Tag: california

Newsom urges a national ‘billionaires’ tax’ while fighting one in California

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who is considering a run for president as he approaches the end of his term, called for a national “billionaires’ tax” on Friday even as he fights another proposal targeting the wealthy in his home state.

Newsom also said the U.S. government should own a stake in artificial intelligence companies. His proposals, outlined in a Substack post, aligns him with the Democratic Party’s populist left, and he argued that urgent changes are needed to prevent the elite concentration of wealth and power from undermining democracy.

“It’s time for an economic reset for America,” Newsom wrote.

The governor announced his agenda a day after an influential health care union in California pledged to go forward with a ballot measure that would impose a one-time 5% tax on the assets of billionaires living in the state as of Jan. 1, 2026.

Newsom opposes that measure, as do many of the liberal interest groups that typically favor higher taxes. They fear it would drive billionaires out of California, eroding the state’s tax base over the long term for a one-time influx of cash. A technology mecca, California has more billionaires than any other state — a few hundred, by some estimates.

“You may not be able to pick up and move to Texas or Florida to shelter your income from taxation, but I promise you that billionaires can, and do,” Newsom wrote. “Wealth is movable, and it shops for the state with the lowest taxes. The fight belongs at the federal level, where this broken system was created in the first place.”

Keep reading

Trump DOJ to California: Drop the Glock Ban or Get Sued

Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon advised Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) and California AG Rob Bonta on Wednesday to drop their Glock ban or face a lawsuit.

Dhillon posted to X: “Today, I notified Newsom and Bonta to drop the unconstitutional restrictions on law-abiding citizens’ rights to purchase legal firearms before the ban goes into effect, or we will sue. Stay tuned!”

Breitbart News reported that Newsom signed California’s Glock ban into law on October 10, 2025. It is set to take effect on July 1, 2026.

The ban was sponsored by Democrat lawmakers and fashioned as a response to the use of “Glock switches,” which are already illegal. “Glock switches” are federally prohibited plastic pieces that can be affixed to the rear of a Glock slide to make the pistol shoot full auto.

Such switches are wildly popular with gangs and street criminals — therefore California Democrats are banning new sales of one of the most popular handguns ever made, the Glock pistol.

On May 12, 2025, Breitbart News pointed to the language of the Glock ban legislation, noting that Democrats secured passage of the ban by labeling Glocks as “machinegun-convertible pistol[s].”

Newsom and Bonta are now on notice that the DOJ will take action if they allow the ban to go into effect.

Keep reading

“Did They Screw Pratt?” – Trump Goes Off on California’s Rigged Elections, Reveals How Steve Hilton Beat the Cheat

President Trump on Tuesday went off on California’s rigged elections while delivering remarks in Macungie, Pennsylvania, saying Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt got cheated and that California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton only won his race because the feds intervened. 

Trump responded to Pratt’s sham election earlier this month, saying, “Not possible for Spencer Pratt to have lost,” noting his massive 40,000 vote lead on election night. “3rd World Nation. Rigged Elections!” Trump continued. Trump has also said that Hilton only won because “there was too much heat on ’em” after robbing Pratt.

Trump was questioning California’s shady election rules, highlighting the law that a poll worker can be thrown in jail for a voting rights violation if they ask a voter to see their ID. And a voter’s identification “does not have to contain the voter’s address or be issued by a government agency,” according to the California Secretary of State’s office.

“How dare you ask me for my citizenship? Do you know in California, if you ask that question to a voter, you are criminally liable. In other words, they can put you in jail if you say, ‘Sir, you have proof of citizenship?’ They put you in jail if they ask that question. You’re not allowed to ask that,” Trump told the crowd. “Did you know that? It’s the craziest thing I’ve ever seen going on.”

Trump then went off on how they “screwed” Pratt. “It looked like he was going to win, or certainly be in the runoff, and then I started hearing rumors as the days went by, days and days went by, that Pratt is fading, he’s fading, I said they rigged the election,” Trump said. “And then lo and behold, he didn’t qualify, even though he was so far up.”

Trump further revealed that Trump-Endorsed California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton “was definitely going to lose” until the US Attorney called the election offices and opened an investigation into the fraud. “About an hour after the call,” Trump said, they announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Hilton has won!”

