Iran is running out of time as they keep slowing walking the peace deal.
A Californian mayor has been arrested for working with the Chinese government.
And the Virginia government loses its battle for redistricting. But they might have something else up their sleeve.
News
Here is some news:
Iran has turned over an offer to end the war. Apparently, this offer is not worth the paper its written.
The new offer says nothing of giving over their nuclear material.
Trump has said that time is running out for Iran.
Eileen Wang, former mayor of Arcadia, California, has been charged with acting as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China and has agreed to plead guilty to the felony offense, the Justice Department announced. She now faces up to 10 years in federal prison along with a potential $250,000 fine, though any sentence would be determined by a federal judge.
Federal prosecutors say Wang admitted she acted “at the direction and control” of Chinese government officials from at least 2020 through 2022, coordinating with individuals in the U.S. to spread pro-Beijing messaging, all without notifying the U.S. Attorney General as required by law.
The conduct described by prosecutors occurred before Wang took office on the Arcadia City Council in December 2022.
Arcadia city officials said the case is tied to Wang’s individual conduct and does not impact city operations.
The Supreme Court of Virginia struck down Democrats’ efforts to redraw the state’s congressional map in a move intended to give the Democrats four more seats in Congress and now the party is desperate to overturn the decision in any way possible. This includes attempts to oust the entire bench of the state’s highest court.
Over the weekend, a private discussion was held between Virginia state legislators and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to address the issue before them. They were determined, reports The New York Times, to get a new congressional district map in Virginia to gain more Democrat seats. Prior to the new map, the breakdown was 6 Demcorat seats to 5 Republican seats. The new map would likely be 10 to 1.
One key part of the plan was to lower the mandatory retirement age for the Virginia Supreme Court justices from 75 to 54, which is the age of the youngest justice on the court.
Kiers Starmer, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, has gotten his ass kicked in the last election.
He got his ass kicked because of immigration, which has changed the country.
He won’t be Prime Minister for long.
President Donald Trump said on Monday that he’s serious about officially making Venezuela and its massive oil reserves part of the United States.
Trump first hinted at making Venezuela the 51st state in a Truth Social post in March when he wrote, “Good things are happening to Venezuela lately! I wonder what this magic is all about? STATEHOOD, #51, ANYONE?”
Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela’s acting president: “That would never have been considered, because if there is one thing we Venezuelan men and women have, it is that we love our independence process, we love our heroes and heroines of independence.”
Rodríguez added that her government would continue to work with the United States in “a diplomatic cooperation agenda.”
The LA County Federation of Labor has a new committee lined up to go after Spencer Pratt, and they are dropping an initial $221k on this video & an additional digital ad. pic.twitter.com/vJnHCDunPb
That it is actually illegal to be homeless (loitering).
Pratt thinks we need more cops and less social workers to temper crime.
He thinks Public Unions should not have political power.
Is L.A. on the right track? Really?
What An Idiot
According to the Post Millennial:
Left-wing congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has claimed that the American Revolution was actually a fight against the wealthy class at the time, because of issues such as taxation without representation. This comes on the heels of the politician claiming that nobody can earn a billion dollars.
Speaking on how she was slammed for her comments on billionaires to a group at UChicago, “They like to talk about American ethos as though it’s an attack on American values, an attack on our idea of success. And first of all, I mean, call me crazy, but I don’t think that every single American aspires to be a billionaire. I think that the our idea of success, they might not object, but I don’t think it’s the universal American ideal.”
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) May 9, 2026
Many were quick to point out, however, that the American Revolution was not really a fight over wealth distribution, and that many of the founding fathers were themselves very rich for the time.
This was after she said this:
AOC: “There’s a certain level of wealth and accumulation that is unearned. You can’t earn a billion dollars. You just can’t earn that. You can get market power, you can break rules, you can abuse labor laws, you can pay people less than what they’re worth, but you can’t earn… pic.twitter.com/tUi9xTlQ2B
Remember when every cop had to wear a body cam because of the “epidemic” of “police brutality”? We actually saw what happened during these police incidents. Well, the Left is changing their minds.
California has a solution to the crisis that involves their high speed train project.
And why do activist judges keep letting illegal aliens murders out of jail?
Do You Remember…?
According to Fox News:
Seattle’s socialist mayor Katie Wilson is facing fierce blowback on social media after a 77-year-old man was seen on video being beaten by two individuals in a crime that was captured by closed-circuit television cameras, a tool that Wilson has denounced in the past as something that makes the community feel unsafe and “vulnerable.”
The elderly man was walking down the street in downtown Seattle last month when two men walking by him stopped, without any provocation, shoved him to the ground and beat him, KOMO News reported.
Ahmed Abdullahi Osman, 29, was later arrested and charged with second-degree assault, and police are looking for the second suspect. Osman was reportedly booked into jail the night of the assault and then released back onto the streets before a bail hearing.
