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Julia Wick | (TNS) Los Angeles Times As 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. Related Articles National Politics | Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people National Politics | Trump taps immigration hard-liner Kari Lake as head of Voice of America National Politics | Trump invites China’s Xi to his inauguration even as he threatens massive tariffs on Beijing National Politics | Pressure on a veteran and senator shows what’s next for those who oppose Trump National Politics | What Americans think about Hegseth, Gabbard and key Trump Cabinet picks AP-NORC poll 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 if — her entrée would seismically reshape the already crowded race for California’s highest office. Recent polling suggests 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 during a recent UC Irvine panel interview . 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 ( Antonio Villaraigosa ); the first female and first out LGBTQ leader of the state Senate ( Toni Atkins ); the sitting lieutenant governor and first woman to hold that post ( Eleni Kounalakis ); the state superintendent of public instruction ( Tony Thurmond ) and the former state controller ( Betty Yee ). 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 Hillary Clinton’s hiking sojourns in the Chappaqua woods after losing to Donald Trump in 2016, or Al Gore growing a beard 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 lost the 1962 contest for governor to Pat Brown . 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 whose 2020 presidential primary campaign 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 longtime friend and ally of Harris’ , 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 a number of candidates running 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.When a this February in Northeast Baltimore, community leaders joined forces with their new delegate to get traffic-calming measures in place. Now, Belair Road’s speeding problem has become personal for District 45 Delegate Jacqueline “Jackie” Addison. One of the three pedestrians who died in crashes on the busy thoroughfare this month was Addison’s cousin. “We have a problem on Belair Road,” said Addison, a Democrat elected in 2022. The longtime Belair-Edison resident noted she tries to avoid driving on the busy stretch of U.S. Route 1. Addison’s 58-year-old cousin, Vernon Louis Miller, on the 3200 block of Belair Road, according to Baltimore Police. Two days later, a 43-year-old man on the 6600 block of Belair Road. A driver struck and killed a 43-year-old man walking in the 6600 block of Belair Road last night. — Ryan Dorsey (@ElectRyanDorsey) With less highway traffic and lower speed limits, Baltimore City generally has fewer roadway fatalities than its suburban neighbors — Baltimore County has had 69 fatal crashes this year, while the city has had 46. Baltimore Police have investigated five road fatalities on Belair Road this year — an eighth of the fatalities they’ve handled in 2024. Six more fatal crashes occurred this year on Maryland Transportation Authority property within city limits. Motorists treat Belair “like it’s the Indy 500,” said Rita Crews, president of the Belair-Edison Community Association. After the fatal crash in February, city officials agreed to place additional automated speed enforcement cameras on Belair Road, one of Northeast Baltimore’s main thoroughfares. A few days later, they came down, according to Crews and Addison. The city’s Department of Transportation did not return multiple requests for comment on Wednesday. The speeding is “a major concern for me,” said Crews, who said crossing Belair Road is “just not safe.” One fatal crash is too many — “it shouldn’t be every month,” she said. “Something really needs to be done.” Further northeast, the city plans to test out a new traffic-calming approach on Glenmore Road, which connects Belair Road to similarly busy Harford Road. The city’s Department of Transportation said at a recent meeting that it would remove Glenmore’s speed humps and add in chicanes — a series of alternating curves in the roadway designed to slow drivers. Each curve will be denoted by a flex post and markings, with the goal of “forcing drivers to navigate through these curves rather than driving in a straight line,” traffic engineer Qiana Gabriel said at the recorded meeting. District 3 Councilman Ryan Dorsey, an advocate of traffic calming, said during the meeting that he was glad to see the city trying “something new” to combat speeding motorists. He said he was “very hopeful” the chicanes would be successful. Dorsey did not return a request for comment. Glenmore is just a few blocks south of the Nov. 22 crash that killed the 43-year-old. In the same block this August, a 73-year-old pedestrian suffered multiple injuries and died after being struck by a vehicle. Traffic calming is also part of a on a section of Belair Road from Mareco Avenue to Kentucky Avenue. Curb bump-outs and lane reductions on the northbound side are expected to slow traffic in the third-of-a mile stretch.

NDP ready to open 'gates' to pass Liberal GST holiday bill separate from $250 rebate

Apple CEO Tim Cook (C) laughs while inspecting a new iPhone (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) As Apple prepares to update the beloved iPhone SE , the community expects a cut-down version of the iPhone 16 to reach the mid-range price point. Tim Cook and his team have other ideas, and this iPhone SE comes with more risk than any of the previous smartphones. What Makes An iPhone An iPhone SE? The next iPhone will be the fourth generation of the SE. Launched in 2016, the SE range is Apple’s iPhone for the mid-range market. Priced around $450, it offers a significant price cut compared to the vanilla iPhone in the main range. To achieve that, Apple reduces key specifications on the handset, leans into older parts, and offers an older design, all to bring down the bill of materials while doing its best to hold on to what makes an iPhone. This year, Tim Cook and his team are taking a different approach, a riskier approach and one that could damage the brand. The iPhone SE stakes include acting as a testbed for the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max, cannibalizing the iPhone 16, and the Flavor du année that is generative AI. Apple’s First Modem Belongs To The iPhone SE Since the purchase of Intel's modem division for $1 billion in 2019 , Apple’s ambition is to eliminate the need to use Qualcomm’s modem technology and supply itself. Apple’s modem will arrive in the iPhone SE six years after the purchase. It’s not without compromise, though. The new 5G circuity will be limited to the Sub-6 standard, with mmWave unavailable, while only four-carrier bands will be available for carrier aggregation, compared to six bands in Qualcomm’s hardware. iOS 18.2—Update Now Warning Issued To All iPhone Users Microsoft Warns 400 Million Windows Users—Do Not Update Your PC Selena Gomez And Benny Blanco Are Engaged—And The Internet Has Opinions It also represents one of the biggest risks Apple is taking with the iPhone SE. This is the first public rollout of that modem . Apple has made the sensible decision to introduce the new technology not on the main iPhone line, but in the SE line. If there are issues that only become apparent on a mass deployment, then the main iPhone and iPhone Pro line will not be damaged... but the SE line will. Apple Intelligence’s Impact On The iPhone SE And while Apple will have tested the new iPhone SE before launch, it wouldn’t be the first time that a flaw has not become apparent till after the launch. I don’t think holding the phone wrong will disrupt the modem, but this is a new part of the iPhone package. With previous iPhone SE handsets, Apple has matched the core specifications of chipset, memory and storage to the vanilla iPhone of that year. For the iPhone SE in 2025, that means the iPhone 16 launched in September 2024. That handset already saw its memory and chipset boosted to allow it to run the awkwardly backronymed Apple Intelligence software. Given Apple's PR focus on its generative AI system, I can’t see the iPhone SE launch without support for Apple Intelligence. That choice means the specifications of the SE will have to match the already elevated iPhone 16. The iPhone SE will be smaller, cheaper, and just as powerful as the iPhone 16. Why would the market consider the iPhone 16? A significant number of consumers could switch to the smaller handset and reduce Apple’s turnover. Apple’s iPhone SE Redefined Thanks to its consistent name, the iPhone SE is a beloved variant of the iPhone, no matter the generation you started with. The same will be true in 2025 with the fourth-generation iOS smartphone. It’s rare to see Apple push the technological boundaries with the SE, yet in this brave new world of modems, AI, and matching specs, the iPhone SE has a starring role. Now read more about the new camera Apple is using in the iPhone SE...Are you tracking your health with a device? Here’s what could happen with the data