Was an anonymous, $20,000 Polymarket bet on Nicolás Maduro’s ouster just luck—or insider knowledge? @willgottsegen.com explores how the prediction-market boom is poised to worsen the threat of insider trading:

There are still very good journalists and lots of valuable journalism done by corporate media. But it’s garbage like this that gets far more attention and does far more damage to Americans’ trust in journalism, as a whole. And it’s making it so much harder for the rest of us to hold the line.

LaMalfa was known for his dedication to water access and forestry management, key issues for his largely rural district. His death leaves House Republicans with an even more precarious majority that could struggle to pass Republican legislation. bit.ly/3NvyNGK 📸 Salvador Ochoa

One of the things I really struggle with is how our country is run by people who (most likely) don’t use a bidet. Just let that sink in and you will never look at the actions and decisions we live through the same way.

“Still, there was an undercurrent of anxiety, which one person in the crowd attributed to concerns that federal agents would appear and detain the Venezuelans present at the rally.”

Man, I really don’t think the pundits we generally hear from about American politics really understand how much is riding on Zohran’s success in NYC, or just how many people are rooting for him youtu.be/xj89tYvwr6k?...

See the photos that defined California in 2025: A year in CalMatters’ visuals Each year is unique in the joy, wonder, and heartache it can bring. Each year is the same in that our photographers and visual journalists spend it traversing the state to bring you those moments. bit.ly/48SPrbP

“If the standard for airing a story becomes ‘the government must agree to be interviewed,’ then the government effectively gains control over the 60 Minutes broadcast. We go from an investigative powerhouse to a stenographer for the state” www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Rural NorCal has some of the nation's worst rates of gun suicides among older adults. Over a 15-year span, the gun suicide rate of adults 70+ in Trinity, Tehama, Plumas, Lassen, Glenn, Calaveras and Amador was more than triple the statewide rate @ab-ibarra.bsky.social calmatters.org/health/2025/...

Homeownership is, we're told, a benchmark of success, a milestone of responsible adulthood, the most viable way to amass wealth for you and your progeny and the white-picket-fence-fronted embodiment of the American Dream. What if it’s also a little overrated? calmatters.org/housing/2025...

EXCLUSIVE: Palo Alto will take up a raft of proposals to crack down on billionaire compounds after my story on Mark Zuckerberg buying 11 homes there. Larry Page, Laurene Powell Jobs & Marissa Mayer also own several homes in Palo Alto. Mayer even owns a mortuary. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/18/u...

More than three years have passed since Gov. Gavin Newsom introduced the concept of CARE Court. He described a new court system that would steer hard-to-treat individuals down a pathway of housing and services. 📸 Florence Middleton 1/4

As annoying as it as to keep tabs of all the different platforms and places to watch national NBA broadcasts now, the batch of former players and analysts we now hear from on NBC and Amazon are so refreshing.

very grimly ironic that our government run by podcasters sucks at true crime

Rob Reiner, a longtime Democratic activist, donor and fundraiser, played a critical role in the legalization of same-sex marriage in California, and he was a driving force behind California’s signature early-childhood development program, First 5. bit.ly/4pBHMEz 📸 Kevork Djansezian

“If you want to gauge the health of California's economy, start with its community colleges.” calmatters.org/education/hi...

You’d be hard-pressed to find a government agency in the 2020s more wasteful than California’s EDD calmatters.org/politics/202...

Trump’s new order against AI regulation hits California especially hard Since 2016, California enacted more AI regulations than any other state. The president's new order against such laws worries state officials.

Of course, adults ruined six-seven www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...

Bama fans already hitting the exits at Mercedes Benz is 🤌🏽

The Tijuana River’s sewage contamination continues to sicken communities in southern San Diego County. San Diego County Supervisor Paloma Aguirre has become a leading force in pushing for binational fixes and emergency funding to protect public health. bit.ly/3MrzEYx 📸 Adriana Heldiz

A highway project seriously sent from hell to torment the people of Sacramento. Good reporting from @abridgedpbskvie.bsky.social www.abridged.org/news/investi...

A grim portrait of the journalism profession the way teens see it. Via AP. apnews.com/article/news...

Everyone: Our CalMatters Year End Drive starts today and we’re kicking it off strong. If you want to back our independent journalism for all Californians, give today — it’ll get *tripled* thanks to two matching funds. bit.ly/4pyQvHg 📸 Laure Andrillon

State regulators are poised to cut power companies’ "return on equity" to the lowest level in 20 years. But electric bills will barely budge. Here’s why. bit.ly/4iF4qcN 📝 @malenacarollo.bsky.social 📷 Manuel Orbegozo

“…yet, a community of nonprofits that say they are committed to housing affordability have repeatedly worked to block legislation that would legalize necessary homebuilding.” www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/philant...