Ahmed Abdullah Osman beat a 77-year-old in Seattle. Police ID'd him thanks to street video cameras.
You know, Trump is not going to be in office for long.
Do you remember when the Left demanded that police all have body cams?
Now we actually see what the police have to go through on a daily basis?
Now there’s outrage because a police shooting will have body cam footage released immediately and we know the shooting was justified.
Now, cameras are racist.
I also want to ask, why are cameras racist? Why do they alienate the immigrants? Could it be because they capture the crimes of minorities and immigrants and maybe not all bad things happen because of white people?
The stats don’t lie, folks. Immigrants and minorities commit most of the crimes in the United States. We are seeing it right now.
The bill, which passed the California Assembly on Monday and sits at the state Senate, lets the Inspector General do so if publication “would pose a substantial and articulable risk to the project or to state operations if publicly disclosed.”
The role of the Inspector General has gained even more prominence in light of new estimates that the total cost of the train has ballooned to $231 billion. The fantasy project, which broke ground in 2015, is far from finished.
Letting the Inspector General hide details, critics say, is the wrong move.
Insight is needed now more than ever after analysts raised red flags with the High-Speed Rail Authority’s new business plan. A state analysts’ report warned of “several issues”, such as uncertain funding assumptions and shifting the project’s scope in violation of current state law.
If details are determined confidential, the bill would have the auditor only deliver the report to state officials overseeing the project.
The bill’s author, Assemblymember Lori Wilson (D), dismissed the criticism and said the bill actually improves transparency.
“Concerns were initially raised that this bill would keep information confidential. In fact, this bill does the exact opposite by requiring the inspector general to make its reports public, which is not required under current law,” she said Monday on the Assembly floor.
A federal judge appointed by former President Joe Biden cut an illegal immigrant murder suspect loose, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Bryan Rafael Gomez is wanted in his home country of the Dominican Republic for murder, DHS said Thursday. Despite having an active warrant, U.S. District Court Judge Melissa R. DuBose ordered Gomez’s release from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention on Tuesday.
Gomez crossed the border illegally near Lukeville, Arizona, in 2022, DHS said. Border Patrol agents apprehended him at the time and subsequently released him into the country.
The Coordination of the Courts of Instruction of the National District of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, issued a criminal arrest warrant for Gomez for homicide on Jan. 24, 2023, according to DHS.
Officers with the Worcester Police Department arrested Gomez on April 4, 2026, for assault and battery, according to DHS. Local authorities honored an ICE detainer, handing Gomez over to federal immigration agents after he was released on $500 bail.
Gomez had filed a habeas petition, which is a legal challenge to his detention, and DuBose allowed for his release on “minimal release conditions,” according to Fox News.
The Department of Justice announced on Friday that it has readopted firing squads as a means to carry out federal death sentences. The DOJ said that the move was part of an effort to “restore its solemn duty to seek, obtain, and implement lawful capital sentences.”
A press release from the department stated, “Among the actions taken are readopting the lethal injection protocol utilized during the first Trump Administration, expanding the protocol to include additional manners of execution such as the firing squad, and streamlining internal processes to expedite death penalty cases. These steps are critical to deterring the most barbaric crimes, delivering justice for victims, and providing long-overdue closure to surviving loved ones.”
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement, “The prior administration failed in its duty to protect the American people by refusing to pursue and carry out the ultimate punishment against the most dangerous criminals, including terrorists, child murderers, and cop killers. Under President Trump’s leadership, the Department of Justice is once again enforcing the law and standing with victims.”
The announcement came alongside the release of a report titled “Restoring and Strengthening the Federal Death Penalty.” In the report, Blanche said that “despite federal prosecutors consistently seeking and defending capital sentences under the leadership of both political parties, the Department had not prioritized implementing them.”
The report stated that under the Biden administration, then Attorney General Merrick Garland “imposed a moratorium on federal executions, directed prosecutors not to seek death sentences, and dismantled the federal government’s capital punishment apparatus. He also recommended that President Biden commute the lawful death sentences of thirty-seven convicted murderers, and he did so without fully considering the views of the victims’ families, the communities that endured these crimes, or the prosecutors who tried these cases. These actions inflicted untold damage on countless lives and, ultimately, on the public’s confidence in the rule of law itself.”
Disney World has decided to ditch woke to the joy of their visitors.
You ever wonder why Muslims are having such an easy time getting into England? Well, the BBC has found an answer.
And Ilhan Omar “accidently” said she was worth $30 million dollars. She actually not worth that much. I do not believe you, ma’am.
News
Here is some news:
Pope Leo clarified his statements about war (not THE war).
On Saturday, April 18, 2026, Trump signed an executive order directing the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to speed up research, regulatory review, and access pathways for novel treatments for serious mental illness, including psychedelic‑based therapies such as ibogaine and similar compounds.
