Tag: california

California’s $20 fast food wage yields higher prices, fewer jobs, more automation

Two years ago, a hotly contested law imposing a $20-per-hour minimum wage on franchised fast food outlets took effect.

The legislation, Assembly Bill 1228, emerged from months of intense political conflict, pitting fast food behemoths such as McDonalds against service worker unions, arguing not only over the wage itself but what the industry saw as an effort to undercut its business model.

Eventually the industry agreed to a higher wage in exchange for unions leaving the franchise system unmolested and the creation of a commission to oversee wages and working conditions.

Ever since, fast food corporations and labor interests have jousted over the law’s impact, with both waving economic reports to bolster their positions.

The industry warned that the FAST Act, as it was dubbed, would push fast food prices upward and employment opportunities downward. Unions and their allies contended it would benefit fast food workers with few, if any, negative impacts.

The situation cried out for independent evaluation, not only to settle the arguments but to provide guidance on the consequences of political intervention on wages in any industry.

Thankfully, we may have that study.

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California Gubernatorial Debate Canceled Because Only White Candidates Qualified for the Event

There was supposed to be a debate tonight for the California gubernatorial race but it has been canceled because only white candidates met the criteria for the event.

Millions of Americans tonight are saying – So what? Who even cares about this?

California has massive problems right now. Is this really one of them?

Perhaps this is one of the reasons that California is bleeding population for the first time in history. Because the people in charge are obsessing over skin color instead of the crazy high taxes and homes that are still not rebuilt more than a year after the wildfires.

NBC News reports:

California governor debate canceled after criticism of criteria that excluded candidates of color

A California gubernatorial debate was canceled just hours before it was set to occur on Tuesday after mounting criticism that only white candidates in the crowded field had qualified for the event.

The criteria to participate in the debate, which was set to be co-sponsored by the University of Southern California and the Los Angeles TV station KABC, had emerged in recent days as a source of controversy in the wide-open race to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom. The sprawling field includes eight prominent Democrats and two major Republicans, as well as several other lesser-known candidates.

USC had faced condemnation for using polling and fundraising criteria for participation in the debate that had resulted in the exclusion of all the nonwhite gubernatorial candidates.

In a statement from late Monday night, USC said that the “concerns about the selection criteria” for the debate had “created a significant distraction from the issues that matter to voters.”

“Unfortunately, USC and KABC have not been able to reach an agreement on expanding the number of candidates at tomorrow’s debate. As a result, USC has made the difficult decision to cancel tomorrow’s debate and will look for other opportunities to educate voters on the candidates and issues,” the university said in that statement.

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California Court SMACKS DOWN Corrupt AG Rob Bonta’s Attempt to Block Sheriff Chad Bianco’s Massive 650,000 Ballot Investigation

A state appellate court has flat-out rejected Democrat Attorney General Rob Bonta’s emergency writ to halt Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco’s bombshell investigation into 45,000 extra votes mysteriously counted in the November 2025 special election.

This is the latest chapter in Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco’s fearless fight against the Sacramento swamp.

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a Republican currently in a tight 2026 gubernatorial race with fellow Republican Steve Hilton, moved to seize approximately 650,000 ballots and initiate a recount after a citizens’ group reported significant discrepancies, according to CalMatters.

Sheriff Chad Bianco revealed that a team of 10 investigators had already begun counting ballots before being ordered to halt their work, as part of an ongoing election investigation, The Sun reported.

According to Bianco, the team’s initial progress suggested that counting the approximately 611,000 ballots would take about five days to complete. However, the effort was paused before a full review could be conducted.

The investigation was launched following a complaint filed by a citizen-led election watchdog group. The Riverside Election Integrity Team alleges a discrepancy of roughly 45,000 votes between the number of ballots received and those officially counted in Riverside County during the November election tied to Proposition 50.

AG Bonta’s office had demanded the sheriff’s department pause everything, claiming “grave concerns” and whining that Bianco hadn’t identified a specific crime.

