The Brief

Editor’s note: This story includes descriptions of sexual harassment and racist language.

In June 2017, Eric Garcetti gathered with a group of his staffers, advisers and lobbyists on a hotel rooftop in Miami Beach, Florida.

At the time, Garcetti was a rising star in the Democratic Party. He had just been reelected mayor of Los Angeles, the second-biggest city in the U.S., and he was actively laying the foundation for a potential presidential campaign.

Garcetti’s staff was in Miami Beach for a meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. On the final night of the conference, with the sunset fading over the hotel pool, the group posed for pictures.

One of those photos would go on to haunt Garcetti’s political career, from his time as mayor of Los Angeles to his current post as U.S. ambassador to India.

In the middle of the photo, Garcetti is smiling, giving two thumbs-ups.

Garcetti is flanked by people he knew well: a pair of lobbyists, a business executive and a city official.

On the left is one of Garcetti’s closest political allies at the time, a man named Rick Jacobs. Jacobs is a powerful and well-connected figure in LA politics and was part of Garcetti’s inner circle. He had been a political consultant, fundraiser, deputy chief of staff, trusted adviser and friend to Garcetti for years.

In the photo, Jacobs is standing just a couple of feet from Garcetti, posing with his outstretched hand placed deliberately in front of a lobbyist’s crotch.

Garcetti (center with his thumbs up) poses for a photo with staffers, advisers and lobbyists on a hotel rooftop in Miami Beach, Florida.

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Photo obtained via California Public Records Act request

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That lobbyist would later testify that he found the situation upsetting and embarrassing.

“I thought Rick Jacobs should be ashamed,” he said. (NPR is not naming him as a victim of sexual misconduct.)

For years, the photo circulated among Garcetti’s City Hall staff, the kind of photo that people gossiped about and showed at after-work happy hours.

For some, the photo of Garcetti, with his eyes looking toward the camera, functioned as a kind of visual metaphor.

When the photo was taken on that hotel rooftop, Garcetti said, he was looking the other way.

Just a few years later, in 2020, an LAPD officer on Garcetti’s protective detail sued the city of Los Angeles and alleged that Jacobs sexually harassed him over the course of 2014 to 2019 and that Garcetti witnessed the behavior and failed to act. That lawsuit led to the release of the photo, along with a cascade of accusations from people in and around the Garcetti administration.

Multiple city employees testified in depositions that Jacobs subjected them to unwanted massages and hugs, crude sexual comments and racist language without facing any consequences.

Jacobs denied all wrongdoing, calling the allegations against him “pure fiction.” Under oath, Jacobs denied sexually harassing anyone. He admitted, however, that he referred to his Asian American assistant at City Hall as a “Chinaman.” He acknowledged that he posed for the photo next to Garcetti as part of a “really stupid joke.” Asked whether he made “comments of a sexual nature” in front of Garcetti, Jacobs testified it was “possible.”

A screenshot of Rick Jacobs testifying at his videotaped deposition.

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Matthew Garza v. City of Los Angeles

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Garcetti said he never saw inappropriate behavior from Jacobs, in public or private, at any time. He testified he could not even recall Jacobs telling a joke, let alone an off-color comment.

After the lawsuit was filed, Garcetti initially stood by Jacobs and said they would continue to work together while a city-commissioned sexual harassment investigation was ongoing.

“Fundamentally, this is something that should take a process forward, but shouldn’t keep somebody who has been a committed public servant from being able to serve our community and our world,” Garcetti told reporters in July 2020. Garcetti stopped working with Jacobs months later, when additional accusations became public.

Despite the allegations, Garcetti fought to keep his political career on track while maintaining that he was completely unaware of any inappropriate behavior. Ultimately, he narrowly won confirmation in the U.S. Senate as ambassador to India amid questions about what he knew about the harassment allegations and when.

Vice President Harris shakes hands with Eric Garcetti, the U.S. ambassador to India, during his swearing-in ceremony in Washington, D.C., on March 24, 2023.

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Andrew Harrer

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Bloomberg via Getty Images

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Months after Garcetti was sworn in, city leaders approved a $1.8 million settlement to resolve the lawsuit.

Like most settlements, this one did not include any admission of wrongdoing.

Garcetti told NPR, “I was surprised by the settlement. I wish it had gone to trial.”

Dueling investigative reports — one commissioned by the city of Los Angeles and the other by Senate Republicans — came to opposite conclusions. As a result, the truth of LAPD officer Matthew Garza’s allegations remains legally unresolved.

The closure of the case allowed NPR to use the California Public Records Act to obtain more than a thousand pages of unredacted transcripts of depositions of Garcetti’s inner circle.

NPR has also obtained, and is publishing for the first time, excerpts of the video of Garcetti’s deposition, showing his body language, facial expressions and demeanor as he responds to tough questions about the harassment allegations.

