L.A. takes aim at phenibut, an unregulated 'gas station drug' that is growing in popularity
L.A. City Council hopes to regulate phenibut, a drug one councilmember says is widely available to children in gas stations and convenience stores.
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Father of USS Lincoln sailor is released from ICE detention
The immigrant father of a sailor who is on board the beleaguered USS Abraham Lincoln is back with his family on Tuesday after being detained by immigration authorities over the weekend. The family confirmed the release of Luis Manuel Aviles in a statement posted on social media b...
Chabria: Sheriff Chad Bianco can't catch a break. That's a good thing
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco confiscated ballots, claiming he was investigating election fraud. California's Supreme Court justices called Bianco's logic "bizarre."...
LA County seeks bilingual election workers for November election
Los Angeles County election officials on Monday were recruiting bilingual workers to staff Vote Centers for the Nov. 3 general election. The Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s office is seeking people who speak English and one of several languages for which bilingual workers are i...
Ex-council members from Baldwin Park and Compton sentenced to federal prison on bribery charges
The Department of Justice logo is displayed. (Andrew Harnik / Getty Images) Topline: Two former city council members from Baldwin Park and Compton were each sentenced to 18 months in federal prison Monday for their roles in two bribery schemes, including one involving the licensi...
California Supreme Court appears skeptical of sheriff's authority to seize ballots
The state's high court heard arguments Monday in the dispute over whether Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco had the authority to seize more than 600,000 ballots in last year's special election in what he claimed was an investigation into potential voter fraud....
California Supreme Court takes up sheriff's ballot seizure case
Oral arguments began Monday morning in the California Supreme Court in San Francisco regarding the controversial seizure of ballots in Riverside County following the November 2025 election....
Supreme Court sides with Trump on mail voting restrictions ahead of midterms
The Supreme Court opened a path Monday for possible implementation of President Donald Trump ‘s executive order restricting mail-in voting, though it remains unclear how much can be put in place before the fast-approaching midterm elections . The decision leaves room for addition...
LA Mayor Bass has skipped more than half of LAHSA board meetings
Mayor Karen Bass attends a Feb. 28, 2025 LAHSA meeting. An LAist analysis of meeting records found she's missed 25 of 47 meetings since appointing herself to the commission in late 2023. (Nick Gerda / LAist) Karen Bass became the first Los Angeles mayor to serve on the influentia...
Father of sailor aboard the beleaguered USS Abraham Lincoln detained by ICE, family says
The immigrant father of a sailor on board the beleaguered USS Abraham Lincoln was detained Saturday by immigration officials, family members said. Luis Manuel Aviles, originally from Nicaragua, was detained shortly after 11 a.m. ET in Key West, Florida , where he lives, stepdaugh...
Raman's role in tackling homelessness comes under scrutiny in L.A. mayor's race
Critics say the candidate failed to lead a homelessness committee with the urgency needed to combat L.A.'s enduring crisis. Raman claims that politics were at play....
Will Trump interfere in the midterms? Democrats and their allies are preparing
Across California and the nation, Democratic leaders and voting rights advocates are ramping up coordination and gaming out responses to a raft of potential actions by the Trump administration to subvert the November vote or deny its outcome....
Recent college graduate identified as creator of phony L.A. mayor's race poll
Rahil Prakash said he created the fake poll, released under the name Median Strategies, claiming Bass had a big lead in L.A. mayoral race.
Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Begins Outreach Mailings for 2026 General Election
August 21, 2026 Media Contact: Mike Sanchez : (562) 462-2648 Media Info : (562) 462- 3054 Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Begins Outreach Mailings for 2026 General Election LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk (RR/CC) Dean C. Logan announced the mailin...
Watch: Man dressed as Darth Vader speaks on Flock cameras at San Diego council meeting
A man dressed as "Star Wars" villain Darth Vader spoke up at a California city council meeting on the decision to acquire Flock cameras.
Mayor Karen Bass, labor unions push for resolution on proposed Paramount-Warner Bros. merger
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and entertainment labor leaders are raising concerns about continued uncertainty surrounding Paramount-Skydance's pending purchase of Warner Bros....
Futuristic or frustrating? Inglewood residents debate digital billboards
Digital advertising kiosks and screens have recently popped up near SoFi Stadium and the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, sparking mixed reactions from residents and visitors over their visual and environmental impact....
Los Angeles City Council rescinds homeless encampment bans in Hollywood, Echo Park, Silver Lake
Camping bans that were put in place in parts of Hollywood, Echo Park and Silver Lake are now being lifted.
