WhatMatters

WhatMatters is your weekday guide to California policy and politics. The newsletter highlights what to know about the state Capitol and brings the best of CalMatters coverage and commentary. Sign up for the WhatMatters newsletter.

Vice President Kamala Harris swears in Laphonza Butler to the U.S. Senate at the Capitol in Washington D.C. on on Oct. 3, 2023.
Laphonza Butler, President of EMILY's List, during an abortion bill signing ceremony in Michigan on April 5, 2023. Michigan overturned a 1931 law banning abortion without exceptions for rape or incest and allowing doctors and nurses who offer reproductive care to be prosecuted. Photo by Carlos Osorio, AP Photo
Laphonza Butler, President of EMILY's List, speaks during an event in Washington on June 23, 2023. Photo by Susan Walsh, AP Photo
Governor Gavin Newsom poses with cheering workers after he signed legislation supporting fast food workers and boosting wages to $20 an hour, at a press conference at SEIU Local 721 in Los Angeles on Sept. 28, 2023. Anneisha Williams, a fast food worker cheers beside him to the right. Photo by Alisha Jucevic for CalMatters
U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy addresses attendees during the state Republican Party convention in Sacramento on March 11, 2023. Photo by Rahul Lal, CalMatters
Local business advocates hold a strike event aimed at stopping business closures and supporting public safety in Oakland on Sept. 26, 2023.
Gov. Gavin Newsom hands Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, a copy of a bill that Newsom signed at the Capitol in Sacramento on Oct. 11, 2019. AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli
Screen Actors Guild members and Writers Guild of America members picket at the Sony Studios in Culver City on June 17, 2023. Photo by Julie A Hotz for CalMatters
A house burns on Platina Road at the Zogg Fire near Ono in 2020. Photo by Ethan Swope, AP Photo
A man walks his dog through a homeless encampment near Highway 180 in west Fresno on Feb. 11, 2022.