The evidence includes new allegations of workplace misconduct and retaliation against those who spoke out against Jacobs and Garcetti. In total, the records raise concern about Garcetti’s truthfulness, as well as the Biden-Harris administration’s decision to fully support Garcetti’s nomination as ambassador to India. NPR’s investigation also reveals the tension at the heart of a Democratic political scandal in the #MeToo era, between political ambition and a commitment to addressing sexual harassment.

The White House declined to answer NPR’s questions for this story.

Jacobs also did not respond to emails and text messages seeking comment. When an NPR journalist reached Jacobs by phone and identified himself as a reporter, Jacobs responded, “Oh,” and immediately ended the call.

Suzi Emmerling (left), Jeremy Bernard and Naomi Seligman, who all previously worked under then-Mayor Eric Garcetti in Los Angeles, have come forward and called into question whether he lied under oath.

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Jessica Pons for NPR

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Multiple former members of the Garcetti administration say that the evidence refutes Garcetti’s consistent denials.

“To watch him lie like that is such a betrayal,” said Naomi Seligman, who served as Garcetti’s communications director from 2015 to 2017 and who has accused Garcetti of committing perjury.

“There are a lot of lives and people he left behind him that have been hurt, because of his inability to own his responsibility in this situation,” said Suzi Emmerling, who served as Garcetti’s communications director from 2017 to 2019.

Here are four key takeaways from NPR’s investigation:

1. Concerns about Jacobs’ alleged misconduct at work spanned more than a decade

By the time LAPD officer Garza went public with sexual harassment allegations against Jacobs in July 2020, Garcetti and Jacobs had been friends for nearly two decades. In a 2016 email, Garcetti called Jacobs “a dear friend, as well as one of my most trusted advisors.”

A screenshot of LAPD officer Matthew Garza testifying against Rick Jacobs.

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Matthew Garza v. City of Los Angeles

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Throughout much of that time, people who knew and worked for Jacobs had concerns about his conduct, according to deposition testimony. Multiple employees testified that such concerns were widely known.

Jacobs met Garcetti in 2003, when Jacobs was working on former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean’s presidential campaign, and Garcetti endorsed Dean. Garcetti’s wife, Amy Wakeland, also worked on the campaign and was also friends with Jacobs.

In politics, Jacobs was known as a formidable, and even ruthless, fundraiser. After Dean’s campaign ended, Jacobs created a liberal group called the Courage Campaign, which is best known for its advocacy in support of same-sex marriage. Jacobs is gay.

The organization was small. Jacobs, who led the organization from 2005 to 2013, estimated in his deposition testimony that it had roughly eight employees at any given time.

NPR spoke to six former employees of the group. These former employees asked to speak anonymously, because they said they fear retaliation from Jacobs, who is still influential in LA politics as a consultant and lobbyist.

In interviews, these former employees said that Jacobs frequently made crude sexual comments at work and that he frequently hugged, squeezed and kissed the employees he managed.

“I haven’t seen any other leader I’ve worked for have that level of physical contact in the workplace,” said one former employee.

Another former employee, a gay man, said that Jacobs forcibly kissed him on the lips, touched and “aggressively” hugged him without his consent, and subjected him to “lewd and sexually graphic comments,” according to a summary of his complaint later provided to investigators for the city.

The organization was virtual and did not have a formal office. As a result, former employees said, work meetings often took place at Jacobs’ home and sometimes over alcoholic drinks, blurring the line between personal and professional. Evening fundraisers, which also frequently involved alcohol, made those lines even fuzzier. Jeremy Bernard, who did not work for the Courage Campaign but knew Jacobs socially during that time, agreed that Jacobs could be “handsy” and “aggressive” when drinking alcohol, according to his testimony.

In his deposition, Jacobs denied ever sexually harassing any employee of the Courage Campaign.

When asked whether he had kissed an employee without his consent, Jacobs replied, “I don’t recall doing so. Not without his consent.”

Jacobs is no longer formally associated with the Courage Campaign, which renamed itself Courage California and is now led by Executive Director Irene Kao.

NPR contacted Kao for comment about the former employees’ allegations.

“The allegations you shared happened some time ago, so I don’t think it would serve any purpose to send them to me at this time,” Kao wrote in an email. “Any allegations of any kind of discrimination or harassment is taken very seriously by Courage California, and we believe all parties should be afforded a just legal process.”

Kao declined to comment on Jacobs’ role with the organization, citing concerns about privacy.

During that same era, before Jacobs was hired at City Hall in 2013, Yashar Ali, a freelance journalist and former political fundraiser, said that Jacobs grabbed his face with two hands, forcibly kissed him on the lips at a party and said, “God your lips are so soft.” Ali, who is gay, said the kisses were not consensual and made him uncomfortable. He said he did not push Jacobs away.

