The Brief

One year after Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed changing the U.S. Constitution to place new restrictions on gun ownership, no other states have joined his campaign for a 28th amendment.

Even as Newsom continues to tout the effort — largely through social media advertisements that encourage people to sign a “petition” and donate to his political action committee — it appears to have gained little traction outside of California. Legislative leaders in several other large states controlled by Democrats told CalMatters that calling for a constitutional convention to adopt the amendment has not come up for discussion among their caucuses.

Newsom spokesperson Nathan Click said the governor’s team focused this past year on laying the groundwork for the campaign, which they plan to reinvigorate in 2025, when most states will begin new legislative sessions. That has primarily involved getting the public invested through the online petition, which is effectively a way to expand the political action committee’s mailing list, and by training volunteers.

“We’re under no illusions of how hard it is to pass a constitutional amendment, so that’s why we’ve focused on building this grassroots army to help these legislators,” Click said. “It’s not just a bill introduction. It’s a bill introduction, and people on the ground who are willing to fight.”

But the lack of progress so far raises questions about whether Newsom is seriously pursuing the constitutional amendment, which he has acknowledged faces overwhelming hurdles to becoming law, or whether it’s merely savvy political messaging.

As California’s extensive gun control framework is increasingly dismantled in the courts following a key ruling two years ago, critics say the proposed amendment is Newsom’s attempt to refashion a losing issue into something supporters can rally behind while also keeping him on the national stage in case he runs for president one day.

“They’ve come out of the closet. They’ve showed their true intent. They want to eradicate the 2nd Amendment, period,” said Alan Gottlieb, founder and executive vice president of the Second Amendment Foundation, which has repeatedly sued to overturn gun restrictions in California. “He’s staking out this territory for Democratic primaries for running for the White House in the future. He’s trying to take that mantle so that other candidates can’t claim to be the most anti-gun candidate.”

Putting gun control back ‘on the map’

California’s firearms laws are among the most stringent in the country and they’ve only gotten stricter under Newsom, a longtime champion of gun control policies who has signed dozens of bills regulating the sale, ownership and manufacturing of weapons since taking office in 2019.

But the Bruen decision by the Supreme Court in 2022, which overturned New York’s tough standard for who could carry a concealed gun in public and established a new historical basis for reviewing firearms laws, upended that entire system.

Following a barrage of litigation from gun rights groups, judges in the past two years have ruled unconstitutional California laws that require safety features on handguns sold in the state, limit the number of bullets in magazines, ban assault weapons, prohibit guns in certain sensitive places, allow lawsuits against manufacturers of “abnormally dangerous” guns and prohibit buying more than one gun every 30 days. Most of those decisions, some of which reversed previous rulings upholding the same laws, are being appealed by the state.

So on June 8, 2023, Newsom announced a plan to work around the courts. His idea was to get the states to call a convention to add to the U.S. Constitution four firearms restrictions that are broadly popular in public polling: universal background checks for gun purchases, raising the federal minimum age for all buyers to 21, requiring an unspecified minimum waiting period between purchasing and taking possession of a gun, and banning the sale of assault weapons.

“Governor Newsom isn’t sitting idly by while rightwing judges dismantle our gun safety laws,” Click said in a statement. “He’s taking aggressive actions — defending our state’s first-in-class gun safety laws from judicial attacks while simultaneously fighting to pass a constitutional amendment to enshrine gun safety nationwide.”

People protest against gun violence on May 7, 2023 in Allen, Tex., after a mass shooting at an outlet mall in the community.

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It’s a route that might be even more challenging than getting a bill through Congress these days. Two-thirds of state legislatures — 34 out of 50 — must agree to convene the constitutional convention and then whatever text is proposed must be ratified by at least three-fourths of states, or 38, either through legislation or conventions. The last successful constitutional amendment was decades ago.

Despite concerns even from some Democratic allies of the governor that calling a constitutional convention could open the door for Republican-led states to propose amendments with unrelated conservative priorities, the California Legislature dutifully got the ball rolling with a resolution at the end of session last year.

“This was supposed to put it on the map and keep it on the map,” said Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer, a Los Angeles Democrat who shepherded the resolution through the Assembly.

Democratic states not rushing to join California

Yet no other states have followed suit in the year since, including 19 where Democrats control both houses of the legislature.

Click noted that many of those states have part-time legislatures that will not reconvene until next year, after this November’s election. He said Newsom’s team has been working with legislators in other states to introduce resolutions in 2025, though he declined to provide any specifics.

