Latest news with #Gavin Newsom
CBS News
4 days ago
- Automotive
- CBS News
Trump and Newsom have made competing claims about California gas prices. We checked the facts.
Californians are bracing for higher gas prices following an increase to the gas excise tax and regulatory changes to the state's fuel standards that went into effect on July 1. In response, Gov. Gavin Newsom's office published a series of fact checks on its website, aimed at countering what the governor has called a "concerted misinformation campaign" about the state's fuel costs. The effort comes as President Trump continues to blame California's environmental regulations and taxes for what he has described as the state's exorbitant gas prices. CBS News examined claims from the governor and president about the state's gas prices. Mr. Trump cited incorrect figures, and while Newsom's "fact checks" mostly hold up, some omit key context or rely on outdated data. Here's a breakdown of the findings. During a recent White House breakfast, Mr. Trump said, "Gas has gone to the lowest level in decades and you're seeing $1.99, $1.98. And I saw $1.95 at certain states," but in California, "You're at $6, $7, they just add taxes." Both claims are false. GasBuddy, a company that tracks gas prices nationwide, told CBS News that no state has averaged between $1.95 to $1.99 per gallon at any point this year. Auto club AAA also confirmed that no state average has fallen below $2. As for California, GasBuddy and AAA said the average price per gallon has not reached between $6 and $7 at any point this year. While individual gas stations may charge more, statewide averages have remained below that range. California's average gas price last topped $6 in October 2023, according to GasBuddy and AAA data. The state's all-time high was $6.43 on June 16, 2022, GasBuddy data shows. A White House spokesperson told CBS News that Mr. Trump's "energy agenda has restored gas prices to historic lows across the country," and argued that California and other blue states are seeing higher prices due to "radical climate policies and high taxes." On the governor's website, Newsom pushes back on a University of Pennsylvania prediction that gas prices would rise by 65 cents or more "in the near term." He argues that two policy changes that took effect in July –- an annual inflation adjustment and updates to the state's fuel standard — would likely increase prices by only a few cents per gallon. The governor is correct that the state's gas excise tax rose by 1.6 cents per gallon due to the inflation adjustment. While suppliers pay the tax, the cost is often passed on to consumers. However, Newsom cites an expert's outdated 5- to 8-cent-per-gallon figure when estimating the impact of changes to the state's Low Carbon Fuel Standard. That expert, Colin Murphy of the Low Carbon Fuel Policy Research Initiative at University of California, Davis, told CBS News he now estimates the impact to be around 8 to 9 cents per gallon. Still, Murphy said, an increase as large as 65 cents would require a "jaw-droppingly implausible combination of unlikely events." Newsom disputes disputes a prediction from one energy specialist that gas prices could spike to $8.43 per gallon in 2026 due to the closure of two key oil refineries in California. He said the projection, which he called "unscientific," comes from a May report by USC professor Michael Mische, whom Newsom says has ties to the oil industry and the government of Saudi Arabia. Mische noted in a statement to CBS News that his models would produce lower estimates today based on current information and other refinements to his calculations. He disputed the governor's claim that he had a conflict of interest, stating that his work for the Saudi Arabian government focused on its transition away from petroleum. Newsom cites experts from Stanford University's Institute for Economic Policy Research to support his claim that refinery closures would create negligible increases on gas prices. The analysis focused on the closure of a single refinery and found that while it would likely have little effect on gas prices, at the upper range of their estimate it could potentially raise prices by up to 15 cents per gallon. However, Reuters reported that California officials are now attempting to find a buyer for a refinery owned by Valero in Benicia, near San Francisco, to prevent its closure. The decision highlights concerns about the potential impact it could have on the fuel supply and prices. A July report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, a semi-independent agency under the Department of Energy, projects a 17% loss in California's refining capacity with the closures of Valero's and Phillips 66's refineries in Benicia and Los Angeles, respectively. The agency said this supply loss won't be easily offset given the state's limited connectivity to other refinery hubs around the country. Although new state policies may help to limit price volatility, the EIA projects a "small increase" in West Coast retail gas prices next year due to the closures.
