Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is pitching a $5 trillion-plus climate proposal he says would lead the U.S. to net zero emission of carbon pollution by 2050. The former vice president calls for $1.7 trillion in federal spending over 10 years, with the rest of the investments coming from the private sector....
Is He the Only Dem in America Not Running for President?
It wasn't as epic as Bob Dylan's 115th Dream, but a weird scenario invaded my sleep the other night. I'm in a chair in the Ed Sullivan Studio in New York next to the desk where comedian Stephen Colbert holds court. He places his right index finger just below his nose, as...
Walters: Some Bills Are Silly, and Some Are Just Dumb
Every session of the California Legislature generates some bills that can only be labeled as silly – that is, they defy common sense. One example this year is a bill that would abolish paper receipts at retail businesses, thereby requiring customers to supply their email addresses so merchants can send...
State Rent Control Bill Dies in Sacramento
SACRAMENTO — An effort to expand rent control in California won't move forward this year after the lawmaker behind it cancelled a planned public hearing Thursday, saying his plan needs more work. Assemblyman Richard Bloom, a Santa Monica Democrat, has tried unsuccessfully several times to expand rent control, which is...
Can Progressives Trust Xavier Becerra to Police the Police?
In his two years on the job, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has crafted an image as a progressive warrior, suing the Trump Administration dozens of times and delivering the Democrats’ Spanish-language rebuttal to the President’s State of the Union speech. But there’s one major area where the Democrat isn’t allied with...
Warren Struggles to Move Past Native American Heritage Flap
WASHINGTON — Sen. Elizabeth Warren is on the verge of launching a presidential campaign that should be all about her vision for the future. But first she has to explain her past. For the second time in two weeks, the Massachusetts Democrat apologized Wednesday for claiming Native American identity on...
New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker Launches 2020 Bid
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Cory Booker on Friday declared his bid for the presidency in 2020 with a sweeping call to unite a deeply polarized nation around a "common purpose." The New Jersey Democrat, who is the second black candidate in a primary field that's already historically diverse, delivered his...
Cal GOP Loses Another Lawmaker. He's Now a Democrat.
SACRAMENTO — A moderate California Republican state lawmaker switched parties Thursday while criticizing the policies and leadership of President Donald Trump, whom he said has led the party "to the extreme." Assemblyman Brian Maienschein said he and the Republican Party have moved in different directions since he was first elected...
California Pot Taxes Lag as Illegal Market Flourishes
LOS ANGELES — Deep in Gov. Gavin Newsom's new budget is a figure that says a lot about California's shaky legal marijuana market: The state is expecting a lot less cash from cannabis taxes. The Democrat's proposed spending plan, released Thursday, projects the state will bank $355 million in marijuana...
Trump-Pelosi Showdown Over Shutdown First Battle of New Era
WASHINGTON (AP) — Nancy Pelosi often quotes Abraham Lincoln saying public sentiment is everything. It's a theory that will be put to the test when the new House Democratic majority gavels in this week and votes to end the government shutdown without money for President Donald Trump's border wall with...