Tag: california

California Approves Rules Allowing Automakers to Test, Deploy Heavy-Duty Autonomous Vehicles

The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) on April 28 approved new regulations that would allow autonomous vehicle (AV) makers to test and deploy heavy-duty AV technology on California roadways.

The California DMV said manufacturers are required to test their vehicles with a safety driver, then progress to driverless testing, before they can apply for deployment on state roads.

Manufacturers must complete 50,000 miles of testing at each phase for light-duty vehicles and 500,000 miles for heavy-duty AVs and provide “a structured safety case” showing the safety of vehicle hardware, software, and operations in order to obtain a permit, according to the DMV.

The new rules would also expand safety and oversight requirements for all classes of AVs, allowing law enforcement agencies to cite companies for moving violations committed by their vehicles.

Under the regulations, companies operating AVs must respond to first-responder calls within 30 seconds, and local emergency officials will have the authority to issue “electronic geofencing directives” requiring autonomous vehicles to leave active emergency zones.

“California continues to lead the nation in the development and adoption of AV technology, and these updated regulations further demonstrate the state’s commitment to public safety,” DMV Director Steve Gordon said.

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More Than 40 Mexican Mafia Members And Associates Indicted In California: DOJ

A total of 43 alleged members and associates of the Mexican Mafia prison gang were arrested this week on multiple charges, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the central district of California said on April 23.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the total includes individuals already in custody, with 25 of them being arrested in Orange County, California, on April 23. They face charges including kidnapping, extortion, fentanyl and methamphetamine trafficking, running illegal gambling businesses, and murder.

First assistant U.S. attorney Bill Essayli said the arrests reflected joint efforts between federal and local law enforcement and their commitment to cracking down on violent felons and organized crime.

“Gang members who murder, extort, kidnap, and traffic drugs and firearms are a menace to our communities and our way of life,” Essayli said in a statement.

The investigation also led to the seizure of 4 kilograms (8.8 lbs) of fentanyl, 54.4 kilograms (120 lbs) of methamphetamine, 0.9 kilograms (2 lbs) of heroin, 3 kilograms (6.6 lbs) of cocaine, 25 firearms, and more than $30,000 in cash, according to the office.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the gang sold illegal drugs in Orange County and ran illicit gambling businesses within commercial strip malls and private residences. It also collected “extortionate taxes” and used violence to safeguard those gambling businesses, the office added.

One of the defendants, identified as Luis Cardenas, was accused of overseeing the gang’s criminal activities from his prison cell using “an encrypted messaging application on contraband cell phones” between June 2024 and April 2026. Cardenas allegedly instructed gang members to kidnap and assault those “in bad standing” with him.

Two other defendants—Matthew Kundrat and Manuel Ramos—were charged with murder that occurred at the Akua Inn, a gang-run motel in Anaheim, California, on Feb. 3, 2025. Prosecutors said the two allegedly committed the murder to be part of the Mexican Mafia and increase their standing within the gang.

“These defendants allegedly ran a ruthless criminal enterprise that murdered, kidnapped, extorted, and flooded our communities with deadly drugs,” FBI director Kash Patel said in a statement.

“The FBI will never stop working alongside our law enforcement partners to hold these individuals accountable and protect the people of Southern California.”

Some of the defendants made their initial appearances in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana and Los Angeles on April 23, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The Mexican Mafia, also known as “La Eme,” is a U.S.-based prison gang that started in the 1950s. Federal authorities said the gang exerts “immense control” over Hispanic street gangs in Southern California, directing illegal activities from within prisons and taking a portion of the proceeds from drug trafficking, illegal gambling, and other crimes.

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FBI swarm White House Correspondents’ Dinner gunman’s home in California as investigators reveal lone wolf’s ‘money trail’ they’re following

The FBI raided the home of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooter early Sunday, and investigators have said they are now examining his financial records as part of the probe. 

Chaos broke out inside the Washington Hilton after Cole Tomas Allen opened fire in the lobby Saturday night at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington, DC.

The Secret Service rushed into action, securing President Donald Trump and thousands of guests attending the black-tie gala that brings politicians and journalists together.

A law enforcement official familiar with the investigation told the Daily Mail they believe Allen acted alone and are tracing his finances to determine how he paid for the hotel stay. 

Authorities gathered outside a California home linked to Allen, blocking off a residential street in Torrance with caution tape.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said officials believe the suspect traveled by train from California to Chicago and then on to Washington. He checked into the Hilton on Thursday.

Evidence found on Allen’s electronic devices and in his writings point towards the theory he intended to target administration members in attendance at the dinner.

Photos from the raid showed law enforcement in tactical gear and armored vehicles lining the street as officers assessed the scene, with officials telling the Daily Mail they were working to access Allen’s car. 

A source told the Daily Mail that this shooting had likely been planned for a while.

‘Obviously, this was well planned. Getting the reservation at that hotel was nearly impossible,’ they told Daily Mail.

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Cole Allen, 31-year-old California teacher, ID’d as White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooter

The gunman who opened fire at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night has been identified as Cole Allen of Torrance, Calif. — with President Trump calling him a likely “lone wolf whack job” who “looked pretty evil.”