“The election is totally rigged. California is totally rigged, all mail-in ballots, it’s a disgrace. We got to pass the Save America Act, okay?” Trump told the crowd.

Keep reading

California-Based Biden Judge Issues Nationwide Block on ICE’s Policy of Arresting Illegals at Courthouses

A federal judge on Tuesday issued a nationwide block on ICE’s policy of arresting illegal aliens at courthouses.

California-based US District Judge Casey Pitts, a Biden appointee, ruled that ICE cannot detain illegal aliens at immigration courts.

The Supreme Court previously ruled that federal district courts lack the statutory authority to issue nationwide injunctions.

However, Judge Pitts says he was able to issue a nationwide injunction in this case because the plaintiffs satisfied the requirements for class certification.

In January 2025, President Trump signed an executive order called “Protecting the American People Against Invasion.”

“It is the policy of the United States to faithfully execute the immigration laws against all inadmissible and removable aliens, particularly those aliens who threaten the safety or security of the American people. Further, it is the policy of the United States to achieve the total and efficient enforcement of those laws, including through lawful incentives and detention capabilities,” Trump said in his executive order.

Judge Pitts vacated the Trump Administration’s policy targeting illegal aliens at courthouses.

“For 80 years, Congress has commanded federal agencies to think before they act,” Judge Pitts wrote in a 70-page opinion. “That instruction—codified in the Administrative Procedures Act—does not require an agency to make the choice that a reviewing court might deem preferable.”

“Because the record before the Court demonstrates that ICE and EOIR failed to provide reasoned explanations for their actions, the Court concludes that each of the challenged policies is arbitrary and capricious in contravention of the APA,” the judge said.

This is the second time Judge Pitts has blocked the Trump Administration from making arrests at immigration courthouses.

Earlier this year, Judge Pitts blocked ICE from making arrests in his district in the Northern District of California.

Keep reading

California Residents Sue Gas Stations Alleging AI Price Fixing

Three California residents are suing a fuel pricing company and several gas station operators, alleging that they use artificial intelligence-based pricing systems to raise gasoline prices in an uncompetitive manner.

“Californians are being forced to pay surcharges that cannot be explained by crude oil costs, refining costs, environmental regulation, or taxes,” said the June 22 class action lawsuit, filed at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, Sacramento Division.

“Part of the cause of California’s astronomical fuel prices is an illegal algorithmic price-fixing scheme orchestrated by the algorithmic pricing company Kalibrate and some of the state’s largest fuel retailers.”

The company’s Kalibrate Fuel Pricing software, an algorithmic, AI-based pricing system, “connects directly to gas stations’ pumps and signs. Instead of lowering prices to attract drivers, Kalibrate Fuel Pricing relies on the data of competing gas stations to coordinate high prices and wring more money from the pockets of consumers throughout the state,” the lawsuit states.

This is contradictory to historical trends where gas stations have competed to secure customers by “aggressively undercutting” retail prices, the lawsuit said.

The “artificial surcharge” from the algorithmic pricing scheme inflicts a “severe, daily financial toll” on millions of Californians, the lawsuit said. For people whose livelihoods are tied to road transport, such as truck drivers, the higher gas prices eat into their incomes.

According to data from the American Automobile Association, a gallon of regular gasoline costs $5.56 on average in California as of June 23, the highest in the country.

A month ago, prices were at $6.11 per gallon amid US-Iran war tensions. A year ago, prices were still close to $5 at $4.66 per gallon.

California’s current gasoline price of $5.56 per gallon is more than $1.6 higher than the $3.92 national average.

In their lawsuit, the defendants said that Kalibrate Fuel Pricing even has a feature that enables almost all gas stations in a market to raise gasoline prices simultaneously.

Keep reading

California’s Gender Secrecy Law Suffers Another Setback in Federal Court

A federal appeals court temporarily blocked a California gender secrecy law that allows schools to hide students’ “gender transitions” from parents. 

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit struck another blow to the law on Thursday, siding with the City of Huntington Beach over the State of California. A three-judge panel issued a preliminary injunction blocking the law as litigation continues, specifically citing the Supreme Court’s March ruling against the law in a separate case called Mirabelli v. Bonta. 

