Politics

Nearly two decades ago, Gavin Newsom catapulted onto the national political stage when, as mayor of San Francisco, he began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. It was an act of defiance, far ahead of public opinion at the time, and so controversial that some of his fellow Democrats blamed him for costing the party the presidential election later that year.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom again seized the national spotlight this year as he signed some of the most ambitious laws in the country to raise worker wages and to force companies to disclose a wide range of climate emissions, efforts that further cement the state’s — and the governor’s — status as a leader on a host of liberal causes.

A woman was arrested Wednesday after she stood up at Donald Trump’s New York civil fraud trial and walked toward the front of the courtroom where the former president was sitting.

Within hours of the horrific Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, the U.S. began moving warships and aircraft to the region to be ready to provide Israel with whatever it needed to respond. On Tuesday, more ships and forces were heading toward Israel, and other troops in the U.S. were preparing to deploy if called on.

Donald Trump returned Tuesday to the civil fraud trial that imperils his real estate empire, watching and deploring the case as an employee and an outside appraiser testified that his company essentially put a thumb on the scale when sizing up his properties’ value.