Rangers are reportedly poised to sign Hull City goalkeeper Ivor Pandor, with Jack Butland moving in the opposite direction, as Aberdeen, Dundee, Dundee United and Motherwell are said to have received bids for key players.
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In a move that suggests a sharp battle to come with the administration of President-elect Donald Trump and upends conventional wisdom about who will emerge as the next generation of statewide elected officials, Gov. Jerry Brown picked House Democratic Caucus Chairman Xavier Becerra (D-Los Angeles) on Thursday to be California’s next attorney general.
If confirmed by both houses of the Legislature, he will succeed Kamala Harris, who was elected to the U.S. Senate in November.
Becerra, 58, has served 12 terms in Congress. Just days before the appointment, he had announced a bid to become the ranking Democrat on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.
“It’s a phenomenal opportunity,” Becerra said. “It means I get to be home a lot more.”
Few statewide offices are as powerful, or prominent, as that of attorney general. The role has often been referred to as the state’s top lawyer and its top law enforcement officer, a nod to the breadth of responsibilities vested in the office and its leadership of the California Department of Justice.
Attorneys general not only must pursue cases of criminal and civil wrongdoing, they oversee criminal forensic work for most counties and make the final choice about defending state laws — even crafting the language that summarizes ballot measures for voters.
Becerra was beaming during an interview in his House office Thursday morning shortly after Brown offered him the job.
“I’m still processing,” Becerra said with a laugh. “I didn’t expect it.”
Becerra would be the state’s first Latino attorney general. The son of Mexican immigrants, he was the first member of his family to attend college, earning a law degree from Stanford Law School and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Stanford University. Elected to a two-year term in the state Assembly and then to the House in 1992, he rose through the ranks to become the highest-ranking Latino in Congress.
Becerra worked in the civil division of the state attorney general’s office, writing advisory opinions for former Gov. George Deukmejian, a Republican, and defending the state’s constitutional officers from 1987 to 1990 before entering the Assembly. He said he had always wanted to return to the office.
“It was a great place to be,” he said.
Brown’s pick was so sudden that Becerra has not yet had time to reactivate his state law license, though he would not be the first attorney general to have to do so. Inactive status allows attorneys to hold on to their licenses when they are not actively practicing law.
Becerra would also be the first attorney general appointed by a governor since Thomas Lynch, who was chosen by former Gov. Pat Brown in 1964. Few political appointments are likely to be as personal to the current governor as this one, given his own four-year stint as attorney general starting in 2006 and the fact that his father used the office as a steppingstone to governor more than five decades ago.
“Xavier has been an outstanding public servant — in the state Legislature, the U.S. Congress and as a deputy attorney general,” Brown said in a statement. “I’m confident he will be a champion for all Californians and help our state aggressively combat climate change.”
The choice sent political shock waves through California, in large part because Becerra was not on any of the widely circulated lists of potential picks. Brown had offered no details on whom he would pick or when.
Many suspected that he might choose a caretaker, perhaps even a career staffer who would simply carry out the office’s functions through the 2018 election. Virtually no Democrats who heard the news on Thursday believed that Becerra would be that kind of officeholder.
“He has the smarts, political experience and ambitions to run and win reelection,” said state Sen. Steve Glazer (D-Orinda), a former top political adviser to Brown.
If Becerra serves less than two years of Harris’ existing term, he could be eligible to run for up to two additional terms — eight years — as attorney general. Harris has said she plans to hold the position until she is sworn in to the Senate on Jan. 3, and at that point Brown could officially nominate Becerra.
Becerra said Thursday he’s thinking about the confirmation process at this point and not whether he’ll run for a full term as attorney general or another office in 2018. He must be confirmed by the state Senate and Assembly, both controlled by Democrats. Becerra said he hasn’t been told when a confirmation vote might happen.
Earlier, Becerra had flirted with a bid for U.S. Senate when Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) announced plans to retire, but Harris’ quick entry into the race kept him and other California Democrats from running.
Holding such a prominent statewide post would raise Becerra’s profile as the Golden State’s foil to Trump, potentially setting him up to run for governor or U.S. Senate in the future. The attorney general, by virtue of the office’s broad power, will likely be a key player alongside Brown in pushing back against Trump’s proposed efforts on issues important to California, including immigration and climate change. In Texas, a state that has its own experience fighting the federal government, attorneys general have been a major force in the battle over states’ rights.
