Daily Business Report: Tuesday, December 16, 2025
‘Not giving up’: SD philanthropy fights to fill federal funding cuts to cancer research
By Elizabeth Ireland | Times of San Diego
In a laboratory somewhere in San Diego, an emerging scientist wonders if this will be the last year they can afford to search for a cure.
This is the new reality of cancer research in America, where a $1.8 billion federal funding cut across the National Institutes of Health has transformed San Diego County nonprofits and private donors into lifelines.
“I just talked to someone who is likely going to have to close their lab,” said Dr. Ezra Cohen, chief science advisor at Curebound, a San Diego-based nonprofit that fundraises for cancer research. “He’s already had to lay off two of his postdoctoral fellows. These funding cuts are hitting home.”
California State Auditor: Governor Newsom and 8 Agencies Named ‘High-Risk’
By Katy Grimes | California Globe
The California State Auditor published a scalding report Friday that is an unvarnished indictment of Governor Gavin Newsom and his administration. The report should have everyone living in California horrified.
The Auditor’s report finds Gavin Newsom while in his final year as governor, has upended the state’s financial structure, compromised public safety, and left the state’s infrastructure in far worse condition.
The only conclusion is that Gavin Newsom is the most unserious politician to serve as California Governor, interested only in power and control, having performed none of the executive work and actual governing.
It’s Affordability, Stupid?
By Victor Davis Hanson | The Blade of Perseaus
The recent Democratic cry of “affordability” is ironic in many ways.
The left-wing narrative of Trump hyperinflation was one of desperation and came only after previous memes had failed to resonate.
The 2025 generic “dictator,” “fascist,” and “Nazi” smear points never helped the left much.
Nor did the nihilist government shutdown over the “Obamacare crisis” work other than perhaps to depress fourth-quarter GDP.
