Latest news with #U.S.
Yahoo
10 minutes ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Congress votes to rescind California vehicle emissions waiver
This story was originally published on Smart Cities Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Smart Cities Dive newsletter. The U.S. Senate passed three joint resolutions May 22 nullifying California's ability to set emissions standards for passenger cars, light duty vehicles and trucks that are stricter than national standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Auto and petroleum industry lobbyists targeted California's Advanced Clean Car II regulations, adopted in 2022, which require all new passenger cars, trucks and SUVs sold in the state to be zero-emission vehicles by the 2035 model year. Federal law set in 1990 allows 17 additional states and the District of Columbia to follow California's regulations. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, announced the state's intention to file a lawsuit blocking the congressional resolutions, which await the signature of President Donald Trump to become law. California's ability to set its own vehicle emissions standards stem from the 1967 Air Quality Act, passed at a time when smog and poor air quality often permeated the Los Angeles basin. While air quality in California has improved over the years, experts fear a setback from the Senate's action. 'Public health could potentially suffer as a consequence,' said Michael Kleeman, a professor at the University of California, Davis, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. 'This is, plain and simple, a vote against clean air to breathe," said Aaron Kressig, transportation electrification manager at Western Resource Advocates, in an emailed statement. He warned of potential lost days at school or work and premature deaths. 'Over 150 million people in the United States are already exposed to unhealthy levels of air pollution,' Steven Higashide, director of the Clean Transportation Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said in an emailed statement. 'The standards are based on the best available science, and were finalized with extensive public input.' Along with public health concerns, the debate around California's emissions waivers include policy, auto and petroleum industry resistance and debate over states' rights. Republicans argue that California overstepped its prerogative. 'The California waivers rules are an improper expansion of a limited Clean Air Act authority and would endanger consumers, our economy, and our nation's energy supply,' Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota said May 20 in the Senate chamber. Industry opponents of the emission waivers cheered the Senate's action. 'The fact is these EV sales mandates were never achievable,' John Bozzella, president and CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, an auto industry lobbying group, said in a statement. Bozella noted the automakers key concern: 'The problem really isn't California. It's the 11 states that adopted California's rules without the same level of readiness for EV sales requirements of this magnitude.' Petroleum industry leaders weighed in May 23 with a joint statement. 'The United States Senate delivered a victory for American consumers, manufacturers, and U.S. energy security by voting to overturn the prior administration's EPA rule authorizing California's gas car ban and preventing its spread across our country,' said American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers President and CEO Chet Thompson and American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Mike Sommers in a published statement. California and 10 other states formed a coalition to foster cleaner and more affordable vehicles, Newsom announced May 23. Led by the U.S. Climate Alliance, a bipartisan group of 24 governors, the Affordable Clean Cars Coalition said in a news release that it would 'consider next steps for our clean vehicle programs' and work to preserve the states' authority under the Clean Air Act. Participating states include California, Colorado, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington. 'The fact remains that states have the legal right under the Clean Air Act to protect their residents from vehicle pollution,' Sierra Club Climate Policy Director Patrick Drupp said in an emailed statement. Recommended Reading Congress could soon revoke California's vehicle emissions standards Sign in to access your portfolio
Business Recorder
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Business Recorder
US says that Israel accepts Gaza ceasefire plan; Hamas cool to it