CBS News
6 days ago
- CBS News
Car thefts in California down 13% statewide, CHP says
The number of vehicle thefts in California has dropped for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, state officials announced Wednesday. A report from the California Highway Patrol found that 176,230 vehicles were stolen in 2024, a 13% decrease from 2023. The decline in thefts is the first year-over-year decrease since 2019. Thefts declined in 48 out of California's 58 counties, including the state's 10 most populous. 1. Los Angeles 57,987 (-7.36%) 2. San Diego 10,791 (-10.71%) 3. Orange 7,228 (-15.98%) 4. Riverside 7,648 (-24.34%) 5. San Bernardino 10,116 (-10.95%) 6. Santa Clara 8,923 (-11.38% 7. Alameda 19,212 (-18.37%) 8. Sacramento 6,572 (-22.85%) 9. Contra Costa 6,130 (-1.53%) 10. Fresno 4,597 (-4.07%) Several counties reported drops in thefts exceeding 20%. Santa Barbara County reported a 29% decline, while thefts are down 28% in Kern County, down 24% in Riverside County, and down 23% in Sacramento County. Other notable drops include Alameda County (down 18%), San Francisco (down 17%) and Orange County (down 16%). In a statement, Gov. Gavin Newsom's office credited increased operations by the CHP and regional partnerships with local law enforcement in several areas for the decline, including in Oakland, Bakersfield and San Bernardino. The governor's office said the regional operations have led to positive results in surrounding areas. "Through strategic funding and partnerships with local and state law enforcement partners, we are putting a brake on lawlessness and criminals disrupting our way of life," Newsom said Wednesday. CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee said, "We are proud to see fewer vehicles being stolen across the state." "The CHP and our law enforcement partners are working hard every day to stop these crimes, protect California's communities and hold criminals responsible," Duryee added. Officials said nearly 85% of vehicles stolen last year were recovered, including 93.6% of automobiles and 89.5% of personal trucks and SUVs. Out of the recovered vehicles, more than 53% were intact and drivable, while 28.72% were intentionally burned or wrecked. Among the most stolen automobiles in California last year, the 2015 Kia Optima topped the list, followed by the 2013 Hyundai Elantra and 2013 Hyundai Sonata. The Chevrolet Silverado was the most stolen pickup for the fourth consecutive year, officials said, with the 2001, 2002 and 2006 model years occupying the top three spots on the list.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Erik Menendez In Hospital For Kidney Stones, May Not Return To Prison
Erik Menendez is not in prison right now ... he is in a nearby hospital being treated for kidney stones, and it's possible he will not return ... sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ. We broke the story ... Erik is being treated with what his lawyer Mark Geragos called a "serious medical condition." We have confirmed that the condition is kidney stones. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation confirms Erik was transported to an outside medical facility Friday ... and we're told he is currently in fair condition. Our sources say California Governor Gavin Newsom is currently reviewing Erik's change in medical condition to determine if a "prison furlough" is appropriate. It's unclear how long such a furlough would last ... it could be only until the kidney stones pass, but because Erik's upcoming parole hearing is only a month away, Newsom could cut Erik a major break where he would not have to return to prison pending parole board review. Erik and Lyle Menendez are scheduled for a parole board hearing August 22 ... and Newsom has indicated he's sympathetic to granting both Erik and Lyle clemency. Stay tuned ...
Fox News
18-07-2025
- Business
- Fox News
3 reasons California's green energy campaign is dying on the vine
California Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom's presidential aspirations are Washington's worst-kept secret. More than three years before the next election, he's on the campaign trail in South Carolina, protesting immigration raids on cannabis farms and even politicizing the Second Family's visit to Disneyland. Before Newsom gets anywhere near Washington, he must "confront his California problem," as even Politico observed. Blessed with incredible natural resources, the Golden State has the highest living costs in the nation. Nowhere is this trend more evident than in energy, where there is a direct correlation between Newsom's wrong-headed policies and overall unaffordability. Here are three examples. At $4.51 per gallon, California drivers already pay the most at the pump — that's 45% higher than the national average, which hit a four-year low during the recent Independence Day holiday and kept dropping. As bad as that sounds, the pain is only just beginning. On July 1, motorists were hit with another 1.6-cent gas tax, and overall gas taxes are expected to cost the average household $612 over the course of the year. A separate $0.05-$0.09 tax increase is expected not far behind. Newsom's office touted the decline in gas prices by issuing a press release bragging about it. Sadly, the latest gas tax could pale in comparison to other factors. Industry experts are projecting a gallon of gas potentially reaching $8 in the aftermath of California refinery closures. For crude oil to become a usable petroleum product like gasoline, it must go through the refining process. Earlier this year, the Phillips 66 refinery in Los Angeles and the Valero refinery in Benicia announced plans to close by 2026, taking nearly 20% of the state's total gasoline production with them, not to mention hundreds of jobs. The trend is part of a sad and