“And once he did that, and I didn’t object to it, he continued,” Ali told NPR in an interview. “But not objecting to something is not consent. It’s just not objecting.” He estimates that Jacobs kissed him about a dozen times over the years and that Garcetti was sometimes present at these parties.

Jacobs spoke about this allegation with investigators for the city. “In Mr. Jacobs’ experience growing up and as a gay man, kissing on the mouth was a common way to greet others,” the investigators wrote in their report. Jacobs said that he believed the kisses with Ali were consensual and part of a “cutesy little game.” Ali told NPR that Jacobs’ statement was “absurd” and false.

NPR spoke to multiple sources who said that Ali’s story is consistent with their own experience and that Jacobs was widely known to touch people at parties in ways that made them uncomfortable. The Los Angeles Times and New York magazine both reported additional accounts of men who said Jacobs groped them at parties.

Garcetti’s own description of Jacobs’ behavior at parties has changed over time.

In his deposition, Garcetti testified, “I have no memory of ever meeting” Ali. But he said he witnessed Jacobs kissing people on the lips as a greeting in social environments.

“I think he might have been receiving it as much as somebody giving it,” Garcetti testified.

In an interview with city investigators, Garcetti said the contact he witnessed was appropriate, because Jacobs is gay and Jewish and, as Garcetti put it, Jews are an affectionate “hugging kind of people.”

But in his response to NPR’s questions for this story, Garcetti had a different answer.

“I don’t recall ever seeing Rick Jacobs kiss anybody, aside from social kisses on the cheek to say hello,” Garcetti wrote in an email.

NPR sought clarification of Garcetti’s answer, given that he had previously testified seeing Jacobs kiss people on the lips.

“There’s no contradiction,” Garcetti wrote in a follow-up email. “I only ever saw Rick kiss others during the normal course of social greetings, and I never witnessed any inappropriate behavior. I’ve given this testimony consistently.”

2. At LA City Hall, allegations of unwanted massages, kisses, sexual innuendo and racist comments

When Garcetti began running for LA mayor in 2013, Jacobs raised more than $2 million to support Garcetti’s campaign and attack his opponent.

Shortly thereafter, Garcetti hired Jacobs as his deputy chief of staff and gave him a special title, “executive vice mayor.” Together, Garcetti and Jacobs helped create a nonprofit called the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles. The organization raises private, tax-deductible donations from individuals, corporations and charities to help pay for initiatives in the city. Since its founding, the organization has faced questions about whether corporations, wealthy donors and even the government of Qatar, which is known for censorship and repression, were using contributions to win favor with Garcetti. And while the Mayor’s Fund is technically independent from the city government, it had an office at LA City Hall. (After Karen Bass became LA mayor, the organization moved its office out of City Hall and embraced new ethics guidelines regarding donations.)

In addition to the Mayor’s Fund, Jacobs also worked with Garcetti to create a nonprofit called Accelerator for America, which helped boost Garcetti’s presidential ambitions, as well as a political action committee called the Democratic Midterm Victory Fund, which raised money from big donors in Hollywood and business. Among the PAC’s donors were the tech billionaires Elon Musk and David Sacks.

“Rick Jacobs brought Eric Garcetti to the ball,” said Seligman, the former Garcetti communications director. “Rick Jacobs introduced him to the biggest donors he has. Rick Jacobs was his ticket.”

Naomi Seligman, who was Garcetti's communications director from 2015 to 2017, has come forward to say she believes he lied under oath.

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Jessica Pons for NPR

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In Garcetti’s world, Jacobs “had more power than any other adviser,” said Emmerling, the other former Garcetti communications director.

In a 2019 email to some of his top advisers, Garcetti wrote, “I have led a new culture at City Hall that has been recognized as the best in the country.”

Behind the scenes, the picture was much darker, and often beset by internal rivalries.

Jacobs himself told city investigators that City Hall was an environment of “literal hatred.”

Five city employees testified that Jacobs subjected them to unwanted, inappropriate or otherwise discomfiting physical contact at work, including a forcible kiss, massages, squeezes and tight hugs.

Other City Hall employees testified that they witnessed physical contact between Jacobs and other employees. Former Chief of Staff Ana Guerrero, who remains close to Garcetti, told city investigators that Jacobs used hugs to “assert his dominance” with lower-level employees, though she did not describe the contact as sexual harassment. A former press secretary for Garcetti testified that Jacobs sexually harassed her fiancé at a dinner party.

