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California entrepreneur who led minimum wage measure 'disappointed' by defeat, vows to fight for working class

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California entrepreneur who led minimum wage measure 'disappointed' by defeat, vows to fight for working class

Joe Sanberg, the entrepreneur and anti-poverty advocate who spearheaded a recently defeated state ballot measure to raise California’s minimum wage, said he felt “frustrated and disappointed” by the loss, but vowed to continue advocating for struggling Californians. 

Proposition 32, which would have raised the state’s minimum wage from $16 to $18 per hour by 2026, narrowly failed at the ballot box 50.8% to 49.2%.

The measure was pushed by Sanberg, a progressive business leader, investor and co-founder of the socially-conscious financial firm Aspiration.

OPPONENTS OF FAILED CALIFORNIA MEASURE TO RAISE MINIMUM WAGE SAY VOTERS ‘MADE THE RIGHT CALL’

Joe Sanberg spearheaded Proposition 32 in an effort to raise California’s minimum wage to $18 per hour.  (Fox News Digital)

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“I thought it was going to pass by a narrow margin,” he told Fox News Digital. “I’m frustrated and disappointed that we lost by a narrow margin. I also recognize that… people are very angry and frustrated about inflation, and they don’t know who and where to blame.”

“We should all be able to agree that if you work full-time, you should be able to afford life’s basic needs,” he added. “And there are millions of Californians for whom that is not the case.” 

Advocates of Prop 32 said roughly 2 million workers, including hotel and grocery store employees, stood to benefit from the measure, The Associated Press reported.

In recent years, California has raised its minimum wage in an effort to offset increased costs for housing, gas and other necessities. In April, fast-food restaurants in the state with 60 or more locations were mandated to start paying their employees at least $20 per hour.

Business groups, including the California Chamber of Commerce, California Restaurant Association and California Grocers Association, opposed Prop 32, saying high labor costs would hurt small businesses, as well as lead to an increase in prices for customers. 

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“It’s understandable that policymakers, and even many Californians, might be allured and attracted to the concept of a few extra dollars in someone’s pocket, but unfortunately, they did not seem to understand the economic fallout of that kind of concept,” John Kabateck, the California director for the National Federation of Independent Business, told Fox News Digital. 

GAVIN NEWSOM: CRITICS SAID CALIFORNIA’S MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE WOULD BE A JOB-KILLER. THE OPPOSITE HAPPENED

Proposition 32, which would have raised the state’s minimum wage from $16 to $18 per hour by 2026, narrowly failed at the ballot box 50.8% to 49.2%. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)

Opponents also argued that raising the minimum wage too fast would result in job losses.

“When a worker loses a job, or the company goes out of business, the wage is ZERO DOLLARS PER HOUR,” business leaders wrote in their official ballot argument. 

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Sanberg has spent years advocating for anti-poverty legislation and raising awareness about California’s tax credit that helps lift people out of financial uncertainty. Despite the loss at the ballot box, Sanberg said he remained optimistic.

He noted that in Imperial County, which sits east of San Diego on the California-Mexico border, President-elect Trump made significant gains with voters, despite Vice President Kamala Harris winning the overall vote count there. 

“It’s clear that working-class voters are in favor of raising the minimum wage. To me, that sends a message about how we can get both parties working toward making work pay better,” Sanberg said. 

Moving forward, Sanberg, who grew up with a single parent who struggled financially, said he plans to keep advocating for better pay for workers so they can at least afford the basics. 

“I’m open to every approach to get us to that outcome. But that’s the outcome that we ought to pursue. I just can’t imagine that we can be satisfied with anything less than that,” he said. “What is more American than the idea of working full-time and knowing that you can afford your house, your transportation, your food and your health care?”

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“That is not some aspiration. That’s a basic covenant that I think all Americans are taught to believe that we have with each other,” he added. “I think that covenant has been broken now for some time for tens of millions of working-class people around the country.”

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West

US appeals court strikes down California’s open-carry ban in major Second Amendment ruling

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US appeals court strikes down California’s open-carry ban in major Second Amendment ruling

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A federal appeals court on Friday struck down California’s ban on openly carrying guns across most of the state.

In a 2–1 decision, the San Francisco-based Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled California’s ban on open carry in counties with more than 200,000 people — covering roughly 95% of the state’s population — violates the Second Amendment, according to Reuters.

U.S. Circuit Judge Lawrence VanDyke, writing for the majority, said the ban conflicts with the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, which requires gun regulations to be consistent with the nation’s “historical tradition of firearm regulation,” Reuters reported.

NRA SUES CALIFORNIA OVER BAN ON GLOCK-STYLE FIREARMS: ‘VIOLATES THE SECOND AMENDMENT’

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U.S. Circuit Judge Lawrence VanDyke appears in a video released by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals March 20, 2025.  (9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals/Handout via Reuters)

“The historical record makes unmistakably plain that open carry is part of this Nation’s history and tradition,” VanDyke wrote. “It was clearly protected at the time of the founding and at the time of the adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment.”

VanDyke also noted that California previously allowed residents to openly carry holstered handguns for self-defense without penalty until 2012.

CALIFORNIA’S CRACKDOWN ON ‘LESS-LETHAL’ WEAPONS SPARKS 2A LAWSUIT TARGETING NEWSOM ADMINISTRATION

A pistol is concealed in a belt. (iStock)

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“That changed only when California enacted its urban open-carry ban barely over a decade ago in 2012,” he said. “In doing so, California joined a tiny minority of states to have adopted such severe restrictions on open carry.”

