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9bet app Iowa picks manager for behavioral health systemAs California politicos look ahead to 2025, the biggest question looming is whether Vice President Kamala Harris — a native daughter, battered just weeks ago by presidential election defeat — will enter the 2026 California governor’s race. Harris has yet to give any public indication on her thoughts and those close to her suggest the governorship is not immediately top of mind. But if Harris does ultimately run — and that’s a massive — her entrée would seismically reshape the already crowded race for California’s highest office. Harris would have a major advantage, with 46% of likely voters saying they were somewhat or very likely to support her for governor in 2026, according to a UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies survey co-sponsored by The Times. “If Vice President Harris were to choose to run, I am certain that that would have a near field-clearing effect on the Democratic side,” Rep. Katie Porter, D-Irvine, said . Porter, a high-profile Democrat who has been eyeing the wide-open governor’s race, has yet to say whether she plans to run. Porter’s point was broadly echoed in conversations with nearly a dozen California political operatives and strategists, several of whom requested anonymity to speak candidly. Most speculated that a Harris entry would cause some other candidates in the race to scatter, creating further upheaval in down-ballot races as a roster of ambitious politicians scramble for other opportunities. “In politics, you always let the big dogs eat first,” quipped Democratic political consultant Peter Ragone. The current gubernatorial field is a who’s who of California politicians, but lacks a clear favorite or star with widespread name recognition. The vast majority of California’s 22 million voters have yet to pay attention to the race and have little familiarity with the candidates. The list of Democratic candidates includes Los Angeles’ first Latino mayor in more than a century ( ); the first female and first out LGBTQ leader of the state Senate ( ); the sitting lieutenant governor and first woman to hold that post ( ); the state superintendent of public instruction ( ) and the former state controller ( ). Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is serving his second term as California governor, meaning he is ineligible to run again. Several other Democrats, including Porter, outgoing Health and Human Services Director Xavier Becerra and state Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta have also publicly toyed with the idea of a run. They could be less likely to enter the fray should Harris decide to run. What the billionaire mall mogul Rick Caruso — who has also been exploring a run — would choose to do is an open question, as Caruso might contrast himself with Harris as a more centrist candidate. The real estate developer was a registered Republican until November 2019. It’s unlikely that Harris will proffer a public decision in the immediate term, leaving plenty of time for political insiders to game out hypotheticals in the weeks and months to come. Harris’ office did not respond to a request for comment. “I think every candidate for governor is trying to get some kind of intel,” Mike Trujillo, a Los Angeles-based Democratic political consultant and former Villaraigosa staffer, said of a potential Harris run. Trujillo speculated that Harris’ current state was probably similar to in the Chappaqua woods after losing to Donald Trump in 2016, or Al Gore in the bruising aftermath of his 2000 defeat. “The first thing she’s probably thinking about is, ‘Well, can I run again for president in four years?’ Not, ‘Do I run for governor in two years?’” said one political operative who’s worked with Harris in the past. Harris maintains a home in Brentwood and previously served as California’s senator and attorney general. A successful run for governor in 2026 would almost certainly impede a grab for the presidency in 2028. (Though if history is any guide, an unsuccessful run for California governor does not definitively preclude a bid for the Oval Office: Two years after losing the White House to John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon . The Yorba Linda native became the nation’s 37th president in 1969.) As the chief executive of a state that doubles as the world’s fifth-largest economy, Harris would have more power to steer policy and make changes as a California governor than she did as vice president, where her job required deference to President Biden. But leading a state, even the nation’s most populous, could feel like small potatoes after being a heartbeat (and a few dozen electoral votes) from the presidency. The protracted slog to November 2026 would also be a stark contrast to her ill-fated 107-day sprint toward the White House, particularly for a candidate was dogged by allegations of infighting and mismanagement. “I don’t think Kamala Harris has a deep psychological need to be governor of California, or to be in elective office in order to feel like she can contribute to society,” said the operative who’s worked with Harris in the past. “I think some of these people do, but she’s somebody who has enough prominence that she could do a lot of big, wonderful things without having to worry about balancing California’s budget or negotiating with Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel,” the Encino Democrat who chairs the Assembly’s budget committee. Technically, Harris has until March 2026 to decide whether she enters a race. But political strategists who spoke to The Times theorized that she probably would make a move by late spring, if she chooses to do so. “People will be more annoyed if she drops in in June,” a Democratic strategist involved with one of the gubernatorial campaigns said. Sending a clear signal by February would be more “courteous,” the strategist continued, explaining that such a move would give candidates more time to potentially enter other races. Kounalakis is a , and the vice president also has long-term relationships with some of the other candidates and potential candidates. California