Goodbye, state of resistance. Hello, state of influence. California’s status has shifted dramatically with the inauguration of Joe Biden as the next president. The reasons are both political — deep blue California will have more inroads to a White House controlled by Democrats — and personal: For just the second...
From Valley Farms to the Capitol: Ramirez Is Key Part of Biden’s Team
Angela Ramirez's path to the Biden administration weaved through the Central Valley. It's where she learned the value of hard work. Although she was born and raised in the Sacramento area, Ramirez's parents are from the Central Valley and graduated from Fresno State — her father, Frank, is from Orosi...
Five Things to Know About California’s New US Senator, Alex Padilla
After Joe Biden picked Sen. Kamala Harris as his vice presidential running mate in August, the parlor game of choice for California’s most politically plugged-in was: Who will Gov. Gavin Newsom pick to fill her vacant Senate seat? Alex Padilla — California’s secretary of state, a Democrat from Pacoima, loyal...
Explainer: Election Claims, and Why It’s Clear Biden Won
ATLANTA — As Democrat Joe Biden is sworn in Wednesday as the nation’s 46th president, Donald Trump’s most ardent supporters still believe Biden was not legitimately elected after Trump continues to argue the election was stolen. There is no evidence of the widespread fraud that Trump and his allies have claimed. Republican...
California Pins Vaccine Hopes on Biden Administration
SACRAMENTO — California officials are pinning their hopes on President-elect Joe Biden as they struggle to obtain coronavirus vaccines to curb a coronavirus surge that has packed hospitals and morgues. Doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been arriving haphazardly as they make their way from the federal government through the state...
Biden Takes the Helm as President: ‘Democracy Has Prevailed’
WASHINGTON — Joe Biden became the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday, declaring that “democracy has prevailed" as he took the helm of a deeply divided nation and inherited a confluence of crises arguably greater than any faced by his predecessors. Biden's inauguration came at a time of...
On Day One, Biden to Undo Trump Policies on Climate, Virus
WASHINGTON — In his first hours as president, Joe Biden will aim to strike at the heart of President Donald Trump’s policy legacy, signing a series of executive actions that will reverse his predecessor’s orders on immigration, climate change and handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Biden on Wednesday planned to halt construction...
Bill McEwen: Five Steps to Heal America Under Biden
Our nation's capital looks like a far-away authoritarian land with 25,000 National Guard soldiers and thousands of police officers deployed to keep Joe Biden safe for his presidential inauguration on Wednesday. America hasn't been this divided since the Civil War, and the immediate future is filled with huge challenges that...
Biden Has Set Sky-High Expectations. Can He Meet Them?
WASHINGTON — Back when the election was tightening and just a week away, Joe Biden went big. He flew to Warm Springs, the Georgia town whose thermal waters once brought Franklin Delano Roosevelt comfort from polio, and pledged a restitching of America's economic and policy fabric unseen since FDR's New Deal....
Joe Biden to Propose 8-Year Citizenship Path for Immigrants
WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden plans to unveil a sweeping immigration bill on Day One of his administration, hoping to provide an eight-year path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million people living in the U.S. without legal status, a massive reversal from the Trump administration's harsh immigration policies. The legislation...