Paul Kiernan
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pkwsj.bsky.social
Paul Kiernan
@pkwsj.bsky.social
Writing about the California economy for The Wall Street Journal. Currently based in Los Angeles. Previously CDMX, São Paulo, Rio, and DC.

Tips to [email protected] or Signal/WhatsApp +1-202-808-4258

https://www.wsj.com/news/author/paul-kiernan
Hundreds of thousands of Haitians in the U.S. are set to lose legal protections and work permits in February, after the Trump administration said it was taking a final step to end a program that allows them to remain in the country legally

www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Protected Status for Haitian Migrants to Expire in February
The Department of Homeland Security says those without the right to stay in the U.S. will be required to return to the island.
www.wsj.com
November 26, 2025 at 9:29 PM
“Adult political considerations and adult political objectives ultimately drive policy,” Ohio State education researcher Vladimir Kogan says. “It’s not that people don’t care about kids, but those considerations are of secondary importance.” nymag.com/intelligence...
How Public Education Failed in the Liberal Enclaves That Care About It Most
Student achievement has fallen off a cliff. Neither Trump nor the pandemic is to blame.
nymag.com
November 22, 2025 at 5:35 AM
“I’m fucked,” Larry Summers told Jeffrey Epstein in a 2018 email.

www.wsj.com/us-news/larr...
How Larry Summers’s Power Delayed the Reckoning Over His Epstein Ties
The former Treasury Secretary and Harvard president’s enormous network and clout kept him immune from past Jeffrey Epstein revelations. But this time was just too much.
www.wsj.com
November 21, 2025 at 2:37 AM
California is home to more billionaires than any other state. Voters may have a chance next year to hit them with a 5% wealth tax.

My story with @laurajnelson.bsky.social:

www.wsj.com/business/cal...
The California Campaign to Introduce a First-of-Its-Kind Billionaire’s Tax
A union-backed ballot measure is aimed at raising healthcare funding. But it faces opposition from Gov. Gavin Newsom.
www.wsj.com
November 13, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Lobbyists are required to register with the government and disclose their funding. But influencers operate in a gray zone. “If Laura [tweets]…just because the U.S. government sees it and then decides to change their position, it doesn’t mean that’s lobbying.”
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
Laura Loomer’s Endless Payback
The President’s self-appointed loyalty enforcer inspires fear and vexation across Washington. What’s behind her vetting crusades?
www.newyorker.com
November 13, 2025 at 6:37 AM
Prince Andrew has said on various occasions in recent years that he regrets his association with Jeffrey Epstein.

But in 2016 Jeffrey Epstein suggested he regretted his association with Prince Andrew.
November 13, 2025 at 2:22 AM
Reposted by Paul Kiernan
All of BLS has been furloughed since October 1st. That means no one was collecting data in Oct. You can’t just walk into a Costco in mid-November and find out what the price of a good was in October. That’s why an October CPI isn’t possible.
November 12, 2025 at 8:25 PM
I’m old enough to remember standing in line at a rec center gym on a spring day in 2021 to get my first Covid-19 shot. It was very emotional, a feeling of triumph over the terrifying and isolating force of the pandemic.

Now we have to sign a dumb attestation that says insurance may not cover it.
November 12, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Fannie Mae watchdogs who were removed from their jobs had been probing if Trump appointee Bill Pulte had improperly obtained mortgage records of key Democratic officials, including New York Attorney General Letitia James

www.wsj.com/finance/regu...
Exclusive | Fannie Mae Watchdogs Probed How Pulte Obtained Mortgage Records of Key Democrats
FHFA’s acting inspector general handed the probe report to the U.S. attorney office that had indicted New York Attorney General Letitia James.
www.wsj.com
November 11, 2025 at 9:03 PM
I sat down for lunch today at a hole-in-the-wall Thai place and noticed something unusual on television: a high-speed car chase, broadcast live on the local news. Little did I know, I'd stumbled upon a classic Los Angeles pastime.

lamag.com/crimeinla/ho...
How High-Speed Car Chases Became a Citywide Pastime in Los Angeles - LAmag
Since local news aired the first live police pursuit in 1992, car chases have become a nightly staple--and an international industry
lamag.com
November 10, 2025 at 11:27 PM
The crypto M.O., but for eugenics.

