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Michelle Zacarias

@malignant_media

4.2K

followers

4876

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📍LA | CHI
California Political Correspondent
@couriercalifornia x @couriernewsroom
Award-winning journalist & 2X cancer survivor🎗️

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

🍒🌹🍷💃💋 by @malignant_media

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25 days ago

Breaking news!! 🗞️ Yah girl is officially employed again.

Life has been moving fast recently. In May, I was selected for the @lareportingcollective StoryLab Development Program. Less than a week later I was offered the California Political Correspondent position at @couriernewsroom 🙌 We’re launching our state-wide bureau on Monday June 22 so go follow @couriercalifornia 🌴🌁⛰️☀️

Four months of unemployment turned out to be unexpectedly rejuvenating. For a while, it was unclear whether we’d be heading back to Chi or staying in SoCal—but the universe provided answers and opportunities. Grateful for my West Coast homies who sent job apps, cheered me on, and reminded me to keep building community out here.

Needles to say: i’m WAY up, I feel blessed ✨🙏 by @malignant_media

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4 months ago

Have you seen the attack ads claiming Prop. 40 could lead to a wealth tax on non-billionaires?⁣
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The concern centers on a clause that lets the Legislature amend the measure with a two-thirds vote. But Emmanuel Saez, a UC Berkeley professor and one of Prop. 40’s architects, calls that criticism “particularly absurd.”⁣
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Saez says lawmakers can already pass a new tax on millionaires (or anyone else) tomorrow with a two-thirds vote and the governor’s signature. Prop. 40 doesn’t change that power. Under California law, amendments like this are limited to technical fixes, not expanding who gets taxed.⁣
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If passed, Prop. 40 would place a one-time 5% tax on California's roughly 200 billionaires, directing funds primarily toward state healthcare services.⁣
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Where do you stand on Prop. 40? Do you support a billionaire wealth tax, or do you have concerns? Let us know in the comments.⁣
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#Prop40 #California #WealthTax #CAPolitics #2026election by @malignant_media

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3 hours ago

Why are Democrats like Gavin Newsom opposing Prop. 40? Emmanuel Saez, one of the measure’s architects, has a theory.⁣
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He tells @couriercalifornia he believes Newsom is betting on the billionaire donor class to fund a presidential run. Saez argues that’s a win for billionaires too: spending a few hundred million backing Newsom, plus funding the Republican side, means they’d be comfortable with either nominee.⁣
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As he puts it, they’d “sleep soundly” knowing neither would act against their interests once in office. If passed, Prop. 40 would place a one-time 5% tax on California’s 200 billionaires.⁣
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Do you agree with Saez’s theory, or do you think Newsom has other reasons for opposing the tax? Drop your thoughts below ⁣
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#Prop40 #California #WealthTax #GavinNewsom #CAPolitics by @malignant_media

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6 hours ago

The DOJ just sued California over mail ballots 🗳️⁣
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The feds want 20,000+ ballots from voters they call “likely” noncitizens set aside until citizenship is verified. California says the demand is baseless and infringes on people’s constitutional right to have their vote counted. ⁣
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Follow @couriercalifornia updates and swipe for the details on the lawsuit ➡️⁣
📰 Don’t forget to VOTE Nov 3. And Oct 19 is the mail-in + online registration deadline for midterm elections. ⁣
#California #Elections #DOJ #Midterms2026 #VotingRights #MailInVoting #Trump by @malignant_media

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a day ago

San Diego City Councilmember Marni von Wilpert, who represents District 5, which covers northern San Diego communities including Rancho Bernardo, Rancho Peñasquitos, and Carmel Mountain Ranch, is running as a Democrat in CA-48. She says she won’t vote to keep funding ICE unless it changes how it operates, calling for warrants, an end to masked agents, and no raids at schools, churches, or hospitals. She also backs a strong U.S.-Mexico border paired with a faster, more affordable pathway to citizenship. “Our dreamers should have been citizens years ago.”⁣
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In an exclusive interview with a Courier California reporter, von Wilpert said she also backs a strong U.S.-Mexico border paired with a faster, more affordable pathway to citizenship. “Our dreamers should have been citizens years ago.”⁣
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Watch her full remarks at @couriercalifornia and visit our VOTER HUB online.⁣
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#CA48 #Immigration #Politics by @malignant_media

