The Brief

This is an excerpt from Make It Make Sense, our pop-up newsletter on the 2024 election. If you want weekly updates through September on following the money this election season, sign up here.

We’re about eight weeks out from Election Day, which means it’s prime season for political ads in your mailbox. So how do we find out more about who’s paying for them?

In the past month alone, I’ve gotten not one, not two, but three mailers from the same campaign — No on Proposition 33.

It's a statewide ballot measure that would give cities and counties the ability to expand rent control to properties where it’s currently not allowed. And from the looks of it, someone is really, really invested in making sure it doesn’t get passed.

Who exactly is this someone? Well, for starters, some information is printed right on the mailer: “Ad paid for by NO on 33, Californians for Responsible Housing: A Bi-Partisan Coalition of Affordable Housing Advocates, Taxpayers, Veterans, and Small Businesses. Ad committee’s top funder: California Apartment Association”

That’s a lot of words, but they only tell you so much. We know the California Apartment Association helped pay for the ad, but who are the other “affordable housing advocates, taxpayers, veterans and small businesses” that make up this group? (And some of you may be wondering: Is your landlord one of them?)

We’ll help you follow the trail, but first, let’s go over some basics.

Political committees 101

• What’s a political committee? In an election, all political ad spending has to come from a committee. That’s any group of people (it can even be just one individual) who wants to raise or spend money to support or oppose a candidate or ballot measure. 
  
• How they work: Some committees stick around for a long time, putting money behind various measures year after year. One example is the Protect Prop. 13 committee — a project from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, an anti-tax group that has been around for decades. For the most part, committees are ephemeral: They come together for one specific purpose in an election, then disappear.
  
• Who's behind it? All committees have to file a form that outlines their purpose, names of officers and some basic contact details. This information alone may not be enough to reveal the source. You can find a fair amount of information about who contributed money to a committee — and that's where you'll find the really juicy details.

Where to find campaign spending information

For state ballot measures, all the campaign finance information you want to dig through can be found on the California secretary of state’s website. It's campaign finance database is called Cal-Access.

If you’re following the money trail in county or city elections, you’ll have to get that info from the county or city department that tracks campaign finance information (usually the county registrar or city clerk).

Once you get to the secretary of state’s website, you can look up any committee’s name to find out what they’re all about — who’s listed on file as treasurer, previous names the committee has used, who’s contributed money to them and where they’ve spent that money.

What we found on the NO on 33 committee

I looked up the NO on 33, Californians for Responsible Housing committee, and here’s what came up:

• Who started the committee: The names of the officers listed (on a filing called Form 410) are Elli Abdoli, Joel S. Aurora and Tom Bannon, and they’re based out of San Rafael and Sacramento. The committee is sponsored by the California Apartment Association.
  
• Previous names they’ve used: This committee has been around for a while under slightly different names, one of which is “No on Prop 21: Californians for Responsible Housing, A Coalition of Seniors, Veterans, Affordable Housing Advocates, Labor & Social Justice Organizations.” (Prop. 21 was a failed rent control measure from 2020 that is essentially the same as Prop. 33, so it makes sense they’d revive that same committee for this year’s election.)
  
• How much money they’ve raised: They’ve reported raising about $5.1 million dollars between January and the end of June this year. (Remember that the propositions weren’t even finalized for the ballot until late June, so expect this number to be much higher by November.) 
  
• How much money they’ve spent: About $1.7 million between January and the end of June this year.
  
• Who contributed money to them: A quick look through “Contributions Received” finds a handful of small donations from individuals, ranging from $100 to $1,000 each. (This is where you can check if your landlord donated, or anyone else you’re curious about!)  The list shows the vast majority of the money — several contributions of $75,000 to $700,000 each — came from the California Apartment Association Issues Committee. 
  
• Another committee! Yep. Committees often contribute money to other committees. You can look up this committee, too — and when you do, you’ll see a much longer list of individual contributors to this fund. If you look at “Contributions Made,” you’ll also see that the California Apartment Association Issues Committee has put in a significant amount of money to support Prop. 34 in this year’s election, a measure that has to do with health care — but we’ll go down that rabbit hole in another post.
  
• What’s the takeaway? Looking at the contributors to both committees, it’s clear that real estate interests — property management companies, developers, brokers and investment agencies from all around California — are putting in the vast majority of money to this committee. That’s probably not surprising, and this isn’t the only group spending money against Prop. 33, but it does give you a better idea of who makes up the “affordable housing advocates, taxpayers, veterans and small businesses” referenced in the mailer.  