steady decline directly attributed to increasing red tape and regulations. During the 1980s, under the presidential administration of its former governor Ronald Reagan, California had as many as 43 operating refineries, a number that plummeted to just 14 last year, a drop of 67%. This is not for lack of resources. In fact, California has the fifth most oil reserves in the nation, outpacing places like Colorado and Oklahoma more often associated with the industry. Newsom has denigrated the oil and gas industry as the "polluted heart of this climate crisis." He accused them of "lying and gouging Californians" and blamed them for "more kids getting asthma." Along the way, he pursued policies aimed at making his state "carbon neutral" by 2045. That's political speak for ending oil and gas entirely in favor of "cleaner" forms of energy like wind and solar, which are unreliable, untested and often rely on products from China (where roughly 80% of the world's solar panels are manufactured). A lynchpin of Newsom's scheme was forcing drivers into electric vehicles. By 2035, less than a decade from now, 100% of vehicles sold in California were to be electric under a Newsom administration mandate that the U.S. Senate thankfully overturned in May. As painful as the edict would have been for California's nearly 40 million residents, the shockwaves were set to extend far and wide. As many as 13 states were on a track to follow where California was leading. To his political credit, Newsom appears aware of the unpopularity of some of his policies. He went on Turning Point USA President Charlie Kirk's podcast and turned heads by calling the concept of biological men competing in women's sports "unfair," but that demonstrates the power the green movement. Newsom is far more likely to flip-flop on cultural issues than admit the green agenda is failing his state. In the aftermath of President Donald Trump making the rollback of the EV mandates official, Newsom's administration immediately took legal action and signed an executive order "doubling down" (his words) on his commitment to the nonsensical plan. At the heart of the dissatisfaction with the Biden years was inflation and high costs of living, making it the top priority for more than six in 10 voters. Making energy expensive made life expensive and Americans could not afford another four years of Biden/Harris energy policies. Newsom's stubborn commitment to the failed green agenda, which has failed California spectacularly, should send his White House bid sputtering before it gets out of the starting gates.
CNN
17-07-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Analysis: Democrats are making 2028 moves. Here's what to know
Democrats who will run for president in 2028 are already quietly, and not so quietly, making moves. They're visiting early primary states, workshopping material and formulating plans. This week, it's Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear in South Carolina. Last week, it was California Gov. Gavin Newsom. CNN's Edward-Isaac Dovere is closely watching all of it. We talked in DC about the list of potential candidates, their strengths and weaknesses, and what are the signs they're actually serious about stepping in the ring. The conversation, edited for length, is below. WOLF: The next general election isn't until 2028. Why are we paying attention to this right now? DOVERE: First of all, because some people want us to be paying attention. Gavin Newsom didn't go to South Carolina just as any state to go to. He picked a state — a presidential primary state — so that we talk about it, as others have done. JB Pritzker was in New Hampshire at the end of April; Pete Buttigieg went to Iowa, even though it's not quite a presidential state anymore. This is an ongoing process of the candidates trying to get people to pay attention and to workshop some of their material. But you also see among a lot of Democrats a deep desire to get past the Donald Trump era, even though the Trump era is still very new. One of the things even that Newsom was saying in South Carolina was, 'We can put an end to this in 18 months.' He's talking about the midterms, but it's that thought that Democrats don't need to just wallow in the horror and misery that they've been in since Election Day of 2024. WOLF: Biden forced a lot of changes in the primary process for Democrats, including Iowa not really being an early state for them anymore. What's the early map going to look like? DOVERE: Biden did push through some changes, especially making South Carolina first. But some of the other changes, particularly moving Iowa off of the early-state calendar, were very much supported by a lot of other people in the Democratic National Coalition. We'll see what the calendar ends up looking like. The chances that Iowa gets back to a primary position seem very low. That said, the chances that New Hampshire gets back to the first-in-the-nation spot that actually is required by New Hampshire state law seem much higher. We won't know the full answer on the calendar until at least sometime in 2026, and there is a lot of wrangling and back-and-forth among the states and among the DNC members. What is definitely true, though, is that no matter what arrangement will come, it seems that New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada will remain early. Where exactly they are is a little bit unclear. WOLF: Why could he win and why would he have trouble? DOVERE: Newsom had a real breakout moment over the response to what was going on in Los Angeles a couple weeks ago, and that very quickly identified him in people's minds as the face of the actual resistance to what Trump was doing, rather than just talking about it. He is a very skilled retail campaigner and speaker. But there are obstacles