Siyamak Khorrami

The pistachios on supermarket shelves around the world most likely came from California’s Central Valley, where roughly two-thirds of the global supply now grows. The crop has no native history in the state, and most Californians drive past these orchards every day without knowing what they are or how they got there.

California’s wine industry is already under pressure, and in Santa Barbara County, wineries now face another cost. Since April 2025, businesses that sell wine directly to customers have been required to pay a 1 percent fee on those sales.

California voters will decide this November whether to impose a one-time wealth tax on the state’s roughly 200 billionaires, a measure pitched by supporters as narrow and temporary. But some high-net-worth Californians are not waiting to see whether it passes. Several prominent founders and investors have already moved, reduced California ties, or shifted assets ahead of the proposal’s Jan. 1 residency date.

The income mix supporting American households is not what it used to be. As the baby boom generation has moved into retirement, government benefits have grown to nearly one-fifth of personal income. The wage share has moved lower over the same period. That shift is making traditional monetary policy harder to execute.

Inflation remains above central bank targets, government debt continues to grow, and investors are questioning whether the global economy has entered a different era.

Shen Yun is an American performing arts company that sells out venues worldwide. Before shows, bomb threats come in. Theaters get swept. Tour buses need overnight security to prevent sabotage. Incidents have been reported across the United States, including California. The question is why what investigators describe as a foreign government campaign keeps reaching an American company on American soil.

California residents watched election night results flip over the days that followed. Why does that keep happening?

The cost of leaving China is something most companies never calculated when they went in. Permits, labor contracts, equipment disputes, and IP exposure can turn an exit into a years-long negotiation—or worse.

The pistachios on supermarket shelves around the world most likely came from California’s Central Valley, where roughly two-thirds of the global supply now grows. The crop has no native history in the state, and most Californians drive past these orchards every day without knowing what they are or how they got there.

California’s wine industry is already under pressure, and in Santa Barbara County, wineries now face another cost. Since April 2025, businesses that sell wine directly to customers have been required to pay a 1 percent fee on those sales.

California voters will decide this November whether to impose a one-time wealth tax on the state’s roughly 200 billionaires, a measure pitched by supporters as narrow and temporary. But some high-net-worth Californians are not waiting to see whether it passes. Several prominent founders and investors have already moved, reduced California ties, or shifted assets ahead of the proposal’s Jan. 1 residency date.

The income mix supporting American households is not what it used to be. As the baby boom generation has moved into retirement, government benefits have grown to nearly one-fifth of personal income. The wage share has moved lower over the same period. That shift is making traditional monetary policy harder to execute.

Inflation remains above central bank targets, government debt continues to grow, and investors are questioning whether the global economy has entered a different era.

Shen Yun is an American performing arts company that sells out venues worldwide. Before shows, bomb threats come in. Theaters get swept. Tour buses need overnight security to prevent sabotage. Incidents have been reported across the United States, including California. The question is why what investigators describe as a foreign government campaign keeps reaching an American company on American soil.

California residents watched election night results flip over the days that followed. Why does that keep happening?

The cost of leaving China is something most companies never calculated when they went in. Permits, labor contracts, equipment disputes, and IP exposure can turn an exit into a years-long negotiation—or worse.