WASHINGTON/UNITED NATIONS/CAIRO: Israel has agreed to a US ceasefire proposal for Gaza, the White House said on Thursday, and Hamas said it was reviewing the plan although its terms did not meet the group's demands. As a U.S.-backed system for distributing food aid in the shattered enclave expanded, Israeli media reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the families of hostages held in Gaza that Israel had accepted a deal presented by U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. Netanyahu's office did not confirm the reports, but White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters in Washington that Israel had signed off on the proposal. She did not detail its contents. Hamas agrees to US proposal on Gaza ceasefire A source briefed on the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the initial phase of the proposed deal would include a 60-day ceasefire and the flow of humanitarian aid into the enclave. The Palestinian group Hamas said it was studying the proposal, and senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters the group was still discussing it. But Abu Zuhri said its terms echoed Israel's position and do not contain commitments to end the war, withdraw Israeli troops or admit aid as Hamas has demanded. Deep differences between Hamas and Israel have stymied previous attempts to restore a ceasefire that broke down in March after only two months. Israel has insisted that Hamas disarm completely and be dismantled as a military and governing force and that all 58 hostages still held in Gaza must be returned before it will agree to end the war. Hamas has rejected the demand to give up its weapons and says Israel must pull its troops out of Gaza and commit to ending the war. Aid effort expands The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a private group backed by the United States and endorsed by Israel, expanded its aid distribution to a third site on Thursday. Heavily criticised by the United Nations and other aid groups as inadequate and flawed, the group's operation began this week in Gaza, where the U.N. has said 2 million people are at risk of famine after Israel's 11-week blockade on aid entering the enclave. The aid launch was marred by tumultuous scenes on Tuesday when thousands of Palestinians rushed distribution points and forced private security contractors to retreat. The chaotic start to the operation has raised international pressure on Israel to get more food in and halt the fighting in Gaza. GHF has so far supplied about 1.8 million meals and plans to open more sites in the coming weeks. Hamas source says group accepts mediators' latest Gaza ceasefire proposal Witkoff told reporters on Wednesday that Washington was close to 'sending out a new term sheet' about a ceasefire to the two sides in the conflict that has raged since October 2023. 'I have some very good feelings about getting to a long-term resolution, temporary ceasefire and a long-term resolution, a peaceful resolution, of that conflict,' Witkoff said then. Israel has come under increasing international pressure, with many European countries that have normally been reluctant to criticise it openly demanding an end to the war and a major relief effort. Israel launched its campaign in Gaza in response to the devastating Hamas attack in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, that killed some 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. The campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, Gaza health officials say, and left the enclave in ruins.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
2 reported dead after ‘hordes' of Gazans overwhelm aid warehouse
May 29 (UPI) -- Hungry Gazans broke into an aid warehouse in central Gaza on Wednesday, which caused two reported deaths, according to officials with the U.N. World Food Program. "Hordes of hungry people broke into WFP's Al-Ghafari warehouse in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza, in search of food supplies that were pre-positioned for distribution," the WFP said Wednesday in a prepared statement. "Humanitarian needs have spiraled out of control after 80 days of complete blockade of all food assistance and other aid into Gaza," the WFP said. The agency said "alarming and deteriorating conditions" in Gaza and a limited availability of humanitarian aid to "hungry people in desperate need of assistance" have increased risks associated with aid distribution. "Gaza needs an immediate scale-up of food assistance," the WFP said. "This is the only way to reassure people that they will not starve." The WFP said initial reports indicate two died and several more were injured, but those reports were not confirmed as of Wednesday night. Another 121 trucks owned by the United Nations and international organizations carrying flour, food and other aid entered Gaza on Wednesday, the BBC reported. Wednesday's warehouse incident occurred after Gazans overwhelmed two aid distribution sites in southern Gaza on Tuesday. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry reported three Gazans were killed, 46 injured and seven others were missing after Israel Defense Forces fired warning shots into the air as crowds of hungry Gazans swarmed over one of the aid distribution sites, NBC News reported. The U.N. Human Rights Office said 47 people were injured during Tuesday's aid-distribution chaos and gunfire from Israel Defense Forces caused most of the injuries. IDF and Gaza Humanitarian Foundation officials initially denied the reports and said no one was injured or killed during the first three days of food and aid distribution. IDF soldiers fired into the air and did not shoot towards people, an IDF spokesperson told the BBC. The IDF is investigating the incident. They said the GHF and IDF are preventing Hamas militants from stealing the aid from four distribution sites in southern and central Gaza, which Hamas has denied, the BBC reported. The U.S.-supported GHF is in charge of distributing aid within Gaza after Israel ended an 11-week blockade of all aid into the war-torn Gaza Strip after a recent cease-fire deal collapsed. At least four distribution points in southern Gaza are being used to deliver aid to Gazans, and more distribution sites are to be added, NBC News reported.