“Given the nature, we’re not trying to tip off the opposition,” he said.

Democratic-controlled states such as New York, Illinois, Michigan, Massachusetts and Hawaii did have sessions this year, however, without calling for a constitutional convention on gun control.

CalMatters contacted the offices of legislative leaders in those five states to ask whether their caucuses had considered Newsom’s plan. Many did not respond to numerous inquiries, but representatives for New York Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, Illinois Senate President Don Harmon, Illinois House Speaker Emanuel Chris Welch and Michigan House Speaker Joe Tate said it had not come up for discussion and they were not aware of any outreach from Newsom’s team.

Recent developments in New York and Pennsylvania also illustrate the political challenges of pursuing the constitutional convention strategy — from both the left, where there is a longstanding distrust of the system, and the right, where most gun control policies are anathema to Republicans.

In March, the New York Legislature actually voted to rescind several historic resolutions calling for constitutional conventions, going back as far as 1789, reflecting fears from progressive activists that such a process could be used by conservatives to undermine democratic rights. Dozens of Republican-led states have previously passed resolutions seeking a constitutional convention to adopt a balanced budget amendment.

In Pennsylvania, the only state with divided partisan control of its legislature, a spokesperson for Democratic House Speaker Joanna McClinton said their caucus has prioritized gun safety legislation.

“Unfortunately, our efforts have been blocked by the Republican-led state Senate, where two bipartisan gun safety bills have been stalled for over a year,” Nicole Reigelman wrote in an email, “so any consideration of a constitutional convention here would likely face a similar opposition from the Senate Republican majority.”

Newsom continues to advertise his plan

National gun control advocacy groups have not jumped in to boost Newsom’s effort and appear to be maintaining their distance from the idea.

Despite often cheering the governor’s support for new gun control legislation and attending his signing ceremonies, none was quoted in a press release touting praise for the proposal, published by his office days after the campaign launched last year. Everytown for Gun Safety and Brady: United Against Gun Violence declined or did not respond to interview requests about how it fits into their strategy.

Newsom has nevertheless continued to encourage his followers to get involved with the campaign.

“If Congress and the courts will not take action to help make our communities safer from gun violence, then we — the people — must do it ourselves,” he said in one recent social media advertisement directing people to sign his petition. “It’s a small gesture that can have a big impact when lots and lots of us do it together.”

More than a million people have signed up in the past year, Click said, and the campaign has trained more than 1,500 of them on how they can help in their states. They plan to train 10,000 volunteers by early 2025 when resolution introductions begin.

Gottlieb of the Second Amendment Foundation said Newsom’s proposal has accomplished more for opponents, who have used its a fundraising tool to mobilize gun owners, than it has for gun safety.

He was unsurprised that the call for a constitutional convention has not gained traction outside of California, especially in an election year, arguing that gun control is not as popular as other Democratic priorities such as abortion rights, particularly in rural areas and battleground states.

“I don’t think the gun control issue plays well for Democrats, but they just can’t let go of it,” he said. “They’re like a dog with a bone in their mouth.”

Bob Mackie, a prolific costume and fashion designer whose dazzling, over-the-top creations helped define some of the most memorable moments in 20th century entertainment, died at 87 years old Monday of pneumonia in Palm Springs, Calif.

Mackie's official Instagram channel shared news about the designer's death.

"It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that Mr. Bob Mackie passed away today," the statement on Instagram said. "He lived his 87 years to the fullest, fulfilling his dream of being a Fashion and Costume Designer, which is all he ever wanted to do. His genius and extraordinary designs will live on forever, continuing to bring beauty into this world."

Over a career spanning more than six decades, Mackie dressed generations of stars from Bette Midler to Taylor Swift. Some of his designs became as famous as the performers who wore them, such as Marilyn Monroe's risqué, rhinestone-encrusted sheath dress worn while singing to President John F. Kennedy in 1962 (which he sketched for his employer, French designer Jean Louis), and Cher's jet-black, bondage-inspired ensemble topped with a feathered Mohawk headdress at the 1986 Oscars.

"The way you dress is your way of telegraphing to the person that's looking at you, who you are and where you're coming from," Mackie told NPR in 1990.

Cher and Bob Mackie attend the premiere of "Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion" in 2024 in Los Angeles. The pair enjoyed a long performer-designer partnership.

