The Brief

CHICAGO — Many voters have gotten to know more about Vice President Kamala Harris in the past few weeks.

But, having come up politically during the same time one county over, Gov. Gavin Newsom has seen her star rise for the last 20 years, he said this evening during the ceremonial roll call nominating Harris at the Democratic National Convention.

After touting California’s diversity and its status as “the great state of Nancy Pelosi,” Newsom traced Harris’ journey from a prosecutor in Alameda County to vice president.

“Kamala Harris has always done the right thing,” he said. “A champion for voting rights, civil rights, LGBTQ rights, the rights for women and girls. So Democrats — and independents — it’s time for us to do the right thing and elect Kamala Harris as president of the United States.”

The two minutes of airtime from the noisy convention floor was Newsom’s latest opportunity to build his national stature. But it wasn’t clear whether Newsom will get an opportunity to address delegates from the United Center stage — as have Sen. Laphonza Butler, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass — before the convention ends Thursday night with Harris’s acceptance speech.

The governor was tapped to present the tally of all 482 California delegates who voted for Harris — like his predecessor, Jerry Brown, did in 2016. But this time, as her home state, California had the honor of going last.

His prominent role is a signal that Newsom, who was one of President Joe Biden’s most vocal supporters, has a place in the Harris campaign and possible administration.

While Newsom seemed to have gone relatively quiet after Biden stepped aside July 21, Nathan Click, a spokesperson for Newsom, told CalMatters earlier this month that Newsom was actively fundraising for Harris, and that they were finalizing plans for him to hit the campaign trail after the convention.

Immediately after the roll call, the governor did an interview with CNN in which he focused on the contrast between Harris and former President Donald Trump.

While the governor denies that he was ever pursuing the 2024 nomination, Harris’ ascendance presents a couple of obstacles, should he choose to eventually run for president.

Some expected he would run in 2028. But if Harris wins in November, she could serve two terms. That means the next opportunity for Newsom would be 2032 — which, since his term as governor ends in 2026, might be a long time to try and stay relevant.

Another possible hurdle would be selling the nation on the second president in a row from California — a state whose reputation can be a tough sell to some who lean more moderate or conservative.

Still, at least one consultant thinks focusing his attention on California would help Newsom.

“With Kamala as the nominee, he needs to turn his attention from being nationally focused to California,” said Brian Parvizshahi, a consultant who previously worked for Obama’s campaign. “He needs to make sure positions himself to have a strong legacy over these next two years. Especially as he needs to give voters a reason to elect two California Democrats as president.”

The Winter Olympics are set to open this Friday in Italy, some 4,600 miles away from Minneapolis, the epicenter of the uproar over the Trump administration's hardline immigration enforcement tactics.

As American athletes turn their attention to the Games here, some — including several from Minnesota, which is home to some of Team USA's biggest stars — have spoken out in the wake of the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens by federal agents in January.

"I want to make sure you know who I'm racing for when I get to the start line at the Olympics," wrote Jessie Diggins, the cross-country skiing star and three-time Olympic medalist, in a statement she posted to her Instagram on Saturday alongside a photo of herself celebrating with an American flag at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing.

"I'm racing for an American people who stand for love, for acceptance, for compassion, honesty and respect for others. I do not stand for hate or violence or discrimination," the post continued. Diggins, 34, grew up in Afton, Minn., less than an hour's drive from downtown Minneapolis. She is expected to compete in six cross-country events at the Olympics this month and could contend for a medal in all of them.

The day after 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti was shot to death by Customs and Border Protection agents on a Minneapolis street, Team USA hockey player Kelly Pannek paused a post-game press conference for her professional team, the Minnesota Frost, to call the aggressive immigration enforcement "unnecessary and just horrifying."

"It's obviously really heavy," said Pannek, who is from the Minneapolis suburb of Plymouth, as her Frost teammate and fellow Team USA member Taylor Heise — another Minnesota native — nodded. "What I'm most proud to represent is the tens of thousands of people that show up on some of the coldest days of the year to stand and fight for what they believe in."

Other Olympians who are not from Minnesota, including snowboarders Stacy Gaskill of Denver and Bea Kim of Palos Verdes, Calif., have spoken out in advance of the Games. "The Olympics are more than just sport. They represent global unity and peace," wrote the 19-year-old Kim in a post on Sunday. "Diversity is what makes the United States so special. It is woven into the very fabric of our country."