The 31-year-old, identified by federal law enforcement sources, was arrested after allegedly entering the Washington Hilton hotel and charging toward the ballroom where Trump and roughly 2,500 guests had assembled.

The gunfire broke out near the event’s indoor security screening area just after 8:30 p.m. — as salad was being served. The Secret Service rushed Trump out of the room as members of his cabinet ducked under tables before they too were evacuated.

A LinkedIn profile matching his name and photo described him as a teacher at C2 Education, a tutoring and test prep company. C2 awarded him the “teacher of the month” in December 2024, according to social media posts.

Allen graduated from the California Institute of Technology in 2017 with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, according to the LinkedIn profile.

A spokeswoman for Caltech told the New York Times that a person named Cole Allen had earned an undergraduate degree in 2017, but the school did not have any further information immediately available.

Allen’s neighbor, who gave the name Jeff Smith, told The Post that “maybe he could be on the spectrum.”

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Dem governor candidates defend Newsom’s homelessness record despite $24 billion spent

The Golden State boasts as much as 50% of the nation’s homeless population and has spent a whopping $24 billion to address the problem.

Six gubernatorial candidates faced-off on a debate stage in San Francisco Wednesday night and offered A-F grades on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s handling of the issue.

Here’s what they said:

Katie Porter: ‘B‘

“I’m a notoriously tough grader, but I would probably give him a B on homelessness,” said Democrat Katie Porter, stating her view that the homelessness crisis in California is due to a “housing problem.”

“We’re not going to solve homelessness without bringing down the cost of housing,” she said.

Porter pledged to “fund homelessness prevention,” saying an “interim housing or shelter situation” is the solution.

“For every person we put into permanent supportive housing, somebody else loses their home and takes their place. That’s why Californians feel like we’re not making progress despite spending significant money,” Porter said.

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‘How do you put a hospice in a burrito stand?’ Watch Congress get stunned by new revelations about astronomical California fraud

The U.S. Congress is being stunned by unnerving revelations about the extent of hospice fraud in California, with alarming testimony indicating phony hospice centers purportedly located in a burrito stand as well as a tire shop.

Sheila Clark, president and CEO of the California Hospice and Palliative Care Association, told lawmakers Tuesday: “How do you put a hospice in a burrito stand in California? How do you put a hospice in a tire store in California? That all had to be vetted through licensure and certification and accreditation.”

“You’d be amazed at how many hospices – the door you can walk up to in California and there is nobody there. There is five months worth of mail that you can see stacked up from CMS and nobody’s there. And that passed a survey. How did that happen?”

The House Ways and Means Committee was so struck by Clark’s disclosure, it shared her testimony on social media, noting: “You heard that right. In Gavin Newsom’s California, a burrito stand masquerading as a hospice care facility was getting accredited and receiving taxpayer dollars.”

While Clark did not name any specific burrito stand, Politics on X explained: “This example illustrates broader federal and state probes into California hospice fraud involving overbilling Medicare, shell companies, identity theft, and improper enrollments, with one recent scheme alone allegedly defrauding Medi-Cal of $267 million.”

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New Report From Conservative Think Tank Claims Gavin Newsom Spent a Billion Dollars to Import 400,000 Illegal Aliens

According to a new report from the Manhattan Institute, California Governor Gavin Newsom not only allowed thousands of illegals to pour into his state, he paid a massive amount of money in order for it to happen.

This was done mainly through grants that were given to charities which then turned around and aided in all of this illegal immigration.

These were tax dollars. The people of California essentially paid for this without their consent. Taxpayers should be furious.

Breitbart News reports:

Report: Gov. Newsom Spent $1 Billion to Import 400,000 Extra Illegal Migrants

California Governor Gavin Newsom covertly spent $1 billion importing 400,000 migrants from poor countries to serve the state’s Democratic political machine and elite-dominated economy, according to data provided by the Manhattan Institute in New York.

“Since Newsom took office, California has granted massive contracts for migrant-related services: more than $250 million to Catholic Charities; $85 million to Jewish Family Services; $12 million to Centro Legal de la Raza; $23 million to the Immigration Institute of the Bay Area; and more,” according to an article by Christopher Rufe in City Journal.

The funding is in addition to California’s share of the massive federal funding directed by President Joe Biden’s pro-migration border chief, Alejandro Mayorkas.

The state’s Democratic government also steered $110 million to the major Latino political machine, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights Los Angeles (CHIRLA):

CHIRLA can be described as a one-stop activist machine, with the ability to produce propaganda, engage in legal action, and — most importantly — get people into the streets. The group coordinates the L.A. Rapid Response Network, which tracks ICE raids and takes “direct action to shut down detention centers.” During the wave of protests in L.A., CHIRLA activists agitated on social media, led a street protest, and called for a “Summer of Resistance.”

Newsom has always thought that he is untouchable. That’s why he does things like this without a care in the world.

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REPORT: Thousands of People in California Are Finally Getting Permits to Rebuild After the Wildfires – Now That Trump Has Gotten Involved

Now that Trump has decided to intervene in the California rebuild process, thousands of wildfire victims in the Pacific Palisades and other areas are finally getting permits to rebuild.

