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California Senate candidates spar over Dem's proposal for $50 minimum wage: 'Do the math'

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California Senate candidates spar over Dem's proposal for  minimum wage: 'Do the math'

A Monday night debate in California between several candidates vying for an open Senate seat included a question about raising the minimum wage to $50, an idea that one Democrat candidate has floated.

“In the Bay Area, I believe it was the United Way that came out with a report that very recently $127,000 for a family of four is just barely enough to get by,” Democrat Congresswoman Barbara Lee said when asked to defend her previous support of a $50 minimum wage and explain how it would be “sustainable.”

“Another survey very recently, $104,000; for a family of one, barely enough to get by, low income because of the affordability crisis.”

Lee has previously called for a $50 minimum wage, which would amount to around $104,000 per year of income. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour and ranges from $16 to $20 in California.

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Rep. Barbara Lee (Fox News Digital)

“Just do the math. Of course, we have national minimum wages that we need to raise to a living wage,” Lee continued. “We’re talking about $20, $25 — fine. But I have got to be focused on what California needs and what the affordability factor is when we calculate this wage.”

Former baseball star Steve Garvey, the only Republican on the stage, told the moderators that the minimum wage “is where it is and should be.”

“If you look at what California has done to fast-food franchises right now, increasing the minimum wage to $20, and what’s going to happen,” Garvey said. “That’s going to increase costs for hardworking Californians to go to a franchise to get a Big Mac for $9, it’s going to be $15.”

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Rep. Adam Schiff (Jerod Harris/Getty Images for Demand Justice)

Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff took issue with Garvey’s statement and said that so many people are living on the street because they are being paid “poverty wages.”

“Try to find a house anywhere in California when you’re earning minimum wage,” Schiff told Garvey. “We have to raise people’s incomes.”

SOME GOP LAWMAKERS WANT TO RAISE THE FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE — BUT ONLY FOR VERIFIABLE AMERICAN CITIZENS

California Senate candidate Steve Garvey (Steve Garvey)

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Schiff and fellow Democrat candidate Katie Porter have floated support for minimum wages ranging from $20 to $25 per hour.

California passed legislation last fall that will require a $20 per hour minimum wage at all restaurants with at least 60 locations nationwide, though the law includes an exception for restaurants that make and sell their own bread.

Several major fast-food franchises, including McDonald’s and Chipotle, have already signaled that prices will have to rise in response to the increased labor costs.

MOST ECONOMISTS OPPOSE THE $15 PER HOUR MINIMUM WAGE – HERE’S THE STUNNING REASON WHY

As businesses consider passing costs on to consumers, Fat Brands Chair Andy Wiederhorn recently said that “someone’s got to pay” for the jump in wages.

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“The consumers who are voters must have known what they were getting into by promoting this legislation to raise the minimum wage from $15 to $20 and on its way to $25,” Wiederhorn told Fox Business this month.

“Everyone wants their employees to make more money, but it just costs. And someone’s got to pay for it. And the restaurant operators don’t have the margin for that. So, prices are going to go up.”

Rep. Katie Porter (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

A 2021 Harvard Business Review study found that raising the minimum wage actually leads to lower compensation for employees.

In addition to companies being forced to raise prices, many economists have also warned that companies will be forced to cut jobs, which often ends up disproportionately hurting low-wage income earners, the very group supporters of raising the minimum wage are aiming to help.

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“Apologists for the minimum wage routinely claim that increasing it will help low-income workers and have no negative effects,” E.J. Antoni, a research fellow in regional economics with the Heritage Foundation’s Center for Data Analysis, told FOX Business about raising the minimum wage last year.

“They often cite corporate greed as the only reason for relatively low wages in places like the fast-food industry. In reality, raising the minimum wage reduces employment and causes the higher cost of labor to be passed on to customers. Because low-income workers disproportionately buy fast food (like McDonald’s), they disproportionately bear the cost of not only the more expensive labor but also the lower employment levels.”