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While Mackie was celebrated as a haute couture designer, he was far more passionate about crafting one-of-a-kind looks for entertainers. "I think there are people who design runway fashion who say they're like telling a story. No, they're not. They're just making a cute frock and hope somebody buys it," he told the NPR-distributed podcast Bullseye with Jesse Thorn in 2025.

Growing up in Southern California, Mackie's fascination with glamour came from Hollywood, not high fashion. "I never looked in a fashion magazine when I was a kid. But I looked in all the movie magazines and theater magazines," he said on Bullseye. "That was more interesting to me."

Mackie dropped out of his studies at the Chouinard Art Institute — now part of California Institute of the Arts — when he was spotted by the legendary designer Edith Head and landed a job sketching for Paramount Studios in 1961. His career quickly took off, and he forged lasting relationships with such entertainment royalty as Whitney Houston, Bette Midler, Tina Turner, Diana Ross and Carol Burnett.

For The Carol Burnett Show, which started in the late 1960s and ran for more than a decade, Mackie designed an estimated 17,000 costumes — about 50 per week. One of his most famous creations was the outrageous dress for Burnett's 1976 Gone With The Wind parody where she appeared as "Starlett O'Hara" wearing a green velvet dress made from curtains — with the curtain rod still attached. That dress now resides in the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History.

"Not all of our sketches were gems. Some were bombs," Burnett recalled in a 2003 Fresh Air interview. "Sometimes he would put me in stuff that would literally save the sketch."

Perhaps nothing captured Mackie's theatrical sensibility more than the ludicrous Donald Duck costume — complete with webbed booties and oversized rear end — that Elton John wore while performing at a 1980 concert in New York's Central Park.

"It was very difficult for me to play the piano, plus the fact I'd never walked in flippers before," John reminisced in Who Is Mackie?, a short film about the designer. "I was dancing across the stage, falling over myself, and I just couldn't sing for laughing – because it looked ridiculous, but it looked fabulous."

Miley Cyrus in Bob Mackie as she performs onstage in 2024 at the 66th GRAMMY Awards in Los Angeles.

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Mackie continued dressing major 21st-century stars such as Miley Cyrus, Zendaya and Pink. He also collaborated with Mattel on a line of Barbie dolls. His awards included nine Emmys, a Tony Award, three Oscar nominations, and lifetime achievement awards from the Council of Fashion Designers of America and RuPaul's Drag Race. He had served as the show's first guest host and jokingly referred to himself in some media interviews as "the patron saint of drag queens."

"I know exactly which outfits he did because there is a rhythm and a movement and a choice of proportions of color that no one else does like that," RuPaul said in the 2024 documentary Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion. "That's how you know that someone is channeling the divine."
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A month into the school year, teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District are still adapting to the district’s new policy that bans screen time for its youngest kids and will soon place significant restrictions on older students.

One first grade teacher has switched to jigsaw puzzles instead of having her students complete activities on a learning app. A middle school science teacher is considering how to teach Newton’s Third Law of physics with toy cars instead of a video simulation. Some teachers say they are struggling to adjust after years of technology woven into their curriculum.

“Our goals haven’t changed whether we’re on screens or not,” said Armaghan Khan, an eighth grade teacher at Johnnie Cochran Jr. Middle School. “The idea is still to provide quality standards of mind instruction. And so, what does that look like when you’re not on a screen? And for a lot of the newer teachers, myself included, we’ve never really taught that way.”

Passed in June, LAUSD’s policy generally prohibits use of district-issued devices for students in early education through first grade. It places caps on every other grade level — the higher the grade, the more screen time is allowed. And by the time students reach high school, they are allowed up to 90 minutes per week in each subject area.

The new policy followed months of organizing by parents who argued that students — and teachers — had become too dependent on digital devices in classrooms. They argued that schools should prioritize teacher-led instruction, hands-on activities and interaction with peers. Some also said their children’s struggles to regulate their emotions were a direct result of using screens in the classroom.

But the new restrictions on screen time have also meant that teachers have to rethink lessons built around laptops, tablets and digital instructional programs. Many are concerned about students with disabilities and English language learners who may disproportionately rely on technology, even though accommodations are possible.

Corinne Hyde, a professor of education at USC, said she worries that the policy could unnecessarily restrict teachers’ ability to use technology when they believe it would benefit students.

“We should trust teachers to make good instructional decisions, and that as long as we equip them with appropriate professional development and support, that they are fully capable of making the appropriate decisions about how to use technology in their classrooms, or if they should use technology in their classrooms,” said Hyde.