Trump should not have had to do even do this but these people are probably very happy that he did.

Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass should be ashamed of themselves. These fires happened well over a year ago and these poor people in California are STILL waiting for permission to rebuild their homes.

What an embarrassing display of incompetence.

They should have allowed Trump to oversee this from day one.

The New York Post reports:

Thousands of Palisades and Eaton fire rebuilding permits approved after Trump’s executive order

President Trump’s executive order to fast-track the rebuilding of Los Angeles after the wildfires has resulted in almost 2,000 permits approved since it was signed in January, The Post can exclusively reveal.

Trump’s order let state and local rules be preempted when it came to obtaining permits and allowed builders to “self-certify” that they have complied with “substantive health, safety and building standards.”

The result of the administration’s take over was the approval of thousands of permits for people to begin the rebuilding process of homes and businesses ravaged by the January 2025 Pacific Palisades and Eaton fires, two of the most destructive blazes in LA history.

“President Trump’s January Executive Order was a bold move to break through the non-federal logjams that had held up lives, homes, and entire neighborhoods from being rebuilt. Since that EO, we’ve helped drive nearly 2,000 permit approvals,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin told The Post.

Los Angeles County has issued 971 permits since executive order was signed – which is a 72% increase – and Los Angeles City has issued 961 permits since then – a 58% increase, the EPA revealed to The Post.

Trump tasked EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin with carrying out the order as it was the Environmental Protection Agency that cleaned up all the hazardous materials left in the wake of the deadly blaze.

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HORROR: Activist Who Worked With Democrat Heavyweights Including Joe Biden and Oprah Winfrey Stabbed, Mother Butchered to Death Inside Their California Home

A nationally known activist who has worked with some of the biggest names in Democrat politics has experienced a horror no human being should have to endure and is now merely fighting to survive.

As KABC reported, a mother was killed and her daughter was injured following a stabbing attack inside a Burbank, California home. Police say that the incident happened at roughly 6 a.m. in the 2800 block of North Brighton Street.

A neighbor, Victor Goli, confirmed that the victims were Arti Varma and her daughter, Meera Varma. As KABC notes, Goli explained Arti died from her wounds and Meera was severely injured.

Meera is in the hospital right now, fighting for her life.

“It was kind of a shock to hear just a few minutes ago that their house was broken into,” Goli told KABC.

Goli said Arti’s husband and Meera’s father were not home at the time because he is currently visiting India.

Per her website, Meera Varma described herself as a “nationally recognized Mental Health Activist and TEDx speaker with 10+ years of experience working with federal, private, and nonprofit entities.”

Meera adds that she “strives to be a voice of hope for those navigating their struggles in silence.”

KABC reveals that Meera Varma has worked with several key national Democratic figures including: Oprah Winfrey, Joe Biden, Jill Biden, Kamala Harris, and former US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy.

The New York Post also notes Meera Varma is an advocate for suicide prevention.

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Billionaire Steyer’s spending binge dwarfs rival campaigns in California governor’s race

In the wide-open race for California governor, billionaire Tom Steyer is on a spending binge.

The hedge fund manager-turned-liberal activist is using his personal fortune to saturate TV screens and mobile phones with advertising, while his competitors accuse him of trying to use his vast wealth to buy the state’s most powerful job.

Steyer’s ads — in which he promises to bring down household costs or rails against federal immigration raids — appear inescapable at times in heavily Democratic Los Angeles, the state’s largest media market. Data compiled by advertising tracker AdImpact show Steyer has spent or booked over $115 million in ads for broadcast TV, cable and radio — nearly 30 times the amount of his nearest Democratic rival.

If he makes it through the June 2 primary election, Steyer could easily eclipse the 2010 record set by Republican Meg Whitman, who spent $178.5 million in a losing bid for governor, much of it her own money. At the time, it was the costliest campaign for statewide office in the nation’s history.

Even when ad buys from all his major competitors are combined, along with ad purchases by independent committees supporting candidates, Steyer is outspending the field by tens of millions of dollars.

“Billionaire money is flooding our state in an attempt to buy this election,” former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter, one of Steyer’s chief rivals, warned her supporters this month.

Mail-in ballots are set to go out to voters next month. Steyer is among a crowd of candidates hoping to seize a spotlight after former Democratic U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell’s dramatic departure from the race following sexual assault allegations that he denies.

But while Steyer has ticked up in polling amid his spending splurge, he has not broken away from the field, leaving some wondering if he’s getting value for his dollars.

“If your first round of ads doesn’t move you dramatically (in the polls), the third, fourth, fifth, six, seventh and eighth rounds won’t either,” said veteran Democratic strategist Bill Carrick, who for years advised the late Democratic U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein. “There is something inherently holding Steyer back.”

In recent prior campaigns for governor, at this stage a leading candidate was taking control of the race. This year, voters appear to be shrugging at a contest that lacks a star candidate among seven leading Democrats and two Republicans.

“Somehow the campaign is frozen,” Carrick added.

History shows that money doesn’t always translate into votes.

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