personal

SAN FRANCISCO — He’s considered a darling of Democratic Party politics, a smooth-talking young millionaire with Kennedy good looks who has basked in the media limelight while being courted as a possible national political figure.

But beneath the surface, Mayor Gavin Newsom’s Camelot has been crumbling.

After admitting in the last five days to adultery and alcohol abuse, Newsom has suffered a public political meltdown that has rocked City Hall and led one San Francisco supervisor to call for his resignation.

The 39-year-old mayor, who is running for reelection in November, acknowledged last week that he had an affair with the wife of a longtime aide. On Monday, he announced he would seek counseling because he had “come to the conclusion that I will be a better person without alcohol in my life.”

But the mayor’s problems appear to run deeper than behind-the-scenes indiscretions, raising questions about his ability to lead one of America’s largest cities.

Critics and backers alike now acknowledge that Newsom has become disengaged, reluctant to grapple with such critical issues as the city’s soaring homicide rate among black residents. In recent months, he has even refused to meet with supervisors — longtime supporters included.

In this famously forgiving place, some at City Hall say the mayor should be granted the leeway to deal with his problems while in office. Others express pent-up frustration and question whether he should continue to run for a second term.

Supervisor Jake McGoldrick on Tuesday called for Newsom’s resignation.

“If he lived by any code of honorable behavior, he would have a personal epiphany and do the right thing,” McGoldrick said. “The only epiphany he’s had is ‘How do we spin this?’ ”

Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier, a longtime Newsom ally, said it was too early to call for any political heads.

“Most people grapple with things in their lives, but most don’t have to do it publicly — and the mayor has taken that courageous step,” she said. “If anyone should call for his resignation, it should be city residents, and they haven’t done that.”

Meanwhile, public reaction to the mayor’s admissions appears to be mixed. Local newspaper websites have run the gamut — with comments supporting Newsom running about equal to those expressing anger and even vitriol.

As she lunched at a Financial District salad bar Tuesday, Adriana Pietras, 25, a paralegal, said Newsom’s actions have changed the way she views the mayor. “I don’t think he should resign,” she said, “But I’m not sure he should run again.”

Nearby, another voter said the mayor should leave office today.

“His transgression was a serious integrity issue,” said the man, who asked not to be named. “But he won’t ever resign. He’s a politician. Bill Clinton’s precedent gives him hope he can survive this.”

Elected to the mayor’s office in 2003, Newsom, a former supervisor, quickly won the adulation of San Franciscans with his forceful stance in support of same-sex marriages. Images of thousands of gay and lesbian couples receiving marriage licenses at San Francisco’s gilded City Hall were seen around the world.

Although some believed Newsom’s stand was too radical for the mainstream and contributed to the Democrats’ 2004 national election losses, his cachet continued to grow. Newsom’s image, with his slicked-back hair and aquiline nose, appeared on the covers of national news magazines.

He was, said Simon Rosenberg, founder of the New Democrat Network, which cultivates progressive political leadership, “arguably the single most promising Democrat under 40 in the country.”

“Whatever ‘it’ is,” Rosenberg said in 2004, “I think Gavin’s got it.”

Newsom took on celebrity status with an eager staff of aides and an aggressive spokesman with experience on national campaigns. News releases gushed about the mayor’s accomplishments.

He crafted a plan to offer healthcare to every resident. He touted San Francisco as among the world’s greenest cities and promised to provide free wireless access citywide.

But some community and business leaders have complained that the mayor’s inaccessibility may have cost the city dearly: the San Francisco 49ers suddenly announced in the midst of negotiations for a new stadium that the team was looking to move to nearby Santa Clara — in part because the team owner couldn’t get Newsom on the phone.

City government, meanwhile, is deadlocked as the mayor faces off against critics on the Board of Supervisors who characterize Newsom’s style as distant and arrogant. In November, supervisors brought a nonbinding ballot measure to voters suggesting that the mayor attend meetings to submit to “question time.”

Voters approved it. But Newsom dismissed it as a political gesture. Instead, he promised to hold community town hall meetings.

In response, angry residents showed up at one Newsom appearance dressed in chicken costumes.

Relations had so soured by January that in his inaugural speech as president of the Board of Supervisors, Aaron Peskin pointedly denounced an arrogant style-over-substance administration, saying, “We will lead by deeds and actions, not by hollow pronouncements and press releases.”

Newsom’s personal life first became controversial last fall after he briefly dated a woman who wasn’t old enough to drink legally.