The order’s stated intent is to tackle high suicide rates, particularly among veterans, by removing or easing certain legal and regulatory barriers that currently make it difficult for U.S. researchers and clinicians to study and offer these treatments within controlled medical frameworks.
The U.S. Navy fired on the Iran-flagged M/V Touska tanker in the Arabian Sea on Sunday, disabling its engines and later seizing the vessel.
Tehran officials condemned the seizure as “armed piracy” and vowed retaliation.
Peace talks with Iran were expected to begin in Pakistan on Tuesday, but recent reports from Iranian state media have thrown the meetings into doubt.
The command of Iran’s military, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, offered an explanation for why Iranian forces did not fight back: “Due to the presence of some family members of the ship’s crew, they faced constraints in order to protect their lives and ensure their safety, as they were in danger at every moment.”
A Louisiana man who murdered eight children, seven of them his own and one a cousin of the children, had two prior convictions. One of convictions was due to his commission of a previous shooting near a school. The children were all under 11 years old.
The 31-year-old posted a picture of himself with one of his daughters just hours before killing the children execution style. He killed most of them in their beds and one as he tried to escape.
The victims’ ages ranged from 3 to 11.
He also shot his wife in the face, mother of four of his children, as well as the mother of his three other children.
Disney World just took a giant step away from wokeness with a small change in its parks that has the normies cheering.
According to park visitors, the automated announcements are once again using the phrase “Ladies and Gentlemen.” This is a change from the parks originally pivoting to use more “inclusive” language on their properties.
The revelation about Disney’s foray into progressivism came in 2022 when journalist Chris Rufo released video recordings from employee all-hands meetings at the company. One of the clips showed Vivian Ware, who was at the time serving as Disney’s diversity and inclusion manager, explaining how Disney altered gendered greetings and language in its theme parks for live spiels and other aspects of the park in 2021.
“We trained, we provided training for all of our cast members in relationship to that. So now they know it’s ‘Hello, everyone,’ or ‘Hello, friends,’” Ware explained.
“We don’t want to just assume because someone might be, in our interpretation, may be presenting as female, that they may not want to be called ‘princess,’” she went on. “So let’s think differently about how do we really engage with our guests in a meaningful and inclusive way that makes it magical and memorable for everyone.”
Legal advisers have been telling migrants from Muslim countries to pose as gay to be granted asylum in Britain, with some lawyers going as far as coaching migrants on how to fabricate photos and come up with their own back stories, the BBC reported on Wednesday.
The BBC’s undercover investigation revealed how legal advisers are raking in cash by helping migrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh apply for asylum by claiming to be gay, which would put them at risk of persecution in their home countries.
One BBC reporter went undercover to a meeting organized by a group that claims to support gay and lesbian asylum seekers. Around 175 people attended the meeting put on by Worcester LGBT, but it appeared that none of them actually identified as lesbian or gay.
“Most of the people here are not gays,” one man said, according to the BBC.
Another man replied, “Nobody is a gay here. Not even 1% are gay. Not even 0.01% are gay.”
The BBC reporter posed as a migrant seeking asylum and met multiple times with an adviser for Worcester LGBT named Tanisa. For their first meeting, the reporter met with Tanisa at her house and was invited to her bedroom to chat. Tanisa sat on her bed as she told the undercover journalist that he should apply for asylum as a gay man, but the reporter quickly informed Tanisa that he wasn’t gay.
Rep. Ilhan Omar has denied being a millionaire and has now claimed that her net worth is actually under $100,000 in a new disclosure filing. This comes after a filing of up to $30 millon net worth was revised down to a significantly smaller amount.
Omar has blamed an accounting error for her disclosure last year that said she and her husband held assets between $6 million and $30 million. The Wall Street Journal reported that in an amended filing, Omar and her husband’s assets are supposedly $18,004 and $95,000,
“The amended disclosure confirms what we’ve said all along: The congresswoman is not a millionaire,” Omar spokesperson Jacklyn Rogers told the reporters, adding that the filing was corrected “as soon as the discrepancy was identified.”
The amended filing followed a request for more information from the Office of Congressional Conduct this year.
Omar’s lawyer claimed that the filing was inaccurate and that it was the fault of an accountant.
“As the busiest of people, it is very common for members and their spouses to rely on learned professionals like accountants to make calculations and determinations that appear on public filings,” the attorney said. “While the error is of course unfortunate, there is nothing untoward and nothing illegal has occurred.”
Donald Trump has had it with Iran’s lack of cooperation. Iran has six hours to figure it out.
California is an absolute mess. We, in California, knew it. Apparently CBS News just figured it out.
And NASA, with four brave astronauts, prove that America is awesome!
News
President Donald Trump has given Iran until 8 p.m. ET to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face strikes against its power plants and bridges on Tuesday.