No screen time for LAUSD’s youngest learners

Last year, the youngest daughter of Julie Edwards, a parent and member of the group Schools Beyond Screens, would come home obsessed with JiJi, a penguin cartoon that appears on a gamified learning platform. Now, Edwards’ first grader comes home eager to talk about her friends and her school’s ticket-based rewards system, she says.

“There’s still more work to do,” said Edwards. “But I think everything is like moving in such a great direction, and I’m just really hoping that because this is happening on an institutional level, it really starts to filter down into families’ personal lives.”

Edwards’ daughter’s teacher has made a number of changes to go screenless. So has Martha Medina, a first grade teacher at Logan Academy of Global Ecology, who also lost other classroom support. This year, she no longer has instructional coaches, who help with targeted learning interventions, or teachers’ aides.

Medina had planned to have students rotate among three 15-minute stations so she could provide individualized attention. One station would be with her, another in the library and a third would use a learning app on an iPad.

Under the new policy, Medina can no longer use the app as planned. Instead, students at the third station work on jigsaw puzzles or art-related activities designed to reinforce uppercase and lowercase letters.

She said the changes have made it much more difficult to run the three groups, limit constant disruptions and keep children on task.

“Parents are worried that the kids are going to be on the iPad all day,” she said. “That’s just not the case in primary. There’s no way we can have the kids on iPads all day. There’s too much to teach.”

Teachers prepare for changes ahead

Khan is among the upper-grade teachers who are adjusting their lesson plans to comply with limits that will go into effect in January.

Under the policy, middle school students will be limited to one hour of screen time each week in each subject area.

“I feel a lot of times the district leadership comes up with these ideas, and however well intentioned they are, they leave it to the rest of us to kind of figure out how to implement them, or just what the best case looks like,” Khan said.

He added that he has spent the past eight years building his curriculum around electronic devices. Like many schools nationwide, his school had been a “one-to-one,” meaning each student has access to a device. Those devices had largely replaced textbooks, and, to some extent, paper and pencil.

“We were using a lot of digital resources, and some of them have been really amazing,” he said.

One of Khan’s favorite tools is Gizmos, a program that allows him to show students simulations to explore science concepts that can be difficult to demonstrate in a classroom. For example, students visualize the heart pumping blood through veins and arteries throughout the body. Or, they can explore Newton’s Third Law — the concept that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction — through a simulated car crash.

“I can always get two toy cars and have them crash together so they can see the law and effect,” Khan said. “But with the simulation, it lets me just get much more granular and just deeper into just how it applies to their everyday lives.”

He also said technology has been particularly important for students with disabilities and English language learners, who may rely on digital tools for accommodations and language support.

The district told EdSource that it has made professional learning opportunities available to school administrators and teachers, both in-person and virtually, to help with the transition.

“Our goal is to ensure that all school sites are well-prepared with the tools, understanding, and support needed to effectively implement these guidelines in a way that supports student learning and well-being,” LAUSD said in a statement.

Khan said he has not had access to that support yet. Still, despite what he described as “growing pains,” he remains optimistic about the changes.

“I do think there is merit in the idea. I don’t just want to be doom and gloom about having to switch,” Khan said. “I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

This story first appeared on Long Beach Post.

Automated speed cameras have arrived in Long Beach, and they’re scheduled to begin issuing tickets soon.

The cameras are part of a state-authorized pilot program to see if writing automated speeding tickets can make roads safer.

A speed limit sign is posted as crews install new speed cameras on Artesia Boulevard in North Long Beach on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026.

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Long Beach has seen a surge of deadly crashes in recent years and was picked as a pilot city after the mayor and city officials lobbied for the chance to install cameras.

When they start

Crews began installing the speed cameras this week. Nearby signs will warn drivers, said Joshua Hickman, director of Public Works. The cameras will start issuing warnings for 60 days before citations start.

The warning period is expected to start in October; then citations would start going out in December, Hickman said.

How they work

The cameras capture only the rear license plates of drivers speeding 11 mph or more over the posted speed limit. Based on that license plate information, a citation will be issued to the address where the car is registered.

License plate data is kept within the Public Works Department and not shared with any law enforcement agencies, including Long Beach police, Hickman said.

Where they are

Half of the cameras are on streets where deadly or severe crashes have occurred most often. The other half are going in school zones or in areas where street racing is a problem.

You can find an interactive map of the speed camera locations here.