The Winter Olympians join a vocal chorus of prominent athletes who have spoken up about the Trump administration's tactics in Minneapolis.

Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton, who was part of Team USA's gold medal run at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, wrote that Pretti "was murdered," and the three-time Olympic gold medalist Breanna Stewart held a sign that read "Abolish ICE" at a game for the 3-on-3 league Unrivaled last week. "I think that when human lives are at stake, it's bigger than anything else," she said in a press conference afterward.

In Milan, a hospitality space for friends and family of Team USA athletes was renamed over the weekend to drop the word "ice" from the name.

In a statement, the three governing bodies who operate the newly-named "Winter House" said that the new name would better suit the intent of the space, which was originally called the "Ice House."

"Our hospitality concept was designed to be a private space free of distractions where athletes, their families, and friends can come together to celebrate the unique experience of the Winter Games," reads a statement released by U.S. Figure Skating, USA Hockey and US Speed Skating of the name change, which was first reported by USA Today. "This name captures that vision and connects to the season and the event."
Copyright 2026 NPR

This story was originally published by Boyle Heights Beat on Jan. 2, 2026.

Three Eastside walking clubs are hosting silent peace walks this week in East L.A., El Sereno and Montebello to support community members affected by recent immigration enforcement sweeps.

Called “For the Love of Our Communities: Peaceful Walks of Silence,” the idea sprouted last Wednesday, when communities on the Eastside saw one of the heaviest days of immigration enforcement since the raids began last June. Eastside L.A. Walking Club founder, Brissa Sanchez, wanted to host an event for people who want to show collective solidarity in their community, especially those who don’t feel safe or comfortable participating in massive protests.

“A lot of us are probably feeling depleted of exuding all this energy towards showing up in different ways, whether it’s at a protest or constantly being bombarded with everything that we’re seeing on social (media),” said Sanchez.

So last week, she reached out to other local walking clubs who were interested in participating. At the East L.A. Walking Club gathering on Wednesday, Sanchez will lead the group through relaxing breathing exercises, she said.

The walks are in honor of “our neighbors that have been affected by our horrible political climate,” the El Sereno Walking Club wrote in an Instagram story.

Participants are encouraged to bring candles and flowers, some of which may be provided onsite. The walks are meant to be a space where neighbors can be present with one another and “grieve together,” rather than march and protest, the post says.

“These walks are a moment to be present with one another, to walk quietly, and to move through our city with care.”

Last week, federal immigration agents and their vehicles were spotted in Boyle Heights and East L.A., and at least 6 people were taken in the operations.

On Friday, Los Angeles communities came together to protest during the “ICE Out” National Day of Action, marching from City Hall in downtown L.A. to Boyle Heights and back.

Find a silent walk near you:

Montebello

The Montebello Walking Club will meet Monday, Feb. 2, and Wednesday, Feb. 4, at 5 p.m. at Montebello City Hall.

East L.A.

The East L.A. Walking Club will meet Wednesday, Feb. 4, at 6 p.m. at 5718 Whittier Blvd. The route is posted on the club’s Instagram page.

El Sereno

The El Sereno Walking Club will meet Sunday, Feb. 8, at 8 a.m. The route will be posted on the club’s Instagram page.

The Trump administration is scaling back plans for this year's field test of the 2030 census, raising concerns about the Census Bureau's ability to produce a reliable population tally for redistributing political representation and federal funding in the next decade.

The 2026 test was designed to help the bureau improve the accuracy of the United States' upcoming once-a-decade head count. A mix of communities in six states, as well as a national sample of households, was expected to take part in the experiment.

But the agency is now set to reduce the number of test sites to two — Huntsville, Ala., and Spartanburg, S.C. — while adding plans to try replacing temporary census workers with U.S. Postal Service staff, according to a Federal Register notice that was made available for public inspection Monday before its official publication.

The bureau is also cutting a plan to provide Spanish- and Chinese-language versions of the census test's online form, which is now set to be available only in English. Households can start using the form to respond sometime in the spring, the bureau's website now says, and if they don't, they may get a visit from a census or postal worker.

