Nancy Pelosi wins narrow re-election as House speaker
The Chronicle's JOE GAROFOLI: "San Francisco Rep. Nancy Pelosi was re-elected speaker of the House on Sunday, but will face new challenges in what could be her final term as speaker.
Pelosi, 80, will preside over the narrowest majority in two decades, with Democrats holding a 222-211 advantage over Republicans, with two seats yet to be filled, and centrists and progressives pulling her party in different directions.
“She has a lot fewer votes to work with and the Democratic Party has a lot of factions,” said Matthew Green, author of “Choosing the Leader: Leadership Elections in the U.S. House of Representatives.” “It is harder to pass legislation when only a handful of Democrats could derail it.”"
'The truth's on tape.' Reactions to leaked Trump call seeking to overturn Georgia vote
Sac Bee's DON SWEENEY/BAILEY ALDRIDGE: "A leaked phone call Saturday in which President Donald Trump pressured Georgia election officials to find more votes for his re-election has sparked a wave of backlash.
In the hour-long call, first released by The Washington Post on Sunday, Trump cajoles, begs and threatens Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find 11,780 votes” needed to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the state. Raffensperger politely stands his ground and eventually ends the call.
After the call, Trump wrote in a Twitter post that Raffensperger was “unwilling, or unable, to answer questions such as the “ballots under table” scam, ballot destruction, out of state “voters”, dead voters, and more. He has no clue!” The leaked audio shows Georgia officials pushing back on Trump’s unfounded accusations."
READ MORE related to POTUS45: Republicans worry Trump's moves could depress turnout in Georgia Senate runoffs -- LA Times's JENNY JARVIE/JANET HOOK
'We have to do better': California Democrats say COVID pandemic highlighted their failures
Sac Bee's HANNAH WILEY: "In California, pain is everywhere.
At food banks, where hungry families once able to comfortably stock their pantries stand for hours in lines that circle around the buildings. At home, where renters anxiously crunch numbers to make next month’s payment pencil out. At fast food restaurants, where kids connect to free WiFi so they can log on for class.
After a four-month recess, state lawmakers are preparing to return to Sacramento Jan. 11 with a list of proposals to ease the financial agony reverberating through the Golden State."
READ MORE related to Pandemic: California, once a COVID success story, buckles under case surge. How did it happen? -- Sac Bee's LARA KORTE; California, Bay Area hospitals strain amid crush of ICU patients -- The Chronicle's JILL TUCKER; LA workplaceds emerge as likely pathways for coronavirus spread -- The Chronicle's RONG-GONG LIN II/ALEX WIGGLESWORTH
A 'polling place' at Republican's office in Orange County: A new front for election high jinks?
LA Times's ADAM ELMAHREK/ANH DO/KIERA FELDMAN: "Even with the constant drumbeat of news about election high jinks in 2020, allegations of a fake voting center in Orange County stood out as something brazen.
The center was advertised on Vietnamese language radio and television as an election assistance site, a “secure” location where non-English speakers could guarantee their absentee ballots weren’t “fraudulent.” Another sign that was posted outside the office said “ballot room” or “polling place” in Vietnamese.
In reality, it was the campaign office for Republican Westminster Councilwoman Kimberly Ho."
Republican congressional wins in California won't avert party's 'death spiral,' analysts say
LA Times's STEPHANIE LAI: "California Republicans scored a major victory in November by recapturing four of seven congressional seats that had flipped to Democrats two years earlier.
The wins marked a short-term resurgence for the GOP, which has struggled for decades as the state became a blue bulwark. But it’s unlikely they signal a major change in the political dynamic, given that the victories were by thin margins.
With Latino and Asian American populations growing and redistricting looming, long-term trends are still challenging for Republicans in areas that are purple or leaning red."
'Surprise' medical bills will end next year for people with CalPERS health insurance
Sac Bee's WES VENTEICHER: "About 270,000 CalPERS health insurance policyholders who aren’t protected from “surprise” medical bills will be protected from the bills starting in 2022.
Congress approved protections against surprise bills in a broad federal spending and COVID-19 relief package last month.
The bills come after patients unknowingly or unexpectedly receive treatment from doctors or hospitals that aren’t in their insurance plans’ networks. Out-of-network treatment is much more expensive than in-network treatment"
SF's Embarcadero seawall is surprise beneficiary of Trump-signed spending bill
The Chronicle's JOHN KING: "San Francisco’s quest to rebuild its Embarcadero seawall has received a boost from an unexpected source — the 5,593-page bundle of federal legislation that includes $900 billion for pandemic relief.
The boost doesn’t involve stimulus payments, since any construction to strengthen the aged barrier of concrete and rocks is several years away. But new guidelines that give the city a better shot at receiving sizable federal aid for the $3 billion-plus project were included in a bill that accompanied the stimulus package.
“We’ve been making the case for this for a while,” said Elaine Forbes, executive director of the Port of San Francisco. “It levels the playing field.”
Children with delayed development were lost in the pandemic. The push is on to catch up
Sac Bee's CLAUDIA BOYD-BARRETT: "Brandy Patania of Elk Grove feared something was wrong with her youngest child.