Julie Ciardullo, then chief legal counsel in the mayor’s office, testified about an incident that she said Garcetti personally witnessed, in which Jacobs allegedly cornered her in a cramped elevator and pushed against her body, joking about the “tight fit.” He was “joking around” and “invading my personal space,” even after she told him to “cut it out,” Ciardullo testified. Jacobs stopped only after Garcetti intervened, she said. Ciardullo said that she did not consider the incident sexual harassment. Garcetti’s spokesperson told the LA Times that he did not remember the incident, but Ciardullo’s “description is consistent with how [Garcetti] would handle any situation where he witnesses someone behaving unprofessionally.”

Multiple witnesses testified that Jacobs regularly made sexual comments and jokes to employees.

In addition to Jacobs’ racist reference to his Asian American assistant — which three witnesses testified to — investigators for Senate Republicans reported that Jacobs used the term “yellow people” to describe participants at a U.S.-China summit. Paul Kadzielski, a former digital director in the Garcetti administration, testified that “occasionally [Jacobs] would make jokes of a racial nature that would make me uncomfortable.”

The testimony and other evidence in the case suggest that concern about Jacobs’ workplace behavior was widely known.

“My impression was that Rick’s behavior was common knowledge among people who were my superiors,” testified Anna Bahr, a former Garcetti press secretary, “and my expectation of any repercussions for him was zero.”

Emmerling told NPR that Jacobs was seen as “beyond untouchable,” so people were reluctant to speak out. “Everyone would just say, ‘Well, he’s always gonna win. You’re never gonna push back against him or any of his behavior and prevail. So you truly don’t have a choice but to just accept it,’” Emmerling said.

Garcetti testified — and reiterated to NPR — that he never witnessed any inappropriate behavior of any kind from Jacobs.

“As someone who has spent years advocating for victims of sexual harassment, I was deeply saddened to learn about these allegations during the course of the litigation,” Garcetti told NPR in an email. “What frustrates me most is that I was only made aware of these allegations years later, in [a] lawsuit and through the press during a campaign to damage my political career. I wish these individuals — and their supervisors — had come forward while this behavior was allegedly taking place. Had that happened, I would have taken immediate action to stop it.”

3. A hush agreement kept an allegation of workplace misconduct and retaliation secret

One revelation from the records obtained by NPR is that the sexual harassment lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles was not the first time Jacobs faced a formal claim of workplace misconduct.

Because of a confidentiality agreement, the details of the accusation were hidden from the public. NPR is reporting them now for the first time.

While at City Hall, Jacobs served as the board treasurer of the Mayor’s Fund and also as a kind of liaison between the fund and Garcetti. After he left his city position, Garcetti wrote in an email that Jacobs “will continue to keep me apprised of and engaged in the excellent work the Fund is doing.”

In 2018, Jeremy Bernard, a former social secretary in the Obama White House, took on the role of CEO of the Mayor’s Fund. Bernard had been a close friend of Jacobs. But that relationship changed when Bernard became alarmed by Jacobs’ treatment of Mayor’s Fund employees.

Jeremy Bernard, the former CEO of the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles, said he found part of Garcetti’s testimony “hard to believe.”

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Jessica Pons for NPR

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Bernard testified that Jacobs “could be quite rude” to female employees and treated them poorly in comparison with male employees.

According to testimony from the case obtained by NPR, this was not an isolated concern for women in and around the Garcetti administration. Multiple people who worked in and around City Hall said under oath that Jacobs bullied and abused female colleagues.

Jacobs was “mean spirited and condescending,” was “very disrespectful and very demeaning” and “created a hostile work environment,” testified one senior adviser to Garcetti. He was “dismissive of women in general” and was “generally disliked among women at City Hall,” said a fundraiser for Garcetti. “He was belittling, demeaning, at times, cruel,” said a former press secretary for Garcetti. He was “short-tempered, very snappy and snide,” testified one former administration official. He was “controlling” and “made my life more difficult,” said another former official.

Bernard testified that he reported concerns about Jacobs’ treatment of female employees to the chair of the board of the Mayor’s Fund, Kathleen Brown, in April 2020. (Brown is a former California state treasurer, and her father, Pat Brown, and her brother, Jerry Brown, both served as governor of the state.)

A few days later, Bernard participated in a conference call with Brown and Jacobs. On that call, Bernard said, he was fired.

Bernard testified that he was “shocked and dismayed” by what took place and that he believes his firing was an act of retaliation for reporting workplace misconduct.

“Did you form an impression that Rick Jacobs retaliates against people that complain about him?” Bernard was asked in his deposition.

“Yeah. I think that is a fair assumption,” he replied.

There’s a reason this complaint has not been publicly reported before.

Bernard and Jacobs were bound by a “bilateral confidentiality” agreement surrounding the circumstances of Bernard’s firing, deposition testimony indicates. Bernard declined to comment to NPR in any way about the circumstances of his departure from the organization.

