Gov. Gavin Newsom to Stephen Colbert: Trump is trying to ‘rig’ elections
SacBee/LIA RUSSELL: "Gov. Gavin Newsom used his Tuesday appearance on CBS’ “Late Show with Stephen Colbert” to talk up California’s recent move to offer its own vaccine recommendations; his fears that Trump will cancel elections and not leave office in 2028; a new state ban on police masks; and his recent aping of President Donald Trump’s all-caps, frenetic posting style to poke fun at his political opponent online.
He attributed his rising name recognition among national Democrats to California’s willingness to challenge the White House both online and in the courts, at a time when party leaders have struggled to find a cohesive opposition strategy and counter historically low approval rating."
Jimmy Kimmel returns to ABC with emotional monologue defending free speech: ‘We have to stand up’
LAT/KAITLYN HUAMANI: "Jimmy Kimmel is back, and in his first public words since ABC benched him, he ardently defended free speech, growing emotional throughout the opening monologue of his late-night show.
Tuesday’s episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” marked the host’s return since Walt Disney Co.-owned ABC announced last week that it was suspending his show indefinitely. The decision came after Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group, owners of ABC affiliates, said they would not air the talk series because of comments Kimmel made about the suspect in the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Even after Disney reversed the suspension, both companies said they would continue to keep “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” off air."
Millennial Democrat Ian Calderon announces bid for California governor
CALMatters/JEANNE KUANG: "Former state lawmaker Ian Calderon is joining the crowded 2026 race for California governor, he announced Tuesday.
The Whittier Democrat is framing his candidacy as one from a “new generation of leadership.” He was 27 when he became the first millennial to be elected to the state Assembly in 2012."
Ricardo Lara proposes insurance rule that critics call ‘revenge’
CALMatters/LEVI SUMAGAYSAY: "California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara is proposing more new insurance rules that critics are calling “vindictive,” and which they say will only make it easier for insurers to raise rates.
Home insurance costs in California are certain to rise in the near future because of Lara’s recent changes to the state’s insurance rules. Those changes are meant to encourage insurance companies to keep writing new policies and discourage them from canceling policies, especially in areas of high wildfire risk."
Silicon Valley split over Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee: ‘We want all the brightest minds’
Chronicle/AIDIN VAZIRI: "President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a $100,000 application fee on H-1B visas has drawn sharply divergent reactions from some of the most influential figures in Silicon Valley and Wall Street.
The executive order, signed Friday, marks the most dramatic overhaul yet to a program long relied upon by U.S. companies to recruit highly skilled workers from abroad."
U.S. attorney, DHS say ICE won’t comply with California’s new mask ban
SacBee/KATE WOLFE: "Federal authorities said they would not comply with California’s new ban on law enforcement agents wearing masks while conducting operations.
Former California state lawmaker and acting Los Angeles U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said Monday morning on “Fox & Friends” that the California law would not be enforceable when it comes to federal immigration agents."
ICE began shipping immigrants to this tiny California town. Chaos has reigned ever since
Chronicle/SARA DINATALE: "The small voice came from behind a black screen.
Desperate for information about a loved one amid President Donald Trump’s mass deportation crackdown, a young girl called into an obscure Mojave Desert town’s planning commission meeting. She listed her name as Monica and kept her camera off."
‘Seinfeld’ star launches comeback tour in California years after racist rant derailed career
Chronicle/AIDIN VAZIRI: "Michael Richards, best known for playing the eccentric neighbor Kramer on “Seinfeld,” is stepping back into the spotlight with a limited California tour this fall.
The shows, billed as “An Evening of Conversations, Questions and Answers,” will feature Richards in live discussions with audiences."
ABC10 Sacramento shooting suspect flagged for ‘violent speech’ on social media
SacBee/ROSALIO AHUMADA: "A man accused of firing a gun at the ABC10 TV station in Sacramento was flagged on X for a post that may have violated the social media platform’s “rules against Violent Speech” a few days before the shooting.
Anibal “Al” Hernandez Santana, 64, of Sacramento faces federal and California criminal charges stemming from last week’s shooting. He remains in custody at the Sacramento County Main Jail as prosecutors seek to keep him behind bars for the duration of his criminal case."
