Republicans Win Tennessee Special Election, Dells Pledge $6 Billion to Children’s Investment Accounts, L.A. Moves to Bar ICE from Wearing Masks, S.F. Sues Food Giants, California Job Market Falters, Major Landlord Settles Over Collusion

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🗓️ 4 December 2025

⏱️ 10 minutes

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Summary

Republican Matt Van Epps wins Tennessee’s special election by a narrower margin, signaling potential movement ahead of 2026. Michael and Susan Dell pledge more than $6 billion to expand President Trump’s new children’s investment accounts, drawing praise and criticism. Los Angeles County advances a measure to bar masked immigration and law enforcement agents, prompting federal pushback. San Francisco files a landmark lawsuit accusing major food companies of deceptively marketing ultra-processed products. In business, California’s job market shows sharp layoffs in tech and entertainment even as the aerospace and defense industries expand, and Greystar agrees to halt algorithmic rent pricing and pay $7 million in a multi-state settlement over alleged collusion that inflated housing costs.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is an LA Times Studios podcast.
0:09.0	Hi, I'm Faith Pino, and you're listening to headlines from LA Times Studios.
0:14.0	Here are some of today's top stories from the Los Angeles Times.
0:18.0	In a high-profile special election in Tennessee, Republican Matt Van Epps held onto a
0:23.3	conservative U.S. House seat Tuesday night. And while GOP leaders in Washington may want to call
0:29.5	this a decisive win, the numbers tell a more complicated story. According to reporters, Van Epps
0:35.6	won the state's seventh congressional District by about nine points.
0:39.3	That's less than half the margin won by the last Republican to hold the seat, and well below the 22-point win President Trump had there in 2024.
0:49.3	Democrats are calling that a sign of momentum.
0:52.3	Van Epps, a military veteran and former state official, defended the district by tying himself closely to Trump, who endorsed him and rallied voters by phone.
1:03.1	Take a listen to what Van Epp said in his victory party Tuesday night.
1:07.3	Tonight we showed running from Trump is how you lose.
1:12.6	Running with Trump is how you win.
1:16.6	While Democrats' state representative Afton Bain came up short, she made major inroads in
1:22.6	historically conservative territory.
1:24.6	Just three years ago, state lawmakers redrew the district, making it seemingly
1:29.6	impossible for liberal-leaning Nashville to elect another Democrat to Congress. But despite her defeat,
1:36.5	Bain struck an optimistic tone at her party Tuesday night, even breaking into Dolly Parton's hit song
1:42.5	9 to 5, and calling the results, quote, the beginning of something big.
1:47.7	Here was her message to voters ahead of the 26 midterms.
1:51.8	I'm so, so proud of the race that we won.
1:55.5	The Republicans made these districts to be uncompetitive.
	...

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