In opening arguments, prosecutors said that Sheng Thao “put her power up for sale.” One lawyer for the defendants called the bribery scheme “pure fiction.”

Mayor Karen Bass and her former ally, the City Council member Nithya Raman, attacked each other’s records on Tuesday night in the last televised debate before the election.

Two Democratic candidates choose opposite tacks on public safety and policing, seeking to corral undecided voters.

The growing use of walk-and-talk social videos can be traced to Zohran Mamdani’s successful campaign for mayor of New York City. But not all candidates are naturals on camera.

Mayor Karen Bass and her onetime ally, Nithya Raman, made their case to voters with just five weeks left until the election.