RFK Jr. wants an answer to rising autism rates. Scientists say he’s ignoring some obvious ones
LAT/CORINNE PURTILL: "This week, the Trump administration announced that it was taking “bold action” to address the “epidemic” of autism spectrum disorder — starting with a new safety label on Tylenol and other acetaminophen products that suggests a link to autism. The scientific evidence for doing so is weak, researchers said.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said federal officials “will be uncompromising and relentless in our search for answers” and that they soon would be “closely examining” the role of vaccines, whose alleged link to autism has been widely discredited."
Does another education bond stand a chance with voters? California colleges hope so
CALMatters/MERCY SOSA: "Aging buildings, failing infrastructure, earthquake safety issues, and a severe lack of campus housing are straining California’s public higher education systems. As they face high-cost fixes, lawmakers have introduced a bond bill that ambitiously intends to fund both the modernization of academic facilities and the addition of affordable student housing throughout the state.
The College Health and Safety Bond Act of 2026, AB 48, would start to address a growing $17 billion maintenance backlog within California’s university systems and the need for more affordable student housing in the state. The bill’s lead author, Assemblymember David Alvarez, a Democrat from San Diego, said it likely won’t include a dollar amount for the bond until it goes to the Senate next year to give the three public higher education systems in California time to report how much they need and a plan for spending it. If passed by the state Legislature, the bond would be placed on the November 2026 ballot for voters to decide."
Here’s where each UC landed on latest U.S. News Best Colleges rankings
Chronicle/AIDIN VAZIRI: "The University of California system once again secured its place among the most prestigious American universities, with UC Berkeley and UCLA ranked the nation’s top two public schools in the 2026 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges list released Monday.
All nine UC undergraduate campuses landed in the top 45 among public universities, with seven appearing in the top 25."
The most dramatic weather shift in years is expected in the Bay Area
Chronicle/ANTHONY EDWARDS: "Get ready for Bay Area weather dramatics Wednesday, as lightning and thunder enter the forecast a day after San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland roasted in 90-degree heat. Temperatures will also plummet.
Sunshine and heat will be replaced by cloudy skies and cool ocean breezes that will keep highs in the upper 60s to low 80s in most cities, a 20-degree drop from Tuesday."
Homelessness is dropping in California counties. But funding cuts could derail that progress
CALMatters/MARISA KENDALL: "California counties are reporting decreases in homelessness, suggesting the state is finally making progress in solving one of its most difficult and persistent problems.
But even as Gov. Gavin Newsom and local officials are celebrating, the money that made those wins possible is at risk of evaporating."
It’s one of S.F.’s most notorious neighborhoods. Will a new name revitalize it?
Chronicle/J.K. DINEEN: "In 2008 when a 128-unit condo building tucked behind Market Street on Page Street opened, the developer decided to take advantage of its proximity to a nearby San Francisco neighborhood that was on the upswing.
They called it “The Hayes.”"
Sacramento County supervisors authorize military equipment purchases by sheriff
SacBee/EMMA HALL: "The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors approved the request to purchase new military equipment for the Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday.
The Sheriff’s Office can now buy equipment like a Lenco Bearcat. With a starting price of $300,000, this vehicle costs the sheriff $500,000, according to the agency’s military equipment use report. Bearcats are armored vehicles used to move tactical officers to and from high-risk situations."
A viral app tracked S.F. parking cops in real time. The city moved fast to cut it off
Chronicle/RACHEL SWAN: "It was 1 p.m. on a typical Monday, and one of San Francisco’s more enterprising parking control officers had been trawling the streets since about 6 a.m.
During that time, the officer had zigzagged through the Mission District, climbed the hills of Noe Valley and looped the base of Twin Peaks, handing out 78 tickets — and $8,190 in fines."
Full length of Highway 1 in Big Sur expected to reopen next spring
Chronicle/TARA DUGGAN: "Starting next March, it should be possible to drive the entire stretch of Highway 1 along the Big Sur coast for the first time since January 2023.
Caltrans said Monday that it aims to reopen the highway at Regent’s Slide, which has been closed since February 2024, by late March 2026. A landslide closed a 6.8-mile section of the highway between Esalen and Lucia, one in a string of recent closures along the scenic roadway caused by winter storms and landslides, which are expected to increase with frequency and severity as climate change intensifies. The closures have lost hotels, restaurants and other businesses to struggle, losing an estimated $1 million per day."