Antoni continued, “That fact exposes the reality that the true minimum wage is, and always has been, zero. For the worker that loses his or her job because of a higher minimum wage, they now have no income and higher food prices.”

Fox News Digital’s Madeline Coggins contributed to this report.

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West

Knife-wielding nut allegedly asked Christian his religion – then stabbed him and dog before police shot him

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Knife-wielding nut allegedly asked Christian his religion – then stabbed him and dog before police shot him

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An armed Washington man was shot and killed by police after authorities say he stabbed a man and the victim’s dog, attacking them moments after asking the victim what religion he practiced.

The incident unfolded just before 6:30 a.m. on Sunday, when a man called 911 to report he had been stabbed by an unknown man near a local S S Quickstop Grocer in Parkland, the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post

When officers arrived, the victim and his dog were both in serious condition. 

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A man and his dog are in serious condition after an unknown attacker asked the victim about his religion, stabbing them moments later near an SS Quick Stop Grocer in Parkland, Washington on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026.  (Pierce County Sheriff’s Office)

According to authorities, the victim reported that the unknown man approached him and asked what religion he was.

“The victim answered the man and said something about being a Christian, and the man then attacked and stabbed the victim and his dog,” police said. 

Before being transported to a hospital, the victim was able to give a description of the male suspect, resulting in police searching the area for several hours. 

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Police say the unidentified attacker approached them while armed, leading to a deputy-involved shooting on the 800th block of 112th Street in Parkland, Washington on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (Pierce County Sheriff’s Office)

The victim’s dog was subsequently transported to a local animal hospital and was immediately taken into surgery.

Approximately two hours later, a deputy noticed the suspect on the 800th block of 112th Street and pursued him as he fled behind a nearby house. 

The armed suspect then advanced toward deputies, who fired on him, FOX 13 reported

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The unidentified attacker was transported to a local hospital, where he later died from his injuries after being shot by police in Parkland, Washington on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, according to FOX 13. (Pierce County Sheriff’s Office)

The suspect was transported to a nearby hospital, where he later died from his injuries, according to the outlet.

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The conditions of both the victim and the dog have not been released. 

The Pierce County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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San Francisco, CA

Exclusive: San Francisco Police Department investigating Zoox collision with a parked car | TechCrunch

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Exclusive: San Francisco Police Department investigating Zoox collision with a parked car | TechCrunch


The San Francisco Police Department is investigating an accident involving a Zoox autonomous vehicle that crashed into the driver’s side door of a parked car, TechCrunch has learned.

Officers responded to the crash, which occurred at around 2 p.m. local time on January 17 near the intersection of 15th and Mission Streets, according to the department. The Zoox robotaxi was traveling along 15th street when a street ambassador named Jamel Durden opened the driver’s-side door of his 1977 Cadillac Coupe DeVille, according to MissionLocal, which first reported the crash.

Durden’s hand was reportedly smashed during the crash, and the Zoox vehicle suffered damage to its glass doors. The San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) told TechCrunch the Zoox vehicle was carrying a passenger at the time, which has not been previously reported. That passenger was an employee of Zoox, according to the company, and was not injured, which the SFPD confirmed.

The police department declined to provide TechCrunch with an incident report “[d]ue to the fact it is still an open investigation.” Zoox filed its own police report about the incident, the company told TechCrunch, but said no additional details have been requested. In a statement on January 20, Zoox said it was “cooperating with local authorities to provide an accurate account of the incident.”

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The California Department of Motor Vehicles, which regulates autonomous vehicles in the state, has also met with Zoox about the January 17 crash. The DMV told TechCrunch that Zoox filed a crash report “in compliance with California regulations.” That report is not yet publicly available.

Zoox is in the early stages of building out its robotaxi service in San Francisco. In November, the company started offering free rides to members of the public who are part of the “Zoox Explorer” early-rider program. The company is operating a similar program in Las Vegas, Nevada.

