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Bill Maher, Woody Harrelson sound off on California business climate, say state deserves to be ‘s— on’
Comedian Bill Maher and actor Woody Harrelson unloaded on the state of California over its business climate during Maher’s “Club Random” podcast on Monday.
Maher and Harrelson co-own a cannabis dispensary and lounge in West Hollywood called The Woods. The pair discussed the difficulties of owning a pot shop in the liberal state.
“We’re trying. It’s not easy to make a business work in California,” Maher said as he explained why he decided to record the April 20 episode at the pot store.
Harrelson agreed and added, “California just messes with every business.”
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“I mean, I don’t want to like start this off — why not? Why, just s—ing on California. But California deserves to be s— on for a lot of this kind of stuff. And people know and this is why people flee the state,” Maher continued.
The comedian said it “sucks” to do any kind of business in California, but said the state still treats cannabis like it’s “poison.”
“They treat it like you’re lucky that we allow you to do this, and so we’re going to tax you 35%, which is way more. It’s more than double anything,” Harrelson said.
California has a 15% gross receipts tax on the retail sale of cannabis or any cannabis product. It briefly rose to 19% in 2025, but a bill passed in September brought it back down to 15%.
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However, with other local taxes and the state’s sales tax, the rate can exceed 30%.
Later in the discussion, the pair said business at their store was picking up, and Harrelson hammered the tax rate again.
“But I tell you what, there’s nothing we can do when the government is charging 35%. Like they can’t tax us 35%, it’s not right,” he said.
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California metro areas have seen net losses from businesses and corporations leaving the state, led by the San Francisco Bay Area, with a net loss of 156 headquarters since 2018.
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Nancy Sinatra slams Trump’s use of father’s song ‘My Way’ as ‘sacrilege’
Singer Nancy Sinatra called President Donald Trump’s reference to her father Frank Sinatra’s song “My Way” a “sacrilege.”
On Saturday, Trump posted a video to Truth Social of Frank Sinatra singing his classic song in light of his renewed threats to destroy Iranian infrastructure for the country allegedly violating a ceasefire agreement.
The song begins with the opening lines, “And now/the end is near/And so I face/the final curtain” which resemble Trump’s past threats to destroy the nation.
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“Omg, @NancySinatra will not be happy about this. Trump goes against everything that Frank stood for. He was a big champion for equality and supported the Civil Rights movement,” one person commented on X.
The 85-year-old “These Boots Are Made for Walkin'” singer later responded to this comment, adding, “This is a sacrilege.”
She reposted users’ comments criticizing Trump’s post and use of the song, insisting Frank Sinatra would not agree with Trump’s politics.
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“Trump may love Sinatra, but Sinatra did not love Trump,” one person wrote.
“This is just sickening. Frank Sinatra would never have allowed that monster in the White House to use his music or put his lyrics in his mouth. Sinatra was a man of honor, a man who never had to lie about who he truly was because he WAS the greatest. trump is a loser,” another wrote.
Sinatra also responded to a fan asking if she could do anything to stop Trump from using the song.
“Unfortunately no. The only people who can do something are the publishers,” she responded.
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Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
Trump previously danced with first lady Melania Trump to the song “My Way” at the Liberty Ball after his first inauguration in 2017. At the time, Sinatra joked about the news writing, “Just remember the first line of the song.”
She later deleted the post and denied that she was “angry” that Trump used the song.
“What a rotten spin to put on a harmless joke,” Sinatra tweeted.
She also wrote, “I’m not sure why this became such a big deal. It was really just a joke.”
When asked whether she was upset over her father’s song being used by Trump, Sinatra wrote at the time, “Actually I’m wishing him the best. A good president helps the entire world. I don’t believe anyone tries to be a bad president.”
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Mom, pregnant teen and 12-year-old found bound and murdered as police hunt multiple suspects
An Alabama woman, her pregnant teenage daughter and her 12-year-old son were found brutally murdered in their home, authorities said.
Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch said deputies responded to a home in Wilmer just after 2:30 a.m., where they discovered the three bodies in separate rooms with their hands tied behind their backs.
The victims were identified as 46-year-old Lisa Gail Fields, who was stabbed; 17-year-old Keziah Arionna Luker, who was shot; and 12-year-old Thomas Cordelle Jr., who had his throat cut and was nearly decapitated.
