California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2222, creating tax incentives for news organizations. Under the law, eligible news organizations can receive a $20,000 tax credit for each of their first five journalists, $15,000 for each additional journalist and new hire, and $7,500 for eligible part-time journalists. Supporters say the program will help struggling newsrooms survive. Newsom said he approved the bill despite concerns that it could benefit wealthy owners, hedge funds, and media companies that do not need financial help. The program also has no spending cap and could create unlimited costs for taxpayers.

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Eliminate the death penalty for 563 inmates in California and replace it with life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The proposal now being considered by Governor Gavin Newsom has been put to a statewide vote twice and came very close to passing.

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President Donald Trump said it without weighing the possible electoral consequences for Republican candidates in California, less than a month before the midterm elections. Far from generating laughter or support for his war with Iran, his comments have raised concern and could affect the vote in a state governed by Democrats since 2011. During a rally in Nebraska on Monday, the president said Iran could “take out” Los Angeles or San Diego, two of the largest cities in the United States, calling it a “small price” to pay to eliminate what he says is the threat posed by the Iranian regime.

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The El Niño phenomenon has not yet reached its peak intensity, which the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) expects to occur at the end of this year, and seawater temperatures in the tropical Pacific area considered the epicenter of the event are already at record levels. The anomaly in that zone exceeded three degrees Celsius in mid‑September and has risen to a level similar to the peak of the El Niño event 11 years ago, in November 2015.

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