has eight statewide elected offices and campaign finance laws allow candidates to fundraise interchangeably for them, meaning money already raised for a candidate’s gubernatorial campaign could easily be redirected should they decide to run for, say, lieutenant governor instead. There are already for lieutenant governor, including former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs, former state Sen. Steven Bradford and former state Treasurer Fiona Ma. But that office probably would see even more interest should Harris enter the gubernatorial race. It’s a largely ceremonial position, but one that has served as a launching pad for the governorship. Still, even if Harris does enter the race, Republican political strategist Mike Murphy threw cold water on the idea that she would have an automatic glide path to the governor’s office. “It’s like Hollywood. Nobody knows anything. She’s famous enough to look credible in early polling. That’s all we know for sure,” Murphy said. “Does that predict the future? No. Are there a lot of downsides (to a potential Harris candidacy)? Totally, yes.” ©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

TOMS RIVER, N.J. (AP) — A U.S. senator has called for mysterious drones spotted flying at night over sensitive areas in New Jersey and other parts of the Mid-Atlantic region to be “shot down, if necessary,” even as it remains unclear who owns the unmanned aircraft. “We should be doing some very urgent intelligence analysis and take them out of the skies, especially if they’re flying over airports or military bases,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said Thursday, as concerns about the drones spread across Capitol Hill. People in the New York region are also concerned that the drones may be sharing airspace with commercial airlines, he said, demanding more transparency from the Biden administration. The White House said Thursday that a review of the reported sightings shows that many of them are actually manned aircraft being flown lawfully. White House National Security spokesman John Kirby said there were no reported sightings in any restricted airspace. He said the U.S. Coast Guard has not uncovered any foreign involvement from coastal vessels. “We have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or a public safety threat, or have a foreign nexus,” Kirby said, echoing statements from the Pentagon and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy. Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh has said they are not U.S. military drones. In a joint statement issued Thursday afternoon, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security said they and their federal partners, in close coordination with the New Jersey State Police, “continue to deploy personnel and technology to investigate this situation and confirm whether the reported drone flights are actually drones or are instead manned aircraft or otherwise inaccurate sightings.” The agencies said they have not corroborated any of the reported sightings with electronic detection, and that reviews of available images appear to show many of the reported drones are actually manned aircraft. “There are no reported or confirmed drone sightings in any restricted air space,” according to the statement. The drones appear to avoid detection by traditional methods such as helicopter and radio, according to a state lawmaker briefed Wednesday by the Department of Homeland Security. The number of sightings has increased in recent days, though officials say many of the objects seen may have been planes rather than drones. It’s also possible that a single drone has been reported more than once. The worry stems partly from the flying objects initially being spotted near the Picatinny Arsenal, a U.S. military research and manufacturing facility, and over President-elect Donald Trump’s golf course in Bedminster. In a post on the social media platform X, Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia described the drones as up to 6 feet (1.8 meters) in diameter and sometimes traveling with their lights switched off. Drones are legal in New Jersey for recreational and commercial use but are subject to local and Federal Aviation Administration regulations and flight restrictions. Operators must be FAA certified. Most, but not all, of the drones spotted in New Jersey appeared to be larger than those typically used by hobbyists. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey said he was frustrated by the lack of transparency, saying it could help spread fear and misinformation. “We should know what’s going on over our skies,” he said Thursday. John Duesler, president of the Pennsylvania Drone Association, said witnesses may be confused about what they are seeing, especially in the dark, and noted it’s hard to know the size of the drones or how close they might be. “There are certainly big drones, such as agricultural drones, but typically they are not the type you see flying around in urban or suburban spaces,” Duesler said Thursday. Duesler said the drones — and those flying them — likely cannot evade detection. “They will leave a radio frequency footprint, they all leave a signature," he said. "We will find out what kind of drones they were, who was flying them and where they were flying them.” Fantasia, a Morris County Republican, was among several lawmakers who met with state police and Homeland Security officials to discuss the sightings from the New York City area across New Jersey and westward into parts of Pennsylvania, including over Philadelphia. It is unknown at this time whether the sightings are related. Duesler said the public wants to know what's going on. “I hope (the government agencies) will come out with more information about this to ease our fears. But this could just be the acts of rogue drone operators, it’s not an ‘invasion’ as some reports have called it,” Duesler said. “I am concerned about this it but not alarmed by it.” Associated Press reporters Mark Scolforo in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; and reporter Darlene Superville and videojournalists Serkan Gurbuz and Nathan Ellgren in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.

