After Wildfires, Pacific Coast Highway Reopens For Holiday
This week, California Governor Gavin Newsom and state officials announced the reopening of the Pacific Coast Highway. The move comes after wildfires devastated the Los Angeles area in January. As roadblocks come down, drivers are headed to the coast to enjoy the long Memorial Day Weekend.
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Associated Press
2 hours ago
- Associated Press
Trump is expected to sign a measure blocking California's nation-leading vehicle emissions rules
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is expected to sign a measure Thursday that blocks California's first-in-the-nation rule banning the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035, a White House official told The Associated Press. The resolution Trump plans to sign, which Congress approved last month, aims to quash the country's most aggressive attempt to phase out gas-powered cars. He also plans to approve measures to overturn state policies curbing tailpipe emissions in certain vehicles and smog-forming nitrogen oxide pollution from trucks. The timing of the signing was confirmed Wednesday by a White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity to share plans not yet public. The development comes as the Republican president is mired in a clash with California's Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, over Trump's move to deploy troops to Los Angeles in response to immigration protests. It's the latest in an ongoing battle between the Trump administration and heavily Democratic California over everything from tariffs to the rights of LGBTQ+ youth and funding for electric vehicle chargers. According to the official, Trump is expected to sign resolutions that block California's rule phasing out gas-powered cars and ending the sale of new ones by 2035. He will also kill rules that phase out the sale of medium- and heavy-duty diesel vehicles and cut tailpipe emissions from trucks. The president is scheduled to sign the measures and make remarks during an event at the White House on Thursday morning. Newsom, who is considered a likely 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, and California officials contend that what the federal government is doing is illegal and said the state plans to sue. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin are expected to attend, along with members of Congress and representatives from the energy, trucking and gas station industries. California, which has some of the nation's worst air pollution, has been able to seek waivers for decades from the EPA allowing it to adopt stricter emissions standards than the federal government. In his first term, Trump revoked California's ability to enforce its standards, but President Joe Biden reinstated it in 2022. Trump has not yet sought to revoke it again. Republicans have long criticized those waivers and earlier this year opted to use the Congressional Review Act, a law aimed at improving congressional oversight of actions by federal agencies, to try to block the rules. That's despite a finding from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan congressional watchdog, that California's standards cannot legally be blocked using the Congressional Review Act. The Senate parliamentarian agreed with that finding. California, which makes up roughly 11% of the U.S. car market, has significant power to sway trends in the auto industry. About a dozen states signed on to adopt California's rule phasing out the sale of new gas-powered cars. The National Automobile Dealers Association supported the federal government's move to block California's ban on gas-powered cars, saying Congress should decide on such a national issue, not the state. The American Trucking Associations said the rules were not feasible and celebrated Congress' move to block them. Chris Spear, the CEO of the American Trucking Associations, said in a statement Wednesday: 'This is not the United States of California.' ___ Austin reported from Sacramento, Calif.
CNN
9 hours ago
- CNN
Trump is expected to sign resolution this week reversing California's ban on gas-powered cars, GOP congressman says
President Donald Trump is expected to sign a set of resolutions this week to reverse California's 2035 ban on the sale of new gas-powered cars, a Republican co-sponsor said Tuesday. 'On Thursday, President Trump will sign my Resolution to reverse California's absurd ban on gas-powered cars,' California GOP Rep. Kevin Kiley said in a Tuesday post on X. Several Biden-era waivers allowed California to set its own vehicle emissions, and a reversal would be another blow to the state's effort to regulate pollution from cars and trucks. California has had authority to set its own emissions for decades; Trump reversed it in his first term before the Biden administration reinstated it. The move could also have broad environmental impacts for the rest of the country, as more than a dozen states are following California's emissions rules. The Republican-led Senate overturned the three Biden-era emissions waivers in May, with California Gov. Gavin Newsom claiming last month the vote was illegal. To do so, Republicans bypassed the 60-vote threshold typically needed to approve such a measure. Democrats charged that move would weaken the long-established legislative filibuster, besides its environmental impact. CNN has reached out to California Attorney General Rob Bonta's office and the White House for comment. Trump signed an executive order his first day in office to end the 'electric vehicle mandate.' But despite his use of that term during the campaign and since taking office, there have never been any federal rules requiring consumers to buy only EVs. But California does have emission rules that would ban the sale of gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035. Trump already tried to limit the power of California to regulate its own air pollution during his first term in office. The issue ended up in the courts, but that legal battle was put on hold after he left office and the state's authority was restored by President Joe Biden.