In Central Valley towns where coffers rely on undocumented workers, second-quarter tax revenues plummeted this year. What happens to an already stressed California ag industry if they don't come back? Masterfully written, as always, by @nigelduara.bsky.social calmatters.org/economy/2025...

The thing is, skimming campaign accounts is a bland, if not common, form of corruption. The players just make this interesting. The bigger problem in the Capitol is the lobbyists themselves and the outsized power they deploy to kneecap or flat out kill good policy www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/u...

The clip of Trump waving off Mamdani, saying basically “it’s chill bro, just say I’m a fascist” is so hilarious and depressing in one full swing. Embodied the Pedro Pascal laugh cry gif.

"It won’t be long before we have a queue of American governors begging BYD to set up electric car factories in the States." As the US slams the door on climate, China makes it very clear at COP30 that it's open for business. www.politico.com/news/2025/11...

Commentary: Newsom's former chief of staff is accused of misusing campaign money, lying to get a COVID loan and calling personal purchases, like designer goods and a luxurious vacation, business expenses. bit.ly/4r0EN9P 📝 Dan Walters 📸 Fred Greaves

Breaking: Federal court blocks Texas from using new congressional gerrymander in 2026 midterms.

I wrote about how Culver City became the first municipality in California (and likely the last for now) to ditch the ubiquitous two staircase requirement for mid-rises. As YIMBYs turn to impediments to construction beyond zoning, Culver City is an early test case. calmatters.org/housing/2025...

this is so well said by elias and really what i was trying to get at in my story earlier this week. those emails just feel like the final nail in the coffin re: 'the ruling class'

The Epstein emails are another gross reminder of how a lot of old, rich white men are just rizzless weirdos that want to live out fantasies they think they’re entitled to because of money and power.

When we play Texas

NEW: ‘Unlawful coercion’: Trump can’t withhold funds or demand payment from UC, federal judge rules. The judge has previously sided with UC scholars several times since June in halting Trump’s termination of science and health research funding. The latest ruling is arguably the most sweeping yet.

State hackers are officially using American built AI for cyber ops. And ironically Anthropic is one of the few actually supportive of regulations that could prevent more of this in the future www.axios.com/2025/11/13/a...

The levels of cope we’re seeing in conservative media these days show you just how low this movement has to go in order to survive.

California likes to think of itself as a nation — and this week, it’s acting like one. Gov. Gavin Newsom, top state officials and legislators are leading a delegation to the United Nations’ 30th Conference of Parties this week in Belém. bit.ly/3LVPo5N 📸 Wagner Meier

Today's the day! Or ... is it? The Trump administration's deadline looms for Colorado River negotiators to at least agree to make a deal. So -- how real is this deadline, really? And what does it mean for California? calmatters.org/environment/...

I wrote about Elon's corny new stunt contract and why the media spent the last five days doing free PR work for him

President Trump is pursuing a policy of climate-change acceleration. His actions are fueling global warming—and may leave places in the United States uninhabitable by mid-century, Vann R. Newkirk II writes.

Under the Trump administration, the Treasury Department and IRS are issuing rules that provide hundreds of billions of dollars in tax cuts to big companies and the ultrarich. Here's how.

Los Angeles County fire survivors, frustrated about delayed and denied insurance claims, want CA insurance regulator Ricardo Lara to resign. They also accuse him of being too cozy with the industry. Would his exit make a difference in the state's insurance market? calmatters.org/economy/2025...

There are a lot of unsettling ways newsrooms are incorporating AI into their journalism, but it’s nice to see my guy Ryan Sabalow’s stellar Digital Democracy reporting and the work @calmatters.org is doing in this space highlighted as one of the positive use cases www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/b...

CFR President Michael Froman discusses the latest from the civil war in Sudan with CFR Africa expert Michelle Gavin. Read their full conversation ⬇️

NEW: A provocative idea, if Trump’s EPA abandons climate policy, could California take over on greenhouse gases? calmatters.org/environment/...

As shady and unsurprising as this is, even in deficit times, I’m equally as disturbed that incoming Senate President Monique Limon seems to have a bad habit of sneaking in giveaways & state law exemptions for the wealthy few in her district calmatters.org/politics/202...

The Trump administration’s gutting of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been good for venture capitalists like Marc Andreessen, who previously accused the agency of “terrorizing” fintech startups and crypto companies. ⁦