Bonta tried to claim that Bianco, a veteran law enforcement officer, had no “legal authority” to act as an election monitor. He called the investigation a “fishing expedition” and a “threat to democracy.”

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Musk found guilty of misleading investors

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has been found guilty in California of misleading investors during his $44 billion purchase of Twitter in 2022.

The class-action lawsuit, which had been filed shortly before Musk took control of the social media platform that he subsequently re-branded as X, focused on two tweets and comments made by the tech billionaire during a podcast in May 2022. Following those statements, including a post claiming that the Twitter deal was “temporarily on hold,” the company’s shares plunged by almost 10% in a single session.

The nine-man jury in San Francisco delivered its verdict on Friday, stating that the tech billionaire did mislead the shareholders, who sold Twitter shares at a lower price as a result of his announcements, with the tweets.

However, it also found that there was nothing wrong with what Musk said on the podcast and that he did not intentionally “scheme” to mislead the investors.

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Democrats Rattled After California Sheriff Seizes 650,000 Ballots in Election Integrity Crackdown

Riverside County Sheriff and California gubernatorial candidate Chad Bianco has seized more than 650,000 ballots from last November’s election as part of an investigation into potential discrepancies in the county’s vote count.

The probe follows allegations from the Riverside Election Integrity Team that the county’s tally may have been inflated by more than 45,000 votes.

“This investigation is simple: Physically count the ballots and compare that result with the total votes recorded,” Bianco said at a Friday press conference.

He said the review will determine whether the results are accurate.

“There is no acceptable error, small or large, in our elections,” he said.

The investigation covers ballots tied to Proposition 50, which passed in Riverside County with 56 percent of the vote, a margin of more than 82,000 ballots.

Riverside County Registrar of Voters Art Tinoco said the alleged discrepancy stems from a misunderstanding of incomplete data.

He said the actual variance was 103 votes, or 0.016 percent.

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Linda McMahon Threatens to Pull San Jose State University’s Funding Over Title IX Violations

According to Campus Reform, “The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights recently threatened to rescind funding from San Jose State University after becoming locked in a stalemate with the school over its Title IX violations.”

These violations were in regard to noncompliance regarding “transgender” athletes, otherwise known as Men in Women’s sports.

According to The Office For Civil Rights, “OCR concluded that SJSU’s policies allowing males to compete in women’s sports and access female-only facilities deny women equal educational opportunities and benefits,” the letter stated.

According to this department, San Jose State University caused Female athletes “significant harm.”

In addition, the release stated  the University policies have created “unfairness in competition, compromising safety, and denying women equal opportunities in athletics, including scholarships and playing time.”

The American public is overwhelmingly against Men in Female sports, but apparently, some schools continue to defy the public will and the Executive Orders of the Trump Administration.

The official from The Office for Civil Rights also stated in the press release that “This is unacceptable. We will not relent until SJSU is held to account for these abuses and commits to upholding Title IX to protect future athletes from the same indignities.”

President Trump and his administration have been consistent in opposing the Woke agenda and opposing the efforts to put biological men in women’s sports.

Also, according to Campus Reform, the Office was nice enough to offer a resolution to settle, but San Jose rejected the terms, which included restoring female athletes’ records and offering them apology letters, but the terms seem to have been rejected.

As a result of this school’s non-compliance with federal law, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon posted to X on March 11th that the university’s response was a “proactive refusal” to negotiate the proposed resolution agreement or address the Title IX concerns, concluding that “a voluntary agreement will not be reached and we are at an impasse.”

“The notice informed SJSU that the OCR will issue a Letter of Impending Enforcement Action within 10 calendar days if the university does not reach a compromise and agree to a resolution.”

Defying federal law is no small matter, especially in a matter of public safety such as this.

Possible consequences include termination of federal funding as well as referral to the DOJ.

