What we know about the Trump attacker
BBC's BERND DEBUSMANN, TOM BATEMAN, TOM MCARTHUR: "The small Pittsburgh suburb of Bethel Park in Pennsylvania is reeling after the FBI named a young local man, Thomas Matthew Crooks, as the person who shot at Donald Trump during a campaign rally and shocked the nation.
Investigators believe that Crooks, armed with a semi-automatic AR-15 rifle, opened fire at the former president while he was addressing a crowd in Butler, Pennsylvania, leaving one audience member dead and two others wounded."
READ MORE -- 20-year-old who almost killed Trump was a bright student, had a job and belonged to a gun club -- LAT's BRITTNY MEJIA, ANGIE ORELLANA HERN ANDEZ, PALOMA ESQUIVEL; FBI examines Trump assassination attempt suspect's phone, transmitter found on him -- ABC New's PIERRE THOMAS, AARON KATERSKY, LUKE BARR, JACK DATE
Trump was nearly killed in their small town. Now they grapple with politics, grief and anger
LAT's SUMMER LIN, NOAH GOLDBERG: "About 15 minutes before former President Trump took the stage for his Saturday rally in Butler, he shook hands with Jondavid Longo, the mayor of nearby Slippery Rock.
“You did a great job,” Trump said. He had watched Longo’s pre-rally speech from a livestream while aboard Trump Force One, his Boeing 757. “I listened to every word. Keep that up. How’s it going out there?”"
Republicans say Biden’s America is awash in immigrant-driven crime. What do the data say?
LAT's KEVIN RECTOR: "One after another, Republican leaders painted a dire picture of America from the Republican National Convention stage in Milwaukee on Tuesday, suggesting the nation is awash in violent crime driven by an “invasion” of “illegal aliens” and “Chinese fentanyl” at the southern border.
Echoing many of the evening’s other speakers, House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana said Republicans were the “law-and-order team,” while President Biden and Democrats intent on a “borderless, lawless” future were responsible for “dramatic increases” in violence and drugs in the country."
Trump’s past GOP rivals line up behind him at convention, say he’ll make U.S. ‘safe again’
LAT's SEEMA MEHTA, KEVIN RECTOR: "Former President Trump’s top rivals in the Republican Party lined up behind the 2024 nominee on Tuesday, promising he would “make America safe again” from violent criminals and dangerous undocumented immigrants who they suggested are invading the nation via an “open” southern border.
After questioning his abilities and integrity during the primaries, they gave full-throated backing to a man they once loudly reviled, saying that unifying behind their former foe was crucial for the nation’s future. Trump, who entered the convention hall to thunderous applause, looked on approvingly as his former opponents urged voters to return him to the White House."
The real Kamala Harris: What her California years reveal
CALMatters's BEN CHRISTOPHER: "Whether President Joe Biden bows to the growing chorus of elected Democrats and Democratic voters calling for him to exit the 2024 race, or continues to seek a second term as a visibly frail 81-year-old, suddenly everyone is taking another good hard look at Kamala Harris.
Vice presidents rarely get much attention. What attention Harris has gotten on the job hasn’t been particularly positive. Counter to the reputation she cultivated early on in her career as a pragmatic politician and sharp-minded prosecutor, public opinion on Harris soured in the summer of 2021 and has mostly stayed sour."
Steve Garvey outraises Adam Schiff — but still has less in bank — in U.S. Senate bid
CALMatters's YUE STELLA YU: "California’s Republican U.S. Senate candidate Steve Garvey had a good fundraising quarter after emerging from the March primary in the top two.
Between April 1 and June 30, the former L.A. Dodgers star outraised his Democratic opponent, Rep. Adam Schiff, by more than $1 million, according to the latest campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission on Monday."
Newsom signs bill to end parental notification policies at schools; opponents say fight is not over
EdSource's DIANA LAMBERT, MONICA VELEZ: "A trailblazing state law prohibiting California school boards from passing resolutions that require teachers and school staff to notify parents if they believe a child is transgender isn’t likely to put an end to this polarizing issue.
The Support Academic Futures and Educators for Today’s Youth, or SAFETY Act, was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday. It will prohibit school districts from requiring staff to disclose to parents information related to a student’s sexual orientation or gender identity, and will protect school staff from retaliation if they refuse to notify parents of a child’s gender preference. The legislation, which will go into effect Jan. 1, also provides additional resources and support for LGBTQ+ students at junior high and high schools."
Former Stockton mayor to run for lieutenant governor. ‘That was really ground zero’
Sacramento Bee's HANNAH POUKISH: "Former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs announced Wednesday he is running to replace Eleni Kounalakis as the next lieutenant governor of California in 2026.
Tubbs, a well-known champion for universal basic income initiatives and a once rising star in the Democratic Party, is currently serving as Newsom’s special adviser for economic mobility. He announced his campaign for the state’s second-highest executive office in a video posted to social media channels Wednesday."