Toronto Sun
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
PARKER: Urgently calling on the U.S. Senate to pass ‘One Big Beautiful Bill'
The Capitol dome on Capitol Hill is seen through a glass structure in Washington, on April 6, 2011. Photo by J. Scott Applewhite, File / AP Photo The U.S. House of Representatives passed the One Big Beautiful Bill by a margin of one vote. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Well-deserved kudos have been conveyed to the masterful leadership of Speaker Mike Johnson, who navigated through a minefield to do what needed to be done. Now it's up to the Senate. It's impossible not to think now of the admonition to not let the 'perfect be the enemy of the good.' In this massive 1,000-plus-page piece of legislation, there is something to bother everybody. This is a horrible way to do business. Stuffing complex tax considerations, complex spending considerations, and complex entitlement reforms together into one massive bill is just not what the American people deserve. Congress is supposed to be a deliberative body, and legislation like this cannot in any way be viewed as deliberative. To me, the notion that the ways of Washington are being changed, that the swamp is being drained, is just not credible. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. That said, I implore the U.S. Senate to step up and get this bill passed. The costs of not doing it far outweigh any benefit of derailing the effort because of opposition to one or two perceived problems. As I have noted previously, if one needs to write a book to comment on a piece of legislation, we're on the wrong track. But this is what we have. There are things in this bill I like very much. There are things that I do not like. But for me, there are two pillars defining this initiative that are enough to say get it done. One, preventing the expiration of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and making those tax provisions permanent. There are many different estimates, as is always the case, about what the implications will be on the economy going forward with passage of this legislation. But more pressing to me is what the implications are if it doesn't pass. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Without renewal of these tax provisions, we will have an automatic massive tax increase. It is a nightmare to consider the implications of a massive tax increase, particularly at an economically fragile time such as we are now in. Anyone who recalls consumer sentiment after the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, until COVID upset everything in 2020, will recall it as a time of economic exuberance. America's unemployment rate in January 2020 was down to 3.6%. This was the lowest unemployment rate in more than half a century. Consumer sentiment in February 2020, just before the COVID shock, was 101, per This compares to February 2025 where it stood at 64.7. The 2017 Tax and Jobs Act defines our current reality and allowing this to expire would be a horrible mistake. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Second, this legislation does what we have been waiting for four years. It shuts down taxpayer funds going to abortion providers. Planned Parenthood, a $2-billion conglomerate that performed 400,000-plus abortions last year, is off the public dole. To this I say, Hallelujah. The extent to which abortion is accepted and legal in our nation is a blight on our national soul. And there are practical implications. The culture of life defines our culture of family and children. The unravelling of our culture of family and children has profound economic implications for our economy. Here's what the Congressional Budget Office says: 'The size and the age profile of the population affect the U.S. economy and the federal budget. For instance, the population's size and age structure largely determine the number of people in the labour force and thus affect gross domestic product (GDP) and federal tax revenues. Those demographic factors also affect federal spending — for example, the size of the population age 65 or older influences the number of beneficiaries of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.' Dear senators, please pass this bill. Star Parker is founder of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education Toronto & GTA World Toronto Maple Leafs Columnists Weird
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump's 25% Tariff Threat Looms, But Apple (AAPL) Isn't Moving
We recently published a list of . In this article, we are going to take a look at where Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stands against other AI stocks that are on analyst's radar today. One of the most notable analyst calls on Tuesday, May 27, was for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). Apple is a technology company known for its consumer electronics, particularly the iPhones and MacBooks. Morgan Stanley analyst Erik Woodring reiterated an 'Overweight' rating on the stock with a $235.00 price target. As per the analysts, a 25% tariff on the iPhones imported into the United States is not likely to drive the company to reshore its production. 'While 'time to market' of a U.S.-produced iPhone is one major impediment, our math says a 25% tariff on iPhone imports isn't enough incentive for Apple to reshore U.S.-bound iPhone production.' Moreover, they believe that building iPhone assembly plants in the US is likely to take 'a minimum of 2+ years, and several billions.' Tariff concerns were reignited last week when US President Donald Trump threatened Apple and other smartphone makers with a 25% tariff if they don't manufacture their phones in the United States. A wide view of an Apple store, showing the range of products the company offers. However, Morgan Stanley stated that the economics still favor overseas manufacturing. 'A U.S.-produced iPhone would be 35% more expensive than a China/India-produced iPhone, much more than the 4-6% price hike needed to offset a 25% import tariff.' However, Apple's defiance may come at a certain cost. 'CEO Tim Cook's status with the current administration deteriorates from here. Is a 50% tariff enough to shift production to the U.S.?' Albeit the pressure, the firm also hinted at how Apple could neutralize the threat with further U.S. investment. This will be part of its previously announced $500 billion commitment. Overall, AAPL ranks 4th on our list of AI stocks that are on analyst's radar today. While we acknowledge the potential of AAPL as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than AAPL and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
