Charlie Kirk murder ‘underscored’ male loneliness epidemic, Newsom says
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NEWSOM’S PLAN FOR MALE LONELINESS EPIDEMIC Via Lia Russell…
California Volunteers will partner with a host of service organizations, recruiting young men and boys to volunteer their time to address high rates of male loneliness and suicide, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday.
Newsom previously issued an executive order in July ordering his administration to find ways to engage male youth, citing disproportionately high rates of suicide, mental health challenges and substance use disorder.
Newsom, California Volunteers director Josh Fryday, and Brooks Allen, Newsom’s education policy czar, said they were seeking 10,000 men and boys across the state to volunteer with organizations like the Giants Community Fund, YMCA of Los Angeles, Big Brothers Big Sisters and Improve Your Tomorrow to “mentor, coach, serve and lead” their communities.
“We have an epidemic of loneliness, and so much of that is manifesting and metastasizing online in very profound and consequential ways. And last week only underscored that further,” Newsom said, referring to the shooting death in Utah of MAGA youth influencer Charlie Kirk.
Improve Your Tomorrow is a Sacramento-based organization that connects young men of color with mentors and tutors. The organization has clawed back about $1 million after former federal adviser Elon Musk cancelled some $6 million in federal grants, but it is running as a “much leaner” operation now, Chief Executive Officer Michael Lynch told The Bee.
The issue of how to reach young men and boys has become a political liability for Democrats, as they have shifted right, turning to online male-dominant communities and figures like Kirk, who counted Newsom’s son Hunter, 14, among his fans.
The governor told reporters he recognized Kirk’s “influence” among young men, and chose to host him as his inaugural guest on his podcast, despite fellow Democrats’ reaction to Kirk’s remarks on LGBTQ people: “There’s power of emulation. My party needs to recognize what you (Kirk) have achieved in this movement, that you continue to grow.”
UC UNIONS SUE OVER TRUMP’S UCLA FUNDING THREAT
Via William Melhado…
A group of unions representing thousands of University of California employees filed a federal lawsuit against President Donald Trump on Tuesday in an attempt to block the federal government from imposing a $1.2 billion fine against UC Los Angeles.
The complaint alleges that the Trump administration is attempting to withhold hundreds of millions in research grants with the goal of commandeering “this public university system and to purge from its campuses viewpoints with which the President and his administration disagree.”
Earlier this summer, Trump’s Department of Justice accused UCLA of violating federal civil rights protections by failing to stop antisemitism on campus. In a settlement proposal offered by the Trump administration, UCLA would have to pay a $1.2 billion fine in addition to denying admission to “anti-Western” foreign students and publicly disavowing the identity of transgender people, among other demands.
Gov. Gavin Newsom called the threat to withhold federal funding a “political shakedown.” The UC system has not sued the federal government over the proposed fine and potential funding cuts to UCLA.
In a complaint filed in the Northern District of California this week, the group of unions said that the Trump administration is violating UCLA employees’ free speech rights by attempting to coerce the university into curtailing academic freedom.
“We will not stand by as the Trump administration destroys one of the largest public university higher education systems in the country and bludgeons academic freedom at the University of California, the heart of the revered free speech movement,” American Association of University Professors President Todd Wolfson said in a statement.
As evidence of the federal government’s use of withholding research funds to pressure academic institutions, the complaint pointed to Columbia’s settlement, which cost the New York university $200 million.
The White House did not immediately return a request for comment.
SENATOR ENTERS INSURANCE COMMISSIONER RACE
State Sen. Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica, announced a bid for California Insurance Commissioner, to replace termed-out Ricardo Lara in 2026.
The role has become more high-stakes as extreme natural disasters wreak destruction around the state and home insurers exit the California market.
A legislative leader on environmental issues, Allen authored a $10 billion voter-approved climate bond and a landmark law to phase out single-use plastics.
His coastal senate district includes Pacific Palisades, one of the Los Angeles neighborhoods that burned in the calamitous January wildfires. He said the fires marked a “turning point” in his career.
“The Palisades Fire underscored what we’ve known for years: our world is changing beneath our feet,” Allen said. “If we want to keep California affordable and livable, we must make our insurance system adaptable to the realities of a changing world, while making sure insurance companies treat people right and stay viable so that consumers and our economy have real options.”
Also running for the post are former state Sen. Steven Bradford, financial analyst Patrick Wolff, both Democrats, Republican insurance agent Stacy Korsgaden and socialist candidate Eduardo Vargas.
Allen enters the race with powerful endorsements from electeds including U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, state Senate Pro Tem Mike McGuire and his successor, Pro Tem-designee Monique Limon, and Speaker Robert Rivas.
McGuire had been considering a bid for the insurance commissioner office, so his endorsement of Allen fuels speculation that he will seek a congressional seat he had a hand in drawing for Proposition 50.
VALADAO PASSES BILL FOR VETS
Via David Lightman…
The House has passed Rep. David Valadao’s bill to make it easier for veterans to receive their benefits.
The Hanford Republican’s office explained that while the Department of Veterans Affairs has implemented artificial intelligence to help with the claims process, “these tools haven’t been extended to other claims like pensions or survivors’ benefits which leads to long delays — sometimes years — for those decisions.”
Also delaying claims decisions are documents mislabeled in the department’s electronic system and overlooked evidence that could back the claim.
The legislation, passed unanimously, would “standardize software” used by the department to process benefit claims, Valadao’s office said.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I call on my colleagues in the State Senate to put the Governor’s next nominee on record before agreeing to confirm her. Will she follow CARB’s practice of ignoring inconvenient facts and imposing regressive costs on hardworking Californians? Or will she chart a new path to protect poor people from CARB’s worst instincts?”
– Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains, D-Bakersfield, on Newsom adviser Lauren Sanchez’s appointment as chair of the California Air Resources Board.
Best of The Bee:
- FBI’s Kash Patel blasts Adam Schiff as a ‘political buffoon’ via David Lightman
- California Legislature took aim at speeding up home building. Some wanted more via Stephen Hobbs
- Sacramento Councilmember Mai Vang challenges longtime Rep. Doris Matsui via Nicole Nixon
- Arnold Schwarzenegger calls Prop. 50 ‘insane’ during USC forum via Lia Russell
This story was originally published September 17, 2025 at 4:55 AM with the headline "Charlie Kirk murder ‘underscored’ male loneliness epidemic, Newsom says."