The United Nations has warned that Trump’s threats to target Iran’s power plants and bridges could constitute war crimes if they are carried out.
Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., is mounting a long-shot bid to impeach President Donald Trump as he stares down a primary threat from younger challengers, who seek to thwart his bid for a 15th House term.
Larson, 77, introduced 13 articles of impeachment against Trump on Monday, citing the president’s military intervention in Venezuela, the deployment of National Guard troops to cities across the country and his executive order to curtail birthright citizenship, among other charges.
Larson also charged Trump with “murder, war crimes and piracy” for ordering a naval blockade around Venezuela targeting U.S.-sanctioned oil tankers ahead of the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January and for launching dozens of strikes against alleged drug trafficking vessels in the Eastern Pacific and the Caribbean.
Researchers found that California’s minimum wage hike for fast-food workers led to “negative outcomes” such as automation and reduced work hours.
The researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz suggested in a report published in March that the policy could produce unintended consequences such as an increase in menu prices, a loss of overtime and benefits, reductions in employee working hours, and an implementation of automation that replaces workers.
Artemis II’s four astronauts zoomed past Apollo 13’s 248,655-mile mark around 1:56 p.m. ET, reaching 248,656 miles as their aircraft hurtled past the moon at nearly 2,000 mph.
Then hours later, shortly after 7 p.m.., the crew set a new record for the farthest distance humans have traveled from Earth, at a staggering 252,756 miles. The astronauts then beginning their long journey back to Earth .
The distance record was set just minutes after the capsule made its closest approach to the moon around 4,067 miles in altitude.
It also came in the thick of Artemis II’s communications blackout, which was expected to last about 40 minutes while the moon blocked any signals between Orion and the Earth.
Communications resumed around 7:25 p.m.
🚨 HISTORY! Artemis II with its four astronauts on board, have now traveled further from earth then any other humans in history. pic.twitter.com/qi2GbRNLU9
PRESIDENT TRUMP asks Artemis II crew to share the "most unforgettable" part of their historic day.
COMMANDER REID WISEMAN: "We saw sights that no human has ever seen before, not even in Apollo, and that was amazing for us." pic.twitter.com/yUmdPQ8YWz
Californians pay $2 more for gas than the rest of the country. The question is now becoming why (yes, it’s been a slow news weekend).
California said it was starting a commission to
NBC News investigation finds the price of gas in California is not because of the war with Iran, it’s because of Gavin Newsom and California Democrats
“We are paying on average $2 a gallon more than the national average for drivers across the nation and an expert on the oil and… pic.twitter.com/qmNvY9j4P4
Using a 6.00 dollar pump price, here’s what each component would roughly be per gallon based on the CBS breakdown.
Dollar breakdown at 6.00 dollars/gal
Component
Percent of price
Approx. cents/gal
Approx. dollars/gal
Component
Percent of price
Approx. cents/gal
Approx. dollars/gal
Crude oil
40%
240¢
2.40
Refining (incl. CA blend premium)
13%
78¢
0.78
Distribution
15%
90¢
0.90
Federal gas tax
5%
30¢
0.30
State excise + storage fee
15%
90¢
0.90
State climate programs (Cap & Trade, LCFS)
10%
60¢
0.60
Sales taxes (state + local)
2%
12¢
0.12
Total
100%
600¢
6.00
Those percentage buckets are approximations the article uses to summarize the detailed line items (61¢ excise tax, 23¢ Cap‑and‑Trade, 14¢ LCFS, etc.), so at different pump prices the cent amounts would change but the shares stay roughly similar.
Do you want a version of this table recalculated for a different typical California price (for example, 5.50 or 6.50 dollars per gallon)?
Believe it or not, California is still thinking of building this high speed rail system. They’ve already blown $34 billion for:
Roughly 0 miles of the California high‑speed rail system are actually in service; what exists today is partially built civil works on the initial Central Valley segment, not an operating line.
What’s physically built so far
Construction is active along a 119‑mile Central Valley “spine” from around Madera through Fresno and Kings/Tulare toward Kern County, but this is mainly earthwork, bridges, viaducts, and graded guideway, not finished track.
As of early 2026, about 70–80 miles of guideway (the prepared railbed/structure) are complete, and roughly 55–60 major structures (bridges, overpasses, viaducts) are finished, with a few dozen more under construction.
No true high‑speed rail track is in service yet; the Authority is only now moving into contracts to lay track and install systems on that 119‑mile spine, with track installation expected to begin in 2026.
BREAKING: California doesn't have enough money to finish building a high speed rail system to connect San Francisco and Los Angeles and now they want $125 BILLION MORE!
"The entire amount of money we need is not there…"
Worker advocates in Oakland are pressing for a $30 minimum wage, mirroring a similar goal from socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani from across the country.
A worker’s organization, One Fair Wage, is hoping to put forward a ballot initiative to raise the minimum wage in the area. The organization believes the wage increase will help workers with the expensive cost of living in the Bay Area, especially with the affordability crisis.
