In December 1999, tobacco companies paid California counties, cities and the state $314,169,788. And that was just the first payment. Tobacco companies paid many more hundreds of millions of dollars to California under the “Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement” that was reached after extended litigation with seven tobacco companies. The companies agreed to change their marketing,…
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Caitlin Dewey | (TNS) Stateline.org Joshua Wood remembers days during the COVID-19 lockdown when New York City’s streets were practically empty, save for workers like him. That experience convinced the 25-year-old Brooklynite — who makes deliveries for both Uber Eats and a package delivery service — that the gig economy needed some urgent changes. Roughly…
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Federal Reserve officials left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday and released a roundly optimistic set of economic forecasts that showed inflation fading more swiftly this year even with a solidly growing economy. Altogether, the news suggested that Fed officials were beginning to see a better chance of a “soft landing”: a slowdown in inflation that…
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Comedian and actor Tracy Morgan is not shy about pushing the boundaries of stand-up and going against cancel culture and political correctness. “You have to be able to say what you want to say, and I created a lane for myself where you can’t cancel me,” Morgan said after telling some jokes that would definitely…
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President Biden is campaigning for re-election on a strong economy. He said recently, “Bidenomics is just another way of saying, ‘Restore the American Dream.’” Some things look pretty good. Unemployment in August stood at just 3.8%, up a bit from July’s 3.5%. That’s 19 straight months below 4%, effectively full employment. White House talking…
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A warm late summer breeze blew as a goldfinch ate seeds while balancing on a stem of a pineapple sage. Bees flew from bloom to bloom of the brightly colored Baja fairy duster gathering pollen. Dragonflies darted back and forth across a small pond, occasionally landing on a branch, their wings glowing in the afternoon…
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John Waters, the writer-director of films from “Pink Flamingos” to “Hairspray,” was in his element. An entire floor of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures was about to open with the first-ever museum exhibit, “John Waters: Pope of Trash,” on the beloved cult filmmaker’s career. A sizeable media throng had assembled to capture Waters’ words…
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Delivering remarks during her first convocation since becoming president of Cal State Fullerton, Sylvia Alva lauded the university’s accomplishments over the past year, while outlining goals for the new academic year. Two priorities are to continue to build on CSUF’s standing as a leader in degrees earned by first-generation and underrepresented students and to fine-tune…
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Four Irvine Unified School District schools have opened designated mental wellness rooms on campus this week in an effort to encourage and facilitate open conversations about mental health with students. Dubbed WellSpaces, Creekside High School, Lakeside Middle School, Plaza Vista School and Rancho Middle School are the latest schools to incorporate these areas, providing a…
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On “Meet the Press” last week, former President Donald Trump made a compelling case highlighting the differences between his years in office and President Joe Biden’s. He also substantially and irretrievably undercut his principal defense in the four criminal cases in which he is a defendant. Here is the backstory. Four grand juries, each in…
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