www.wsj.com/tech/biotech...
November 10, 2025 at 6:46 AM
Before you play Wall Street’s new game, make sure you understand that it doesn’t follow the old rules.
www.wsj.com/finance/inve...
This Small-Town Pension Fund Has a Warning for Millions of Retirement Savers
If you think cashing out of a private fund is easy, just ask a guy who used to manage $750 billion.
www.wsj.com
November 7, 2025 at 10:35 PM
Consumer sentiment has dropped below the lows it hit in the spring, after President Trump first rolled out steep new global tariffs.

www.wsj.com/economy/cons...
Consumer Sentiment Falls Toward Record-Low Levels
The University of Michigan survey reading is slightly above levels that sentiment sank to amid the historic inflation that hit in 2022.
www.wsj.com
November 7, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Electric trucks were supposed to be Detroit’s answer to Tesla. Ford executives are now discussing whether to scrap the electric version of its F-150 pickup, which has seen weak demand and lost money.

www.wsj.com/business/aut...
Exclusive | Ford Considers Scrapping Electric Version of F-150 Truck
Once hyped as a ‘smartphone that can tow,’ production of money-losing EV pickup may be shut down for good.
www.wsj.com
November 6, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Employers said they cut more than a million jobs so far this year, a sharp rise in job losses compared with the same period last year, according to a new report

www.wsj.com/economy/jobs...
Employers Cut More Than a Million Jobs This Year
Report from private consulting firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas shows a sharp rise in job losses in the first 10 months of the year compared with same period last year.
www.wsj.com
November 6, 2025 at 3:21 PM
With compensation of $30.2 million, Alphabet president of global affairs J. Kent Walker Jr. is the highest paid in-house lawyer among S&P500 firms. He's followed by Broadcom’s Mark Brazeal ($29 million) and Apple's Katherine Adams.
news.bloomberglaw.com/mergers-and-...
The $30 Million Lawyer: GCs Take on New Duties to Up Their Pay
The best paid legal executives at the biggest public companies increasingly have something in common, even beyond total compensation that can top $30 million: They wear many hats.
news.bloomberglaw.com
November 4, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Banks have become less likely to lend to companies exposed to international trade than they were at the beginning of the year, according to the Fed's quarterly survey of senior loan officers.

www.federalreserve.gov/data/documen...
www.federalreserve.gov
November 3, 2025 at 10:30 PM
She helped get her violent husband deported. Then ICE deported her — straight into his arms.

www.latimes.com/california/s...
She helped get her violent husband deported. Then ICE deported her — straight into his arms.
Carmen's abusive husband came home drunk one night last summer. He pounded and kicked the door.
www.latimes.com
November 3, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Reposted by Paul Kiernan
Judges order USDA to restart SNAP funding, but hungry families won't get immediate relief
Judges order USDA to restart SNAP funding, but hungry families won't get immediate relief
Two federal judges told the U.S. Department of Agriculture it must begin using contingency funds to provide food assistance, but gave the agency until Monday to decide exactly how to do so.
www.latimes.com
October 31, 2025 at 7:34 PM
“The admissions numbers shall primarily be allocated among Afrikaners from South Africa,” the register notice reads, “and other victims of illegal or unjust discrimination in their respective homelands.” www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
US Caps Refugee Admissions at 7,500, Prioritizing White South Africans
President Donald Trump is cutting the limit on refugees the US resettles to 7,500 for the upcoming fiscal year, while prioritizing White South Africans, a sharp break from the nation’s traditional pol...
www.bloomberg.com
October 31, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Zuckerberg added that Meta’s AI-powered recommendation systems boosted time spent on Facebook by 5% in the third quarter.

www.wsj.com/tech/ai/meta...
Meta Still Has a Lot to Prove in AI Race
The Facebook parent’s business model sparks more questions about the eventual payoff than rivals such as Google and Microsoft.
www.wsj.com
October 30, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Reposted by Paul Kiernan
Yeah but if the party feeds the hungry how are the consultants going to afford their new mansions in Potomac
Before somebody shows up to tell me that the DNC can't possibly replace SNAP: that's not what I'm saying. But I am saying that the DNC has rather more resources available to them than the Black Panther Party did in 1970, and they should redirect some of those resources to help Americans.
October 30, 2025 at 6:07 PM
California has some of the weakest DUI laws in the country, and alcohol-related roadway deaths have surged more than 50% in the past decade. More than 1,300 people die each year statewide in drunken collisions.

calmatters.org/investigatio...
15 DUIs, still driving: California's failure to take repeat drunk drivers off the road
As alcohol-related roadway deaths spike across the state, a CalMatters investigation finds California has some of the weakest DUI laws in the country.
calmatters.org
October 30, 2025 at 5:49 PM