Through it all, Newsom seemed to tire of the spotlight. Perhaps, he told the local media, he wouldn’t run for reelection after all. Perhaps he would just return to private life.

Then it all came crashing down.

Last Thursday, Newsom admitted having an affair with his former appointments secretary, the wife of one of his most trusted aides. The affair reportedly took place while the mayor was splitting from his then-wife, attorney and television analyst Kimberly Guilfoyle.

His plans for rehab followed on Monday — creating a stir in the national news media that Newsom has so often courted.

Tuesday’s headline in the New York Post: “S.F. ‘Sex’ Mayor in Booze RX.”

McGoldrick, the supervisor, called the headline a fitting comedown for a mayor “who lives by PR.”

“When that gets tarnished, there’s not much left,” he said.

Supervisor Bevan Dufty, a longtime Newsom friend, has called on McGoldrick to be patient, saying that Newsom needs time to heal.

But even Dufty said that the mayor’s personal crisis has taken a toll on city government.

“He has been profoundly unhappy in personal life and in aspects of his job, and that has shown,” he said. “He has taken umbrage at every turn. He’s been disdainful of me and my colleagues. It’s hard, especially since I viewed myself as an ally.”

Joel Benenson, a Democratic pollster and strategist, said it would be hard for Newsom to win higher office.

“American voters do have the capacity to forgive. They believe in redemption,” he said. “But while you can come back from an affair, it’s apparent he has crossed the line. He would have to spend too much time explaining alcohol abuse and what he did to his friend’s family. It would come to define him.”

As for Newsom’s future in City Hall, the debate continues.

“I’ve lived through three mayors — I know what it takes to get the job done,” said Supervisor Tom Ammiano. “I’m not calling for him to resign, but I don’t think he should run again. That would be traumatic” for the city.

But Dufty insisted that Newsom is up to the job.

“There’s no question he’s enormously talented,” he said. “The ultimate question is, ‘Is this what he wants to do?’ When it comes to a second term, the commentary is, ‘The only person running against Gavin Newsom is Gavin Newsom himself.’ ”

john.glionna@latimes.com

lee.romney@latimes.com

Billionaire Larry Ellison has stepped up, agreeing to personally guarantee part of Paramount’s bid for rival Warner Bros. Discovery.

Ellison’s personal guarantee of $40.4 billion in equity, disclosed Monday, ups the ante in the acrimonious auction for Warner Bros. movie and TV studios, HBO, CNN and Food Network.

Ellison, whose son David Ellison is chief executive of Paramount, agreed not to revoke the Ellison family trust or adversely transfer its assets while the transaction is pending. Paramount’s $30-a-share offer remains unchanged.

Warner Bros. Discovery’s board this month awarded the prize to Netflix. The board rejected Paramount’s $108.4-billion deal, largely over concerns about the perceived shakiness of Paramount’s financing.

Paramount shifted gears and launched a hostile takeover, appealing directly to Warner shareholders, offering them $30 a share.

“We amended this Offer to address Warner Bros. stated concerns regarding the Prior Proposal and the December 8 Offer,” Paramount said in a Monday Securities & Exchange Commission filing. “Mr. Larry Ellison is providing a personal guarantee of the Ellison Trust’s $40.4 billion funding obligation.”

The Ellison family acquired the controlling stake in Paramount in August. The family launched their pursuit of Warner Bros. in September but Warner’s board unanimously rejected six Paramount proposals.

Paramount started with a $19 a share bid for the entire company. Netflix has offered $27.75 a share and only wants the Burbank studios, HBO and the HBO Max streaming service. Paramount executives have held meetings with Warner investors in New York, where they echoed the proposal they’d submitted in the closing hours of last week’s auction.

On Monday, Paramount also agreed to increase the termination fee to $5.8 billion from $5 billion, matching the one that Netflix offered.

Warner Bros. board voted unanimously to accept Netflix’s $72-billion offer, citing Netflix’s stronger financial position, the board has said.

Three Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds representing royal families in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi have agreed to provide $24 billion of the $40.4-billion equity component that Ellison is backing.

The Ellison family has agreed to cover $11.8-billion of that. Initially, Paramount’s bid included the private equity firm of Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, but Kushner withdrew his firm last week.

Paramount confirmed that the Ellison family trust owns about 1.16 billion shares of Oracle common stock and that all material liabilities are publicly disclosed.

