Preparing for the Debut of the ‘California Post’; MacKenzie Scott Just Did (yet Another) Very Good Thing–Coachella Valley Independent’s Indy Digest: Jan. 15, 2026

Indy Digest: Jan. 15, 2026

On Monday, we discussed the CBS Evening News’ pompous and troubling “5 simple values” announcement, made in advance of Tony Dokoupil’s debut as the once-venerable program’s new anchor.

(How are things going for Mr. Dokoupil thus far, you ask? Not. Great.)

Today, we’ll discuss the pompous announcement about the launch of a brand-new news outlet, slated for Jan. 26: the California Post.

If you hadn’t already heard, you should know that the folks behind the New York Post are launching a new statewide newspaper right here in the Golden State. And, hoo boy, the formal launch announcement on Jan. 5 (months after plans for the new publication were actually first revealed) was typical fodder by the tabloid (in every sense of the word) news outlet responsible for what’s likely the greatest headline in newspaper history.

The headline on the New York Post story is “Roll out the red carpet! The California Post to launch on January 26: ‘A game-changer’ for the Golden State.” The pomposity intensifies from there.

A new era of common sense and accountability arrives in California on January 26.

That is the launch date of the California Post — the brand new, seven-days-a-week digital and print newspaper for the Golden State.

The sister publication to the New York Post brings all the hard-charging, plain-spoken journalism of The Post to the West Coast.

In announcing the date, California Post editor-in-chief Nick Papps said, “It’s time to hold the powerful to account and start fighting for hard-working Californians.

“The California Post will be a game-changer across news, sports, opinion and entertainment,” Papps said. …

“We’ve assembled a crack team of reporters at our new newsroom on the Fox Lot in Century City and their mission is (to) tell the stories others won’t or can’t.

“And vitally, to bring a common-sense approach to the issues we cover and how we cover them.

“We will be proudly representing the values of everyday hard-working Californians.”

Bloviating aside: While it’s downright laughable to say the new publication is bringing “a new era of common sense and accountability” to the state, I am rooting for the California Post to succeed, because the more real news outlets we have, the better—and despite being owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., and despite its sensationalist and right-leaning tendencies, the New York Post does indeed publish real news.

Am I optimistic about the California Post’s chances? Not really. As a newspaper publisher (albeit on a MUCH, MUCH smaller scale) who talks to other California news publishers regularly, I know how tough the business climate is right now. There’s also the fact that California is massive, in every way. There’s no way in hell the Post will be a “game-changer” across the entire freakin’ state.

That said, the Post has two things going for it: 1) extremely wealthy owners, and therefore 2) the funds to make a lot of big-name pre-launch hires, at least on the sports and politics beats. So far, we know the staff includes former Breitbart (yikes!) staffer Joel Pollak as the opinion editor; sports writers formerly with the Los Angeles Times (Dylan Hernandez, Jack Harris), Minnesota Star-Tribune (Ryan Kostecka) and NBC L.A. (Michael Duarte); and former San Francisco Standard scribes Josh Koehn and Annie Gaus covering politics/news.

In contrast to how I feel about the “new” CBS Evening News, I’ll be watching with interest when the California Post launches on Jan. 26.

—Jimmy Boegle

More News

• The president is threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act in Minneapolis. The Washington Post says: “Trump, in a Truth Social post, put the onus on Minnesota politicians to stop protesters from ‘attacking’ Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Trump wrote that if the state couldn’t calm the protesters, whom he referred to as ‘insurrectionists,’ he would ‘institute the INSURRECTION ACT … and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State.’ Federal agents have flooded the streets of Minneapolis in recent days, detaining people, pulling them from their vehicles, stopping U.S. citizens and—as of Wednesday evening —shooting two people, one of whom was killed. Residents have responded by protesting the agents’ use of force and the Trump administration’s campaign to round up people who are not in the country legally. … Trump’s threat to invoke the law came after an immigration enforcement officer shot a man in the leg during a struggle outside a residence Wednesday evening, leading residents to flood the streets in protest and, in some cases, clash with federal authorities.” Not good!

