Exclusive: Hegseth boosts Minneapolis immigration siege, approving use of military base
CHRONICLE, MATTHIAS GAFNI: "In what could be a sign of President Donald Trump’s Minnesota immigration siege digging in, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth approved a request Monday by the Department of Homeland Security to further support its efforts in the Twin Cities.'
In an email obtained by the Chronicle, U.S. Customs and Border Protection asked for space at Fort Snelling, a decommissioned military base in an unincorporated area next to the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, to house federal immigration agents, weapons, vehicles and aircraft."
READ MORE -- What to know about pepper spray and its effects, as federal agents’ tactics spur outrage -- CHRONICLE, CATHERINE HO
U.S. judge orders ICE chief to appear in court to explain why detainees have been denied due process
AP, MIKE CATALINI, STEVE KARNOWSKI: "The chief federal judge in Minnesota says the Trump administration has failed to comply with orders to hold hearings for detained immigrants and ordered the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to appear before him Friday to explain why he shouldn’t be held in contempt.
In an order dated Monday, Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz said Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, must appear personally in court. Schlitz took the administration to task over its handling of bond hearings for immigrants it has detained."
California Democrats urge government shutdown after federal agents kill Minnesota nurse
CALMATTERS, MAYA C. MILLER: "California legislative Democrats are urging their congressional colleagues to shut down the federal government and block further funding to immigration enforcement agencies after agents shot and killed another civilian in Minnesota over the weekend.
At least 50 Democratic state senators and assemblymembers — more than half the party’s caucus — on Monday decried the slaying of Alex Pretti, the Minneapolis resident and eterans Affairs intensive care nurse who on Saturday was gunned down by federal immigration enforcement agents. "
The Micheli Minute for January 26, 2026
CW, STAFF: "Lobbyist, author and McGeorge law professor Chris Micheli offers a quick look at what’s coming up this week under the Capitol Dome."
Rethinking return on investment in California higher education
CW, RILEY BURR: "Golden Opportunities, a recent report from the College Futures Foundation using data compiled by esteemed researcher Michael Itzkowitz of The HEA Group, shines a light on one of the most popular topics in higher education: return on investment (ROI). But the results and methods deviate significantly from other ROI studies, leaving readers unsure of the ROI that is truly offered by higher education institutions in California."
This might be the smartest way to think about claiming Social Security
CHRONICLE, JESSICA ROY: "President Donald Trump and DOGE spent a good portion of last year tinkering with the way things work at the Social Security Administration.
The shakeup triggered a surge in new retirement claims: There was a 13% year-over-year increase in the first half of the fiscal year, with many choosing to receive benefits before they’d reached full retirement age (which is 67 for people born in or after 1960)
Brian Green and California Voices
CW, STAFFB: "We’re joined today by longtime capitol consultant – now retired – Brian Green, who worked in communications for the Senate Dem Caucus from 2011 until last year. As principal consultant, Green prepared talking points and issue updates, recorded videos, set up press conferences and hosted the “Then There’s California” podcast featuring in-depth interviews with Democratic senators. He began his career at 16, working as a DJ at a Redding radio station, parlaying that experience into talk radio gigs at high-power southern California stations KABC and KTMS. One year into retirement, he has launched his own podcast, “California Voices, with Brian Green.”
A 100-foot tunnel, secret bunker and weapons stash found at MAGA activist’s California home
LAT, CLARA HARTER: "Shasta County authorities started out investigating a suspected illegal marijuana farm but ended up making a far more unsettling discovery: a massive stash of illegal firearms and a secret underground bunker at the base of a 100-foot tunnel on a MAGA activist’s property.
Michael Jay Kamfolt, 40, was arrested Jan. 20 after members of the California Highway Patrol discovered the bunker and confiscated an array of illegally possessed weapons — including three AR-15-style assault rifles, a sawed-off shotgun and more than 10,000 rounds of ammunition — while serving a search warrant at his Anderson home. He is no longer in custody, according to county records."
CA departments lacked thousands of workstations before RTO order, documents show
SACBEE, WILLIAM MELHADO: "California state departments were short thousands of workstations needed to accommodate returning government employees ahead of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s return-to-office directive last spring, documents show. Records submitted last spring reveal that several departments would not be able to accommodate all state employees in offices four days a week by July, when the governor’s directive went into effect. The documents provide insight into the cost and office space needed to implement the governor’s March 2025 return-to-office order -- data that lawmakers and the California State Auditor have previously, but unsuccessfully, sought to obtain from the Newsom administration."
‘A rumble and a roar.’ Explosion of steamboat Pearl in 1855 rocked Sacramento
SACBEE, DON SWEENEY: "One passenger blamed it on a wager over cigars. The steamboat Pearl — reportedly engaged in an impromptu race with another vessel on the Sacramento River — suffered a cataclysmic boiler explosion 171 years ago on Jan. 27, 1855, according to the Sacramento History Museum."
Residents of a polluted California town pinned hopes on new state rules. They’re still waiting
CALMATTERS, ALEJANDRA REYES-VELARDE: "Residents of Kettleman City live surrounded by pollution.
Farms spray pesticides on almond and pistachio trees in this farmtown. A composting facility handles human sewage waste nearby. Particulate matter and diesel fumes from heavy freeway traffic fill the air. And the West Coast’s largest hazardous waste landfill is just a few miles away from town."
California’s iconic Highway 1 is fighting a losing battle against climate change. Can it survive?
LAT, GRACE TOOHEY: "California marked a milestone this month with the return of an uninterrupted Highway 1 through the perilous, yet spectacular cliffs of Big Sur.
The famed coastal road was closed for more than three years after two major landslides buried the two-lane highway, and it took unprecedented engineering might and precarious debris removal to once again connect northern Big Sur with its southern neighbors."
Downtown’s back — and so is the traffic. S.F. is now among the nation’s most congested
CHRONICLE, RACHEL SWAN: "San Francisco’s downtown recovery has brought at least one aggravating side effect: Traffic is back.
New data from the Dutch analytics company TomTom affirms what any motorist would say through clenched teeth. Vehicles crawled along streets and highways at an average speed of 12.6 miles per hour last year, covering a little more than three miles every 15 minutes. At that rate, it might take 45 minutes to drive from the west side to a restaurant in North Beach, long enough for some people to rethink their dinner plans."a
