California voters will soon decide whether to tax billionaires — but even if a majority says yes, the measure could still lose to either of two billionaire-funded measures designed to cancel it out. The billionaire-backed group Building a Better California designed two countermeasures to undermine the wealth tax and create multiple ways to defeat it. Recent polling shows slim majorities…
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As a child in the 1950s and ’60s, Regina Martin became so used to the oil pumpjacks near her home that she assumed every child lived beside them. Everyone was made “sick to [their] tummy” by the sulfurous, rotten-egg smell that never seemed to leave, she thought. Only until she was grown did she begin to see a possible connection between growing up on top of the nation’s largest urban oil…
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As Californians have weathered relentless heat waves, state workplace safety regulators have repeatedly reminded employers to protect employees from heat illness by providing water, shade, cooldown areas, and additional rest breaks when temperatures climb. But there’s a notable exception to the state’s heat safety rules: the nurses, guards, staff, and tens of thousands of incarcerated people…
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The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, has been spending tens of millions of dollars on political races during the current election cycle, aiming to defeat progressive candidates who are critical of Israel and who express support for Palestinians. Many voters might not even be aware of this, because AIPAC-funded ads and mailers often omit any mention of Israel…
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On February 21, Samantha Sanchez joined her husband, Allen Tayson, on his adjustment of status interview with the U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement in an office in San Jose, California. Within 10 minutes of her husband being called in, someone who worked there approached Sanchez and her children, ages 5 and 14, to let her know her husband was being detained. At that moment…
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AIPAC and other allied outside groups have spent millions of dollars trying to defeat a left-of-center candidate in a House race for a term that would last only a few months, in a race that will be decided Tuesday. United Democracy Project (UDP), AIPAC’s super PAC, has reported that it has poured $1.2 million into opposing progressive candidate Aisha Wahab and backing moderate Democrat…
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