Time Magazine
2 days ago
- Time Magazine
Why Waymo's Self-Driving Cars Became a Target of Protesters in Los Angeles
As protesters and police clash across Los Angeles and beyond, a striking image from the mayhem has been that of graffiti-strewn white cars engulfed in flames. But these aren't ordinary cars. They've got sensors protruding from the top and sides—and, critically, they've got no drivers. Waymo, a robotaxi company, found itself at the center of the demonstrations against the Trump Administration's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids after a group of protesters over the weekend, according to the Los Angeles Times, approached a parked row of the autonomous vehicles and smashed their windows, slashed their tires, spray-painted them with anti-ICE slogans, and set them on fire. While eye-catching, the trend is also extremely dangerous. Electric vehicles, like those in Waymo's fleet, have lithium-ion batteries, and in a post on X, the L.A. Police Department warned: 'Burning lithium-ion batteries release toxic gases, including hydrogen fluoride, posing risks to responders and those nearby.' According to Scientific American, first responders exposed to the fumes of burnt lithium-ion batteries without protection historically 'have developed throat burns and breathing difficulties upon arriving,' and, depending on the hydrogen fluoride levels, individuals can start coughing up blood within minutes of exposure. At least six Waymo vehicles across the county have reportedly been the target of vandalism, resulting in the company temporarily suspending operations in the area 'out of an abundance of caution.' California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass have condemned the violence and destruction, which Newsom attributed to 'insurgent groups' and 'anarchists' who have infiltrated otherwise peaceful protests. President Donald Trump, who mobilized the National Guard to respond to the situation, has called the demonstrators ' troublemakers ' and ' paid insurrectionists.' Here's what to know. What is Waymo? Waymo is a subsidiary of Alphabet, Google's parent company, and grew out of the Google Self-Driving Car project that began in 2009. It launched its robotaxi business in 2020 in limited markets, which grew to include Los Angeles in 2024. While the company says its mission 'is to be the world's most trusted driver,' a national survey earlier this year found that '6 in 10 U.S. drivers still report being afraid to ride in a self-driving vehicle' while the proportion of people enthusiastic about the development of the technology has actually decreased from 18% in 2022 to 13% in 2025. Waymo vehicles were involved in 696 accidents across the U.S. between 2021 and 2024, or about one accident every other day. MKP Law Group, a Los-Angeles based firm that represents clients involved in accidents, acknowledged in a blog post that this statistic 'is not necessarily indicative of Waymo causing those accidents, as some may have been the fault of the other involved drivers.' Studies show that self-driving technology is likely safer than most human drivers. Waymo has also reportedly annoyed some people, including those who find self-driving vehicles to be an eyesore as well as locals where the vehicles routinely get stuck. Neighbors near a Waymo charging station in Santa Monica have complained about noise pollution caused by the driverless vehicles honking at each other in the parking lot. Waymo vehicles as well as other self-driving cars have previously been the target of vandals, particularly in California, where Waymo is headquartered. In January, a Waymo car was torn apart in Los Angeles. In February 2024, another Waymo car was smashed and set ablaze in San Francisco. And in July 2024, a man was charged with slashing the tires of 17 Waymo cars in San Francisco. Why is Waymo being targeted in the L.A. protests? Several potential explanations have emerged for why Waymo vehicles were targeted during the protests in Los Angeles. The Wall Street Journal reported that part of the reason the cars were vandalized was to obstruct traffic—a traditional, albeit controversial, protest tactic. Some social media users have suggested that self-driving vehicles in particular have become a new target because they are seen by protesters as ' part of the police surveillance state.' Waymo's cars are equipped with cameras that provide a 360-degree view of their surroundings, a tool that has been tapped by law enforcement, according to reports. Independent tech news site 404 Media reported in April that the Los Angeles Police Department obtained footage from a Waymo driverless car to use as part of an investigation into an unrelated hit-and-run. And Bloomberg reported in 2023 that police have increasingly relied on self-driving cars and their cameras for video evidence. Chris Gilliard, a fellow at the Social Science Research Council, told Bloomberg that self-driving vehicles are 'essentially surveillance cameras on wheels,' adding: 'We're supposed to be able to go about our business in our day-to-day lives without being surveilled unless we are suspected of a crime, and each little bit of this technology strips away that ability.' Waymo told Bloomberg at the time that it 'carefully' reviews every request from police 'to make sure it satisfies applicable laws and has a valid legal process.' Some activists have also suggested that the burning of Waymo vehicles should garner less sympathy from onlookers. 'There are people on here saying it's violent and domestic terrorism to set a Waymo car on fire,' racial justice organizer Samuel Sinyangwe posted on X. 'A robot car? Are you going to demand justice for the robot dogs next? But not the human beings repeatedly shot with rubber bullets in the street? What kind of politics is this?' 'There is no human element to Waymo,' climate and labor organizer Elise Joshi similarly posted on X. 'It's expensive and bought-out politicians are using it as an excuse to defund public transit. I pray on Waymo's downfall.'
