| | | | |  | | By Sarah Grace Taylor | THIS JUST IN: Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian has been bumped out of the race for California Congressional District 16 after a recount nudged Assemblymember Evan Low ahead by five votes, following an apparent tie. Low will face off with fellow Democrat Sam Liccardo in the November general election to replace Rep. Anna Eshoo. Read more here.
|  Police stage on the UCLA campus, after nighttime clashes between Pro-Israel and Pro-Palestinian groups, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) | AP | CAMPUS CHAOS: An overnight attack at a pro-Palestinian protest encampment at UCLA spurred sharp reactions from Democrats, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, whose office chastised the counter-protesters as well as the campus law enforcement response, calling it “limited and delayed.” “I condemn the violence at UCLA last night,” Newsom said, who deployed California Highway Patrol to campus early this morning. “The law is clear: The right to free speech does not extend to inciting violence, vandalism, or lawlessness on campus. Those who engage in illegal behavior must be held accountable for their actions — including through criminal prosecution, suspension, or expulsion.” Earlier this month Newsom similarly endorsed legal consequences for pro-Palestinian protesters who barricaded the Golden Gate Bridge, halting traffic for several hours. Gaza protests are continuing to escalate on campuses across the country, including at the University of California Los Angeles, where reactions to a days-long protest turned violent. Around midnight, counter protesters beat pro-Palestinian activists with sticks, removed safety barricades and launched fireworks into the encampment. At least fifteen people were injured, UC President Michael V. Drake said today in a letter to the UC Board of Regents. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she met with local law enforcement today to discuss the “detestable” violence and called for an investigation into the incident. “Those involved in launching fireworks at other people, spraying chemicals and physically assaulting others will be found, arrested, and prosecuted, as well as anyone involved in any form of violence or lawlessness,” Bass said. "I want to make sure the message I delivered to law enforcement and other officials earlier today is clear: Free speech will be protected. Violence and bigotry will not.” Others, like Los Angeles Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky, who represents UCLA’s campus, more directly condemned the police response. "UCPD's response last night was both too slow and ineffective in protecting student safety. In failing to control the situation, students and others on campus were left vulnerable to violence that has no place on our college campuses,” she said. The CFT, a union of educators and other school and college employees, called for UCLA Chancellor Gene Block to resign after they said he refused to meet with protesters, which the group called a “failure in leadership.” Block was also summoned this week to testify before Congress about campus antisemitism. Block issued a statement this afternoon blaming “instigators” for the attack, which he called a “dark chapter” in the university’s history. “However one feels about the encampment, this attack on our students, faculty and community members was utterly unacceptable,” he said. Read more from our colleague Blake Jones here.
| | | | THE GOLD STANDARD OF POLICY REPORTING & INTELLIGENCE: POLITICO has more than 500 journalists delivering unrivaled reporting and illuminating the policy and regulatory landscape for those who need to know what’s next. Throughout the election and the legislative and regulatory pushes that will follow, POLITICO Pro is indispensable to those who need to make informed decisions fast. The Pro platform dives deeper into critical and quickly evolving sectors and industries—finance, defense, technology, healthcare, energy—equipping policymakers and those who shape legislation and regulation with essential news and intelligence from the world’s best politics and policy journalists.
Our newsroom is deeper, more experienced, and better sourced than any other—with teams embedded in the world’s most active legislative and regulatory power centers. From Brussels to Washington, New York to London, Sacramento to Paris, we bring subscribers inside the conversations that determine policy outcomes and the future of industries, providing insight that cannot be found anywhere else. Get the premier news and policy intelligence service, SUBSCRIBE TO POLITICO PRO TODAY. | | | | | |  | WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY | | TECH TALKS: State Sen. Steve Glazer met this morning with representatives from Amazon, Meta and Google about his new bill that would require the tech giants to fund a $500 million tax credit for local newsroom and broadcast stations in the state. Those three companies alone would fund the credit under Senate Bill 1327, since they are the only ones who meet the bill’s $2.5 billion threshold for annual advertising revenues in the state. Glazer, a moderate Democrat from the Bay Area, said that the companies were “at odds” with the bill and that they had “other suggested ways” to help local newsrooms, but declined to elaborate. “The protection of our democracy is a bigger issue than even their financial bottom line,” Glazer told POLITICO following a press conference introducing the amendments today. He said he planned to meet with the representatives again today, and that the bill will be heard by the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee on May 8. — Ariel Gans | | ON THE BEATS | | | | 
Rep. Josh Harder | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images | BORDER BLUES: California Rep. Josh Harder was one of 13 Democrats who voted today for a Republican bill denouncing the Biden administration’s immigration policies. Harder, who represents part of Northern California, is one of two vulnerable Democrats in the state. The legislation, largely a messaging bill, ultimately passed down party lines 223-191. Harder’s team did not immediately respond to comment or release a statement on why he voted for the bill. — Mia McCarthy WEST COAST…HUMOR?: A meeting between the tech industry and Congress took a political turn on Capitol Hill today when a key CEO condemned “pagan” anti-Israel protests, suggested the protesters be sent to North Korea and joked about launching drone strikes on his business enemies, as POLITICO’s Brendan Bordelon reports. The comments came from featured speaker Alex Karp of Palantir Technologies, the Peter Thiel-linked firm increasingly at the center of Washington's defense-tech plans. Kaarp’s one-on-one with Jacob Helberg — a key driver of last week’s passage of a bill that could lead to a TikTok ban in the United States — was billed as an early look at how defense software and AI are impacting the Ukraine and Israel conflicts, but veered in some unexpected directions. He said some students protesting the Israeli response to the Oct. 7 attacks have also praised North Korea, and perhaps should be sent there for reeducation. “We’re gonna do an exchange program sponsored by Karp,” he said. “A couple months in North Korea, nice-tasting flavored bark. See how you feel about that.” Karp is the latest in an emerging group of Silicon Valley elite parlaying the tech industry’s disruption tactics to a newly MAGA-tinged brand of politics. As if to underscore the point, Karp’s remarks were followed just minutes later by a surprise recorded video appearance at the forum by former President Donald Trump. Asked about Karp’s remarks, which at times caused visible discomfort among some attendees, the organizer said that was part of the point. “The whole goal of the Hill & Valley Forum is to bridge the cultural gap between Washington and Silicon Valley,” said Helberg, who conducted the on-stage interview with Karp on Wednesday. “So it’s great for both sides to familiarize themselves with a little bit of West Coast humor.”
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| | | AROUND THE STATE | | | — A new progressive super PAC is pouring $15 million into eight competitive House races. (The New York Times) — Dozens of ex-Google employees who were laid off or placed on leave for protesting the company's cloud-computing contract with the Israeli government filed a complaint with the U.S. National Labor Relations Board. (East Bay Times) — San Diego home prices rose the fastest in the nation for the third month in a row. (The San Diego Union-Tribune) | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
