SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Legislative workers at the California Capitol are close to forming their first labor union after state lawmakers approved a bill Wednesday that allows them to organize. The Democrats in charge of California’s Legislature have historically been friendly with labor unions. This year alone, lawmakers are poised to increase the minimum wage…… MORE
CSU Hikes Tuition 6% Annually for 5 Years
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Trustees at California State University, the nation’s largest public university system, voted Wednesday to raise student tuition by 6% each year for five consecutive years to try to narrow a $1.5 billion deficit, a decision that some students called disheartening. The university’s governing board voted 9-0 to approve the increases that…… MORE
New Ag Truck Driving Report
A new report from the UC Berkeley Labor Center finds that among other things during the pandemic, there was not a shortage of people interested in truck driving back in 2021. Instead the industry faced challenges with retaining drivers, with high turnover for long distance haulers. Among other finds centered around disruptions from the covid-19…… MORE
CHP Busts Driver on I-5 with 150LBS of Coke, Fentanyl
FRESNO, Calif. – California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers seized more than 150 pounds of cocaine and fentanyl-laced pills during a traffic stop on Interstate 5 in Fresno County last Friday. The discovery of the drugs, with an estimated street value of approximately $7.3 million, resulted in the arrest of 27-year-old Carlos Jordan Lopez of Washington…… MORE
McCarthy Juggles A Government Shutdown And A Biden Impeachment Inquiry As The House Returns For Fall
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is a man who stays in motion — enthusiastically greeting tourists at the Capitol, dashing overseas last week to the G7 summit of industrial world leaders, and raising funds back home to elect fellow Republicans to the House majority. But beneath the whirlwind of activity is a stubborn…… MORE
Google’s Dominance Of Internet Search Faces Major Challenge In Legal Showdown With U.S. Regulators
The U.S. government is taking aim at what has been an indomitable empire: Google’s ubiquitous search engine that has become the internet’s main gateway. The legal attack will swing into full force Tuesday in a Washington D.C. federal courtroom that will serve as the battleground for the biggest U.S. antitrust trial since regulators went after…… MORE
U.S. and India Resolve Outstanding Trade Issue
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai says the U.S. and India resolved their last outstanding dispute at the World Trade Organization. As a part of the agreement, India also agreed to reduce tariffs on U.S. products like frozen turkey, frozen duck, and fresh and frozen blueberries and cranberries. Tai says the tariff cuts will expand economic…… MORE
From Spaceships To ‘Batman’ Props, A Hollywood Model Maker’s Creations And Collection Up For Auction
DALLAS (AP) — From an early model of the iconic alien mothership from “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” to a complete Stormtrooper costume from “Star Wars,” bidding opens Friday on thousands of pieces Hollywood model maker Greg Jein collected over his lifetime, including many he created during his nearly half-century career. The collection amassed…… MORE
As More Children Die From Fentanyl, Some Prosecutors Are Charging Their Parents With Murder
SANTA ROSA, Calif. (AP) — Madison Bernard climbed into bed before dawn with her toddler, Charlotte, who was asleep next to a nightstand strewn with straws, burned tinfoil and a white powder. Hours later, the mother woke and found her daughter struggling to breathe, according to investigators who described the scene in court documents. After…… MORE
Another Challenge to GMOs
The Center for Food Safety filed a legal appeal against the USDA in response to its genetically engineered labeling rules. The organization says those rules do not mandate clear on-package food labeling and allow unlabeled hidden GMOs to proliferate in the U.S. food marketplace. The CFS was victorious in a 2022 district court ruling in…… MORE