At this point you may be wondering why this group is so invested in preventing Prop. 33 from passing. You can read more about the ins and outs of the rent control measure in our voter guide.

I hope this gives you a good starting point for following the money in other campaign ads, whether that’s through TV, text or mail. Let us know what you find.

We’d love to hear from you. You can reach me at blee@scpr.org.

Most of Southern California is under heat advisories or extreme heat warnings as temperatures reach the 90s, and even over 100 degrees in some places.

For L.A. and Orange County beaches, temperatures are going to reach from the low-70s to low-80s and rise to the mid-80s to low-90s for the inland coast.

Valley communities will see highs from 89 to 97 degrees, and between 94 and 105 degrees more inland including the Inland Empire.

In the mountains (below 6,000 feet), temperatures will also reach the mid-80s and low-90s.

In Coachella Valley, temperatures are expected to reach 111 to 116 degrees, while in the Antelope Valley expect the warmest areas to reach 107 degrees.

Need a place to get out of the heat?

You can find cooling centers via the following links:

• L.A. County
• Orange County
• San Bernardino County
• Riverside County

“The Pitt” is the leading nominee at the upcoming Emmy Awards, with numerous actors who play doctors on the drama series snagging nominations.

“Hacks,” another HBO series, got the second most nominations when the Emmy nominations were announced Wednesday in Los Angeles.

On Tuesday, NBC announced that “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” star Mariska Hargitay will host the Sept. 14 ceremony.

Drama series

“The Diplomat”; “The Gilded Age”; “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms”; “Paradise”; “The Pitt”; “Pluribus”; “Slow Horses”; “Your Friends & Neighbors”

Comedy series

“Abbott Elementary”; “The Bear”; “Hacks”; “Margo’s Got Money Troubles”; “Nobody Wants This”; “Only Murders in the Building”; “Shrinking”; “Widow’s Bay”

Limited series, anthology series or movie

“All Her Fault”; “The Beast in Me”; “Beef”; “DTF St. Louis”; “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette”

Drama actor

Sterling K. Brown, “Paradise”; Gary Oldman, “Slow Horses”; Mark Ruffalo, “Task”; Rufus Sewell, “The Diplomat”; Noah Wyle, “The Pitt”

Drama actress

Carrie Coon, “The Gilded Age”; Chase Infiniti, “The Testaments”; Keri Russell, “The Diplomat”; Rhea Seehorn, “Pluribus”; Zendaya, “Euphoria”

President Donald Trump said Wednesday he believes the current ceasefire with Iran is over after an exchange of attacks between the U.S. and Iran, the latest escalation straining the agreement to end the war – and he said he may hit Iran with more strikes tonight.

"I think it's over. I don't want to deal with them anymore. They're scum," Trump told reporters in Ankara, Turkey, where he is attending the NATO summit.

The stunning turnaround comes after Trump recently celebrated the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran to help end the war he and Israel started. Trump insisted the deal would bring "peace and security" to the region. But within just weeks, he's amped up aggression.

"We hit them very hard last night. Probably hit them hard again tonight," he said.

Trump said the U.S. hasn't attacked Iran at the "highest level" yet, saying he could hit electric plants and desalination plants.

"I don't want to do that but if we have to, we'll take them out," Trump said. Attacks on civilian infrastructure could constitute a war crime.

He also floated the idea of reinstituting the naval blockade on Iran.

Trump is expected to take more questions during a Wednesday press conference.

Trump's declaration in Ankara that the understanding is moot has already impacted markets, with oil prices starting to climb again. And it leaves his party, and his own approval ratings, in a precarious position once again with four months until the midterm election and little time to remedy the conflict that Americans have disapproved of from the start.

The president, however, did not rule out talks continuing to permanently end the war with Iran.

He said the top U.S. negotiators, special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, want to continue to negotiate.

But, Trump added, "as far as I'm concerned, it's just a waste of time dealing with them. They're liars," he said.

There was no immediate response from the Iranian government.

Trump's comments came after the U.S. and Iran traded attacks again overnight Wednesday, the second such escalation since the two sides signed an interim deal in mid-June.