“He has great tenacity and he respects the rights of all Californians — much-needed qualities for an attorney general given the troubling times ahead,” Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) said Thursday.
Several congressional colleagues echoed that sentiment.
“Many of the values that we stand by in California will be under attack in the next few years, and Chairman Becerra is the fighter I want in our corner,” Rep. Tony Cardenas (D-Los Angeles) said in a statement.
Becerra said that with Trump headed to the White House, he’s prepared to protect California’s progressive policies on immigration, the Affordable Care Act, energy and criminal justice. As California politicians embrace their roles in guarding the state against Trump’s policies, Becerra threw down his own gauntlet Thursday.
“If you want to take on a forward-leaning state that is prepared to defend its rights and interests, then come at us,” Becerra said.
A vocal advocate for Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid, Becerra was briefly floated as a potential pick for vice president or a Cabinet position. With Clinton’s loss Nov. 8 and no upward mobility available in House leadership, Becerra’s future political career was unclear.
He’d reached the time limit on serving as caucus chairman, the fourth highest-ranking House Democratic leadership position, and with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and the other two Democrats above him in leadership staying put, there was no path up the ladder headed into the next Congress.
Becerra serves on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, and made a play as recently as Tuesday to be the committee’s ranking Democrat. He was quickly endorsed by the current ranking member, Rep. Sandy Levin (D-Mich.), who said in a statement Thursday that he respects that Becerra “feels a special responsibility during these difficult times to look after vital legal interests in his home state.”
Democrats across California reacted Thursday with effusive praise for Becerra. Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom called him “a thoughtful and effective leader, with a keen legal mind and a passion for giving a voice to the voiceless.”
In particular, some pointed out the importance of elevating a Latino politician to statewide office, alongside both Latino leaders of the Legislature and Secretary of State Alex Padilla.
“It’s good for the state’s future,” said Bill Lockyer, who served as attorney general from 1999 to 2007.
The announcement also meant early guessing as to who would replace Becerra in representing downtown Los Angeles and communities to the west and north in Congress. Becerra won reelection in November in the solidly Democratic district. A special election to fill the seat would probably take place in late spring of 2017, though the law gives Brown wide discretion on the precise schedule.
John A. Pérez, the former Assembly speaker and current University of California regent, announced his bid less than an hour after Brown’s announcement, and more contenders may follow.
sarah.wire@latimes.com; john.myers@latimes.com
Follow @sarahdwire and @johnmyers on Twitter
Read more about the 55 members of California’s delegation at latimes.com/politics
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OMAHA, Neb. — Nebraska on Friday will become the first state to enforce work, volunteer or education requirements for new Medicaid applicants, eight months before the federally mandated requirements kick in.
Advocates worry that the state is launching so rapidly that key details remain unresolved and some people who are eligible for coverage will lose it.
State officials say they’re prepared, training staff and sending letters, emails and texts to people who could be impacted.
Health policy experts, advocates and other states will be watching closely.
“It can be used as a lesson for other states, both where things go well and where things don’t go well,” said Jennifer Tolbert, deputy director of KFF’s Program on Medicaid and the Uninsured.
The work requirement is part of a broad tax and policy law that President Trump signed last year. Nebraska Republican Gov. Jim Pillen announced in December that the state would implement it eight months before it was required, saying the aim was “making sure we get every able-bodied Nebraskan to be a part of our community.”
The state had one of the lowest unemployment rates in the U.S. in February: 3.1%.
The federal policy won’t apply to all Medicaid beneficiaries, just those who are enrolled under an expansion that most states chose to make to allow more low-income people to get healthcare coverage.
Under the change, many Medicaid participants ages 19 through 64 will have to show that they work or do community service at least 80 hours a month, or are enrolled in school at least half-time. They’ll also have their eligibility reviewed every six months rather than annually, so they could lose coverage faster if their circumstances change.
Exceptions will be made for people who are too medically frail to work or in addiction treatment programs, among others.
An Urban Institute report from March estimated that the changes would mean about 5 million to 10 million fewer people nationally would be enrolled in Medicaid than would have been otherwise.
Choices states make about how to run their programs are expected to be a major factor in exactly how many people lose coverage.
“The higher the administrative burden, the more likely people are found noncompliant and disenrolled,” said Michael Karpman, who researches health policy at Urban.