“In an effort to address Warner Bros.’s amorphous need for ‘flexibility’ in interim operations, Paramount’s revised proposed merger agreement offers further improved flexibility to Warner Bros. on debt refinancing transactions, representations and interim operating covenants,” Paramount said in its statement.

Paramount has been aggressively pursuing Warner Bros. for months.

David Ellison was stunned earlier this month when the Warner Bros. board agreed to a deal with Netflix for $82.7 billion for the streaming and studio assets.

Paramount subsequently launched its hostile takeover offer in a direct appeal to shareholders. Warner Bros. board urged shareholders to reject Paramount’s offer, which includes $54 billion in debt commitments, deeming it “inferior” and “inadequate.” The board singled out what it viewed as uncertain financing and the risk implicit in a revocable trust that could cause Paramount to terminate the deal at any time.

Paramount, controlled by the Ellisons, is competing with the most valuable entertainment company in the world to acquire Warner Bros.

Executives from both Paramount and Netflix have argued that they would be the best owners and utilize the Warner Bros. library to boost their streaming operations.

In its letter to shareholders and a detailed 94-page regulatory filing last week, Warner Bros. hammered away at risks in the Paramount offer, including what the company described as the Ellison family’s failure to adequately backstop their equity commitment.

The equity is supported by “an unknown and opaque revocable trust,” the board said. The documents Paramount provided “contain gaps, loopholes and limitations that put you, our shareholders, and our company at risk.”

Netflix also announced Monday that it has refinanced part of a $59 billion bridge loan with cheaper and longer-term debt.

Bloomberg contributed to this report.

Dec. 12 (UPI) — Britain’s King Charles III is making good progress in his personal fight against cancer and will undergo precautionary treatments in 2026.

Charles, 77, announced his progress in a video released Friday, and he credited his recovery to the “remarkable advances that have been made in cancer care in recent years,” according to CNN.

“Today, I am able to share with you the good news that thanks to early diagnosis, effective intervention and adherence to ‘doctor’s orders,’ my own schedule of cancer treatment can be reduced in the new year,” Charles said in a video filmed ahead of a special event to benefit the Cancer Research UK charity.

The king was diagnosed with cancer in early 2024 after undergoing a medical procedure on his prostate, but he does not have prostate cancer.

The exact type of cancer with which Charles is afflicted has not been reported, the BBC said.

The king said treatments are going so well that they are entering a “precautionary phase,” but his cancer is not in remission or otherwise cured.

His video speech for the charitable cancer fundraiser encourages viewers to undergo regular cancer screenings.

“Early diagnosis quite simply saves lives,” Charles said.

“I know from my own experience that a cancer diagnosis can feel overwhelming,” he added. “Yet, I also know that early detection is the key that can transform treatment journeys, giving invaluable time to medical teams.”

The U.K. National Health Service offers cancer screening programs for breast, bowel and cervical cancers for people of qualifying ages.

It also is rolling out a lung cancer screening program for adults between ages 55 and 74 and who have been or currently are tobacco smokers.

The king has stayed relatively silent about his cancer diagnosis and treatments until recording the video message.

He also participated in an Advent service at Westminster Abbey earlier in the week and has continued working to prevent cancer from defining his current existence, according to the BBC.

Change may be the only constant, but blazing infernos tearing through Pacific Palisades, Kaskade’s home for the last 15 years, was a new kind of change for him.

After 24 days of burning, his entire life looked different. Between tours, the famed DJ and dance music producer, born Ryan Raddon, spent the majority of his time at Palisades hot spots like the Village. Now he frequents Santa Monica and Brentwood by force. Of the 30 families in his church, only four of their houses remain standing, including his. Unfortunately, his brother’s house was lost to the fires.

“The community is destroyed. It doesn’t exist anymore. It’s hard not to be angry,” Raddon says, remarking that he’s been wondering if he should stay in the Palisades. His three daughters grew up there. Does he take away their childhood home?

When asked how this sudden and unprecedented shift affected the music he made for “undux,” his first album since 2015’s “Automatic,” Raddon takes several moments to collect his thoughts.

“I’ve done quite a bit of press for this record, and you’re the first person to bring that up,” he admits. He made two attempts to write a new album in the last three years, but he was already going through personal struggles before the fires. Divorcing his wife of nearly three decades and watching two of his daughters leave home led to melancholy songs that didn’t feel right to release. Eventually, he decided to finish the body of work, no matter what.