“In light of Mirabelli, the Movants are likely to succeed on the merits of their constitutional claim, including the required threshold showing of Article III standing,” the panel wrote.

Nick Barry, senior counsel at America First Legal (AFL) representing the City of Huntington Beach in the case, called the Ninth Circuit’s decision a “powerful vindication of parental rights.”

“California cannot use state law to force schoolteachers and administrators into a conspiracy of silence against parents. California’s law, and similar school policies, use state coercion to intentionally interfere with the parent-child relationship and separate a child from their parent,” Barry said in a statement. “That is wrong and unlawful. The Constitution is clear — parents have the right to know what is happening with their children and make decisions regarding their mental health, and no state law can override that fundamental protection.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed the law in July 2024, making California the first state to ban school districts from requiring staff to inform parents if their child changes “gender” identification at school.

Keep reading

Moreno to Subpoena Newsom Over California Election Failures

Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) appeared on Donald Trump Jr.’s podcast Triggered on Monday, and he had a lot to say about Sunday’s election run-off in Colombia. Moreno, who is, of course, a Colombian immigrant, was back in his home country over the weekend as an international election observer. 

What he saw impressed him. 

In case you missed it, the right-wing candidate, Abelardo de la Espriella (aka El Tigre), beat out far-left president Gustavo Petro’s hand-picked successor, Iván Cepeda. Thankfully, El Tigre won. The numbers showed a tight race, a country divided. While it is a country divided, many say it’s not that divided, that there are many other factors at play here, but I’ll save that for another day. Petro is also carrying on about how it’s not a done deal and Israel and something else no one cares about blah blah blah, but it’s pretty much a done deal.

The right-minded world, including Marco Rubio, congratulated El Tigre almost immediately to show that we are watching. Plus, Petro’s hands are a bit tied with OFAC sanctions and other reasons why he doesn’t want to make Donald Trump and Rubio mad, so he doesn’t have much of a leg to stand on. He may make some short-term noise, but he’s gone in August and has his own personal agenda. 

But what struck Moreno and many of us who have been paying close attention to this situation is that despite all of that, the elections in Colombia actually went pretty smoothly. The country was able to have results ready in hours, thanks to its “world-class” system, which includes:  

  • Voter ID and proof of Colombian citizenship 
  • Paper, in-person ballots that are hand-counted. 
  • No widespread mail-in voting (Colombians living in other countries are allowed to vote)
  • Biometrics at some sites for additional security 
  • Transparent, observed elections that result in 99%-plus ballots counted the same night 

It’s the complete opposite of what we’ve seen recently in California, and Moreno wants to put an end to that and show people in the United States that it doesn’t have to be this way.  

“We made the decision, and I’ve talked to [Sens.] Rick Scott, Mike Lee, and Ron Johnson about this, we’re going to bring in the people who ran the Colombian election, we’re going to subpoena Gavin Newsom, and we’re going to have a hearing: California vs. Colombia,” Moreno said. “Why can Colombia run an election at that high level, and California is so incompetent? And I think the American people need to see this, Don — we’re going to put this right in their faces and say, ‘Look, the SAVE AMERICA act says prove you’re an American citizen and show who you are when you vote.’ And we can’t get 60 out of 100 Senators to vote for that? That’s a disgrace.”  

Keep reading

Colombia Announces Election Results in One Day… While California Marxists Won’t Report Election Results for 2 More Weeks – Five Weeks After Election Day!

Colombia, a country rife with cartel violence, drug kingpins, and political assassinations picked their new leader on Sunday. By early evening, Conservative outsider Abelardo de la Espriella was announced the winner over cartel lackey and Marxist sympathizer Gustavo Petro.

Espriella is a Trump supporter and holds a dual citizenship with the US.

Colombia has an estimated 52,694,952 people according to latest estimates.

Even Colombia, with all of its domestic challenges is able to count ballots in ONE DAY!

Meanwhile, in California, the communists are still harvesting and counting ballots.

California allegedly has a population of 39.6 million but who really knows?

According to the DPElectionResults website they have until July 3rd to issue their final report. Then the Secretary of State will finalize the results by July 10, 2026.