Judge temporarily blocks state order to growers who depleted groundwater
CALMatters's RACHEL BECKER: "A Kings County judge today issued a temporary restraining order against the state that pauses its unprecedented move to crack down on groundwater depletion in California’s agricultural heartland.
The decision by Superior Court Judge Kathy Ciuffini grants Kings County growers a temporary reprieve from a state mandate to monitor and report how much water they pump from heavily over-pumped aquifers. The order will last through a hearing in August, when the judge will consider issuing a preliminary injunction."
S.F. lawmaker wants city to become nation’s first to ban use of algorithms that set rent prices
The Chronicle's LAURA WAXMANN: "San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin is looking to bar the city’s landlords from using rent-setting software that housing advocates allege has contributed to skyrocketing rental prices across the country.
Peskin confirmed that he will announce legislation on Tuesday that would prohibit San Francisco property owners from using services provided by third-party revenue management companies such as Real Page and Yardi, which collect proprietary data on rents from participating landlords, and then suggest rates using algorithms — a controversial practice that has drawn legal scrutiny and calls for regulation in other parts of the country in light of a 2022 expose by ProPublica."
This is the San Francisco billionaire who bashed his hometown at the RNC
The Chronicle's JOE GAROFOLI: "Leave it to a guy living in the rancid squalor of Pacific Heights’ Billionaires’ Row to complain to the Republican National Convention that San Francisco has become “a cesspool.”
“In my hometown of San Francisco, Democrat rule has turned the streets of our beautiful city into a cesspool of crime, homeless encampments and open drug use,” David Sacks, the wealthy venture capitalist and former PayPal workmate of billionaire Elon Musk, said Monday during his seven-minute speech."
California’s grid passed the reliability test this heat wave. It’s all about giant batteries
Sacramento Bee's ARI PLACHTA: "California’s power grid emerged from a nearly three weeklong record-setting heat wave relatively unscathed, and officials are crediting years of investment in renewable energy — particularly giant batteries that store solar power for use when the sun stops shining.
“This was a good early test that we passed in very good shape,” said Elliot Mainzer, president and CEO of California Independent System Operator (CAISO), on Monday. “Investments in new clean energy and in dispatchable battery storage played a major role.”"
California plans to ban plants and bushes within 5 feet of homes at risk for wildfires
The Chronicle's JULIE JOHNSON: "California fire officials are writing new rules that could bar most plants, mulch and other combustible materials within 5 feet of homes in fire-prone areas of California.
The far-reaching initiative, mandated by the state Legislature, was supposed to take effect last year. But the California State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, the agency charged with developing the rules, has yet to finalize them. The board expects to discuss draft standards before the end of the year, according to Lisa Lien-Mager, an official at the state agency that oversees the board."
S.F. schools forced by state into painful cuts after falling short in fixing budget woes
The Chronicle's JILL TUCKER: "Fiscal watchdogs armed with control over spending in San Francisco Unified have compelled the city’s education officials to make deeper cuts at school sites in an effort to keep the overspending district solvent.
Families at 10 elementary schools were notified Monday in a letter from Superintendent Matt Wayne that their vacant assistant principal position would not be filled in the upcoming school year as expected. The decision was not in the district’s hands, he told the families."
Sacramento State rolls out faculty ‘cluster hire’ to meet Latino student needs. Is it enough?
Sacramento Bee's EMMA HALL, MATHEW MIRANDA: "To better serve its student body and reflect campus demographics, Sacramento State is implementing a cluster hire of 17 faculty members with an expertise in working with Latino students, school officials said. These instructors will start teaching in fall 2025.
The planned hires follow criticism and concerns that the university is not fully addressing Latino student needs. Like many campuses across California, Sacramento State has struggled to match its Latino student population with teaching and leadership positions."
Elon Musk: X headquarters will move from S.F. to Austin, Texas
The Chronicle's LAURA WAXMANN: "San Francisco real estate market participants confirmed last week that a majority of the Market Street headquarters of X Corp. — formerly Twitter — will soon be available for subleasing. On Tuesday, the company’s CEO appeared to confirm that its days in San Francisco are numbered.
“And X HQ will move to Austin,” said Elon Musk in a post to the platform Tuesday afternoon. Musk purchased the social media giant in a $44 billion deal in 2022."
Evan Wright, Award-Winning Reporter and Author of ‘Generation Kill,’ Dies at 59
NYT's ALEXANDRA E. PETRI: "Evan Wright, an award-winning journalist whose reporting from the Iraq War formed the best-selling book “Generation Kill” and whose work illuminated the lives of those on the fringes of society, died on Friday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 59.
His death was ruled a suicide by the Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office and was confirmed in a statement released Monday night by his family."