• Also not good: The FBI searched a Washington Post reporter’s home, supposedly looking for classified information. ABC News reports: “The reporter, Hannah Natanson, was at her home in Virginia when FBI agents knocked on her door to execute the search warrant, the newspaper reported. Agents seized a phone, two laptop computers—one of which was issued to her by the Washington Post—and a Garmin watch, according to the paper. Investigators told Natanson that the warrant was part of an ongoing investigation into Aurelio Perez-Lugones, according to the newspaper. Perez-Lugones, whom an FBI affidavit describes as a government contractor, was charged in federal court in Maryland last week for alleged unlawful retention of national defense information, according to the affidavit, dated Jan. 9. … A Justice Department official told ABC News at the time of Perez-Lugones’ arrest that he allegedly was communicating with the Washington Post reporter on his mobile device and sharing classified information via chat. The DOJ official further said that when authorities searched Perez-Lugones’ home and car, they found classified documents related to national defense. The latter claim is included in the FBI affidavit.”

• Why is it a big deal for the feds to be searching reporters’ homes? An expert from Indiana University, writing for The Conversation, explains: “The FBI search of a Washington Post reporter’s home on Jan. 14, 2026, was a rare and intimidating move by an administration focused on repressing criticism and dissent. In its story about the search at Hannah Natanson’s home, at which FBI agents said they were searching for materials related to a federal government contractor, Washington Post reporter Perry Stein wrote that ‘it is highly unusual and aggressive for law enforcement to conduct a search on a reporter’s home.’ And Jameel Jaffer, director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, told The New York Times the raid was ‘intensely concerning,’ and could have a chilling effect ‘on legitimate journalistic activity.’ Free speech and independent media play a vital role in holding governments accountable by informing the public about government wrongdoing. This is precisely why autocrats like Russia’s Vladimir Putin have worked to silence independent media, eliminating checks on their power and extending their rule. In Russia, for example, public ignorance about Putin’s responsibility for military failures in the war on Ukraine has allowed state propaganda to shift blame to senior military officials instead. While the United States remains institutionally far removed from countries like Russia, the Trump administration has taken troubling early steps toward autocracy by threatening—and in some cases implementing—restrictions on free speech and independent media.”

• The number of people getting insurance via the Affordable Care Act is WAY down. The New York Times says: “About 1.4 million fewer people have enrolled in Obamacare coverage this year in the face of soaring premiums, according to an early report, following the expiration of the enhanced subsidies that helped lower the cost of health insurance for millions of Americans. Numbers published by the federal government on Monday indicated that 22.8 million Americans had enrolled in Affordable Care Act plans starting Jan. 1, down from 24.2 million enrolled through the end of the sign-up period last year. They are the first official figures showing the effects of the change in policy. The new data covered sign-ups through Jan. 3. People can still enroll through Thursday. Comparing the new data to a similar period last year, enrollment declined by 800,000 people, versus 1.4 million when compared to last year’s entire enrollment period. Many health policy experts expect enrollment to fall further in the coming months as people whose policies were automatically renewed may decide to drop coverage once they receive their first bill reflecting a much higher price.”

• Today’s recall news involves … chocolate bars! The Hill explains how the recall has grown during the week: “A nationwide recall of chocolate has expanded to include eight products that may be contaminated with salmonella. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) first announced the recall of Spring and Mulberry’s date-sweetened chocolate bars on Monday. A potential salmonella contamination was flagged after routine tested by a lab. The recall initially only included the brand’s Mint Leaf chocolate bars, but now affects eight types chocolate bars. … The recalled chocolate was distributed nationwide, available for sale in grocery stores, specialty stores and online since Sept. 15, 2025.”

• And finally … we’ll end with some good news. The Associated Press reports: “The Trevor Project, known for its hotline for LGBTQ+ youth, received $45 million from billionaire and author MacKenzie Scott at the end of 2025, the organization said Monday. The gift is the largest in the organization’s history but also a major boon following years of management turmoil, layoffs and the loss of significant federal funding over the summer. ‘I literally could not believe it and it took some time. I actually gasped,’ said Jaymes Black, CEO of The Trevor Project, when they were notified of Scott’s gift. Scott, whose fortune largely comes from her ex-husband Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, gave more than $7 billion to nonprofits in 2025, but this gift to The Trevor Project was not included among the donations she disclosed on her website in December. Scott previously gave The Trevor Project $6 million in 2020. In July, the Trump administration stopped providing specific support for gay, trans and gender nonconforming young people who called the 988 National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. The Trevor Project was one of the organizations staffing that option and lost $25 million in funding, the nonprofit said.”

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