An attorney representing the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles, Lisa Von Eschen, told NPR in an email, “It is the policy of the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles not to comment on personnel matters,” and said that because of changes in the board membership, no current board members were involved in the decision. She did not answer a question about whether the organization still intends to enforce any confidentiality agreement about Bernard’s dismissal.

Brown, the former board chair, did not respond to multiple messages from NPR seeking comment.

Bernard testified that “I assume [Garcetti] knows” about the reason for his firing, but he was not certain.

Garcetti told NPR that he was not involved in personnel decisions of the Mayor’s Fund and was not aware of the circumstances of Bernard’s exit.

“Aside from one instance of a colleague complaining that Rick had taken credit for their work, and Rick calling that person territorial — a professional conflict which I helped resolve — no complaints about Rick were ever raised with me,” Garcetti told NPR. “As I’ve said too many times to count over the years — if anyone had ever made me aware of any inappropriate behavior, I would have acted to stop it.”

4. Multiple allegations that Garcetti lied under oath

Two eyewitnesses testified that they heard Garcetti personally express concern about Jacobs’ behavior before the lawsuit made allegations of misconduct public.

“The mayor and his wife had a conversation in the car about Rick Jacobs’ inappropriate behavior,” testified LAPD officer Matthew Garza, who often drove with Garcetti around the city. “I believe they used the wording that it was going to eventually ‘bite them in the ass.’”

Garcetti and his wife testified that they did not have this conversation.

Bernard, the former CEO of the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles, testified that Garcetti told him something to the effect of, “I can’t believe Rick worked out at City Hall and that we got through it without a lawsuit.”

“I have never said that to anybody, publicly or privately,” Garcetti testified in his own deposition.

“And were you ever concerned that while Rick Jacobs worked at City Hall, that he might cause a lawsuit somehow?” asked Greg Smith, the attorney for Garza.

“No, I was not,” Garcetti replied.

NPR showed Garcetti’s testimony to Bernard.

“I’m surprised that he denied it. I heard it. And I heard him say it numerous times,” he said. “I find it hard to believe that he doesn’t remember it.”

Garcetti told NPR that he stands by his testimony.

He was also asked in his deposition whether he could recall Jacobs telling jokes at work.

When asked in his deposition whether he made “jokes of a sexual nature” in front of Garcetti’s LAPD protective detail, Jacobs replied, “Oh, it is possible.”

“Have you ever done it in front of the mayor as well?” Smith asked Jacobs.

“I don’t recall,” Jacobs responded.

Garcetti was more definitive.

“I can recall him laughing at jokes, but I can’t recall him telling a joke,” Garcetti testified.

“Did he ever tell any jokes dealing with men’s body parts that you recall?” Smith asked Garcetti.

“In my presence, no,” he replied.

“And you would have never laughed at — never laughed at anything. If you never heard it, you never laughed, right?” Smith added.

“I would’ve — not only did I not laugh, I did not hear it, I did not laugh. Had I heard it, I would not have laughed, and I would’ve taken action,” said Garcetti.

Emmerling told NPR that in her position as communications director, she attended a meeting with both Garcetti and Jacobs in which Jacobs made a joke “about snorting cocaine off of a man’s penis.”

“I think we all laughed,” Emmerling said, including Garcetti.

Garcetti denied Emmerling’s account to NPR.

Suzi Emmerling, who was Garcetti’s communications director from 2017 to 2019, has come forward to say she believes he lied under oath.

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Jessica Pons for NPR

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“Absolutely not. This didn’t happen,” Garcetti wrote in his email to NPR. “I can say with certainty that I would remember a grotesque joke like that, and there’s simply no world in which I would allow that kind of a comment in a professional setting.”

Garcetti maintains that he honestly addressed all questions about the harassment allegations. He told NPR that any criticism that he failed to properly respond to harassment allegations as LA mayor was “silly.”

“I have personally supported victims of harassment my entire life and will continue to do so until the day I die,” Garcetti told NPR in an email. “I have been very honest even as this touched my own office that every one who has made an accusation deserves to be heard and investigated. What I cannot do is lie about my experience — what I have witnessed, what I have heard, what I have known.”

Emmerling told NPR that she “absolutely” believes Garcetti is lying.

“Once you tell your first lie, then you’re dug in,” she said. “And he has no choice now but to continue lying.”

Barrie Hardymon edited this story, and Monika Evstatieva produced it. Research from Barbara Van Woerkom, with art direction and photo editing by Virginia Lozano and graphic by Juweek Adolphe. Copy editing by Preeti Aroon with help from Desiree Hicks. Audience engagement support from Danielle Nett and Ameera Butt.
Copyright 2024 NPR

Apple and Google are warning some U.S-based employees on visas against traveling outside of the country to avoid the risk of getting stuck coming back, as the Trump administration toughens vetting of visa applicants, according to recent internal memos from the tech companies that were reviewed by NPR.