Essentially, the city wants to raise the minimum wage so they can take more money in taxes. Of course, as usual, this assumes everyone working now will be working when the minimum wage goes up, which they surely won’t. It’s basically a big redistribution program.
By the way, this is why they keep raising the minimum wage. It gets a lot of votes and is easy to do. It is economic suicide, but everyone loves it. Except people that do all the signing of paychecks.
“Every time there has been a downturn or a serious challenge to the economy, in the end, we raise wages as a stimulus,” Saru Jayaraman, the president of One Fair Wage, told Center Square.
“It’s basically a stimulus in the hands of working people, who spend a much bigger percentage of their income than higher-income people because they have to. It’s survival,” she added.
One Fair Wage says the proposed ballot initiative would gradually institute the $30 minimum wage within the city and Alameda County until reaching the proposed amount in 2030. Oakland’s current minimum wage is $17.34 an hour, and California’s minimum wage sits at $16.90 an hour.
A $30 minimum wage would be the highest in the country. New York City legislators introduced a bill last month to also introduce a $30 minimum wage.
Police “reforms” in Boston replaced cops with mental health clinicians and social workers, and on Saturday one of those clinicians was attacked by a delusional man wielding a sword. The suspect, who has not been publicly identified, attacked the clinician as well as police officers with the sword. Cops responded by shooting and killing the suspect.
The incident took place near the Northeastern University campus on Saturday morning in Boston. Officers were responding to a 911 call about four people armed with guns and the caller was in the apartment building. After officers arrived at 212 Hemenway Street and located the disturbance they called in a mental health professional with the Boston’s BEST program, according to Mass Daily News.
The program, in which mental health professionals ride along with cops to de-escalate tense situations, has been running since 2011. The EMS clinician deployed to the scene spoke to the man for 45 minutes through the door before the suspect pushed open the door and attacked.
“He immediately opened the door and struck the clinician and an officer who was outside the door. He was armed with some type of sword, stabbing the officer in the arm and knocking the EMS clinician to the ground,” Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox said. “One or more officers, which is under investigation at this time, fired a taser and weapon at the individual, bringing the person to a halt.”
The suspect as well as the officers and clinician that were attacked by the suspect were taken to the hospital. The suspect was later pronounced dead. “This was a very chaotic circumstance. The individual was clearly in some sort of mental distress,” Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said.
Boston EMS said in a statement that their employee had gotten injured in the altercation.
“Our focus tonight remains on the two members of Boston EMS, including one of our BEST clinicians, who were treated and transported to the hospital after the incident on Hemenway Street in Boston. Both suffered non-life-threatening injuries,” the statement read.
“Today serves as a reminder of the dangers inherent in this work and the sacrifice our members make every day. Members of Boston EMS show up to save lives — not to be assaulted. No one should face violence for simply doing their job. Our thoughts are with our injured members, the Boston Police officers, and everyone affected by today’s incident.”
The concept is simple: Store your silenced cell phone in a “chicken coop” while you enjoy your Chick-fil-A meal in-store and get a free “Icedream” cone as your reward for staying present with your chicken sandwich and your fellow guests. Open to groups and solo acts, the initiative got its start at a Chick-fil-A in the Atlanta area back in 2016. It hasn’t gotten the nationwide rollout treatment, but it pops up around the country every so often at the whim of individual franchisees. This month, the hype went global after Complex posted Chick-fil-A phone challenge signage on X.
Commenters quickly responded with enthusiasm for the stroke of marketing genius behind quality family time and an immersive tech cleansing. But others called out the “sad” state of affairs with someone adding, “Society has hit a low point holy sh*t.” One hater posted, “I’m trying to enjoy my chicken, not talk to my d*mn family.” Another person bet that this particular Maryland-based Chick-fil-A would be giving out zero ice cream cones since no one can stay off their phones these days.
Well, random X user, I brought receipts proving that at least five people have successfully completed the task and cashed in on those cones: my two parents and the three teenagers they paid to participate in the same challenge at another table. Having known my mom and dad my whole life, this all checks out.
My parents FaceTimed me the minute they returned from their mission, sharing boots-on-the-ground perspective on the promo everyone else in America wishes their local Chick-fil-A was running. They were already fans of Chick-fil-A, as well as the Towson Place location’s spacious dining area and flawless customer service. “I love ‘It’s my pleasure,’” my mom said.
I confessed to stopping by Chick-fil-A when I lived in Los Angeles purely because, unlike people in the rest of the city, the chain’s friendly employees seemed to enjoy serving customers. But back to the challenge at hand.
“We were expecting a chicken coop,” my mom said. There are many representations of the “coop” from the Chick-fil-A phone challenge on social media (one claims to be made of wood), but the Towson Place version involves a plain white cardboard box meant to secure your phone. (Apparently, it could have used some fun chicken-related decoration, according to “reviews.”)