This rollout has come with challenges. The Amazon-owned company issued a recall in December to fix an issue where some of its vehicles were crossing center lanes and blocking crosswalks. (Zoox also issued two different software updates during recalls earlier in 2025 before it started offering public rides.)

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The January crash in San Francisco happened when Durden “suddenly opened” the door of his car into the path of the robotaxi, according to Zoox. The company said the robotaxi “identified the opening door and tried to avoid it but contact was unavoidable.” (Durden’s employer could not be reached for comment.)

Zoox also said it offered medical attention to Durden, who allegedly declined. According to MissionLocal, Durden refused medical treatment until his car was towed.

“Safety and transparency are foundational to Zoox, and we are cooperating with local authorities to provide an accurate account of the incident,” the company said in a statement.

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Denver, CO

Huge new $27 million Denver bathhouse would include sauna, cold plunges

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Huge new  million Denver bathhouse would include sauna, cold plunges


Memphis Orion’s steamy vision of Denver includes state-of-the-art saunas and cold plunges, salt scrubs, solariums, and towel-whipping “aufgussing” rituals.

Adam Lerner and Memphis Orion speak within a mobile sauna at Coba Bathhouse in Denver on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)

For now, however, the amenities for his new business are limited to a steel-frame trailer behind a gutted industrial building. His custom-built, solar-powered mobile sauna, or Cobacita, fits a little over a dozen people on its wooden benches. That’s a far cry from from the hundreds Orion envisions inside his $27 million Coba Bathhouse project just a few feet away.

“I’m a connoisseur of the world of bathhouses, and I love the different technologies emerging around the world for it,” said Orion, the CEO of Coba. “The modern bathhouse is taking these traditional (forms) and updating them and bringing them to together for people who are moving away from bars and alcohol being the center of social life.”

Consisting of three buildings connected by gardens and outdoor seating areas, Coba — a combination of Colorado and bathhouse — is a concept of extreme, immersive proportions backed by veterans of the art and entertainment worlds. When it’s finished in 2027, it will sit across from the Auraria Campus on West Colfax Avenue in Denver, just south of Domo Japanese restaurant in the La Alma neighborhood.

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Orion sees it employing 90 to 100 people and fitting about 400 guests at any one time. If all goes well, its founders believe it will draw roughly 300,000 people per year.

Day passes will cost $50 to $75, with $220 monthly memberships, although prices are preliminary. It’s about the cost of a casual dinner out, chief strategy officer Adam Lerner said, and arguably a value for a theme park’s-worth of wellness attractions. Lush urban gardens, tea ceremonies, wood-burning firepits, steam rituals like aufgussing (a towel-whipping, dancing group experience) and group-soaking pools are on the menu.

A solarium, thermal pool and multi-level garden will offer visitors year-round exterior access at Denver's Coba Bathhouse, said architect Paul Andersen. (Rendering provided by Independent Architecture)
A solarium, thermal pool and multi-level garden will offer visitors year-round exterior access at Denver’s Coba Bathhouse, said architect Paul Andersen.

Coba’s buildings, including a former asphalt factory that lacks electricity or running water, are, for now, a staging area and proving ground still in need of permits, excavators and carpenters before they can match the elaborate renderings Orion and his partners have been floating to investors.

The project is slated to cost about $27 million, Orion said, with $3.5 million of that going toward the land purchase. He received a $526,200 state tax credit, since the project will include a thermal energy network, with an 800-foot-deep geothermal well planned for underneath the parking lot. The technology will use the consistent temperature deep underground to draw and disperse heat and cold as part of Coba’s electricity-hungry infrastructure.

Orion’s confident the “landmark” bathhouse will draw Denverites who are hungry for new experiences. In this case, that’s an upscale version of downregulation, a.k.a. chilling and steaming one’s way to relaxation, happiness and social well-being.