U.S. consulates and embassies have been reporting lengthy, sometimes months-long delays, for visa appointments following new rules from the Department of Homeland Security requiring travelers to undergo a screening of up to five years' of their social media history — a move criticized by free speech advocates as a privacy invasion.

For Apple and Google, which together employ more than 300,000 employees and rely heavily on highly-skilled foreign workers, the increased vetting and reports of extended delays were enough for the companies to tell some of their staff to stay in the U.S. if they are able to avoid foreign travel.

"We recommend avoiding international travel at this time as you risk an extended stay outside of the U.S.," Berry Appleman & Leiden, a law firm that works with Google, wrote to employees.

The law firm Fragomen, which works with Apple, wrote a similar message: "Given the recent updates and the possibility of unpredictable, extended delays when returning to the U.S., we strongly recommend that employees without a valid H-1B visa stamp avoid international travel for now," the memo read. "If travel cannot be postponed, employees should connect with Apple Immigration and Fragomen in advance to discuss the risks."

Apple and Google declined to comment on the advisories, which were first reported by Business Insider.

It's the latest sign of how the Trump administration's aggressive immigration policies are affecting the foreign-born workforce in the U.S.

Earlier this year, the White House announced that companies will be subjected to a $100,000 fee for all new H-1B visas, a type of visa popular among tech companies eager to hire highly skilled workers from abroad.

H-1Bs typically last three years, and applicants have to return to an embassy or consulate in their home country for a renewal, but reports suggest such a routine trip could lead to people being stranded for months as a result of the Trump administration's new policies.

On Friday, The Washington Post reported that hundreds of visa holders who traveled to India to renew their H-1Bs had their appointments postponed with the State Department explaining that officials needed more time to ensure that no applicants "pose a threat to U.S. national security or public safety."

At Google, the Alphabet Workers' Union has been campaigning for additional protections for workers on H-1B visas. Those workers would be particularly vulnerable in the event Google carried out layoffs, since losing employer sponsorship could jeopardize their legal status, said Google software engineer Parul Koul, who leads the union.

The need to support H-1B holders at Google, she said, has "only become more urgent with all the scrutiny and heightened vetting by the Trump administration around the H1B program, and how the administration is coming for all other types of immigrant workers."

Copyright 2025 NPR

The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing in Agoura Hills isn’t slated to open until fall 2026, but there’s already been a wild discovery near the forested overpass.

National Park Service biologists recently captured and collared a female mountain lion, now named P-129, around the construction site of the forthcoming crossing.

She is the third mountain lion to be captured through the crossing site, and the first since construction started.

Anaerial view of the Wildlife Crossing site in progress taken on December 6, 2025.

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Beth Pratt

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“The mountain lion was captured and tracked and traveling right around the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing — right in sight of it,” said Beth Pratt, Regional Executive Director of the National Wildlife Federation, one of the organizations that's managing construction of the project.

“To actually capture one right in sight of the crossing being built was pretty special,” she added.

A Puma’s path

P-129 was captured as part of the National Park Service’s Puma research project.

Scientists with the service have been studying mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains and the surrounding region since 2002. It’s one of the longest continuous urban mountain lion studies.

“The knowledge that the Park Service has gleaned from these decades of research [has] helped us understand how they travel and use the landscape in the Santa Monica Mountains,” Pratt told LAist.

The soon-to-be-completed wildlife crossing that will go over the 101 freeway was set in motion because of research done by the Puma project.

Although the crossing is intended for all wildlife, mountain lions are the ones most at risk from isolation caused by the freeway, said Pratt. The discovery of genetic degradation among mountain lions is what raised alarm bells that prompted the construction of the overpass.

In 2020, birth defects began manifesting in tracking data. Kink tails, only one descended testis and the degradation of sperm quality all pointed to the next inevitable development: sterility.

Indeed, Pratt said a major goal of the crossing is to bring "dates" — mating partners — for these mountain lions who are living in the Santa Monica Mountains.

Coming next Fall

Construction workers for the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing continue work on the project.

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Beth Pratt

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The crossing has been under construction since 2022 and is on track to open next fall. The main structure over the 101 has been completed, with a habitat of native plants growing on top.

Right now, Pratt said a massive utility relocation of electricity, water and gas lines is underway.

“We have to move those utility lines out of the way, and then the secondary structure over Agoura Road is being constructed as well,” she said.

With the big unveiling in sight, the team is now taking bets on which animal will make its maiden passage next year.

“It could be [P-129], or it could be the dominant male in the area," Pratt said. "Or it could be a new cat that we don’t even know.”

It's easy to lose our critical thinking skills around the holidays. In a frenzy of last-minute gift shopping and travel bookings, we can be more anxious, more distracted and more vulnerable.