The defamation lawsuit against Rebel Wilson over claims she made about producers of her directorial debut The Deb survived a key hurdle this week after a judge denied Wilson’s motion to toss the case. The Deb producers Amanda Ghost, Gregor Cameron, and Vince Holden sued Wilson back in July, days after the actress posted a video on social media accusing them of embezzlement and sexual harassment. She further claimed that the producers were trying to sabotage the film’s premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. In their suit, Ghost, Cameron and Holden called Wilson “a bully who will disregard the interests of others to promote her own.” Wilson’s team had argued that the defamation case should be dismissed because Wilson’s claims were in the public interest. But in a ruling published Thursday, Judge Thomas Long rejected that argument, saying the video Wilson shared was not “protected activity.” Bryan Freedman, Wilson’s attorney, said in a statement that they would appeal Long’s decision. “The Court’s ruling defies well-established law,” Freedman said. “Posting a video addressing the highly anticipated premiere of The Deb at the Toronto International Film Festival and widespread misconduct in the entertainment industry, which are unmistakably ‘matters of public interest,’ constitutes a protected activity.’ Similarly, a demand letter addressing the same and related topics that was allegedly distributed after litigation has started is also protected activity. A Notice of Appeal will be filed today. We are more than confident that the court of appeals will rule in our favor.” Trending Stories Shaboozey Deserves More Than What the CMA Awards Gave Him — Including an Apology Kendrick Lamar's Surprise New Album 'GNX' Is Here Billy Preston Was Beloved by the Beatles and Stones. His Fall From Grace Was a Rock Tragedy Tesla Has Highest Rate of Deadly Accidents Among Car Brands, Study Finds In a statement, Ghost, Cameron and Holden’s attorney Camille Vasquez said they were “gratified” by the court’s ruling. “Defendant Rebel Wilson’s anti-SLAPP motion was a cynical attempt to stifle a valid legal claim after she launched a public attack against three hardworking professionals,” Vasquez said. “We are grateful to the court for reaching the correct legal result and allowing that claim to proceed. We look forward to seeing Ms. Wilson in court.” Along with trying to get the defamation suit dismissed, Wilson filed a countersuit against Ghost, Cameron and Holden in October . That complaint repeated many of her initial claims, while also accusing the producers of breach of contract, false imprisonment, fraudulent inducement, and inflection of emotional distress.Auto Execs Beg Trump to Keep Biden's EV Mandates After Spending Billions on Unprofitable Electric CarsReviews functioning of Info Department: CM For Using Digital Space For Targeted Campaigns Jammu: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today chaired a comprehensive review meeting of the Information Department at the Civil Secretariat here. The meeting assessed department’s performance and deliberated on matters requiring improvement to enhance efficiency and outreach of the Information department. The meeting was attended by Advisor to the Chief Minister Nasir Aslam Wani, Additional Chief Secretary to the CM Dheeraj Gupta, Secretary Information Rehana Batul, Director Information Jatin Kishore, senior officers from the administrative department, all Joint Directors, Deputy Directors, and other concerned officials. During the meeting, the Chief Minister inquired about the functioning of the single-window portal for granting film shooting permissions. He emphasized the need to streamline and expedite the process, ensuring that filmmakers receive approvals without unnecessary delays. A detailed discussion was held on the advertisement policy for newspapers and media houses. The Chief Minister directed the department to ensure fairness and transparency in issuing advertisements based on circulation. He urged the department to avoid any impression of bias and to study Bureau of Outreach, Government of India (DAVP) criteria of advertisement rates and assessing newspaper circulation to evolve a robust mechanism for the purpose. Stressing the importance of social media, the Chief Minister called for enhanced visibility of the Government of Jammu and Kashmir on digital platforms through targeted advertisements and campaigns. Reviewing the accreditation process for journalists, the Chief Minister directed the department to revisit rejected applications. He instructed the concerned officials to communicate discrepancies to applicants, enabling them to rectify errors and secure accreditation. Highlighting the pressing issue of staff shortages, the Chief Minister urged the department to expedite the recruitment process for vacant positions. He stressed that adequate manpower is crucial for the department’s efficiency. The Chief Minister impressed upon the need to procure latest equipment and gadgets to improve coverage of official functions and events. The Chief Minister emphasized the department’s crucial role in shaping public perception and ensuring effective communication of government initiatives. He urged the officials to address challenges with urgency and commitment. Earlier, Secretary Information Rehana Batul gave a detailed presentation on the department’s overview and functioning. The presentation covered aspects such as human resource management, roles and responsibilities of staff, advertisement expenditure, empanelled newspapers, and the accreditation process for journalists. The meeting was informed about several initiatives undertaken by the department, including Beats of J&K, Inspire Gen-Z, Youth Conclave; Successful hosting of J&K Film Conclave-2024 and implementation of J&K Film Policy-2024 The department’s media campaign for coverage of the G-20 Summit in Kashmir was also highlighted. Discussions were held on the department’s budget and expenditure under REVEX and CAPEX heads, along with the proposed CAPEX for the financial year 2024-25.

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