By Luis A. Alejo and Richard G. Polanco, Special to CalMatters Over the past 25 years, California has made great strides to be more inclusive and to better ensure more equitable political representation at all levels of government. However, as former and current chairs of the California Latino Legislative Caucus, we were...
Brexit Talks Inch Toward Tentative Deal Ahead of Summit
BRUSSELS — The European Union and Britain were inching closer to a tentative Brexit divorce deal that leaders would seek to close at a summit meeting Thursday. Hopes were increasingly turning toward getting a broad political commitment, with the full legal details hammered out later. Negotiators were locked in EU...
Saudi Arabia Allows Women to Travel Without Male Consent
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Saudi Arabia on Friday published new laws that loosen restrictions on women by allowing all citizens — women and men alike — to apply for a passport and travel freely, ending a long-standing guardianship policy that had controlled women's freedom of movement. The new laws,...
'Many People Agree With Me': Trump Digs in on Racist Tweets
WASHINGTON — Unbowed by searing criticism, President Donald Trump on Monday emphatically defended his tweet calling on four Democratic congresswomen of color to go back to their "broken and crime infested" countries. Condemnation of his comments "doesn't concern me because many people agree with me," he declared. Trump responded to...
California May Take Bold Step to Insure Undocumented. Too Pricey or About Time?
As California moves closer than ever to offering free health care to low-income, undocumented adults — at a potential cost of $1 billion — battle lines are being drawn about who should benefit and who ultimately will pay the price. On the surface, the arguments are familiar, with supporters insisting...
Poll Finds Hunger for Change to US System of Government
After more than two years of the Donald Trump presidency, Andrea Petrusky is ready for some fundamental changes in the way the United States government works. "Right now we're being shown all of the loopholes, the president being able to do all the things that no president should," said Petrusky,...
Saudi Arabia Beheads 37 Prisoners for Terrorism Crimes
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Saudi Arabia on Tuesday beheaded 37 Saudi citizens in a mass execution across the country for alleged terrorism-related crimes, publicly pinning one of the headless bodies to a pole as a warning to others. It marked the largest number of executions in a single day...
Israeli Bank to Pay $195M for US Tax-Avoidance Scheme
LOS ANGELES — One of Israel's largest banks has agreed to pay $195 million for helping U.S. citizens avoid paying taxes by stashing their assets in offshore accounts. The U.S. attorney's office says Mizrahi-Tefahot Bank Ltd. and two subsidiaries acknowledged guilt Tuesday in a deferred prosecution agreement with the Department...
Rediscovering America: A Quiz on the Supreme Court
The U.S. Supreme Court has played a large role in U.S. history, at times reflecting the mass sentiment of the era and at other times disregarding popular views to extend rights to our citizens. The court, which begins its next term Monday, Oct. 1, has been much in the news...