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2 days ago

Democratic Candidate for CA-48, @marni_von_wipert, says she’ll vote to end the war in Iran and return tariff authority to Congress. The San Diego City Councilmember and former prosecutor argues both are driving up costs for families, from diesel to groceries. “I’m going to fight to make this an equal branch of government again.”⁣
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Watch her full remarks on @couriercalifornia and check out our VOTER HUB for more election coverage.⁣
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#Politics #Congress #Tariffs by @malignant_media

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3 days ago

San Diego construction workers stood up to ICE agents trying to detain their co-workers on Oct. 8.⁣
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It comes as ICE has reportedly launched “Operation Safe California,” a 45-day crackdown that hasn’t been formally announced. According to sources who spoke to the Washington Examiner, officers were told they “can pick up anybody.”⁣
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The timing: early voting just started in California, and voting rights groups say ICE has already detained someone near a ballot drop box in Santa Maria.⁣
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If you’re voting in California, know your rights, make a plan, and look out for each other. Share this so your community knows what’s happening. ⁣
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#California #SanDiego #ICE #ImmigrationRaids #Vote #EarlyVoting #Midterms2026 by @malignant_media

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7 days ago

Immigration dominated the CA-22 debate, one of the country's most closely watched House races.⁣
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Rep. David Valadao (R) and challenger Randy Villegas (D) clashed over ICE tactics, funding, and a stalled push to protect Dreamers. Valadao defended his vote to pass Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill Act,’ which provided ICE with an additional $75 billion in funding over a four-year period.⁣
Swipe for the key moments from the debate.⁣
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Read the full story at the link in bio. And don’t forget to check out @couriercalifornia for election coverage and VOTER HUB information. Election Day is Nov. 3.⁣
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#CA22 #CentralValley #California #Election2026 #Immigration #ICE #Dreamers #Valadao #Villegas by @malignant_media

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8 days ago

Newsom took on ICE, but stopped short on policing.⁣
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Signed: a ban on ICE shock gloves, a detainee bill of rights, and a 25% tax on private detention companies, the first in the nation⁣
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Vetoed: tighter limits on police working with immigration enforcement, the "Get the Feds Out" Act, and on-campus jobs for undocumented students⁣
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Immigrant rights advocates are celebrating some wins and calling out others they lost. Follow @couriercalifornia for more politics coverage. Republished from @calonewsla⁣
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#California #GavinNewsom #Immigration #ICE #ImmigrantRights by @malignant_media

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8 days ago

Long Beach residents packed City Hall Tuesday to fight a major change to how they can address their elected officials. The City Council voted 6-3 to move most public comment into a 90-minute block at the beginning of meetings — ending the practice of letting residents speak as individual agenda items come up.⁣
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Critics say the new system could force people to weigh in before they’ve heard city staff present an issue or council members debate it. Supporters say it will make meetings more predictable and keep residents from waiting hours for their turn. But the change landed badly with much of the crowd: after nearly two hours of largely critical testimony, residents erupted into chants of “shame on you” and “vote them out.” by @malignant_media

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8 days ago

President Trump said Iran could take out LA or San Diego and called it a "small price to pay" for the war. Now leaders from both parties in California are firing back. Even Trump-endorsed Republican Jim Desmond disagrees,, saying no American city should be treated as expendable.⁣
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Swipe for the details. :point_right:⁣
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Read the full story at @couriercalifornia, and remember to register to vote for the election on November 3.⁣
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#California #SanDiego #LosAngeles #Trump #Midterms2026 #CA48 by @malignant_media

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9 days ago