -- AP
Oakland is encouraging former inmates and ex-convicts to apply for oversight positions on Oakland's police commission.
The Chronicle's MATIER & ROSS: "Former cops need not apply, but former inmates are being encouraged by the city of Oakland to apply for slots on the city’s new police commission."
"A notice recently posted on the city’s website for would-be commissioners says, “Must be an Oakland resident. Must be at least 18 years old. Formerly incarcerated individuals encouraged to apply."