Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Follow Us:
Top Stories

California court expedites Trump challenge to new tax returns requirement

California court expedites Trump challenge to new tax returns requirement

California's Supreme Court is expediting President Trump's challenge to a new state law that would require him to release five years of tax returns in order to get on the state ballot for the 2020 election.

Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images

The California Supreme Court is fast-tracking its review of a challenge to a new law that would require President Trump to make public his tax returns in order to get on the state's ballot for the 2020 election.

A lawsuit seeking to block implementation of the law was filed August 6 by the California Republican Party against Secretary of State Alex Padilla. It claims the law violates California's constitution.

Two other challenges, one filed by Trump's personal lawyers, are pending in federal court.


Trump refused to release his tax returns during the 2016 election campaign, bucking a practice followed by every presidential candidate for decades.

The court issued an expedited schedule on Wednesday requiring attorneys on both sides to file legal papers by mid-September, including anyone who wants to file briefs supporting either side.

The California law requires presidential candidates to release five years of tax returns in order to appear on the ballot. Democrats control both houses of the California Legislature and Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill in late July.

Read More

Kelly Sponsors Bipartisan Bill Addressing Social Media

Sen. Mark Kelly poses for a selfie before a Harris-Walz rally featuring former President Barack Obama on Oct. 18, 2024.

Photo by Michael McKisson.

Kelly Sponsors Bipartisan Bill Addressing Social Media

WASHINGTON – Lawmakers have struggled for years to regulate social media platforms in ways that tamp down misinformation and extremism.

Much of the criticism has been aimed at algorithms that feed users more and more of whatever they click on – the “rabbit hole” effect blamed for fueling conspiracy theories, depression, eating disorders, suicide and violence.

Keep ReadingShow less
The “Big Beautiful Bill” Becomes Law: From Promise to Fallout
a doctor showing a patient something on the tablet
Photo by Nappy on Unsplash

The “Big Beautiful Bill” Becomes Law: From Promise to Fallout

When I first wrote about the “One Big Beautiful Bill” in May, it was still a proposal advancing through Congress. At the time, the numbers were staggering: $880 billion in Medicaid cuts, millions projected to lose coverage, and a $6 trillion deficit increase. Seven months later, the bill is no longer hypothetical. It passed both chambers of Congress in July and was signed into law on Independence Day.

Now, the debate has shifted from projections to likely impact and the fallout is becoming more and more visible.

Keep ReadingShow less
Federal employees sound off
Government shutdown
wildpixel/Getty Images

Fulcrum Roundtable: Government Shutdown

Welcome to the Fulcrum Roundtable.

The program offers insights and discussions about some of the most talked-about topics from the previous month, featuring Fulcrum’s collaborators.

Keep ReadingShow less
ENDING THE VICIOUS CYCLE OF NON-GOVERNING
people holding a signage during daytime
Photo by Liam Edwards on Unsplash

ENDING THE VICIOUS CYCLE OF NON-GOVERNING

“We the People” know our government is not working. For decades, Americans have said they want leaders who work together, confront problems honestly, and make decisions that push the country forward. Yet the officials we send to Washington keep repeating the same self-defeating patterns—polarization, gridlock, shutdowns, and an almost complete inability to address the nation’s biggest challenges.

The result is a governing culture that cannot resolve problems, allowing them instead to grow, intensify, and metastasize. Issues don’t disappear when ignored—they become harder, more expensive, and more politically explosive to solve.

Keep ReadingShow less