This tiny SoCal amphibian is one step closer to getting permanent state protections
The vertical-slit pupils are one distinguishing feature of the Western spadefoot. Others are a spade on its back feet, and its distinctive peanut buttery smell. (Chris Brown / U.S. Geological Survey) Topline: Good news for frog fans — the California Fish and Game Commission voted...
Aisha Wahab wins election to complete former Rep. Eric Swalwell's term
Wahab, a progressive state senator from the East Bay, defeated BART President Melissa Hernandez in a special election to complete Swalwell's term.
CA lawmaker Aisha Wahab wins special election to succeed Eric Swalwell in Congress
California lawmaker Aisha Wahab secured victory Thursday in a special election to serve the rest of former Rep. Eric Swalwell's House term, which ends in January....
A fake poll fooled the LA mayor’s campaign. It’s a 'wake-up call' for other politicians
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass speaks at a news conference in 2025. (Carlin Stiehl / LAist) Mark Baldassare has seen his fair share of eyebrow-raising political polls in his decades-long career as a public opinion researcher. Never, though, has he encountered a completely fake survey with...
USS Lincoln headed home after extended deployment and concerns over conditions on board
The USS Abraham Lincoln is on its way home after a historic deployment that included nearly 275 consecutive days at sea and reports of mental health challenges and shortages aboard while it was supporting the Iran war. A U.S. official told NBC News the Lincoln has been sailing ho...
Californians are more concerned about Trump interference in midterm than fraud, poll finds
Californians are more concerned about the Trump administration interfering in the state's midterm elections than they are about voter fraud, noncitizens voting illegally or foreign interference, according to a new poll....
Arellano: L.A. Mayor Karen Bass lost last night's debate against Nithya Raman. Badly
Again and again, Bass went after Raman in the pettiest, most personal ways. She kept mocking her as a supposed egghead with no real-life governing experience....
Bass and Raman clash over homelessness, policing in fiery LA mayoral debate
Karen Bass and Nithya Raman traded sharp attacks during a debate, sparring over homelessness policy and public safety.
Sparks fly between LA mayoral candidates in first debate leading to the November election
Incumbent L.A. Mayor Karen Bass (left) and City Councilmember Nithya Raman (right) appear at a debate hosted by the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association. (Jenn Baughman / LAist) The two candidates for Los Angeles mayor, incumbent Karen Bass and challenger Nithya Raman, traded shar...
Bass, Raman spar over policing, homelessness in first mayoral debate since June primary
The showdown in Sherman Oaks was the first face-to-face debate since Mayor Karen Bass and Councilmember Nithya Raman emerged as the top vote-getters in the June 2 mayoral primary....
Amid controversy, California officials release long-awaited Delta water plan
California's state water board has released a long-awaited plan for the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.
LA City Council rescinds anti-camping zones in parts of LA
The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday approved a resolution introduced by Councilman Hugo Soto Martinez to remove 12 “anti-camping zones” in the Hollywood area — a move that appears to be the first time the city has withdrawn such a designation under a policy barring unhoused...
LA approves plan to fast-track construction of temporary structures for 2028 Olympics
The LA28 Olympic cauldron is lit during a ceremonial lighting at the Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles on Jan. 13, ahead of the launch of ticket registration. (Frederic J. Brown / Getty Images ) Topline: The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday approved a move that would fast-tra...
Proposition 28 arts funding at center of dispute over LAUSD spending
California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 28 in 2022 with a promise: provide nearly $1 billion annually for arts and music education in public schools across the state. In many districts, the money has translated into new music programs, arts classes and performances....
LA mayor race: Raman says Bass' decision to pause safety project could be politically motivated
The general election is less than three months away, with early voting starting in six weeks, and campaign season is heating up in the race for Los Angeles mayor and California governor....
Raman campaign plans to hire controversial strategy group that advised Graham Platner
Nithya Raman's mayoral campaign plans to hire the controversial progressive consulting group Fight Agency to shoot television advertisements, the campaign confirmed Wednesday....
California voters favor progressive candidates, split over democratic socialism, poll finds
California voters are more inclined to back progressives running for office than mainstream Democrats, a new poll found, though a marked generational divide separates those who favor each camp....
L.A. City Council repeals homeless camping bans in Echo Park, Silver Lake, Hollywood
Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez says the camping bans were ineffective at combatting homelessness.
The L.A. mayoral poll was a fake. But was it illegal?