“I need to just make this, see what it is and get through it,” Raddon says. He was able to complete it with the help of songwriters he’s known for years, such as Cayson Renshaw, Finn Bjarnson and Nate Pyfer. “It is therapeutic to sit down and work with another songwriter. [Telling them] I have a lot going on I want to write about.”

The title of the album is “undux,” pronounced “undo,” because everything going on left him feeling undone. The result is a collection of tracks that skews deeper and less euphoric than previous Kaskade albums.

Raddon ventures away from his standard four-on-the-floor house music and into broken beats on “Started Over.” Warm orchestral strings and Renshaw’s ghostly vocals serve as vehicles for big emotional builds over the scattered drums, painting a sonic picture of how messy the heavy moments can feel.

“If Only” is a clean, guitar-driven indie dance tune that directly recounts Raddon’s experience in the aftermath of the blaze: “It’s all ashes / What the hell just happened? / Somehow I’m still standing / But I’m asking what for?”

The title of Raddon’s album is “undux,” pronounced “undo,” because everything going on left him feeling undone.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

There is still music on the album befitting of Raddon’s dozens of main-stage sets he plays every year. The lead single, “DNCR,” coasts on banging piano chords and an energetic kick. But he wrote the upbeat songs after working through the taxing emotions he brought into the process.

“Any time you’re being honest, and you’re going into the studio, you can’t avoid that stuff,” Raddon says. “This was a hard record for me to make.”

When Raddon’s manager heard “undux,” he was glad Raddon was feeling better, but he also delivered a stern warning: Only die-hards would appreciate the softer approach. Labels echoed this impression before the Vancouver-based electronic powerhouse, Monstercat, signed the album.

“When I sent the record out, people generally weren’t having it,” Raddon says. “Labels that I had worked with in the past, and some other people that are making noise in the space right now, said, ‘Call us back when you’re doing dance music.’”

“Undux” includes dance music. But it’s not all peak-time bangers like his biggest hits, such as “I Remember” and “Atmosphere.” In the years following “Automatic,” most of Raddon’s output was that kind of music. Streaming shifted listening habits away from long players and toward playlists and algorithms, both of which favor singles. Singles in the dance realm historically do the best numbers-wise when they’re primed for live.

Raddon’s most extensive releases in this period were his five “Redux” EPs. The Redux project channels his earliest years of DJing, when he was focused on keeping the dance floor moving. Kaskade releases get people moving, too, but songwriting defines that music. Using lyrics and melodies to tell the type of stories he needed to share after the fires.

“Making a single’s neat, but when you sit down in the studio, there’s so much pressure. I need to be able to play this at 2 a.m. in my set. That’s a weird box to work in,” Raddon shares. “When I’m making an album, there’s no thought of that. Let me just write and create.”

“The coolest thing for me is seeing dance music get a little bit of respect. [There’s been] so much success in bringing the music to a wider audience. It’s been a long road,” Raddon says.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

It makes sense that Raddon spent so many years producing for the live space. Right around the release of “Automatic,” he started a historic run on stage. In 2015, he brought the largest audience to an EDM act in the history of Coachella. In 2021, he was the first artist to play for a public audience at SoFi Stadium. In 2022, he broke the record for the biggest electronic music headlining concert in North America at the L.A. Coliseum with Kx5, his collaborative project with deadmau5.

Raddon has also been called upon to bring his art form to professional sports. In 2024, he became the first Super Bowl in-game DJ, and that May, he was the first-ever starting grid DJ at a Formula 1 race during Miami’s grand prix.

Despite so many individual wins, Raddon is most thrilled about the positive change this “decade of triumph” represents for the entire scene. He became one of the first figures of dance music legitimacy when he broke through with his 2004 hit “Steppin’ Out.” Now dance music has three Grammy categories.

“The coolest thing for me is seeing dance music get a little bit of respect. [There’s been] so much success in bringing the music to a wider audience. It’s been a long road,” Raddon says.

Raddon has been on top of the genre throughout that long road, making him one of dance music’s only consistent superstars.

Raddon especially emphasizes the ability to adapt. He started DJing when vinyl was the only option, and he recalls when certain DJs refused to play CDs when that technology developed. Now everyone uses digital files. The same principle applies to making music. He is rather calm in the wake of AI tools (though he admits he feels at ease about it because he’s already found established success with his music).

“This train is moving. You’re getting on, or you’re not. There’s no fighting it,” Raddon says.

The loss of his community in the Palisades and the shifts in his family life may be the most difficult changes he has ever faced. But he’s still on the train moving forward with the help of the music.