“It was a brutal scene,” Burch said. “If you’ve got a beef with an adult… there’s nothing worth killing over, but to murder two children brutally… I hope and feel comfortable we’ll have this animal or animals off the streets soon.”
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An 18-month-old child was found unharmed in the home.
“At this point, we don’t suspect any kind of domestic or family-type situation,” Burch told reporters.
Burch noted that the home was “left in disarray,” suggesting the perpetrators may have been searching for something. Investigators believe more than one person was involved in the killings because the victims had been subdued.
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Luker was seven or eight months pregnant, the sheriff added.
“The mother was stabbed, the 17-year-old was shot, and the 12-year-old’s throat was cut as was the mom,” Burch said. “It tells me that they had a plan coming in to bring zip ties or flex cuffs with them so they had a plan.”
The father-to-be, who works offshore, triggered the discovery after he grew concerned when he could not reach Luker after he saw her cell phone activated on Life 360, the sheriff said. Another family member went to check on her and found all three victims in separate rooms with their hands bound behind them.
The Mobile County District Attorney’s Office will determine whether the death of Luker’s unborn child warrants an additional murder charge once a suspect is arrested.
Burch said investigators currently have “positive leads” in the case.
Luker’s father told WALA-TV that his daughter had just received her GED.
“It’s a senseless murder,” he said. “She was a bubble of sunshine. A person that makes you smile; a person that’ll make you laugh whenever you’re down. She had empathy for everybody. She loved her brothers; she loved her mom; she loved all of us.”
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NASA coordinating with relevant agencies in missing scientists probe
NASA said on Monday that it will work with other federal agencies to investigate the deaths and disappearances of 11 nuclear and space scientists, raising concerns in Washington about whether they were targeted for their work.
“NASA is coordinating and cooperating with the relevant agencies in relation to the missing scientists,” NASA spokesperson Bethany Stephens wrote on X. “At this time, nothing related to NASA indicates a national security threat. The agency is committed to transparency and will provide more information as it becomes available.”
Hours earlier, the White House press secretary was asked by Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy about the matter.
“In light of the recent and legitimate questions about these troubling cases, and President Trump’s commitment to the truth, the White House is actively working with all relevant agencies and the FBI to holistically review all of the cases together and identify any potential patterns,” Karoline Leavitt later wrote on social media.
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At least 11 people have either died or vanished since 2022. The vast majority were involved in nuclear science and space research, with some connected to the study of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs).
Michael David Hicks, 59; Frank Maiwald, 61; Nuno Loureiro, 47; Jason Thomas, 45; Amy Eskridge, 34; and Carl Grillmair, 47, all died between 2023 and 2026. Each played a key role in vital scientific research, Fox News Digital previously reported.
The causes of death for Hicks and Maiwald remain unknown. Grillmair was gunned down outside his home on Feb. 16, and Freddy Snyder, 29, was subsequently charged with his murder. Loureiro was also fatally shot at his Massachusetts home.
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The body of Jason Thomas, an associate director of chemical biology at Novartis, was discovered in Lake Quannapowitt, Mass., three months after he was last seen walking from his home late at night. Eskridge, a Huntsville, Alabama–based researcher, died June 11, 2022, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Monica Reza, 60; Melissa Casias, 53; Anthony Chavez, 79; Steven Garcia, 48; and retired Air Force Maj. Gen. William Neil McCasland, 68, were all reported missing between 2023 and 2026. All the disappearances occurred under suspicious circumstances.
On Sunday, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., warned that “something sinister” could be involved.
“We’ve put a notice out to the Department of War, the FBI, NASA, and the Department of Energy. We want to know everything they know about what happened with these scientists, because those four agencies were predominantly the ones these 11 individuals were affiliated with,” he said during an appearance on “Fox & Friends Weekend.” “We want to try to piece this together.”
Comer said he plans to bring leaders from NASA, the FBI, and other federal agencies before Congress. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has vowed to investigate the occurrences.
“I hope it’s random, but we’re going to know in the next week and a half,” Trump told reporters last week. “I just left a meeting on that subject.”
Fox News Digital’s Julia Bonavita, Max Becall and Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.
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