Still, my parents persisted, roping in a trio of local teens into the mix, who my mom says “were like … ‘o-kay?’” about the idea. The boys had completed the challenge before and were happy to walk these nice elderly people through the process, accepting $2 each in cash. My parents value the quality time of other people’s grandchildren. And still carry cash.
They placed their order at the counter, sat down at the table with their drinks, and stowed their phones in the “coop” once their food arrived.
“Wait. So do you normally use your phone during dinner?” I asked, having no idea what my parents do in their free time.
“No, but I usually have it at the ready,” my mom said, like most of us. (How else are we gonna pick it up 186 times a day?) But when she admitted, “I checked my purse for my phone 10 times while my phone was still in the ‘coop,’” my eyeballs ejected from my face. Full disclosure, I did ask her to document as much pre- and post-coop action as possible. But I was shocked. The challenge, which is so obviously aimed at kids, even had my mom feeling the benefits from sealing her phone in a cardboard box.
“I’ve watched many families come in with young kids, and they do it,” said Natalie Martz, owner of the Towson Place Chick-fil-A. “I’ve seen adults come in with adult children and do it.”
Maybe the Chick-fil-A challenge is just a wholesome excuse to encourage customers to “eat mor chikin” and make it an occasion by purchasing meals for the whole family. But breaking bread sans phones might lead to small, surprising joys beyond chicken nuggets — no matter your age.
“I haven’t had a cone in years,” my mom recalled. “It was nostalgic. It brought back good memories for me.” Chick-fil-A happens to be celebrating its 80th anniversary this year with a “Newstalgia” marketing blitz that features retro packaging on drinks and sandwiches along with all-new plushie cows.
“The cone was really good,” my dad reported. That comment on the actual cone part of the old-school vanilla soft-serve dessert is notably high praise from a non-foodie. It warmed my heart hearing that they had fun with the assignment.
As one fan summed it up on Instagram, “A free ice cream for being present with your people? That’s a deal worth taking.” Try the challenge for yourself at a participating Chick-fil-A or politely ask your local shop to get in on the action. I’m sure it would be their pleasure.
The Left always eats its own. Celebrations over the Union darling, Cesar Chavez are being cancelled. Let’s talk about it.
The ladies of the WNBA are getting raises. Let’s see how that works out.
And the SAVE Act is being voted on again. Republicans are saying it is common sense legislation. Democrats say it is “Jim Crow 2.0”. Which is it? Let’s go through the bill.
News
Here is some news:
Senate Republicans on Tuesday successfully launched their floor takeover to put Senate Democrats on record against Trump-backed voter ID legislation.
Still, opening up what will be a multi-day marathon debate on the bill wasn’t without its hiccups. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, joined all Senate Democrats to block the legislation. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who threatened to do everything he could to block the bill, did not vote.
Celebrations for what would have been civil rights activist Cesar Chavez‘s 99th birthday are being canceled ahead of what’s being described as “deeply troubling allegations” against the historic figure.
As cancellations grew, the United Farm Workers (UFW), an organization co-founded by Chavez, released a statement on Tuesday confirming allegations were being made, including ones involving abuse of young women or minors. In response, the UFW announced it would no longer take part in any Cesar Chavez Day activities.
It is unclear at this time what the source of the allegations are and the details surrounding them.
Chavez has been a longtime-celebrated figure in the Democratic Party as a model for labor rights. However, Chavez has also reportedly spoken out against illegal immigration, calling illegal aliens a threat to union workers.
The WNBA and its players union reached a deal in principle on a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA), keeping the league on track to tip off on May 8.
Did you know the season starts on May 8th? I didn’t either. That’s because no one cares.
The deal is expected to reflect the rapid growth over the last two seasons. The league exploded in popularity with the emergence of Caitlin Clark in 2024, along with some of the other members of her rookie class.
Players’ salaries are also expected to increase fourfold from last season. The average salary in the WNBA is $102K a year. That will pop the total to $400,000 per year.
Venezuela defeated the United States at the World Baseball Classic to win their first championship.
Trump posted on Truth Social: “STATEHOOD, #51, ANYONE?”
These two guys are idiots and if they can’t get a birth certificate or passport (which they are lying, they have both) they shouldn’t be in power.
These two can also make it easier to get all three by changing the laws, but they don’t.
Some things about the SAVE Act:
The SAVE Act is simple. It is only 24 pages long.
You are required to register to vote with either a federal ID (a REAL ID or passport) or birth certificate.
It is really easy and cheap to get all three!!
A REAL ID costs the same as a state ID, about $45.
A passport card costs about $30.
A birth certificate costs about $25.
State IDs can be used if they give the date and location of birth. Most states don’t do this.
Now, I’ll be a jerk. If one is too stupid to be able to get one of these forms of identification, they are to stupid to be voting.