"There's a lot of hustle and bustle during the holiday season, so there's a lot more opportunities for scammers to steal from us," says Amy Nofziger, senior director of Fraud Victim Support at the AARP Fraud Watch Network, a fraud prevention service.

In a recent AARP survey of nearly 2,000 U.S. adults, nearly 9 out of 10 reported being targeted by or falling for some type of scam during the holiday season in the past year. Common schemes included fake shipping notifications, stolen packages and fake charity and donation requests.

Being aware of the tactics that scammers use this time of year can safeguard you from falling victim to fraud, Nofziger says. She shares four types of scams her team has seen this season.

Fake retail ads on social media

Scammers open stores on social media platforms for a limited period of time. They sell fake branded clothing or jewelry and use stolen logos or similar domain names to appear authentic. The store might disappear shortly after you've placed your order.

How to protect yourself: "If you're using a vendor that you haven't normally used, take the name of the vendor, put it in a new search, type the words 'scam,' 'fraud' and 'complaint' after it, and use other shoppers' experiences with the company to guide your own," Nofziger says.

She recommends always using a credit card to pay for online goods. "You have greater consumer protections," she says, meaning, in the event you fall for a scam, you can have an easier time getting your money back.

Fake gift cards

If you're looking to buy a gift card for someone, know that it is possible for scammers to get the gift card number and PIN before you buy it.

"They actually remove stacks of gift cards off of the card carousels, log every gift card number and PIN into their system, then load those gift cards back onto the carousels," says Nofziger.

If you add money onto one of these cards, scammers are notified and able to instantly withdraw it. "You could not even have left the store yet and that money could be drained," she says.

How to protect yourself: Nofziger recommends buying gift cards that are close to the front of the store and might have had more eyes watching them. She also suggests purchasing electronic gift cards instead of physical cards that can be tampered with.

Fake delivery texts

It's more common to receive unexpected packages around the holidays, and scammers will use that to their advantage, says Nofziger.

"They'll send out fake notifications saying that they're from a shipping company and that there's a problem with your account," like a missing piece of your address, she says. "But most of the time, if there's a problem with a package, you will hear directly from the vendor."

How to protect yourself: If you receive an unexpected text message from a shipping company like UPS or FedEx asking for your personal information, Nofziger's advice is to reach out separately to the company's customer service line and confirm that a package is indeed coming your way. You can also verify your address directly through their website.

Usually, "this is nothing but a phishing scam," she says, or an attempt to dupe you into sharing personal information.

Travel deals too good to be true

Travel prices can get expensive around the holidays, leading some to search online for better deals. But Nofziger says to be wary of suspiciously cheap fares and travel websites you haven't used before.

Nofziger's team receives a lot of reports about car rental scams. "People think they're getting a great deal, but they have to prepay with a prepaid gift card," she says. "Then they get to their location and there's no car."

How to protect yourself: She recommends sticking to vendors you have a preexisting relationship with and vetting any new travel website you might use.

Ultimately, if you fall for any of these scams, know that it's common. "Be proactive and report it as quickly as possible," says Nofziger. You can report the incident to local law enforcement, the Federal Trade Commission and the AARP Fraud Watch Network.

The digital story was edited by Malaka Gharib, with art direction by Beck Harlan. We'd love to hear from you. Leave us a voicemail at 202-216-9823, or email us at LifeKit@npr.org.

Listen to Life Kit on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and sign up for our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram: @nprlifekit.

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With Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi not running for reelection, San Francisco is about to experience its most spirited congressional race since 1987, when Pelosi beat 13 candidates to fill the seat left open by the death of Rep. Sala Burton.

The 85-year-old Democrat leaves behind a historic record of accomplishment — from the power she achieved as a caucus leader and Speaker to delivering significant legislative victories, including passage of the Affordable Care Act, and her unparalleled ability to criticize President Donald Trump.

“Nancy Pelosi was the most effective speaker of the modern era, a legendary political thinker and strategist,” said Brian Hanlon, co-founder and CEO of California YIMBY, a pro-housing group. “And San Francisco punches way above its weight in terms of both national and state politics. So, who is San Francisco going to put in this seat?”

So far, three very different candidates have emerged as the top contenders to represent Pelosi’s district, which encompasses most of the city, except a southern slice that includes the Excelsior, Visitacion Valley and Oceanview neighborhoods.

The leading candidates

Connie Chan

San Francisco supervisor, District 1

The 47-year-old Democrat represents the northern section of San Francisco, including the Richmond District. Chan, who was born in Hong Kong and came to the U.S. as a teenager, is leaning into her biography as the basis of her candidacy.

“As a first-generation immigrant, I have the lived experience, understanding the challenges that immigrant community faces, and most definitely during this time, when we see the Trump administration sending ICE agents to our streets and also in courtroom, firing our immigration court judges so that they can detain our immigrants illegally,” Chan told KQED. “That is, first and foremost, one of our top priorities.”