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How much is a citation

Citations range from $50 to 500 based on speed.

If a driver does not receive any warnings during the 60-day warning period, then the first speeding offense will result in a warning. After that, they will get a citation with a fine.

Payment is due within 30 days, but payment plans and diversion programs are available.

You can find more info on those here.

How will the money be spent?

The city anticipates half of the speeding ticket revenue, roughly $2.5 million, will cover the costs of running the camera program.

The other half will be spent on traffic-calming measures in neighborhoods where traffic engineers determine they’re needed most. The state law authorizing the pilot program says the money can’t be spent on anything else.

Safety measures could include crosswalks, no-turn-on-red signs and speed humps. The city has received an influx of requests from residents asking for some sort of safety measure in their neighborhood since the start of the year.

Traffic deaths

Residents have said they’re fed up with dangerous streets, and the city is trying to respond.

Last year, Long Beach recorded its deadliest year on the roadways in more than a decade – 53 fatal traffic collisions.

Scott Musquiz mounts new speed cameras onto a light pole on Artesia Boulevard in North Long Beach on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026.

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Earlier this year, Long Beach City Council directed the Public Works Department to hire third-party contractors to speed up their ability to install quick-build safety measures.

But traffic deaths this year have kept up the pace. At this time last year, the city had tallied 35 traffic deaths. As of Friday, this year’s total is at 33.

State pilot

Long Beach is able to install speed cameras thanks to a 2023 state bill that approved a five-year pilot for Long Beach as well as six other cities.

The city was allowed to install speed cameras immediately after the bill passed and had until Jan. 1, 2027, to begin the pilot.

Street safety advocates have criticized Long Beach for its delayed rollout compared to other cities.

Success in other cities

San Francisco installed 33 speed cameras last October and reported a 72% reduction in speeding after six months of citations.

Brian Woodward, left, gets assistance as he prepares a speed camera to be mounted as crews install new cameras on Artesia Boulevard in North Long Beach on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026.

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In Oakland, 18 speed camera locations saw a 70% drop in speeding drivers, on average.

Los Angeles and Glendale have yet to deploy their speed cameras.

Potential expansion to PCH

A state bill currently on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk would allow Long Beach to install two more speed cameras on Pacific Coast Highway.

If signed, the cameras could be installed as soon as Jan. 1 and would follow the same rules as the other cameras.

The aftermath of a fatal high-speed crash at Anaheim Street and Pacific Coast Highway on March 23, 2020.

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PCH is a state route, meaning it was not included in the state pilot program because it’s not controlled by the city of Long Beach.

State Sen. Lena Gonzalez, who authored the bill, said PCH accounts for about one-fifth of the city’s traffic deaths despite covering less than 1% of the city’s roadways.

The 78th Emmy Awards air Monday night, hosted by Law & Order: SVU star Mariska Hargitay.

The Television Academy already kicked things off earlier this month: what was once the Creative Arts Emmys was expanded and rebranded into a two-night ceremony highlighting casting, guest actors, game shows, documentaries, behind-the-scenes craftspeople and more. Rob Reiner was posthumously awarded his third Emmy for a guest appearance on The Bear. Hargitay, Monday night's host, won two awards for her documentary My Mom Jayne. 

Monday's ceremony will include 19 awards, including those for top comedy series, top drama series and best actor and actress in each.

Here's what to know to watch the ceremony.

When are the Emmy Awards this year?

The show will be live Monday night on NBC and Peacock starting at 8 p.m. ET, 5 p.m. PT. A pre-show and live coverage will air on E! starting at 5 p.m. ET, 2 p.m. PT.

Who is nominated this year?

Familiar titles like Hacks, Abbott Elementary and The Bear are all nominated for top comedy series alongside newcomers Widow's Bay and Margo's Got Money Troubles. On the drama side, last year's winner The Pitt is facing off against Pluribus, Slow Horses, The Diplomat and more.

A whole swath of actors on The Pitt got their first nominations this year, as did Dale Dickey and Kate O'Flynn for Widow's Bay. You can find the nominees here, along with hopes from NPR critics here.

What else can I expect? 

The Television Academy has announced that Noah Kahan will perform "Bridge Over Troubled Water" as part of the In Memoriam segment. Presenters will include Alan Cumming, Sally Field, Jon Hamm, Marcello Hernández, Niecy Nash-Betts, Keke Palmer, Amy Poehler, Florence Pugh, Rachel Sennott and Zendaya.
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