The other thing the bill requires is that voter rolls be purged of immigrants (illegal and legal) and dead people.
In states like California, immigrants (legal or illegal) are “accidently” registered to vote when they get an ID or driver’s license.
Some states allow immigrants to vote in local or state elections (which we should ban). They automatically get registered in federal elections.
Dead people end up voting in election fraudulently.
I think voter rolls should be purged after every presidential election and you should have to register every four years.
Finally, is any of this convenient? Absolutely not. It shouldn’t be. It should take some effort to vote. We should also ban mail in voting, early voting, and voting machines. You should have to wait in line on election day and vote on paper. Like we did before the pandemic.
For 244 years, we have voted in person, on paper, on one day every two years on the first Tuesday of November and always had the results on election night. The more technology we’ve thrown into the process and the more options for convenience we’ve thrown out have made our elections less efficient and less trustworthy. We never had these discussions in any elections outside of the 2000 election.
California loses another billionaire after the state threatens to implement a wealth tax.
Joe Biden’s FBI has been proven to have been acting badly. Will anything come of it?
And CNN is about to release a documentary on Christian Nationalism. This raises a couple of questions.
News
Here is some news:
Hollywood legend Steven Spielberg is the latest billionaire to escape California ahead of a hefty proposed wealth tax. The directorrecently purchased a home in the iconic San Remo co-op in New York City overlooking Central Park.
Public Storage announced it is leaving California and moving its corporate headquarters from Glendale to Frisco, Texas.
Public Storage operates thousands of self-storage units across the country.
Blu Zeke Daly, 26, of Manchester, previously known as “Cullen Zeke Daly,” reportedly pulled a vehicle up to a closed gate at the US-Canadian Pittsburgh Port of Entry and fired gunshots at a Border Patrol agent when approached.
The suspect is trans nonbinary.
The FBI under Joe Biden subpoenaed the phone records of now-FBI Director Kash Patel and now-White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles in 2022 and 2023, when both were private citizens. The phone records grab was part of the Biden administration’s investigation into Donald Trump.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is proposing to spend $70 million on his plan for a network of government-owned grocery stores, a sum $10 million higher than he pledged on the campaign trail, even as his administration warns of a multibillion-dollar fiscal shortfall and raises the prospect of higher property taxes.
Cuba’s Interior Ministry reported that four men aboard a US-registered speedboat were killed after opening fire on a Cuban coast guard vessel near Cayo Falcones on Wednesday morning. Six additional passengers were wounded and received medical care.
The ministry said the Florida-registered vessel, carrying at least 10 people, was detected in Cuban waters off the country’s northern coast in Villa Clara province. When five members of the Cuban border guard approached the speedboat to verify its identity, the crew allegedly opened fire, injuring the Cuban commander.
The Cuban government later said that the 10 passengers who opened fire on soldiers were Cubans who had been living in the US and were seeking to infiltrate the island nation for the purpose of committing terrorism, the AP reports. The government claimed that the passengers on the boat “have a known history of criminal and violent activity.”
No movement on Iran.
They continue to talk in Geneva.
Iran refuses to give up their “peaceful” nuclear ambitions.
Iran refuses to giver up their ballistic missile program.
Iran refuses to giver up their nuclear materials.
The Trump administration says both Iranian demands are unacceptable.
The United States shipped a bunch of F-22s to Israel.
We should know more over the next 48 to 72 hours.
Just fucking dumb! Here is Rep Jenelle Bynum saying that Trump asking politicians to stand if they believe government should protect American citizens over illegal aliens. You’ll be shocked at what she says:
OMG
Democrat Rep. Janelle Bynum says it was "racist" and “uncomfortable” when Trump asked to stand for American citizens. pic.twitter.com/CWnLepxU5w
Nancy Pelosi complains that Trump’s SOTU speech was too patriotic: “It’s one thing to acknowledge patriotism, but to spend an hour and a half doing it?” pic.twitter.com/KleBOIBLnP
WTF. CNN's Pamela Brown to release an anti-Christian hit-piece that uses the ass*ssination of Charlie Kirk to highlight the rise of "Christian nationalism" in the United States.pic.twitter.com/SnsHmfTg4f
She doesn’t call this “White Christian Nationalism”. They take the racial component out of it.
She says that the country was based on Judeo/Christian principles. It was.
She says that Judeo/Christian principles should influence our laws and culture. It should. We aren’t kicking anyone out of the country because they have a different religion.
Charlie Kirk’s death did create a revitalization of Christianity. So did the assassination attempts of Donald Trump.
Notice, all the violence is coming out of the Left.
They Might As Well As Cancel It Now
According to the Post Millennial:
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy features a gay Klingon cadet. The show features a lesbian relationship between a mixed Klingon and Jem’Hadar and Tig Notaro, who plays a teacher at the Academy, as well as a Klingon man who dates a human.