Election results are updated as often as new data is received from county elections offices after the polls close at 8:00 p.m. on Election Day. Ballots continue to be counted after Election Day during the canvass period; county elections officials must report final official results to the Secretary of State by July 3, 2026. The Secretary of State will certify the results on July 10, 2026.

They’re not fooling anyone. Everyone knows California no longer has trustworthy elections. They don’t check IDs and anyone can sign up online or at the drivers license bureau. Democrats are a crime syndicate.

Keep reading

Khanna: California ‘Messed Up Housing’, ‘We Have Too Much Regulation’

On Friday’s broadcast of HBO’s “Real Time,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) stated that California has “messed up housing in this state. We have too much regulation, zoning where we don’t build. We’ve made it very, very hard to build, and that’s been a failure.”

Khanna said, “[W]e’ve done certain things right. We have excellent higher education. The U.C.’s, the California states. And it’s led to, of course, a lot of innovation, $20 trillion in my district, right?”

He added, “But we’ve messed up housing in this state. We have too much regulation, zoning where we don’t build. We’ve made it very, very hard to build, and that’s been a failure. And any person being honest about it needs to acknowledge that we’ve put roadblocks onto building housing. And that would be, in my view, be the biggest failure. And that’s what Fareed was saying that the housing policy here has been bad.”

Khanna added that there are “issues” within the state’s K-12 system.

Keep reading

California-Certified Gay Government Procurement Program Challenged on Legal Grounds

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) runs a procurement preference program for businesses owned by lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender individuals, operating under General Order 156. A business qualifies as an LGBT Business Enterprise if it is at least 51 percent owned and controlled by LGBT individuals.

In California, “utilities” are privately owned companies that hold near-monopolies delivering essential services such as electricity, natural gas, water, or internet and phone service, and are therefore regulated by the state through the CPUC. To operate, utilities purchase goods and services from outside vendors, construction, engineering, fuel, IT, and similar services.

Under CPUC’s Supplier Diversity Program, utilities are given goals for directing a share of that vendor spending to certified women-, minority-, disabled-veteran-, and LGBT-owned businesses, giving LGBT-certified firms a procurement advantage in competing for utility contracts.

There are both indirect and procedural incentives for utility compliance with CPUC’s LGBT procurement goals. The CPUC controls matters that are consequential to utilities, including rate approvals, infrastructure proceedings, and merger approvals.

One example is the Verizon-Frontier merger. A CPUC administrative law judge recommended approval of the $20 billion deal only if new diversity conditions were attached. This recommendation came even after Verizon had already committed to the FCC to eliminate its workforce and supplier-diversity goals.

Utilities that resist these procurement goals risk creating friction in these higher-stakes proceedings.

Compliance is also reinforced through reporting requirements. Utilities must file annual plans, collect demographic data on vendors, and explain in writing any shortfall against the stated goals.

Certified firms enter a supplier database administered by the Supplier Clearinghouse and used by participating utilities for procurement decisions, with certification valid for three years. CPUC’s category-specific contracting goals now stand at 15 percent for minority-owned firms, 5 percent for women-owned firms, 1.5 percent for disabled-veteran-owned firms, and 1.5 percent for LGBT-owned firms.

The LGBT category sits within a broader supplier-diversity framework dating to 1986, when Governor George Deukmejian signed Assembly Bill 3678, requiring CPUC-regulated utilities to submit annual plans for purchasing from woman- and minority-owned companies; CPUC created its Supplier Diversity Program two years later to enforce the law and set contracting goals. In September 2014, Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation requiring CPUC to recognize LGBT-owned businesses as eligible for supplier-diversity benefits, and the CPUC added LGBT businesses to General Order 156 the following year.

Governor Newsom expanded the program in 2019, encouraging energy-sector companies to award contracts to gay-owned firms. The LGBT procurement target phased in at 0.5 percent in 2022 and 1 percent in 2023, reaching the current 1.5 percent goal by unanimous CPUC vote in April 2022. During the rollout, advocacy groups pushed CPUC toward fuller implementation.

BuildOUT California, an LGBT building-industry organization since rebranded, told the commission that homophobia persisted within utility companies’ ranks, and the state legislature’s LGBTQ caucus wrote in 2021 that lowering gay-procurement targets would insult the LGBTQ+ community.

Keep reading