California is ready to take on the Justice Department.
That’s according to San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón, who was responding to a lawsuit against the state brought by Attorney General Jeff Sessions over immigration laws.
“I find it very disingenuous that you have people that for generations talk about state rights and all of a sudden their talking about federal supremacy,” he said in a Cheddar interview Wednesday.
The Justice Department and immigration agencies this week sued California over its “sanctuary” laws, which prohibit local and state authorities, as well as private employers, from cooperating with federal immigration officers.
Sessions, who filed the suit Wednesday, said California’s policy threatens national safety.
Gascón, though, said the state doesn’t prevent immigration officials from going into California and doing their jobs. It’s simply not actively cooperating. He argued that immigrants are important to California’s social fabric and provide a “major economic engine.”
“I think that this is an administration that is failing on so many fronts, and what they’re trying to do is create another diversion,” he told Cheddar. “All of this is really a political stunt that is driven by very racist attitude and has nothing to do with public safety.”
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/inside-the-sanctuary-city-legal-battle).
President-elect Joe Biden has tapped Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levine to be his assistant secretary of health, leaving her poised to become the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the Senate.
The completed "Field of Flags" display on the National Mall in Washington DC was lit up by powerful beacons on Monday.
David Quinalty of Waymo spoke to Cheddar about the company's hopes that the Biden Administration will continue the bipartisan work with the DOT in promoting autonomous driving technology.
The National Rifle Association says the nation's most powerful gun-rights organization has filed for bankruptcy and will seek to incorporate the nation’s most politically influential gun-rights group in Texas.
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
State and federal wildlife officials are investigating reports of a manatee found with “Trump” drawn on its back in a Florida river.
The global death toll from COVID-19 has topped 2 million. It crossed the threshold on Friday, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University.
Gov. Cuomo unveiled a proposal to legalize adult-use cannabis in the Empire State, which could add a much-needed source of tax revenue amid the financial devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Congress passed a COVID relief deal that includes a second stimulus payment for Americans. So who qualifies? And when will the checks arrive? Here's what you need to know.
Rep. Kim Schrier (D-Wash. 8th District), stated that the FBI was looking into allegations that members of Congress aided or abetted pro-Trump rallygoers who breached the Capitol on January 6.