Legal analysts say the motive of Median Strategies in putting out the phony poll would be a decisive factor in determining whether any laws were broken....
L.A. City Council removes 12 homeless enforcement zones under 41.18
The Los Angeles City Council voted 10-3 to remove 12 additional 41.18 enforcement zones in Council District 13.
Why the LA City Council is canceling homelessness anti-camping rules in some neighborhoods
People walk past a homeless encampment near a Target store on Sept. 28, 2023 in Hollywood. (Mario Tama/Getty Images / Getty Images North America) After homelessness advocates pushed a Los Angeles City Council member to change how the city treats encampments in his district, the f...
The fake L.A. mayor poll adds to challenges facing the public opinion industry
The fake opinion survey showing Karen Bass with a commanding lead in the L.A. mayoral race comes amid a wave of low-quality polls that have missed the mark in marquee races....
Bass and Raman face off in first mayoral debate ahead of the general election
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass (left) and Councilmember Nithya Raman (right) at a mayoral debate in May 2026 ahead of the June primary. (NBCLA) The two candidates vying for the job of Los Angeles mayor — incumbent Karen Bass and challenger Nithya Raman — will face off Wednesday night in t...
ABC and Disney sue FCC, alleging First Amendment violations
Josh D'Amaro, CEO, The Disney Company, Chairman attends the press day of 'Disney Adventure World' & 'World Of Frozen' at Disneyland Paris on March 28, 2026 in Paris, France. (Aurore Marechal / Getty Images) The ABC network sued the Federal Communications Commission in federal cou...
Will California vote ‘progressive’ in insurance commissioner race?
Jane Kim speaks at the 2026 California Democratic Party State Convention in San Francisco on Feb. 21, 2026. (Jeff Chiu / AP Photo) Progressive Jane Kim, one of two Democratic candidates for California insurance commissioner, is betting that voters are as hungry for change as thos...
Tired of the political texts on your phone? Here's how to stop them — well, some of them
The general election is approaching, and you may be seeing more political ads and messages on your phone. (Robert Nickelsberg / Getty Images North America) It’s election season, which means California residents are receiving text messages from candidates making pleas for their vo...
Widely shared poll results for LA mayoral race were fake, 'polling firm' says
A widely shared poll that showed Mayor Karen Bass leading Nithya Raman by nearly 12 points ahead of the Nov. 3 mayoral runoff was fake, according to a new report....
Riverside County sheriff warns hundreds of department jobs could be cut amid budget dispute
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco is criticizing the Board of Supervisors over the county's latest budget, warning that the department could soon be forced to cut more than 600 positions....
Buss family will sell minority ownership stake in Lakers to Kushner and Iger, reports say
Jeanie Buss and her siblings are selling their remaining share of the Los Angeles Lakers to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner, who bought a majority stake in the team on Aug. 12, 2026. (AP Photo / Jae C. Hong) The Buss family has voted to sell its 17.8% minority ownership of the Los Ange...
2 US regions lead ranking of 2025 population growth: See full list
A new look at recent population changes in the United States shows a definite pattern in where people choose to live. All five states that top the leaderboard for population growth sit either in the South or the Rocky Mountains....
Poll shows Latino voters favor a good economy over political ties
A sheet of voter stickers is seen inside a polling place in California. (David McNew / Getty Images) Topline: Recent polling from the Latino Working Class Project found that Republican support among California Latinos has dropped, with issues like cost-of-living moving more favor...
Poll showing Bass leading Raman by double digits was bogus, company says
The bogus poll — which the company claimed was a social media experiment — also showed Bass picking up support from most voters who supported Spencer Pratt in the mayoral primary....
Business and labor square off in West Valley's 3rd District L.A. City Council race
Gaspar touts his experience as a small business owner, while Worth Girvan says her experience in the public sector will make her a stronger advocate for Valley constituents....
USS Abraham Lincoln crew concerns: Sen. Ruben Gallego blames Donald Trump administration, US-Iran war for USS Lincoln conditions
Sen. Gallego reacted to reports of poor conditions aboard the USS Lincoln, saying they are ongoing and blaming the Trump administration's leadership and the war with Iran for the ship's extended deployment....
Ukraine launches 600 drones toward Moscow in major barrage, mayor says
Ukraine launched hundreds of drones across Russia on Sunday, killing at least six people in one of Kyiv's largest aerial attacks of the war.
Paddleboarder dies on Colorado reservoir, second death in 9 days
A paddleboarder drowned in a Colorado reservoir Friday. marking the second paddleboarding death there in nine days.