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Here is the extracted text from the article: --- Talked to a friend who has connections within the Democratic Party and he said the level of panic over Trump and Elon shutting down USAID is unlike anything he’s ever seen. By following the money DOGE has struck a killing blow to the heart of the Democrat deep state machine. Direct quote: “This is worse than 9/11 for Democrats. USAID is the primary vessel they use to achieve their political agenda. USAID is and always has been the primary source of funding for their influence peddling schemes and for their indirect...

Biden claimed to regret how his drug warrior legacy led to mass incarceration. But the prohibition will lead to harsher policing in Black communities. It's like the president hasn't learned a thing from the failed and evil War on Drugs. This is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author. Joe Biden clearly hasn't learned a thing from the failed and immoral War on Drugs - a disaster that he played a huge part in creating. The president on Thursday ordered the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ban menthol cigarettes, a plan first reported on Wednesday...

April 29 (UPI) -- The Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday that it is proposing a ban on the sale of menthol cigarettes in the United States. The announcement begins a long regulatory process, resulting in menthol cigarettes being available for about two more years even if the ban is eventually adopted. The tobacco industry is expected to challenge the decision. The FDA decision would also ban all flavored cigars. The agency did not include menthol-flavored electronic cigarettes. Menthol is the last allowable flavor for cigarettes. The proposed ban was prompted by a citizen petition that allows the public to...

The White House is waging war on menthol — the last allowable flavoring in cigarettes — and flavored cigars, announcing Thursday that the administration intends to ban the popular additives in tobacco products. It was the first shot in an uphill battle that advocates say would prevent the industry from marketing to children and minority communities with whom flavored tobacco has proven popular. "With these actions, the FDA will help significantly reduce youth initiation, increase the chances of smoking cessation among current smokers, and address health disparities experienced by communities of color, low-income populations, and LGBTQ+ individuals, all of whom...

San Francisco, CA (AP) -- City lawmakers have approved a tax break to keep Twitter from fleeing San Francisco. The measure passed by the Board of Supervisors 8-3 on Tuesday exempts the microblogging service from paying payroll tax on new hires if it moves to the city's neglected Mid-Market area. The exemption applies to any business in the blighted neighborhood, but city officials call Twitter the big fish that could spur economic growth. Twitter is already outgrowing its current San Francisco headquarters, and the company is poised to expand from a few hundred to a few thousand workers. Mayor Ed...

<p>With Gov. Gray Davis facing recall, a budget $38 billion in deficit, and a bond rating dropped three notches by Standard & Poor's to near junk-bond status, the lowest of all 50 states, the Golden State is no more.</p> <p>Who killed the goose that laid the golden eggs?</p>

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is expected to vote next week to oppose a bill that could soon give cities and counties the authority to impose a personal income tax on residents. Earlier this month, the Assembly passed a bill now moving through the Senate that would allow cities and counties, with approval from voters, to tax residents' personal income to fund public safety. However, before the issue could be put on a ballot, local governments would first have to create public safety finance agencies. The tax collected would go to that entity and be used only for...