Not everyone who has coverage will need to submit proof that they’re working.
The state says it will first match enrollees with other data it has to see if participants are working or exempt. The state says it has that information for most of the roughly 70,000 people enrolled in Medicaid through the expansion.
That leaves between 20,000 and 28,000 who would have to provide more information, plus an average of 3,000 to 4,000 new enrollees each month.
At first, they will just need to show that they met the requirements in just one month of the previous 12. The time frame will shift to six months in 2027.
There’s some flexibility. For instance, instead of showing they work 80 hours in a month, someone could instead provide records that demonstrate they earned at least $580, the amount someone earning minimum wage would make in 80 hours.
People who don’t submit requested information within 30 days of being asked could have their applications denied or lose coverage they already have.
Bridgette Annable, who lives in southwest Nebraska, received a letter saying she must meet the work requirements or lose the benefits that pay for her insulin and diabetic supplies.
The 21-year-old mother now has a part-time job, despite being advised against it to protect her mental health. She’s worried about her ability to keep working.
“I am working 30 to 25 hours a week — as much as my employer can provide,” Annable said. “Although I call out of work often due to fibromyalgia pain and bipolar episodes that leave me too tired to leave the house. I have enough energy to take care of my daughter and do some cleaning, but that’s about it.”
Amy Behnke, the chief executive officer of the Health Center Association of Nebraska, said that staff members who help people enroll with Medicaid and their clients have a lot of questions, including some that the state hasn’t yet answered.
Some examples: Apprenticeship programs are supposed to count for work requirements, but does that apply only to those certified by the state’s labor department? There’s an exemption for people who travel to a hospital for care, but there’s not clarity on how far the journey must be.
KFF’s Tolbert noted that the state issued its 295-page list last week of conditions that could qualify someone as medically frail. “We don’t know if it’s a comprehensive list,” she said.
“The speed at which we are choosing to implement work requirements hasn’t left a lot of space for really meaningful communication,” Behnke said.
And Nebraska could have to make changes after the federal government provides guidance that is expected in June.
Mulvihill and Beck write for the Associated Press. Mulvihill reported from Haddonfield, N.J.
BBC bosses are poised to offer Sara Cox the Radio 2 Breakfast Show job after Scott Mills’s sacking, insiders told The Sun.
Sources said veteran broadcaster Sara, 51, was seen as the “heir apparent” for the role — which is widely regarded as the best job in radio.
Mills, who had hosted the show since January 2025, was dismissed last month.
It came after new information about a police investigation over alleged sex offences with a boy aged under 16 in 2018 came to light at the BBC. OJ Borg and Gary Davies have filled in since Mills left the station.
Insiders said they expected Sara, who joined the BBC in 1999 as a Radio 1 DJ, to be offered the job this summer.
A source said: “Sara is the heir apparent for the Breakfast Show job.
“Since Scott left, she has been the name which has been discussed as the best candidate and everyone at Radio 2 is saying she will be offered it.
“Sara has made a huge success of her drivetime slot and is hugely popular at the station, plus she’s hosted the Breakfast Show as a stand-in before.
“The BBC won’t be rushing this through as they want the dust to settle. But Sara is the one in line and, as far as her colleagues are concerned, she is the best person for the job.”
Sara, who began a TV career in the 90s, featured on Radio 2 as a cover host for various shows in 2012 while still working for Radio 1.
The mum-of-three landed her first permanent Radio 2 show, hosting Sounds of the 80s on Saturday nights, the following year.
She went on to replace Simon Mayo as the drivetime presenter in 2019 and stood in on the Breakfast Show in 2025.
That year, she was chosen to complete a Children in Need challenge and raised over £11.5million after walking and running 135 miles in five days.
She said of working for Radio 2: “It’s sort of my dream job.”
SCOTT Mills is seen for the first time since being sacked by the BBC.
The star, who was axed as Radio 2 Breakfast Show host, was out walking walked his dog with his husband Sam Vaughan.
Mills, 53, confirmed he was quizzed by police in 2018 following an allegation of a historical sexual offence against a boy under 16.
The case was dropped due to a lack of evidence.
But Mills was sacked last month after new information came to light, the BBC said.
He was allowed to keep his job for almost a decade despite the BBC being made aware in 2017 of an ongoing probe.
