SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California state Sen. Mike McGuire, a Santa Rosa Democrat, is a die-hard San Francisco 49ers fan.

During his first speech as Senate president pro tempore in early 2024, McGuire gave a shout-out to his beloved team, who were days away from facing the Kansas City Chiefs at the Super Bowl.

His late grandmother “would be ...Read more

With only four months before nominating conventions, Republican candidate for governor Ryan Fazio said Monday that he has passed the threshold needed to qualify for public financing.

Fazio said he has raised $272,000 so far, including $114,000 in the just-completed quarter and $157,000 in the previous quarter. His contributions must be ...Read more

Meta Platforms Inc. has appointed a former top adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump to a newly created senior management role focused on partnering with governments and investors on AI.

Dina Powell McCormick, a former Goldman Sachs executive, is joining the company this week as president and vice chairman. She’s part of a new team of ...Read more

Moderna Inc.’s chairman says the Trump administration’s vaccine policy changes are part of a broader attack on science that may have only just begun.

“Today it may be childhood vaccines or mRNA, but tomorrow it’s everything,” Noubar Afeyan said in an interview Monday on the sidelines of the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference in San ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Twelve House Democrats who last year sued the Trump administration over a policy limiting congressional oversight of immigrant detention facilities returned to federal court Monday to challenge a second, new policy imposing further limits on such unannounced visits.

In December, those members of Congress won their lawsuit ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he is imposing a 25% tariff on goods from countries “doing business” with Iran, ratcheting up pressure on the government in Tehran that has been rocked by widespread protests.

Trump posted on social media on Monday that the new duty would be “effective immediately,” without providing details ...Read more

The U.S. Supreme Court said it will not review a lower court's decision in a case involving subsistence fishing in Alaska, a decision that keeps in place a unique federal protection viewed as critical by Alaska Natives.

"Petition DENIED," the Supreme Court said in the docket for the case Monday.

The decision ends a bid by the state of Alaska ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Both parties are preparing for a hard-fought midterm election year that, if the first full week of 2026 is any indication, will bring along some surprises.

Primary contests begin in March and will help answer key questions about what’s driving voters in both parties and set up the critical battleground races to watch in the ...Read more

WASHINGTON — For congressional Republicans, the year’s big question is how aggressive should they be in trying to advance President Donald Trump’s policies as the midterm elections approach as opposed to making the sales pitch for what’s already become law.

The immediate challenge facing Congress is once again funding the government, ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly on Monday sued Secretary Pete Hegseth and the Defense Department in D.C. district court over the Pentagon’s attempt to reduce Kelly’s pension pay and rank after he appeared in a November video that urged troops to refuse unlawful orders.

The lawsuit contends that Kelly’s speech was ...Read more

WASHINGTON — A compromise fiscal 2026 funding bill released Sunday would provide major increases for federal public defenders as well as a court security account, matching requests from the judiciary in those two areas.

Federal public defenders would see a nearly 22% increase in funding under the bill, a proposed figure that comes amid long-...Read more

Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., sued Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Monday to block the Pentagon’s effort to punish him for urging troops to defy illegal orders from superiors.

The retired Navy captain and astronaut asked a court to reverse Hegseth’s formal censure of him, which could lead to a demotion and reduction in retirement pay, saying the...Read more

WASHINGTON — Democrats need to hone their messaging on “full-throated economic populist ideas” as the party looks to regain ground in the 2026 midterms, Sen. Elizabeth Warren said Monday. And she suggests the party take a page out of President Donald Trump’s playbook to do that.

“Donald Trump said every single day that he would lower ...Read more

WASHINGTON — House Democrats renewed their legal challenge Monday to the Trump administration’s restrictions on congressional oversight visits to immigration detention facilities, after the Department of Homeland Security released new guidance requiring a seven-day wait period.

In a court filing Monday, attorneys representing the lawmakers ...Read more

MIAMI — Miami Dade College is trying to disqualify a judge who already ruled in its favor from any future proceedings in a public transparency lawsuit over the College Board of Trustees’ decision-making process to give away prime downtown land for Donald Trump’s presidential library.

Even though Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Mavel Ruiz tossed ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — They were sons of Washington, D.C., privilege, young men whose fathers shaped the nation’s history for better and for worse.

The two men from San Diego each found their own success, in part through family connections — one repeatedly winning election to Congress, the other becoming a respected state prosecutor.

Then they each...Read more

WASHINGTON — After months of pressure from rank-and-file members, a House panel will consider a new Republican-led bill this week that aims to prohibit members of Congress from trading stocks.

The bill, unveiled Monday by House Administration Chair Bryan Steil, R-Wis., would ban members of Congress, their spouses and dependent children from ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Former Rep. Mary Peltola launched a run for Senate in Alaska on Monday, positioning herself as an independent-minded Democrat and boosting the party’s hopes that a competitive race in a deep-red state could help Democrats secure control of the chamber.

Peltola served as the state’s at-large House member for over two years ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments Tuesday over the legality of state bans on transgender athletes participating in women and girls’ sports, in a pair of cases that could shape the legal landscape nationwide for similar bans and other transgender issues.

Two athletes challenged state laws in Idaho and West Virginia...Read more

WASHINGTON — Appropriations are on the agenda for both chambers of Congress this week, with a three-bill spending package potentially reaching President Donald Trump’s desk by the end of the week, and a possible Venezuela war powers vote-a-rama coming to the Senate floor.

The Senate is scheduled to vote Monday evening to limit debate on ...Read more