Spokespeople for the bureau and its parent agency, the Commerce Department, did not immediately respond to NPR's questions, including those about what prompted these changes. In a statement Monday announcing the "launch of the 2026 Census Test," the bureau said it "remains committed to conducting the most accurate count in history for the 2030 Census and looks forward to the continued partnership with local communities."

Census test plans for rural communities and Indigenous tribal lands are cut

Among the locations no longer part of the census test are rural communities in western Texas and Indigenous tribal lands within Arizona and North Carolina. Those include the Fort Apache Reservation, home to the White Mountain Apache Tribe; San Carlos Reservation, home to the San Carlos Apache Tribe; and the Qualla Boundary, home to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

Terri Ann Lowenthal — a census consultant, who was once staff director of a former congressional subcommittee on the national count — calls this development on the road to the 2030 census "disheartening."

"The descoped 2026 test plan is confusing and unclear to the public — a product, regrettably, of the administration pulling a black-out shade over all planning for 2030," Lowenthal said in a statement. "Equally troubling, we already know from the last census that not fully evaluating promising new methods and improved operations, for example in rural areas and on American Indian reservations, can lead to a less accurate count in many communities."

The cutbacks to the test come after the bureau has refused to update lawmakers in Congress charged with overseeing its work and after the administration disbanded all the bureau's committees of outside advisers, who previously received periodic briefings on 2030 census planning during public meetings.

Over the past year, the bureau, which is the federal government's largest statistical agency, has also had multiple departures of experienced staff members as part of the Trump administration's slashing of the federal workforce.

In a statement, Democratic Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan said he was "alarmed" by the bureau's announcement about significantly cutting testing.

"When the Census Bureau doesn't accurately count people, the communities most in need lose out on critical resources," said Peters, the top Democrat overseeing the bureau on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. "I have long pushed the Census Bureau to conduct robust testing of strategies to reach historically undercounted communities to ensure that every person gets counted. I urge the Census Bureau to reverse its decision and conduct the 2026 Census Test with all six of the communities as planned."

Dante Moreno, a lobbyist for local governments at the National League of Cities, says leaders of some of the canceled test sites were informed of the bureau's changes on Monday after months without updates. The test's new focus on online census responses has now raised more concerns.

"Rural areas in general are just less likely to have cell service or internet service. So how do you fill out those questionnaires? Or if your home is a mile away from another home, how do you make sure that people know that you exist there, that they know to come to you so you get counted?" Moreno says.

Similar questions are on the minds of the Indigenous tribal leaders whose communities are no longer invited to participate in the test, says Saundra Mitrovich, a census consultant with the Native American Rights Fund, who co-leads the Natives Count Coalition.

"Many of our native populations are also dealing with language assistance concerns. And when we can't rightly respond to that or participate in pulling together an operations plan that will address that adequately, then it becomes a challenge. Are you listening to our communities? Are you upholding that federal trust responsibility for tribes?" says Mitrovich, who is a tribal citizen of the Berry Creek Rancheria of Maidu Indians of California.

Exactly how postal workers will help with the census test is unclear

Preparations for this census test have already suffered from delays in raising public awareness and finalizing a staffing plan, partly due to uncertain funding from Congress. And the bureau had been waiting for months for a White House agency to approve a plan to contact administrators of college dorms, nursing homes and other group-living quarters to get ready for counting. The bureau's Monday announcement about its revised test plan makes no mention of group quarters.

Bringing on Postal Service workers to help conduct the census test is expected to raise a raft of questions among both advocates of the count and USPS. A 2011 Government Accountability Office report found that replacing temporary census workers with higher-paid mail carriers is not cost-effective. Still, such a move has had the vocal support of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who has claimed it could save the government money.

USPS spokesperson Albert Ruiz referred NPR's questions, including whether postal workers would be expected to work for the census test in addition to their regular jobs, to the Commerce Department.

"The United States Postal Service looks forward to participating in the 2026 Operational Test in Support of the 2030 Census," Ruiz added.

Edited by Benjamin Swasey
Copyright 2026 NPR

Gov. Gavin Newsom touted California’s drug interdiction efforts during a San Diego news conference Monday that contrasted the state’s public safety efforts with combative tactics by President Donald Trump’s administration.

Since 2021, Newsom said, National Guard troops have seized 34,357 pounds of fentanyl worth an estimated $506 million at California ports of entry.

“This is what the National Guard should be doing,” Newsom said at the event at “This is the kind of partnership that makes sense.”