The strikes followed Tuesday's attacks from Iran on three commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. said it carried out strikes on Iranian targets in what it said was retaliation for the previous Iranian aggression. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard said it responded to those strikes by launching missiles and drones against Kuwait and Bahrain, two Arab Gulf countries that host U.S. military bases.

Trump is in Ankara, to attend the NATO summit, where he has continued to air grievances, lamenting that European countries don't contribute enough to their own defense spending, as Russia's war against Ukraine has dragged on.

He has also expressed frustration since the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran began that Europe hasn't been supportive enough of his agenda.

Earlier in the day, the president said he was "testing" allies on how they'd help with the war.

"Italy turned us down, and Germany turned us down, and France turned us down, and it's OK, but you know, why are we spending hundreds of billions of dollars and they're not there for us? We've always been there for them," Trump said.

The tension between Trump and NATO nations has also grown as the president continued on Tuesday to insist that the U.S. should have control of Greenland, a territory currently under Denmark.

Despite friction in the alliance, Trump and the allies have found common ground on Ukraine.

Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the gathering, and said that the U.S. will allow Ukraine a license to produce Patriot Missiles, which he called "pretty cool."

"We're going to give a license to you to make ‌Patriots … This way, you can't complain that we're not giving 'em enough," Trump said in the meeting with Zelenskyy.

Negotiating an end to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has been an elusive goal for Trump, who has teased recently that the end of the war is "getting closer," without providing much further detail. He also said he would soon speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

On Tuesday, Trump met with the leader of the host nation, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whom he considers a friend. The two discussed the U.S. potentially selling F-35 fighter jets to Turkey — despite there being a congressional ban in place that prevents this.

"We have a very good relationship. … Why wouldn't we do that?" Trump said in his meeting with Erdogan.

Tina Kraja in Washington, D.C., contributed reporting to this story.
Copyright 2026 NPR

Calling all French fry heads, there's a fest just for you this weekend.

The first-ever LA French Fry Festival is taking place from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday at the Autry Museum in Griffith Park.

Hosted by event experience firm Bucket Listers, in partnership with Street Food Cinema, the day is a full-blown love letter to the humble fry — golden, crispy, and utterly worth the carb coma.

Origins of a fry fest

The idea for the festival came to Derek Berry, president of Experiences at Bucket Listers, when he created a French fry bracket during March Madness.

Berry knows his way around fan experiences — he's the guy behind Saved by the Max, the immersive pop-up replica of the Saved by the Bell diner that started as a fan-made Facebook event page in Chicago before landing a long-running home on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles. More recently, he produced Kel Mitchell's Burger Fest in Brooklyn.

The vendors

Berry pointed us toward a few can't-miss stops from the fest's 16-vendor lineup.

• Fryday, a French fry-only food truck that reimagines the classic fry with bold, customizable flavors like Caribbean-spiced sauces.
• Fry-licious, known for chili cheese fries loaded with chili con carne and nacho cheese sauce.
• Frites Freak, with their swirly tornado potato on a stick — the Spin Freak — if you've been to a food festival or a county fair,  you know the vibes.
• Proudly Serving, the South Bay-born smash burger spot known for its thick duck fat fries.
• Mr. Charlie's Vegan, a fully plant-based burger joint serving Frowny Fries and Not Chicken Nuggets.
• College Boy Cheesesteaks, the Philly transplant that stacks fries with sliced steak, fried onions, cheese sauce, and their house frat sauce.

A taste of what's coming to the LA French Fry Festival this weekend.

(

Courtesy Bucket Listers

)

Fan-friendly fest

To avoid the dreaded festival waiting-in-line-for-food ritual, the day is divided into three sessions — an early session (11 a.m.–2 p.m.), an afternoon session (2:30–5:30 p.m.), and an evening session (6–9 p.m.). Berry said his goal is for people to be eating within 10 minutes of entering.

The day also includes The Blindfold Challenge and French Fry Eating Contests, hosted by special guest Kel Mitchell.

Fresh-cut crinkle fries hit the fryer ahead of the festival.

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Courtesy Bucket Listers

)

Save room for dessert

If you think there's no room for sweets at a French fry fest, you'd be mistaken. There are churro fries — a thinner cut of the classic treat, served over an actual bed of French fries from The Churro Man truck — and a cobbler-style dessert that incorporates fries and potatoes right into the cake from Kobbler King. For those looking for something further from the fryer, Happy Ice and The Jolly Sheep will be serving up shaved ice and cotton candy.

More info