he'll have to overcome — people who think that he's maybe too California. He was the mayor of San Francisco, too liberal in some people's minds. Too slick. Just having a California air to him — all that stuff is what he needs to overcome. Other than Kamala Harris, there's never been a Democratic nominee from the West Coast. WOLF: OK, Kamala Harris. Could she do it again in a crowded primary? DOVERE: She's obviously thinking about running for governor of California, and I've done reporting that says that she's leaning in that direction. What is also clear is that she and her closest advisers realize that it's one or the other — you can't run for governor and then turn around and run for president right away. WOLF: Unless your name is Richard Nixon. DOVERE: Well, he ran for governor in 1962, lost, and then didn't end up running for president again until 1968. Her goal, if she runs, would be to win and not repeat the Nixon thing. WOLF: Moving east, in the middle of the country, there's JB Pritzker and Rahm Emanuel in Illinois; there's new Michigan resident Pete Buttigieg and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Let's start with Buttigieg, someone who actually won an early contest in 2020. DOVERE: The Bernie Sanders folks would still protest this, but Buttigieg did win the Iowa caucuses, and he came in a healthy second in the New Hampshire primary. He has spent the first six months of Trump's second presidency doing a lot of podcasts and outreach to what would be classified these days as the 'manosphere,' or the Republican-leaning or low-propensity voters. He regularly is embraced by Democrats for the way that he's able to break down Democratic arguments and break apart Republican arguments. That said, his jobs leading up to now have been to be the mayor of a pretty small city — South Bend, Indiana. And then he was transportation secretary. But part of his theory from when he was running in 2019, and he and I talked about it then, was that we are living in an age of Donald Trump's politics, where it's more about what you're able to do and how you're able to communicate what you're doing than about exactly what job you've had in government. Maybe that's an opening for him. I think that most people assume that he would be a reasonably strong contender, at least if he runs. WOLF: Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is an obvious choice, but she's said she's not running. DOVERE: A lot of people say they won't run for president until they do. Barack Obama insisted he wasn't running. Whitmer has a lot of strength in Michigan, obviously a key state for Democrats. She's won two tough races there by, in the end, pretty comfortable margins. She is quite popular in Michigan, as far as one can be in these polarized times. And she has, in these first six months of Trump, taken a different route than a lot of other Democrats. She's tried to find ways to work with Trump, and she feels like that is a good way of being the governor and also delivering for swing areas of the state. Of course, that has frustrated a lot of Democrats who feel like she's been used by Trump and turned into a prop by him, whether it was at the Oval Office when they had that meeting a couple months ago, or when he then flew to Michigan to announce this new shipbuilding investment and had her come to the podium. She would say she did get the investment, and it makes a big difference for Michigan shipbuilding. WOLF: Let's go across the lake to Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, the only billionaire on the list, yes. Would the democratic socialist wing of the Democratic Party go for a billionaire? DOVERE: I sat in New Hampshire at the end of April when Pritzker was there to speak to the big Democratic dinner there, and I asked him that exact question. When there was such a push among a lot of Democrats against the wealthy and oligarchs and all that, how would they vote for a billionaire? He said to me, it's about values, and he feels like he's been pushing the values. He's not apologetic about his family wealth. In fact, he says that he has used it toward helping other Democrats win, and through his personal political donations and a PAC he has put quite a few dollars into everything from state parties to specific campaigns to ballot initiative efforts. His strength would be that he's running for reelection now to a third term. A lot of things that he has done as governor fall into the category of Trump-proofing the state, and some fall into the category of just trying to make the state a center-left laboratory for all sorts of things. WOLF: There is a former mayor of Chicago who is clearly trying to set up the idea that he would run. Is Rahm Emanuel (a CNN contributor, former White House chief of staff, former ambassador and former congressman) actually serious? DOVERE: He is talking about running more in terms of the concept of what he would bring to the argument, or to the debate of how Democrats should be moderate and how they should talk about things in a different way than in the normal way of a potential candidate. WOLF: Moving South, what about a moderate governor from an otherwise-red state? DOVERE: That's Andy Beshear's argument: that he's won, and won comfortably, among the types of voters that most Democrats have given up even trying to appeal to, and done it in a state — Kentucky — that hasn't had a Democrat other than him and his father competitive statewide for years. He's done it while not shying away from Democratic positions on issues like abortion rights and even trans kids, but as he also spends some time in South Carolina this week, he's unabashedly starting to test how much appetite there is for his lower key — in both positions and personality — approach. WOLF: Let's go to the mid-Atlantic. Let's