Last month a federal judge ended federal control of the National Guard troops in Los Angeles and returned them to Newsom’s command, six months after President Donald Trump ordered 4,000 troops to the city to quell protests against federal immigration raids in California. Newsom argued that Trump’s deployment of the Guard diverted them from duties including drug enforcement and wildfire prevention.

Newsom terms out after eight years as governor this year, and is expected to launch a campaign for president in the 2028 election. He has positioned himself as a resistance figure against Trump’s intensified immigration crackdown and heightened federal control over states.

On Monday, Newsom argued that California is combatting crime and patrolling its border, while responding to disruption in the wake of the administration’s mass deportation campaign.

“It's the kind of thing that we should be doing more,” he said. “It's not about politics. It's not about creating anxiety and fear.”

CalMatters could not reach the White House for comment Monday.

Newsom denounced sweeping immigration raids in Los Angeles and other California cities, noting that one of the early ICE actions involved arrests of kitchen staff at the San Diego restaurant Buona Forchetta last May.

The ICE surge escalated in Los Angeles, prompting public demonstrations, then a crackdown by the Trump administration.

“We saw the federalization of the National Guard, hundreds of millions of dollars wasted of taxpayer money,” Newsom said.

As the Department of Homeland Security draws down its controversial "Operation Metro Surge" in Minneapolis, where ICE officers fatally shot two U.S. citizens, Newsom lamented that the operation’s leader, Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, was sent back to California.

“We're hardly celebrating that,” he said.

Newsom said that earlier Monday he spoke with residents of El Centro, where Bovino originally held command. Community leaders described how local organizations are helping children left in charge of households after parents are detained in immigration raids, and aiding people in ICE custody.

Newsom pointed to CalMatters reporting that immigration arrests in San Diego have quietly surged by 1,500% over last year, “but without the fanfare of what you're seeing in your living room and on your screen happening in places like Minneapolis.”

He said the state is responding with lawsuits challenging the administration’s mass deportation efforts, and distributing money to community organizations for legal aid, counseling and mental health support for people affected by immigration raids.

In the wide-ranging press conference, Newsom weighed in on topics from his efforts to seek $33.9 billion in wildfire disaster assistance for Los Angeles, to his rejection of Trump’s bid to restart offshore oil drilling. He cited Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ shared misgivings about the proposal.

“We have a well-established opposition in the state of California,” Newsom said. “I find it ironic and interesting that so does the governor of Florida. When Donald Trump advocates for offshore drilling off the coast of Mar-A-Lago, I'll know the sincerity of these efforts.”

Newsom distanced himself from former President Joe Biden’s immigration policies, saying “My opinion was a little different than the prior administration’s on border security.” He called for reforming the immigration and asylum systems to account for long-time residents without legal status, mixed status families and workforce needs.

“Those things need to be front and center in our conversation and debate around immigration, but unfortunately, it's not, because it's been bastardized,” Newsom said.

He pointed to the state’s seizure of half billion dollars worth of fentanyl, along with methamphetamine, guns and cash, as evidence that California’s approach is working.

Since October the National Guard has seized 3,005 firearms and $34 million in cash, Maj. Gen. Matthew Beevers of the California National Guard said, freeing other law enforcement to perform their duties.

“What it means is that my team enables sworn law enforcement officers to get on the street and do the hard work that they have to do,” Beevers said. “It also enables Customs and Border Protection agents to be able to be on the border where they belong.”

Newsom described California Highway Patrol officers and National Guard troops as “Swiss Army knives” that fill multiple roles in disaster response and public safety. In August, the governor deployed California Highway Patrol officers on crime suppression teams in San Diego, the Inland Empire, Los Angeles, the Central Valley, Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area, to seize illegal weapons and drugs.

“Everybody knows that we are proud to be partners and part of the solution,” California Highway Patrol Commissioner Sean Duryee said. “I look at it as the National Guard is the first line of defense.”

The highway patrol, Duryee said, is “the last line of defense before those narcotics are in our communities.”

Newsom said he’s committed to working with the Trump administration on “legitimate public safety concerns,” but cast doubt on the potential for such a partnership.

“That's not again what this is about,” he said of Trump’s immigration enforcement campaign. “It's about terrorizing the community. It's about chaos. It's about fear.”

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.