Newsom says Trump is assaulting the state

Gov. Gavin Newsom sat down with USA Today as he approaches his first anniversary in office — is he helping us Californians or just fighting with Trump? He's optimistic, even as our coastal homes are falling into the sea, a new study warns. And in other news, nativity scenes are getting political. 

It's Arlene Martínez with stories to start off your week. 

But first, real quick: Read this story in rhyme about old St. Nick, who visited by 'copter where the sand's so thick. 

In California is a roundup of stories from newsrooms across the USA TODAY Network and beyond. Sign up for M-F delivery here!

Newsom: Trump is assaulting Californians

There are critics who say Gov. Gavin Newsom's first year in office has been diluted by his feud with President Donald Trump, and it's resulted in a lack of progress on huge issues — a mushrooming homeless population, astronomical housing prices, a dangerous electrical grid. In short, a dimming of the California dream. 

Then there is a recent poll, which shows by a 44% to 32% margin, residents like the job Newsom's doing. And Newsom himself is resolute — the dream will live on. 

“One of the biggest stories that hasn’t gotten full media attention is the assault by the president on the American people who happen to be residents of the largest state of our union,” Newsom said in an exclusive year-end interview with USA TODAY. “But California is thriving despite him.”

That would be one take. Another might that housing approvals have gone down in the year since Newsom was elected, and homelessness has gone up. Read the full interview and learn more why Newsom feels when it comes to the future of California, "the sky's the limit."

A key homeless case, Starbucks under fire, and a debate in doubt?  

The Supreme Court refuses to hear a case out of Boise, Idaho, that says a community can't criminalize sleeping outside if no low-barrier shelter beds are available. More than 30 California cities had asked the high court to reconsider the ruling by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Starbucks issues an apology after two Riverside County sheriff's deputies said they were ignored by store employees and had to leave without ordering. It's the third such report in recent months.

Democratic officials continue working to resolve a labor agreementbetween the food services company Sodexo and employees who work at Loyola Marymount University, the scheduled site of Thursday's sixth presidential primary debate. All seven candidates who qualified for the debate said they wouldn't attend if the dispute persists. 

As homes fall into the sea, cities need a plan 

There is a lot of talk about saving the planet. But local governments are moving too slow to prevent the worst damage from sea-level rise caused by climate change, according to a new report out of the Legislative Analyst’s Office. The repercussions include an even more severe housing shortage and significant hits to local economies. 

California needs to start building 100,000 more housing units annually in coastal cities to mitigate the problems caused by sea-level rise, the report says. Commercial property isn't immune either. Oakland’s airport could face severe flooding, rendered useless during 10-year storm surge events, it says. 

The report relies on scientific findings that project sea-level rise reaching half a foot in 2030 and about seven feet by 2100, though other estimates have placed it as high as 10 feet.

What else we're talking about 

A search-and-rescue volunteer, who was a newly married social science and English teacher, died Saturday while tracking a hiker who went missing near Mt. Baldy. 

With the help of indigenous Mexican community leaders, LAPD officers get training on responding to incidents when other languages are involved, including K’iche’, spoken by Guatemalan Mayas.

More than 80 homeless people died this year in the coastal community of Ventura. An interfaith weekend gathering honored their lives.

OPINION: California thinks big on policy, but a lack of follow-through means reforms and change don't actually happen. Case in point: The bullet train to nowhere. 

Nativity scenes go political. Or were they always?

In the nativity scene outside of a church in Claremont, Mary, Joseph and Jesus are refugees housed in separate cages, a nod to the Trump administration's policy of separating families with young children at the border. In a Dedham, Massachusetts, display, the Three Wise Men and animals are half underwater, a call to action for climate change. 

Churches across the country are using Christmas nativity scenes to make political statements and protests. Some congregants are enraged. To them, pastors say, well, too bad. The Gospel is inherently political, they say, and it’s their job to facilitate conversations about morals and values, regardless of which party their congregants belong to.

“People have this weird notion that nativity scenes are more like a scene from a child’s Charles Dickens story,” said Rev. Steve Josoma, the pastor at Dedham's St. Susanna Catholic Church. “But St. Francis originally put out the nativity scene in Italy to show what dire circumstances Jesus was born into. We romanticize it as cute and cuddly and warm, but who wants to be born in an animal trough?” 

In California is a roundup of news compiled from across USA TODAY Network newsrooms. Also contributing: Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, CalMatters.