Linda McMahon correctly argued, “protecting women’s sports is non-negotiable.”

McMahon gave the school ten days to end these practices of Men in Women’s sports.

These are all welcome measures to make sports safe and end unfair practices.

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California man paroled under ‘youthful offender’ provision for 2 murders kills again less than a year later

A California man who killed a Los Angeles mother of six less than a year after being paroled for a double murder under a youthful offender law was sentenced to life in prison, authorities said Friday. 

Darryl Lamar Collins, 55, was sentenced for the killing of his girlfriend, Fatima Johnson, a 53-year-old mother of six who was found dead by her daughters in her apartment July 4, 2021. 

She was found with her wrists and ankles bound with shoelaces and duct tape, she was gagged with underwear and duct tape was placed over her mouth and nose. 

Collins stole Johnson’s cell phone, jewelry and her Lexus, prosecutors said. Hours after the murder, he pawned two of her necklaces and sold her vehicle for drugs.

The killing happened 364 days after he was released from prison for two previous murders. 

“Darryl Collins took three innocent lives. Today’s sentence isn’t just about punishment. It’s also about protection from this sociopath to ensure he will never walk free again,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said. 

“This case shows exactly what can happen when someone with a history of extreme violence is released from prison early. We can only hope that three families who have experienced unimaginable loss find some measure of peace knowing he will never again be back in our communities.” 

Collins had previously been convicted of two separate murders in 1995 and was sentenced to two consecutive terms of 25 years to life.

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Rocket scientist and Air Force general linked to UFOs vanish under similar strange circumstances five months apart

A retired Air Force general known in UFO circles has gone missing during a hike in New Mexico, just months after a former colleague disappeared in a nearly identical case. 

US Major General William Neil McCasland, 68, was last seen on the morning of February 27 as he left his Albuquerque home with only a backpack, wallet and .38-caliber revolver for a trail run, according to the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office.

Sources previously told The New York Post that McCasland was a ‘gatekeeper’ and ‘participant’ in the UFO community.

His disappearance has only fueled speculation around the disappearance of 60-year-old Monica Reza, who had worked on a rocket project overseen by McCasland, who also went missing in June 2025. 

In a chillingly similar case, Reza was last seen hiking in a California forest with a colleague, smiling and waving moments before she ‘vanished off the face of the earth,’ according to NewsNation. 

For months, authorities and volunteers have combed the area using every resource at their disposal, but the aerospace engineer remains missing without a trace. 

At a recent press conference, Sheriff John Allen said a Silver Alert was issued for McCasland after reports of a ‘mental fog’ in the months before his disappearance, adding that he had no other known health problems. 

Yet despite an intensive search involving drones, helicopters, ground crews and K-9 units, the avid outdoorsman – and any trace of his belongings – also remains missing. 

‘Let me be straight. We’ve had a lot of tips, and we will go through every tip. But there are some tips with some outlandish theories, conspiracy theories,’ the sheriff said.

‘We will look into everything, but we are trying as a law enforcement agency and entity,’ he added.

The general’s wife, Susan McCasland, posted on Facebook to set the record straight amid what she described as ‘misinformation’ about her husband’s disappearance. 

‘It is true that Neil had a brief association with the UFO community,’ she wrote. ‘This connection is not a reason for someone to abduct Neil.

‘Though at this point with absolutely no sign of him, maybe the best hypothesis is that aliens beamed him up to the mothership. However, no sightings of a mothership hovering above the Sandia Mountains have been reported.’

Just nine months ago, Reza – known professionally as Monica Jacinto at Aerojet Rocketdyne as a material scientist – was last seen hiking on the popular Mount Waterman Trail in the Angeles National Forest in Los Angeles. 

Like McCasland, she loved hiking. She was just 30ft behind the man she was with when she vanished on what was described as a ‘normal day,’ according to NewsNation.

‘He turned around, next thing you know, she was just completely gone,’ the outlet reported.

