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Gavin Newsom commutes the death penalty of 548 people in California

In a letter issued on 5 November, Gavin Newsom, governor of California, announced the commutation of the death penalty of 548 people for life imprisonment. Newsom has been opposed to the death penalty for years and, in 2019, decreed a moratorium on executions in his state. However, the California Constitution requires the approval of the State Supreme Court to grant clemency when a person has been convicted of a serious crime on more than one occasion. The measure of Newsom would represent the greatest act of clemency in the history of the United States.

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Politics

Midterms: What impact did redistricting in California and Texas have?

Last year, California voters approved a bill to temporarily redraw the state’s congressional map to make certain congressional districts more favourable to the Democrats – itself a response to a Republican-led redistricting push that began in Texas. France 24’s Wassim Cornet in Los Angeles takes a look at what impact these efforts may have had on the midterm results.

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World

Californians vote on billionaire tax to replace federal cuts in healthcare funding

California could become the first US state to tax the net worth of billionaires Tuesday under a ballot measure that has divided liberal leaders nationally and triggered one of the most expensive ballot fights in state history as the ultra-rich scramble to figure out whether they would pay the tax or flee. Proposition 40 would impose a one-time 5% tax on the wealth of Californians whose net worth exceeds $1 billion, with most of the revenue dedicated to replacing federal funding cuts to healthcare.