Union knows who’d really pay for California ‘billionaire tax’
There are cracks in the foundation of labor support for the California “billionaire tax” headed for the Nov. 3 ballot.

Judy Chu, a Democrat who has been in Congress for 17 years, faced a straightforward question in the House Ways and Means Committee hearing this week: Who was the U.S. president during World War I? Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tossed her that softball amid talk of inflation and wartime economics under President Donald Trump. Her reply,...
There are cracks in the foundation of labor support for the California “billionaire tax” headed for the Nov. 3 ballot.
Mail-in ballots and security measures contribute to counting delays in California's close contests, an election expert says, and last-minute voters in the governor's race may slow things down further.
Russell Wilson won't be alone in starting something new at CBS.
Friends,Trump is trying to rig the midterms because he’s scared. And because Trump’s scared, he’s trying to scare Americans with an imaginary boogeyman: so-called “voter fraud.”Here’s the truth: Every study shows voter fraud, including noncitizen voting, is so rare that a person is more likely to get struck by lightning than to cast a fraudulent ballot.But Trump’s using this boogeyman to sabotage our elections. Here are three things I’m worried about — then I’ll tell you how we fight back.#1 New voting restrictionsTrump is pushing for strict voter registration laws (the so-called “Save America Act”) that would require eligible voters to prove their citizenship. But a state ID or driver’s license won’t do. Voters would need to show either a current passport or a certified birth certificate from the state they were born in to register.Yet, more than 21 million Americans cannot easily provide those documents, either because they simply don’t have them or they can’t afford to get them. (Do you know where your birth certificate is?)And even if you do have it, about 80% of married women and 30% of trans people have legal names that don’t match the name on their birth certificates — which makes it even harder to register.Trump isn’t stopping there; he also wants to restrict mail-in voting, despite frequently voting by mail himself.Trump’s hypocrisy would be laughable if it weren’t so dangerous. Some 45 million votes were cast by mail in the 2024 general election (which he won, and doesn’t say was rigged, by the way). Restricting mail-in voting, along with instituting harsh voter ID laws, is blatant voter suppression.#2 Voter intimidationTrump insiders say he might deploy armed ICE or Border Patrol agents to polling sites.Trump’s violent ICE agents have run rampant in our streets, abusing both noncitizens and citizens alike. The presence of armed agents of the state at polling places would almost certainly have a chilling effect on voter turnout — which is exactly what Trump wants.#3 Denying election resultsTrump’s latest big lie is that any Democratic victory is illegitimate.What if Republicans lose the midterms but follow Trump’s 2020 example and try to hold onto power? A few years ago, this would have been unthinkable. But after what Trump tried doing in 2020, it’s frighteningly plausible.The bottom line is Trump is deeply unpopular, which is why he is trying to suppress the vote.But here is how we can fight back.1. Press your state and local leaders to protect our elections right now. Your state attorney general and local election officials still have authority over our voting system. Urge them to develop a plan to protect our elections. Call on them to sue the Trump administration if it tries to seize ballots. Tell your state legislature to ban armed federal agents from polling places, like New Mexico just did.2. Second, VOTE — and help turn out the vote! We need to show up in such large numbers that no amount of voter suppression can change the result. Go to vote.org right now and check your registration. Then reach out to three friends and make sure they are registered to show up.3. Lastly, SOUND THE ALARM. Share the video I’ve posted above, which I made with the talented team at Inequality Media Civic Action. Help spread the word that the boogeyman of voter fraud is just a cover for Trump’s election sabotage.Trump’s strategy to sabotage the election depends on fear, confusion, and division.We must respond by being brave, focused, and united.
Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) had a sharp response for Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during a heated hearing on Wednesday. Bessent was testifying before the Senate Finance Committee on President Donald Trump's budget request when Hassan questioned him about whether the administration was focusing on affordability concerns for Americans amid rising gas and grocery prices."What is very clear to me is that neither you, nor the president, nor this administration are willing to acknowledge how much more people are paying at the gas pump, at the grocery store, or in utilities, for healthcare — for all aspects of American life — nor have you acknowledged the number of manufacturing jobs that were lost in 2025," Hassan said.Bessent tried to interject and claimed the cost of groceries was higher during the Biden administration. Hassan then corrected him, pointing out she was referring to the Trump administration, and the two started to talk over each other in a fiery exchange."The administration has claimed that its top priority is lowering costs for American families but the president instead continues to pursue vanity projects at a significant costs to taxpayers," Hassan said. "He requested $1 billion for the White House ballroom, spent $45 million on a military birthday parade, proposed $100 million arch at Memorial Circle, and now Treasury is planning production of a $250 dollar bill with his face on it. Mr. Secretary, how does the president's requested billion-dollar ballroom, or all of these other vanity products, lower costs for American families or help constrain spending?""Senator, first of all you're incorrect. There is no cost to the American people," Bessent said in response.Bessent claimed the "decorative part of the ballroom is privately funded."Hassan pushed back on his comments."It is national security matters that the billion dollars are for," Bessent said.But the Democratic senator wasn't convinced."That's ridiculous and I think you know it," Hassan said.
The forces driving Third-World immigration into the West don’t care about skin color nearly as much as they care about destroying the Christian foundation of modern society.
A new U.N. report warns AI’s environmental cost is often mismeasured.