Judge Dismisses Classified Documents Case Against Trump
ALAN FEUER, NY Times: "A federal judge dismissed in its entirety the classified documents case against former President Donald J. Trump on Monday, ruling that the appointment of the special counsel, Jack Smith, had violated the Constitution.
In a stunning ruling, the judge, Aileen M. Cannon, found that because Mr. Smith had not been named to the post of special counsel by the president or confirmed by the Senate, his appointment was in violation of the appointments clause of the Constitution."
READ MORE about the documents case: Trump’s classified documents case dismissed by Judge Aileen Cannon,DEVLIN BARRETT and PERRY STEIN, Washington Post; Federal Judge Dismisses Classified Documents Prosecution Against Trump, C. RYAN BARBER and SADIE GURMAN, Wall Street Journal.
Kern County wildfires spur evacuations and close down a stretch of 5 Freeway
PALOMA ESQUIVEL, LA Times: "Firefighters in Kern County were battling several wildfires over the weekend, spurring evacuations, burning thousands of acres and leading to the closure of Interstate 5 in both directions near Lost Hills on Sunday night.
The Hurricane fire, which began Saturday in San Luis Obispo County, had burned 20,000 acres and was 10% contained as of Sunday afternoon, according to a news release from the Kern County Fire Department."
After Trump is shot, conspiracy theories flood the internet, creating dangerous ‘spiral’
FAITH E. PINO, LA Times: "The attempted assassination of former President Trump at a rally Saturday in Pennsylvania almost immediately gave rise to internet conspiracy theories that experts say will influence how the nation deals with the shocking act of political violence.
The Trump attack marks the first time in decades someone had tried to take a presidential candidate’s life. While previous assassinations — notably the killing of President John F. Kennedy in 1963 — have brought conspiracy theories, the rise of partisan social media allows such claims to spread rapidly and in unexpected ways."
READ MORE about the attempted assassination: A Portrait Emerges of Trump’s Shooter: Quiet, Withdrawn, With Little Political Footprint, SADIE GURMAN, KRISTINA PETERSON, CLARE ANSBERRY, ANTHONY DeBARROS and JACK GILLUM, Wall Street Journal; Trump rally shooter appears to have acted alone, FBI says, EMILY DAVIES, DEVLIN BARRETT and PERRY STEIN, Washington Post; 20-year-old who almost killed Trump was a bright student, had a job and belonged to a gun club, BRITTNY MEJA, ANGIE ORELLANA HERNANDEZ and PALOMA ESQUIVEL, LA Times
‘He’s in the saddle’: Allies say Trump is in high spirits after shooting
Politico's JASON BEFERMAN and NATALIE JACKSON: " In the hours since Donald Trump was grazed by a bullet, the former president has called heads of state, politicians — even journalists — as he projects a message of defiance.
The former president over the last day has spent much of his time on the phone with friends, Republican allies and world leaders. That includes President Joe Biden, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, former Speaker Kevin McCarthy and former Trump White House chief of staff Reince Priebus, among others. In those calls and others, his allies say Trump is in high spirits ahead of the Republican convention in Milwaukee."
Why getting into a top U.S. college is about to get even more difficult
LYDIA SIDHOM, SF Chronicle: "If you are entering your junior or senior year of high school and hope to attend a selective college, we have some bad news for you. Getting into top colleges might get a whole lot harder in the next few years, as the number of prime college-age applicants in the U.S. is about to reach a generational peak.
According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, almost 4.5 million people will be 17 — the typical age for entering senior year — at the beginning of the 2024 and 2025 school years, up from between 4.3 and 4.4 million over the previous five years. This means that for the next few college cycles, there will be more total eligible students that can apply — potentially intensifying competition. The number will drop quickly in the years after 2025."
At any given time, 300 affordable public housing units in Sacramento sit vacant. Why?
THERESA CLIFT, SacBee: "There are roughly 300 affordable public housing units in Sacramento sitting vacant at any given time, according to a strongly-worded letter from a federal agency obtained by The Sacramento Bee.
“The HUD San Francisco Office of Public Housing has significant concerns regarding the number of vacant public housing units,” HUD wrote in an Aug. 18 2023 letter to the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency. “(The office) is requesting that SHRA provide a corrective action plan that identifies the actions and timelines to house more families in public housing units.”
San Mateo county’s office vacancy rates have doubled in last five years
CHRISTIAN LEONARD, Chronicle: "It’s not just San Francisco struggling to refill its offices. Vacancies in San Mateo County continue to rise, increasing to more than twice its pre-pandemic rate.
That’s according to a new report from brokerage Kidder Mathews, which showed the direct vacancy rate for San Mateo County’s office market was about 17% at the end of June 2024, up from 7.8% in 2019 and 15% in 2023."
California Democrats are at the center of the storm that is Biden’s candidacy
Chronicle's SHIRA STEIN and SOPHIA BOLLAG: "Gavin Newsom has become President Joe Biden’s biggest cheerleader. Nancy Pelosi has opened the door for lawmakers to question his electability. And Kamala Harris is caught in the middle.
After a tumultuous few weeks for the Democratic Party, California’s most prominent politicians have taken center stage in the discussion around President Joe Biden’s future."
