California
Daily Briefing: Active-duty troops deployed to California
Good morning!🙋🏼♀️ I’m Nicole Fallert. Can you guess Chipotle’s new dip?
Quick look at Tuesday’s news:
- Anti-ICE protests continued in Los Angeles for a fourth night.
- Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ousted all 17 members of a panel that advises the CDC on the safety, efficacy and clinical needs of vaccines.
- The man at the center of the Supreme Court case that changed gay marriage is worried about equality.
700 Marines are heading to Los Angeles
Anti-immigration raid protests continued last night as the Pentagon is set to send hundreds of Marines to support the National Guard in California as state officials say they will sue the Trump administration’s decision to “trample over” Gov. Gavin Newsom’s authority.
The addition of active-duty troops marks a significant escalation. It comes as California officials say they will sue the Trump administration after the president ordered National Guardsmen to Los Angeles without the governor’s consent and after the president even suggested Newsom should be arrested.
Get more coverage on the situation in Los Angeles with USA TODAY:
New Jersey governor’s race will signal Democrats next move
New Jersey’s gubernatorial primary Tuesday is considered one of the best litmus tests for the type of candidate Democrats have an appetite for going forward. There are six Democrats seeking to succeed Gov. Phil Murphy (a fellow Democrat who is term limited). Electability remains an issue in the primary that could hobble progressives with a more aggressive approach, and give more centrist-minded contenders an opening. And many New Jersey Democrats have openly expressed concern in recent reports that their state, which tends to lean blue in presidential elections, might be turning red. Experts have warned how close — and unpredictable — this race will be.
More news to know now
What’s the weather today? Check your local forecast here.
RFK Jr. fires entire CDC vaccine advisory panel
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has fired all 17 members of a committee that advises the federal government on vaccine safety and will replace them with new members, a move that the Trump administration’s critics warned would create public distrust around the government’s role in promoting public health. Kennedy Jr.’s decision marks a reversal from what a key Republican senator said the Trump Cabinet member had promised during his confirmation hearings earlier this year. One medical expert told USA TODAY that Kennedy was “fixing a problem that doesn’t exist.”
Travelers caught off guard as travel ban rules come into effect
‘It’s scary. It makes me worried. It affects my decisions to go home to visit my family.’
~ Randy Wicaksana, 33, an Indonesian national who has lived in the U.S. for about three years. Wicaksana said he is preparing to return home later this month to renew his visa but is increasingly uncertain about what might await him when he comes to the U.S. again.
Today’s talkers
He was at the center of a Supreme Court case that changed gay marriage. Now, he’s worried.
When Jim Obergefell was sitting in the gallery at the Supreme Court on June 26, 2015, he was waiting to hear his name. The justices were preparing to rule on Obergefell v. Hodges, a case that became a landmark in the progress toward LGBTQ+ rights in the U.S. The case, which considered the rights of same-sex couples to marry, ultimately won favor with a majority of the justices, but for Obergefell, the moment wasn’t, and could never be, totally complete. His husband, John Arthur, died years before the ruling was announced. Now, 10 years on, Obergefell sat down with USA TODAY to reflect on how their love for each other helped shape the fight for marriage equality in the U.S., and what progress there is to still be made in the fight for equality.
Photo of the day: Ed soars
If you’ve missed Ed the zebra’s escapades this past week, the rogue zoo animal was finally caught and given an aerial trip home. He just wanted to see the world from a different point of view!
Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com.
California
California orders Tahoe Truckee schools to leave Nevada sports over transgender athlete dispute
The California Department of Education is requiring the Tahoe Truckee Unified School District to follow state law in another clash over transgender athletes in youth sports in the state.
Currently, student-athletes in Tahoe Truckee Unified play sports in Nevada because of how close they are. But Nevada now bans transgender athletes in girls’ sports, which is against California state law.
So after decades of playing in Nevada, California’s Department of Education is requiring the Tahoe Truckee Unified School District to compete in California to comply with state laws that allow student athletes to compete based on their gender identity.
David Mack is the co-founder of Tahoe Pride and describes the new youth sports divide in the Tahoe region.
“So no one’s happy, it’s really sad, it’s quite tragic in that way,” Mack said. “People feel really upset that the school moved so fast on this. They feel blindsided, they feel not listened to, and then other people, like the trans kids, are getting steamrolled over like they’re not recognized in this argument.”
Nevada state lawmakers passed a law in April requiring a mandatory physical signed by a doctor to deem the athlete male or female based on their birth sex.
“This is a politically manufactured issue to try to divide people,” Mack said.
The Tahoe Truckee Unified School District is responding to the California Department of Education with a solution that the district legally join the California Interscholastic Federation in 2026, but continue to play in the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association through 2028.
When asked if transgender athletes would be able to compete while operating in the NIAA, the district said it’s “still in the early stages of this transition, and many details are still being developed.”
In an October letter addressed to the California Department of Education, the school district’s attorney, Matthew Juhl-Darlington, said the Tahoe Truckee Unified is “not aware of any transgender youth who have expressed interest in participating in its 2025-2026 athletic programs.”
“While the NIAA recently updated its polices to define ‘male’ and ‘female’ based on sex assigned at birth and not as reflected in an individual’s gender identity, as required under California law, the District is interpreting and implementing this policy in a manner consistent with California’s legal requirements,” Juhl-Darlington said in the letter.
California Republican Rep. Kevin Kiley is opposed to the state order, arguing the weather conditions in Tahoe need to be considered.
“So in order to compete in a California league, you have to deal with this snowy weather and the travel dangers and so forth,” Kiley said.
The school board was expected to explain its solution to both join California’s CIF while playing in the NIAA through 2028 to parents and students Wednesday night at a board meeting.
So far, the California Department of Education has not said if it will accept this as a solution.
California
California wants Verizon to compromise more on DEI
California
California governor race heats up with uncertainty and potential surprises
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) As the race for California’s next governor intensifies, uncertainty looms with the primary election just six months away.
A recent Emerson College poll shows Republican Chad Bianco leading by a narrow margin of one point, while 31% of voters remain undecided.
“The field remains wide open,” said Tal Eslick, owner of Vista Consulting. “There’s a half dozen credible Democrats in the race. There’s really a couple – two – namely Republicans.”
Eslick noted that Bianco’s lead is more reflective of the crowded Democratic field than a shift toward Republicans statewide.
California governor race heats up with uncertainty and potential surprises (Photo: AdobeStock)
He suggested a “black horse candidate” could still emerge, possibly from Hollywood or outside politics.
With rising energy and gas prices, affordability is expected to be a key issue for voters.
California governor race heats up with uncertainty and potential surprises (AP Photo/Juliana Yamada, File)
“I think that you could also see voters vote with their pockets,” Eslick said, highlighting the potential for a non-traditional candidate to gain traction.
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