Incensed residents in conservative Shasta County have accused their supervisors of tyranny while pulling papers to oust them from office for their Covid-19 restrictions. Liberal activists accused Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg of having “blood on his hands” for failing to open shelters before a winter storm that killed multiple homeless people, demanding Steinberg resign within 72 hours and then launching a recall.

In the heavily Democratic Bay Area, affluent parents are trading school board recall tips, taking inspiration from San Francisco voters seeking to remove officials who spent hours renaming schools while classrooms sat empty.

While the pandemic-fueled effort to dislodge Gov. Gavin Newsom has drawn the nation's attention, it may just be the start. Ongoing rage in local communities has spurred efforts across the state to toss leaders, taking a cue from the gubernatorial election that is almost certain to qualify.

“We’re seeing recalls up and down the state of different elected officials, and not because they’ve done anything illegal but because they’ve done things people don’t agree with and quite often something they campaigned on,” said Assemblyman Phil Ting (D-San Francisco). “It sounds like anytime you disagree with an official you use that as an excuse to threaten them.”

47% of Americans said they belong to a church, synagogue or mosque in 2020, down from 50% in 2018, according to a Gallup poll out Monday.

Why it matters: It's the first time in the eight decades that Gallup has tracked the trend that a majority of Americans do not belong to a church.

The trend has dovetailed with an increasing number of people who say they are not religiously affiliated.

Membership at places of worship was 73% when Gallup first measured it in 1937. It stayed near that range for six decades before starting to dip in the 21st century.

WEST VIRGINIA (WVVA) - Governor Jim Justice is again lifting COVID-19 restrictions in the Mountain State.

In a Wednesday press briefing, Justice reported that the DHHR County Alert System map will no longer dictate school operations. All West Virginia high schools will be open full time - unless there is a "significant, active outbreak."

"Really and truly, this map has outlived its time now," he said. "We need to move forward."

State health officer Dr. Ayne Amjad said closures due to outbreaks will be decided by local health departments and school boards.

He had already been banned from Twitter, but on his podcast he could give full voice to his hateful conspiracy theories.

The podcaster argued that the man in Atlanta who had confessed to killing eight people at massage parlors last week, including six women of Asian descent, was the one who had truly been victimized — the casualty of a supposed Jewish plot.

“Your heart goes out to the guy,” he said.

The remarks, emblematic of a longstanding online network of white supremacists and pro-Nazi groups, weren’t hidden in some dark corner of the internet, but could be found on Google Podcasts, the search giant’s official podcast app that was released for Android in 2018 and expanded to Apple devices last year.

As leading social networks like Facebook and Twitter have taken some steps to limit hate speech, misinformation and incitements to violence in recent months, podcasts — historically fueled by a spirit of good-natured anarchy — stand as one of the last remaining platforms for the de-platformed.

Just one week after Pepsi unveiled its first permanent flavor in five years, the cola brand announced a springtime surprise: Pepsi x Peeps.

The beverage giant said Pepsi x Peeps is “a delicious new beverage that combines the crisp, refreshing taste of Pepsi cola with the pillowy-soft and sweet Peeps marshmallow flavor consumers love.”

We’ll let you, the consumer, be the judge.

The limited run of marshmallow cola will be packaged in 7.5-ounce mini-cans available in packs of three, which will feature Peeps-inspired designs in yellow, pink and blue, making it “the ideal thirst quencher for springtime,” Pepsi said.

The meeting, which reportedly lasted 15 minutes, was described to Politico by one source as being like the “Hunger Games,” and a surprise, awkward confrontation for the Senate hopefuls.

According to sources cited by Politico, the huddle covered everything from the candidates’ support of Trump and opposition to his impeachment, previous endorsements and donations, and early polling in the race.

During the meeting, Trump noted that Timken at one point defended Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (Ohio), the Republican who supported the former president’s impeachment, according to Politico.

A consultant affiliated with one of the campaigns told The Hill that most of the back and forth during the meeting was between Timken and Mandel. The Hill has reached out to representatives for both candidates.