Illustration by Quentin Lueninghoener, Fair WarningA federal court trial under way in San Francisco could spell the beginning of the end of water fluoridation in America, potentially affecting drinking water for hundreds of millions of people across the U.S. Although fluoride can occur naturally in water, many water utilities add the chemical with the goal of improving dental health.
State Attorney General Xavier Becerra delivering remarks on sanctuary cities in August at San Francisco City Hall. (Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press) U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ “Tough on Crime” program of maximum prison sentences and crackdowns on undocumented immigrants is “absolutely wrong” and threatens to drive the country into poverty, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said Tuesday. “He’s taking us back to the days when the bogeyman drives public policy,” Becerra, the state’s top law enforcement officer, told an audience at a Venice forum sponsored by Atlantic magazine.
California drivers in a Los Angeles traffic jam.(Photo: ShutterStock)Traffic tickets aren’t so out of the ordinary – until you get to Howard Herships’ case. After being caught by a red light camera on a right turn in suburban Sacramento, Herships, 73, contested the $200 ticket. His fight has proven costly: He lost his driver’s license, and his 2014 ticket penalty ballooned more than eight-fold to a whopping $1,665, plus a $55 driver’s license reinstatement fee. Now he’s in federal court over a constitutional issue.