talk about Wes Moore (governor of Maryland), and then Josh Shapiro (governor of Pennsylvania). DOVERE: Wes Moore is clearly a very charismatic, appealing figure who has caught the eye of a lot of the Democratic intelligentsia for having a motivational, optimistic approach to how he speaks. He does not have as much of a legislative record as some of the other governors, which is notable in that Democrats have full control of the legislature in Maryland. So there may be some questions about what he has done and what he has been able to actually make happen when he's up against other governors, although he has also said he's not running for president. WOLF: Josh Shapiro clearly is somebody that everybody is watching. Will he run? DOVERE: We don't even have an official announcement that he's running for a second term as governor, although he obviously will. What he has managed to do, from when he was attorney general through when he was running for governor, through three years as governor, is have extremely high popularity ratings in Pennsylvania. That's among Democrats and Republicans, and in a state that has become such a swing state. For someone who is an unabashed Democrat to have that kind of reception is really a demonstration of the way that he approaches his governing and his outreach to the state. He has been very low-profile in terms of national politics over the course of these first six months of the Trump term. Most people probably haven't heard from him at all, other than that terrible incident with the arson of the governor's mansion when he was there with his family on the first night of Passover. That is a deliberate effort for him to stay focused on Pennsylvania. One of the questions over the next year or two, as he runs through reelection, is how much does he start to pop onto the national radar? WOLF: Usually a list like this is full of senators. Who could be on it? DOVERE: I would put Cory Booker from New Jersey, Chris Murphy from Connecticut, Mark Kelly from Arizona and Ruben Gallego from Arizona. WOLF: We've had Bernie Sanders as a very popular alternative in recent elections. He must be too old at this point. Who inherits his mantle? DOVERE: Who are we to say who is too old? He will turn 87 by Election Day 2028 — that would make him by far the oldest president that we've ever had, even outdoing the Biden and Trump records. Most people do not expect that he will be running for president again. The question of who inherits his mantle is a big one, and most people would put their money on Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is going to have some decisions coming up about whether she sets her eyes on running for president or running for Senate. There's an election in 2028 — that is Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's seat, whether he decides to run, or she runs against him, or whether she just builds up her power by gaining seniority in the House. She's obviously quite young, and she has done more with her House seat already than almost anybody ever has in that amount of time. If not her, then I think there is a big open question about who it would be. Rep. Ro Khanna, the congressman from California who was a co-chair of Sanders' campaign in 2020, has been making clear that he is exploring a presidential run and hoping to have some of that support. If she doesn't run and he doesn't get that kind of support, then I think there would be a question of whether there's someone else that could be the right vessel for that, or whether it would diffuse between multiple candidates. WOLF: What about a complete outsider? There's a boomlet of interest in the ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith. Is there room for a wild card? DOVERE: Trump is the first person in history to be president without having served in a military or government role beforehand. So who knows. There are a lot of people who you could see thinking that they would be that person. There was some reporting four years ago that Bob Iger, the Disney CEO, talked about maybe he should run. Whether it would be businesspeople or celebrities, Trump has made it clear that you could come from outside the political scene and do it. Other people who have thought about it have turned away because they have not wanted to have their lives picked over the way that we do to political candidates. There's even a new movie in which John Cena plays the president of the United States, and the gimmick is that he is an action hero who then just gets elected because of that. WOLF: Arnold Schwarzenegger, if he'd been born in the US. Or the Rock. DOVERE: Who was born in the US. WOLF: What sets off your spidey sense that somebody is getting serious about a run? DOVERE: The early state visits. If they start talking about national politics a lot more. Shapiro is a good example of somebody who gets talked about a lot but doesn't actually discuss national politics that much. If, all of a sudden, he's talking about Donald Trump a lot more, or what Democrats should stand for, that would be a reason to start thinking about him or whoever else is starting to do it. Then there are the things that happen behind the scenes — starting to reach out to interested donors or the sort of Democratic elders, brain trust, whatever you want to call it. As we get closer to 2027, when people will start launching their campaigns, there'll be outreach to staff and things and quiet invitations to reporters to come and meet the candidate. WOLF: So when you have an interview with one of these guys, we know that they're running. DOVERE: When I was sitting with Pritzker in New Hampshire, we were talking and at the end of the interview I said so can we just fast-forward through this and to say like you're running for president? He said, no, not yet.