‘Rescue teams spent days looking for her, but actually never recovered her body.’

Reza worked for Aerojet Rocketdyne, a high-profile company funded for years by NASA and the Air Force Research Laboratory, according to SpaceNews.

In the 1990s, she engineered a nickel-based superalloy that could survive extreme oxygen environments without added weight – technology that helped create the AR1 engine, set to replace Russian RD-180 engines on United Launch Alliance rockets. 

Her patented invention brought her into McCasland’s sphere, as he oversaw the Air Force group that funded early-2000s research on advanced materials for reusable spacecraft and weapons systems. 

McCasland’s Air Force biography reveals he oversaw advanced materials as director of the Space Vehicle Directorate’s materials wing and commanded the Phillips Research Site at Kirtland Air Force Base from 2001 to 2004.

His roles ultimately had a direct connection to Reza’s highly successful research. 

The general had also led research at Ohio’s Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, which Marik Von Rennenkampff, a former Obama-era national security analyst, described as ‘where all the super-secret research happens,’ CNN reported. 

On the day he vanished, McCasland spoke with a repair person at his home at 10am, while his wife left around an hour later for a medical appointment, the sheriff’s office said. 

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Democrat Is Shocked to Learn CA Bans Voter ID Requirements

In a conversation with Representative Kevin Kiley (R-CA), a Democrat, and ESPN analyst, Stephen A. Smith was shocked to learn that not only does the state of California not have any voter ID requirements for its elections, but it has even barred counties from imposing their own ID rules.

“I think the fact that we don’t have voter ID in places like California is extremely unusual in democracies across the globe,” Kiley said. “There’s maybe like two or three democracies in the world that don’t have it. This is just kind of like a administrative requirement in a well-functioning democracy. So I think we should just have it. We should get this out and move on with our lives. It shouldn’t be a big controversial issue.”

“It’s excuse me for being so ignorant, this is definitely my last question,” Smith replied. “What do you mean you don’t have voter ID in California. Could you please elaborate specifically on that for my audience that may not know?”

“Yeah, California does not have voter ID,” Rep. Kiley replied. “You don’t need to present it to register. You don’t need to present it to vote. As a matter of fact, the past, the state passed a law forbidding voter ID so, so cities, counties… “

“Forbidding?!” Smith exclaimed.

“They’re not allowed to under state law.”

“What, when did that happen?!”

“A couple of years ago? Because I think it was Orange County. They wanted to have their own requirements of the state passed a law saying, no, you’re not allowed to you,” Kiley said. “Voter ID is not only not required. It is actively forbidden.”

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Muckraker Investigates California’s Election Fraud: Foreigners From Africa Encourage Ballot Petition Fraud

Another one!

Muckraker released footage of its latest investigation into California’s election fraud.

Click here for the video.

– Petitioners paying homeless people with cigarettes and cash for signatures.
– Voters lied to about what they were signing.
– Foreign nationals encouraging outright fraud.

“Furthermore, we exposed a man previously named in Swiss criminal complaints for ballot petition fraud, who is now running a petition company in Los Angeles. He suggested to us that it is “okay” to give cigarettes in exchange for ballot petition signatures, which is a misdemeanor crime under California law,” Muckraker reported.

This is the second time this week that undercover journalists have exposed a cash for ballots scheme in California.

The O’Keefe Media Group on Tuesday released part one of its investigation into a California elections fraud cash for ballots scheme.

Earlier this week James O’Keefe and his team of journalists went undercover on Skid Row in Los Angeles posing as homeless people.

‘Petitioners’ told the undercover journalists that they are paid between $7-$10 per signature. Some of them earn up to $1,000 per day.

“California NGOs Encourage Fake Addresses To Homeless People To Sign Petitions & Register Voters, A State & Federal Felony. Footage Shows 28 Instances Of Cash Changing Hands For Ballot Signatures & Voter Registration Forms,” they said.

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