The decision overturned part of a 2023 ruling by a lower court that had dismissed a lawsuit filed in 2019 by gun owner Mark Baird, while rejecting his challenge to open-carry licensing in smaller counties, according to Reuters.

FEDERAL APPEALS COURT RULES CALIFORNIA AMMUNITION BACKGROUND CHECKS UNCONSTITUTIONAL

A retail store in San Ramon, Calif., July 21, 2019.  (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)

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In October, the National Rifle Association (NRA) and other gun groups said they were suing California over the state’s ban on Glock-style guns with features known as switches that allow them to be converted to fully automatic weapons.

The NRA was joined by the Firearms Policy Coalition, Second Amendment Foundation, Poway Weapons & Gear, and two NRA members in challenging the state’s ban.

Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion contributed to this report.

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San Francisco, CA

Philadelphia Eagles to play San Francisco 49ers in NFL playoffs. Here’s what you need to know.

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Philadelphia Eagles to play San Francisco 49ers in NFL playoffs. Here’s what you need to know.


The Philadelphia Eagles will begin the playoffs against the San Francisco 49ers in the wild-card round next weekend at Lincoln Financial Field. 

The Birds (No. 3 seed) had a chance to earn the No. 2 seed with a win, but lost to the Washington Commanders in the regular season finale. 

Here’s what you need to know about the matchup vs. the 49ers and more.

Which day will the Eagles and 49ers play?

The date and time of the wild-card round matchup between the Eagles and 49ers have yet to be announced, but playoff games are scheduled for Saturday, Sunday and Monday. 

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Two games will take place Saturday, three will happen Sunday and the final first-round matchup will be on Monday night. 

Eagles and 49ers postseason history

The Eagles and 49ers have only met twice in postseason history, most recently in the NFC championship game in the 2022 season. 

The Eagles won that game, 31-7, before falling to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII. In that game, the 49ers were decimated at quarterback as Brock Purdy and Josh Johnson suffered injuries

After Johnson exited, Purdy returned to the game in the third quarter, but he was unable to throw the football beyond a few yards. The injuries to San Francisco’s quarterbacks led to the NFL approving a rule change that allows teams to play an emergency quarterback if the starter and backup are injured.

The Eagles are 1-1 vs. San Francisco all-time in the playoffs. Philadelphia’s loss to the 49ers in the playoffs happened in the wild-card round in 1996.

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The title game in the 2022 season between the Eagles and 49ers started a rivalry that boiled over into 2023.

In 2023, the 49ers traveled to Lincoln Financial Field in Week 13 and dominated the Eagles, 42-19. The loss started the infamous collapse for the Eagles to end the season as the Birds lost six of the final seven games, including the playoff exit vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

The loss to the Niners in the 2023 season also featured Eagles security chief Dom DiSandro and then-49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw being ejected from the game after a scuffle on the sideline.

The Eagles and 49ers haven’t played each other since the 2023 season. 

How the Eagles and 49ers got here

The Eagles went 11-6 in the 2025 season and won the NFC East for the second consecutive year, which ended a 20-year stretch of the division not having a repeat winner.

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The Niners had a chance to earn the No. 1 seed, but fell to the Seattle Seahawks Saturday night. The 49ers finished the year with a 12-5 record to earn the No. 6 seed.



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Denver, CO

Broncos clinch AFC’s No. 1 seed, home-field advantage throughout AFC playoffs

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Broncos clinch AFC’s No. 1 seed, home-field advantage throughout AFC playoffs


DENVER — The Broncos have checked off their second goal of the season.

Denver officially clinched the AFC’s No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs with Sunday’s 19-3 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.

As the top seed, the Broncos will receive a first-round bye in the 2025 playoffs and will host their first playoff game of the year in the Divisional Round on Saturday, Jan. 17 or Sunday, Jan. 18 at Empower Field at Mile High.

The Broncos, the lone team in the AFC to receive a first-round bye, will host the lowest remaining seed in the AFC playoff field in the Divisional Round. Denver’s possible opponents for its playoff opener include the Texans, Bills, Chargers and the yet-to-be-determined winner of the AFC North. If the Broncos earn a win in the Divisional Round, they would also host the AFC Championship Game.

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Denver finished the 2025 regular season with a 14-3 mark, which is tied for the most regular-season wins in franchise history. The Broncos earned the No. 1 seed over the Patriots (14-3) due to a better record in games against common opponents.

The Broncos are the No. 1 seed in the AFC for the first time since 2015, when they went on to win Super Bowl 50. Denver has earned the No. 1 seed for an AFC-best ninth time, and two of the Broncos’ three Super Bowl titles have come after earning the No. 1 seed. The Broncos advanced to the Super Bowl in six of the eight previous seasons in which Denver earned the top seed in the conference.

Broncos Head Coach Sean Payton has now led teams to the No. 1 seed on three occasions in his career, and he is one of five coaches to lead two different organizations to a No. 1 seed.

Bo Nix, meanwhile, became the fourth quarterback in franchise history to lead the organization to a No. 1 seed — joining Ring of Famers John Elway, Peyton Manning and Craig Morton.

Learn more about playoff tickets and suites by visiting DenverBroncos.com/Tickets

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