Kahmirah, who is almost 1, wasn’t developing as fast as her four older siblings had. She wasn’t walking, she didn’t say any words, and, when Patania called her name, she didn’t respond. Even more worrying, Kahmirah had a habit of flapping her hands up and down incessantly and making a drawn-out moaning sound.
Once, Patania observed her doing this for a full half hour."
Sacramento region is California's housing and growth hot spot, led by hill counties
Sac Bee's TONY BIZJAK/PHILLIP REESE: "Led by El Dorado County, the Sacramento region became one of California’s notable housing and growth hot spots in the final months of 2020, new data show.
The topsy-turvy year dominated by the coronavirus pandemic ended with a bracing real estate land rush in the capital region, fueled by Bay Area emigrees, as well as a state-leading surge in home construction, and also by competition among local buyers that drove house prices ever higher.
El Dorado County stands out, not only locally but statewide."
READ MORE related to Homelessness/Housing: UCSF agrees to build more than 1200 new homes as part of giant Parnassus project -- The Chronicle's ROLAND LI
SF sees record overdose deaths, even as police seize millions of lethal fentanyl doses. What is happening?
The Chronicle's TRISHA THADANI: "Kelly Stanphill just wants something to change for her son, who is somewhere in San Francisco, drug-addled, gaunt and helplessly addicted to fentanyl.
So whenever she hears of a Tenderloin drug bust — like the 10 pounds of fentanyl that were seized by federal authorities last month — she can’t help but feel a tiny bit of justice and hope that her son’s endless supply of drugs will finally dry up.
But then, the reality sets in."
No one disputes that San Joaquin County deputies punched detainee. The question: Was it legal?
The Chronicle's LAUREN HERNANDEZ: "No one disputes that correctional deputies repeatedly punched Jacob Servin in a holding cell in San Joaquin County Jail in December 2019.
What’s in dispute is whether what happened in that holding cell was legal. An investigation into whether the deputies violated laws is ongoing, and Servin has turned to the courts to seek justice, saying in a federal complaint that he was the subject of a “callous and vicious beating.”
It’s been more than a year since the Stockton man, arrested on suspicion of public intoxication, used social media to share photos in which he is unrecognizable because of the severe facial swelling and bruises. Video from jail cameras captured deputies booking Servin on Dec. 1, 2019, then leading him into a jail cell. Several deputies entered the cell — and what happened in the cell was off-camera. But cameras captured the deputies escorting a bloodied Servin out of the cell minutes later."
IRS says executors undervalued Prince's estate by 50%
AP: "The ongoing controversy over the money left behind by rock star Prince, who died without a will, is heating up again after IRS calculations showed that executors of his estate undervalued it by 50%, or about $80 million.
The Internal Revenue Service determined that Prince’s estate is worth $163.2 million, double the $82.3 million valuation submitted by Comerica Bank & Trust, the estate’s administrator. The disparity primarily involves Prince’s music publishing and recording interests, according to court documents.
Documents show that the IRS believes Prince’s estate owes another $32.4 million in federal taxes, roughly doubling the tax bill based on Comerica’s valuation, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.
Biden inauguration to feature virtual, nationwide parade
AP: "President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration will include a “virtual parade across America,” consistent with crowd limits during the coronavirus era, organizers announced Sunday.
Following the swearing-in ceremony on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, on the west front of the U.S. Capitol, Biden and his wife, Jill, will join newly sworn-in Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband in a socially distanced Pass in Review, a military tradition in which the president reviews the readiness of troops, on the Capitol’s opposite front side.
Biden will receive a traditional presidential escort, with representatives from every branch of the military, from 15th Street to the White House. That will also be socially distanced, the Presidential Inaugural Committee says, while “providing the American people and world with historic images of the President-elect proceeding to the White House without attracting large crowds.”"
British judge blocks extradition of Julian Assange to US on mental health grounds
AP: "A British judge Monday rejected the United States’ request to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to face espionage charges, saying he was likely to kill himself if held under harsh U.S. prison conditions.
District Judge Vanessa Baraitser rejected allegations from Assange’s lawyers that he was being prosecuted for political reasons or would not receive a fair trial in the U.S. But she said his precarious mental health would likely deteriorate further under the conditions of “near total isolation” that he was likely to face in U.S. prison.
“I find that the mental condition of Mr. Assange is such that it would be oppressive to extradite him to the United States of America,” the judge said."
Iran begins 20% uranium enrichment, also seizes oil tanker and arrests crew
AP: "Iran said Monday that it has begun enriching uranium up to 20% at an underground nuclear facility — a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90% — amid escalating tensions with the U.S.
The announcement of enrichment at the facility in Fordo, Iran, came as Tehran acknowledged that it had seized South Korean-flagged oil tanker Hankuk Chemi in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian state television said the vessel was seized because of “oil pollution” in the Persian Gulf, but hours earlier, Tehran had said a South Korean diplomat was due to arrive for talks over billions of dollars in Iranian assets frozen in Seoul.
Semi-official Iranian news agencies Fars and Tasnim said authorities have the arrested tanker’s crew members, who come from Korea, Indonesia, Myanmar and Vietnam."