Orion, an industrial engineering and renovation expert, is surrounded by a pool of expertise. His co-founder in Coba, and the company’s chief commercial officer, is Jon Medina, a designer and producer who has worked with Meow Wolf, AEG Presents and Outside Magazine. Also from Meow Wolf: Coba’s chief financial officer Carl Christensen, the former co-CEO and chief financial officer of Meow Wolf. That immersive-entertainment company just happens to have an outpost about a mile away from Coba.

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An entrance to one of the Coba Bathhouse buildings, as designed by architect Paul Andersen. (Rendering provided by Independent Architecture)
An entrance to one of the Coba Bathhouse buildings, as designed by architect Paul Andersen. (Rendering provided by Independent Architecture)

Chief strategy officer Lerner formerly led the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver. Meow Wolf co-founder Vince Kadlubek, architect Paul Andersen and others continue to advise on the project. The balance of art and culture veterans should ensure that Coba has a strong cultural appeal, its founders believe, with an emphasis on memorable experiences.

“We wanted to take the mundane and make it more adventurous,” Medina said, citing the “rain room,” where water follows people as they walk through it (a nicer version, perhaps, of the cartoon raincloud that follows around someone in a bad mood).

Coba’s layout is designed to circulate guests through the environments until they find their comfort zone(s). There’s a giant cold plunge pool that fits about 30 people — and one with even colder temps that fits 6 to 10. There’s the 60-seater room called the Ritual Sauna, water massages, a dark and silent sauna meant for solo introversion, floating pools, a rooftop garden and rentable “thermal suites.”

Renderings of the finished Coba look like a psychedelic hall of justice, albeit with Art Deco arches replaced by wavy roof lines. They conceal not just internal wellness features but also a café, space for musical performances and workshops, and lockers and common areas.

Part of the mobile sauna at Coba Bathhouse in Denver on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
Part of the mobile sauna at Coba Bathhouse in Denver on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)

“Here the idea is to create something that maybe draws from history, but is not a direct reference to it,” architect Andersen said. “This is something very different, even otherworldly.”

Coba’s success may turn on how transported its guests feel, since it’s being pitched as a respite from stress and an excuse to put down your phone and bond with neighbors.

“We wanted to create a place that has this combination of feeling connected to nature but also modern life,” Lerner said. “Because this is not a retreat. This is actually a place that is integrated into your weekly routine. The kind of place you go to four times a month. Which is why a bathhouse differentiates itself from, say, a spa, which is a luxury indulgence.”

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Paul Andersen, Adam Lerner and Jon Medina tour the space being converted into Coba Bathhouse in Denver on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
Paul Andersen, Adam Lerner and Jon Medina tour the space being converted into Coba Bathhouse in Denver on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)

Lerner first met Orion at the ritualistic, art-driven Burning Man Festival in Nevada, and has maintained a friendship that dovetailed into the one-acre Coba project. Their connections are coming in handy as they hold small sessions and continue to raise funds for construction. They even recruited Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and Zach Neumeyer, the chairman of Sage Hospitality, to make remarks on their Jan. 22 “civic preview.”

Coba has the potential to outlast fads in biohacking and contrast therapy meant to tame and train the body, said Denver journalist and author Scott Carney. He’s written extensively on how the body can be conditioned to extreme environments, and his Jan. 22 visit to Coba convinced him of its pure intentions.

“There are a few other contrast therapy spots that have popped up around Denver, from mobile saunas and river jumps at the Golden library, to the sauna/plunge combos at Nurture and Archipelago, as well as SWTHZ on Tennyson,” he wrote via email. “But they are all smaller and … more specifically health-oriented. People go there for their quick hot and cold fix and then move on.”

Coba may endure because it’s social, he said, instead of just service-oriented.

Or as Coba’s founders write in their 27-page investor pitch: “Bring a swimsuit if you’d like to participate. Dress is casual. The person next to you may be in swimwear.”

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