Now in her second term on the Board of Supervisors, Chan, who once worked as an aide to former Supervisor Aaron Peskin, opposed Mayor Daniel Lurie’s Family Zoning Plan, which allows denser housing in neighborhoods like the Richmond, where single-family homes dominate. She also opposed a voter-approved ballot measure to close part of the Great Highway and create a public park, and supports sending the issue back to voters.

Scott Wiener

State senator 

Now in his eighth year in Sacramento, Wiener has championed landmark legislation to facilitate — even mandate — more housing construction in California, a position that has won him both support and criticism.

By any standard, Wiener, 55, is a prolific legislator. This year alone, 12 of his bills were passed and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. In an evaluation of state lawmakers across the country, Wiener was ranked as the most effective member of the California State Senate by the nonpartisan Center for Effective Lawmaking, a project of the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University.

Wiener, who is openly gay, said it is “definitely time” for the city’s LGBTQ+ community to elect one of its own to Congress. He would be the first openly gay representative from San Francisco in the House.

Saikat Chakrabarti

Software engineer and political activist

Chakrabarti, 39, jumped into the race before Pelosi announced her retirement, saying it was time for a new generation of leaders for the Democratic Party. Wiener also entered the race before Pelosi made her plans public.

After making millions of dollars as one of the first software engineers at the payment processing company Stripe, Chakrabarti worked on Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign and later became chief of staff to progressive icon Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

“I think I’m the only one willing to challenge the Democratic party establishment,” Chakrabarti told KQED this week. “People know that the Democratic party needs a new direction, it needs new ideas and it needs solutions that are as big as the problems that we face. And that’s what I’m offering the voters.”

What voters care about

“Affordability” is the mantra for Democratic candidates across the country, and this race will be no different. Chan, who criticizes Wiener’s “Sacramento version of affordable housing” in her campaign announcement video, will emphasize affordability as it relates to housing, but also in health care and child care.

Chakrabarti, who said he is more pro-housing than Chan, supports the controversial plan to build 800 units of housing above a Safeway in the Marina.

As expected, all three candidates promise strong opposition to Trump’s policies, including ICE raids, mass deportations and federal budget cuts. Wiener, who authored a new law banning ICE agents from wearing face coverings and bills supporting trans students, is a frequent target of right-wing hatred. He wears it like a badge of honor, and even has a “Scott’s MAGA Fan Club” section on his campaign site highlighting attacks by Tucker Carlson, Marjorie Taylor Greene and other conservatives.

While housing is largely a local issue, defense spending is not — and U.S. funding for Israel could become a contentious topic. Wiener, who is Jewish, has been outspoken about antisemitism while trying to strike a balance between Israel’s right to exist and opposing its war in Gaza.

Chakrabarti has made Palestinian rights a centerpiece of his campaign.

“I’m opposed to military funding in Israel as long as the genocide continues,” he said.

Chan has also said she would not support sending “weapons of war” to Israel, calling the situation in Gaza a human rights violation that she believes meets the legal definition of genocide.

Money, endorsements — and Pelosi’s shadow

The success or failure of a campaign depends on many factors, including name recognition, their record, voter enthusiasm, endorsements and resources.

Chakrabarti is the least well-known of the candidates, but he has access to enormous personal wealth to self-fund his campaign. Since this is his first run for office, he mostly points to his work behind the scenes, including his role in helping promote the Green New Deal, which he said helped center climate change as the key environmental issue.

“It’s going to take a movement of candidates and people to make this happen,” he said. “But I think that’s what’s possible right now, and that’s why I’m running.”

Chan, who is running for the first time outside a relatively small district, could face fundraising challenges. But her relationships with local unions, such as Unite Here Local 2, which represents workers in the hospitality industry, could help with campaign cash and volunteers.

Wiener has been raising money for a potential congressional run since 2023, reporting more than $1 million raised through September, according to federal campaign finance data. He said fundraising accelerated significantly after Pelosi announced her retirement.

It’s not clear if Pelosi herself will put her thumb on the scale for one of her would-be successors. Among the candidates, she seems most aligned with Chan, who has appeared alongside her at recent public events.

An endorsement from the San Francisco Democratic Party could provide a major boost. But that’s a significant hurdle, as it requires support from 60% of local delegates.

Local party chair Nancy Tung, a leader of the party’s more moderate wing, thinks only one candidate could conceivably win an endorsement.

“It’s within the realm of possibility that Scott Wiener would actually get the endorsement,” Tung told KQED this week. “I think he’s probably got the best chance.”

In the June primary, voters will decide which two candidates will advance to the November general election in the race for this solid Democratic seat.