Political Breakdown

Members of California’s Legislative Black Caucus released its list of priorities following recommendations from the state’s Reparations Task Force. They include 14 bills aimed at addressing inequities in education, healthcare, criminal justice and business … but no mention of cash payments. 

KQED’s Scott Shafer and Annelise Finney discuss the process so far with LA Times columnist Erika D. Smith, who calls the recommendations “half-baked and disorganized.”

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The U.S. Senate race is heating up with battling TV ads ahead of next week's second candidate debate. Plus, the congressional race for Katie Porter's Orange County House seat gets down and dirty with two Democrats trading allegations. Scott, Marisa and Guy chat about the week's top political news. 

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Another day in court for former President Donald Trump — this time, the Supreme Court considers whether he can be taken off the Colorado presidential ballot. Marisa and Scott talk with Justin Levitt, a constitutional law professor at Loyola Law School, about the oral arguments and other legal questions Trump is facing. 

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The Republican effort to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas failed — in part due to a surprising defection from a conservative House member from California. Plus, the congressional race to replace former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is getting nasty in Kern County, as MAGA Republicans pile onto McCarthy's anointed successor, Assemblymember Vince Fong. Scott and Marisa chat about all that with Jeremy B. White, senior political reporter for POLITICO.

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Latino voters are likely to play a big role in determining the outcome of races up and down the state and up and down the ballot this year. About a quarter of the Latinos who are eligible to vote in the entire nation live here in California. But for candidates trying to win over Latino voters, there are some obstacles. For a better sense of the state’s growing Latino electorate, Scott Shafer spoke with Matt Barreto of the Latino Policy and Politics Institute at UCLA.

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Ballots for the March 5th primary election are arriving in mailboxes across the state this week. In California, the titles and summaries for ballot measures are written by the attorney general, but some say Democrats in the job too often put their thumb on the scale with skewed summaries to help their allies. 

Plus, the life and death of legislation in Sacramento. Why are some bills introduced knowing they'll never make it out of committee, much less to the governor's desk? Scott and Marisa chat about all this with CalMatters reporter Sameea Kamal. 

Also: KQED has a voter guide! Check out our roadmap to voting in California at kqed.org/voterguide.

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New fundraising totals in the U.S. Senate race show Adam Schiff with a huge monetary advantage over fellow Democrats Katie Porter and Barbara Lee and Republican Steve Garvey. Plus, does the GOP have a Taylor Swift problem? Scott, Marisa and Guy take a look at some of the top stories bubbling up in the world of politics this week.

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With migrants attempting to cross the U.S. southern border in record numbers, immigration is becoming one of the top issues in this year’s presidential campaign. President Biden is adopting some hard-line positions, even vowing to "shut down" the border if Congress passes a bipartisan deal. Marisa and Scott dig into the crisis at the border with Hamed Aleaziz, an immigration reporter for the New York Times who's covered the issue since former President Trump’s tumultuous term. 

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The dean of UC Berkeley’s Law School has signed onto a legal brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that Donald Trump is ineligible to be president due to his participation in the January 6th insurrection. Scott talks with Dean Erwin Chemerinsky about that issue and all the other legal perils Trump is facing.

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California’s high-speed rail project has been way over budget and way behind schedule since voters approved it in 2008. But progress is actually being made. Scott talks with KQED transportation editor Dan Brekke and CalMatters reporter Yousef Baig about the impact of the high-speed rail project in the Central Valley.

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