Donald Trump

Commentary

Los Angeles voters are moving ever leftward, shifting election politics in America’s second-largest city

Among the signs: LA’s Democratic Socialists are flexing new muscle, police limits and mansion taxes are popular, and ICE raids are galvanizing voters.

By Jim Newton • February 5, 2026

An empty judge’s bench inside a wood-paneled courtroom holds a stack of papers, folders, and a small bottle of hand sanitizer beneath a red-tipped microphone, with warm brown walls filling the background.

Commentary

California judges defend their independence and the rule of law

President Trump, Gov. Newsom and other politicians pressured judges. But judges say they can’t bow to political or popular will, only to the law.

By Robert Greene • February 3, 2026

A person in a dark blazer speaks into a microphone with a clenched fist raised for emphasis, framed through blurred figures in the foreground that suggest a small crowd gathered around the speaker.

Politics

Newsom blasts Trump administration’s immigration crackdown; touts California’s drug enforcement efforts

At a San Diego press conference, Gov. Gavin Newsom highlighted California’s drug enforcement efforts, while criticizing President Trump’s immigration crackdowns.

By Deborah Brennan • February 3, 2026

An empty classroom for Pre-K and kindergarten students in Burnt Ranch on December 13, 2019. Dave Woody for CalMatters

Education

Child care in California was already hard to find — the immigration crackdown has made it worse

In California, almost 40% of the workforce is foreign-born and more than a million parents — immigrant and otherwise — rely on child care providers so they can go to work.

By Carolyn Jones • February 2, 2026

A truck driver wearing work gloves stands beside a large blue semi-truck in a yard, with tools and equipment in the foreground and other trucks parked nearby under a clear sky.

Economy

California canceled thousands of trucking licenses. One community bore the brunt of the hit

A third of California truck drivers are believed to be Sikh, members of a religious group that hails from India. They're hurting after a mass cancellation of commercial driver’s licenses.

By Gagandeep Singh • January 31, 2026

Water

Trump’s office called 7 governors to D.C. for Colorado River talks. Here’s what California said

A top California water official offers an inside look as the Trump administration referees a Colorado River stalemate.

By Rachel Becker • January 31, 2026

The light from flashlights illuminates the feet of a group of people standing near a sidewalk during a dark morning.

Justice

Immigration arrests surge by 1,500% in San Diego: ‘I feel the temperature rising’

San Diego doesn't feel like a city under siege by Border Patrol, but it's the scene of a dramatic increase in immigration arrests during President Trump's crackdown.

By Wendy Fry and Natasha Uzcátegui-Liggett • January 29, 2026

Five immigration agents, dressed in camouflage riot gear and holding weapons, stand in the middle of a street while facing a crowd of bystanders and protesters.

Politics

California Democrats have new plans for confronting ICE: Taxes, lawsuits and location bans

The California Senate passed a bill that would make it easier to sue federal officers over civil rights violations. Recent shootings of civilians by immigration agents in Minnesota lent urgency to the measure, one of several targeting ICE.

By Cayla Mihalovich and Maya C. Miller • January 28, 2026

A group of people participate in a demonstration outdoors, holding signs in support of transgender rights. One sign reads "Protect Trans Kids," while another states "Trans People Have Always Been Here!" A person with red hair, wearing a denim jacket and a face mask, raises an arm while holding a sign that says "Let All Kids Play." Others in the crowd wear pink bandanas and buttons, standing among trees with autumn-colored leaves. The late afternoon sunlight casts a warm glow on the scene.

Education

Trans youth still have a safe haven in California — but that could change

Lawsuits and Trump administration policy changes are targeting trans athletes, bans on outing by school staff and health care. Some California policies are in jeopardy.

By Carolyn Jones • January 23, 2026

A elevated terrain covered in pine trees on a clear and sunny day.

Commentary

A California national monument may lose protected status, risking plant and animal life — and water

Volcanic rock at the Sáttítla Highlands National Monument filters rain and snowmelt into an underground aquifer network that holds as much as 200 of California's biggest reservoirs.

By Heather Bourbeau • January 22, 2026