Good morning. It’s Thursday, Nov. 10.
- Rep. Kevin McCarthy faces a rough road ahead.
- L.A. mayor’s race appears headed for photo finish.
- And a billionaire’s fortune is eviscerated in one day.
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Election 2022
1.
After a series of unexpected Democratic victories, the balance of power in the House of Representatives remained unsettled Wednesday and several too-close-to-call California races could determine which way it goes. According to Politico, Democrats have won 26 of California’s 52 seats, Republicans have won four, and 22 were still uncalled. Incumbents from both parties appeared endangered. A.P.
See live results from California’s House races.
The battle for Congress: See the N.Y. Times’ live dashboard.
2.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy, of Bakersfield, announced Wednesday that he would seek the House speakership and he said he has the votes to do it. If the G.O.P. prevails, the House Republican leader will have to manage a far smaller majority than he had hoped. The task of governing an ideologically fractious majority drove the last two Republican speakers, John Boehner and Paul Ryan, out of politics, as right-wingers repeatedly rebelled against them. L.A. Times | Vox | Washington Post
3.
Movements in key races:
- San Francisco district attorney
This election has not yet been called, but Brooke Jenkins, the incumbent, declared victory over John Hamasaki on Wednesday. “San Francisco is no longer a haven for crime,” she said. S.F. Chronicle - Los Angeles mayor
The contest between Rep. Karen Bass and Rick Caruso appeared to be headed for a photo finish, as Caruso held a razor-thin lead with more than half of the ballots still to be tabulated. L.A. Times - Los Angeles County sheriff
After a tumultuous first term, Sheriff Alex Villanueva trailed challenger Robert Luna by more than 13 percentage points. Reporter Kate Cagle shared a video of Villanueva appearing to be exasperated by the vote count. San Gabriel Valley Tribune - State attorney general
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a progressive reformer, clinched his race Wednesday, fending off a Republican former federal prosecutor, Nathan Hochman. The latest tally showed Bonta with 57% of the vote. A.P. - State controller
Democrat Malia Cohen was leading in the race to be California’s fiscal chief, diminishing G.O.P. hopes that Lanhee Chen could become the first Republican to hold statewide office in 16 years. Cohen was up 54% to 46%. A.P.
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See full California election results: L.A. Times | KQED
Results from local regions 👇
San Diego County | Orange County | Los Angeles County | Bay Area | Fresno County | Sacramento County | North State
4.
Other election odds and ends:
- Voters approved Proposition 1 by a whopping 30-point margin, as support for codifying abortion rights in the California constitution extended into red parts of the state. The win was replicated across the country, defying predictions that the issue had faded for voters since the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Mercury News | Politico
- Gambling interests spent hundreds of millions of dollars on competing ballots to allow sports betting in California, making it the most expensive proposition gamble in U.S. history. They flopped in epic fashion. S.F. Chronicle | A.P.
- The authorities opened a criminal investigation into whether L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva violated state law when he solicited campaign donations from deputies. “This message is for deputies,” he said in a video, speaking into the camera while dressed in civilian clothes. L.A. Times
Statewide
5.
“A timeless companion may be slipping away on the coast of Northern California. It is hard to imagine San Francisco without fog. But it is getting sadly easier.”
The New York Times featured three places in California — Kings Canyon National Park, the Tahoe Basin, and San Francisco — in a photo feature on how the climate crisis is changing our world.
Northern California
6.
The cryptocurrency tycoon Sam Bankman-Fried saw his $16 billion fortune fall to roughly $1 billion on Tuesday, a 94% plunge that was called the biggest wealth collapse by a billionaire in a single day. Bankman-Fried, 30, who grew up in the Bay Area, founded the crypto exchange FTX in 2019 and built it into a $32 billion company. Questions about the stability of the business led to a bank run. Then a rival backed out of planned bailout, sending shudders throughout the crypto industry. Bloomberg | CNN
7.
Meta announced Wednesday that it was firing 11,000 employees, or 13% of its workforce. The culling brought total layoffs at companies in or near San Francisco to nearly 19,000 just since the beginning of November, one analysis found. That’s more than the total number of layoffs throughout the entire rest of 2022. Mark Zuckerberg said Meta’s problems were his fault: “I got this wrong.” SF Standard | Wall Street Journal
8.
The Tehama County Sheriff’s Office announced that it was ending daytime patrols as a result of a “catastrophic staffing shortage.” The county, a rural region in the Sacramento Valley, has a significantly higher crime rate than that of the state. Red Bluff, its most populous city, has a violent crime rate that is higher that 97% of American cities. The sheriff’s office said deputies were fleeing because of low pay. SFGATE | KRCR
9.
Cain Velasquez walked out of a San Jose jail on Wednesday after posting $1 million bail. The UFC heavyweight champion was charged with attempted murder after he was accused of shooting at a man he believed molested his 4-year-old son. The man’s stepfather was wounded in the shooting. Velasquez, 40, had been behind bars since Feb. 28. “We’ll be good,” he said Wednesday. KRON | ESPN
10.
In 1925, the UC Berkeley anthropologist Alfred L. Kroeber declared the Ohlone people to be extinct. The inaccurate claim played a hand in the tribe’s loss of federal recognition. So it was a fraught moment when the world’s only Ohlone restaurant opened at the university in September. The owners have described Cafe Ohlone — which serves venison meatballs, chia-seed bread, and an acorn soup that takes six months to make — as an opportunity for healing. HuffPost
Southern California
11.
The brother of Ashli Babbitt, the San Diego woman killed during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, was convicted of a hate crime, San Diego’s city attorney said Wednesday. Roger Stefan Witthoeft Jr., 34, of Ocean Beach, became enraged last year when an SDG&E crew blocked a road while fixing a utility box. He assaulted one of the Latino workers, telling him, “talk in English you (expletive) immigrant” and “go back to your country.” Times of San Diego | NBC San Diego
12.
Andrew Chamings paid a visit to Yermo at the edge of the Mojave Desert that is home to California’s biggest gas station. Sometimes called the Disneyland of gas stations, EddieWorld is visible from 2 miles in any direction. The colossal blue-and-pink shrine to fossil fuels has 26 pumps, three restaurants, 500 varieties of candy, and more than 50 kinds of jerky. SFGATE
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The California Sun is written by Mike McPhate, a former California correspondent for the New York Times.
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