“I won’t pretend that I wasn’t scared to take on this role. Part of me still is. Not because of the character himself, but because I knew the reaction that could come with it,” actor Karim Diané said of his character, Jay-Den Kraag, per Pink News.
To those who aren’t crazy about the warrior race being displayed as gay, Diané says their concerns are just “rooted in homophobia, racism, bigotry.” In the Star Trek universe, Klingons are a warrior race who are always ready for a fight and go into battle under the mantra “today is a good day to die.”
“But what matters more is this,” said Diané, “over the past few weeks since this show premiered, I’ve received countless messages from LGBTQ+ people around the world… people who feel seen, validated, and inspired by Jay-Den. Those messages outweigh every bit of negativity. Every single time.”
Episode 7, which aired this week, showed the Klingon character heading off to Ibiza to party down with his gay lover Kyle for spring break, or “All Worlds Day,” as it’s called on the show. Jay-Den Kraag didn’t even end up making it on the trip; he got sidetracked by another plot line, but Kyle came back terribly sunburned. Other cadets spent their All Worlds Day holidays with their families.
Of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, Diané said he imagined a future that expanded who gets to be seen, heard, and valued. “A future where diversity isn’t merely tolerated but celebrated. Jay-Den doesn’t exist outside of that tradition. He exists because of it. ‘Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations’ isn’t just a catchy phrase Roddenberry tossed around. I believe he truly meant it,” he said.
Trekkers and Trekkies on X spoke out against the absurdity of taking a Star Trek series and making it about sexual identity, with one user saying “life long star trek fan but have not even started watching starfleet academy, i just can´t. from captain picard fighting the borg which was beyond epic to increasingly woke and insane storylines with every new series of star trek that has made it impossible to watch.”
“And then they wonder why people only watch the old shows, is because they were fun and entertaining not a platform to push an agenda,” said another.
Whoopi Goldberg finally realizes that seeing a name on a list does not equal guilt. It's funny how the standard shifts when it is one of their own. By defending herself, she just accidentally made the most valid argument for Donald Trump that we have heard yet. pic.twitter.com/FNfS2u1hBH
Actor Ted Levine apologized recently for his iconic turn as cross-dressing serial killer Jame Gumb in the 1991 horror classic “The Silence of the Lambs,” saying that it was “f*cking wrong” that the film had “vilified” the apparent gender confusion of his character.
Levine told The Hollywood Reporter that his intent had always been to play Gumb — nicknamed “Buffalo Bill” — as a “f*cked-up heterosexual man” despite the fact that the character dresses in women’s clothing, wears makeup, and skins his female victims in an effort to make himself a suit of female flesh.
“There are certain aspects of the movie that don’t hold up too well,” he said. “We all know more, and I’m a lot wiser about transgender issues. There are some lines in that script and movie that are unfortunate.”
Levine said that when they were making the film — based on the 1988 Thomas Harris novel by the same title — he had not been particularly concerned, but that “over time and having gotten aware and worked with trans folks, and understanding a bit more about the culture and the reality of the meaning of gender — it’s unfortunate that the film vilified that, and it’s f*cking wrong. And you can quote me on that.”
“I didn’t play him as being gay or trans. I think he was just a f*cked-up heterosexual man. That’s what I was doing,” Levine explained.
The first free grocery store opens in New York and it is working out just the way you’d think it would work.
And the 250th year of our country may be greeted with a bit of a stench.
News
Here is some news:
The Chicago Bears look to be moving to Hammond, Indiana.
All this is over a dispute over a new stadium.
The Illinois House committee meeting that was scheduled for Thursday to discuss funding a new stadium for the Chicago Bears has been cancelled. This cancellation makes a potential Bears move to Indiana feel like a very real proposition.
New York has opened its first free grocery store in West Village which is in lower Manhattan, New York.
The pop-up was opened Feb. 12 as a five-day store by cryptocurrency-based prediction market Polymarket. It comes as Democratic New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani advances a proposal for city-run grocery stores aimed at easing rising food costs and broader affordability pressures.
It was billed as New York City’s first free grocery store, with critics casting it as a stunt riffing on Mamdani’s proposal as the prediction-market company faces heightened scrutiny from regulators in various states, including New York.
New Yorkers need to get a “yellow ticket” in order to get into the store.
After nearly a decade in Virginia, Boeing announced on Wednesday that it is moving its Defense, Space & Security headquarters out of the state back to St. Louis. This comes just weeks after new Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger took office, replacing Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
In a major shift in European foreign policy, the Council of the European Union formally announced on Thursday that it has added the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to the EU terrorist list.
A trial in California is going after Mark Zuckerberg and Meta.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg was grilled Wednesday about whether his company intentionally designed Instagram to be addictive, in front of the young woman accusing Meta and YouTube of hooking her as a child and damaging her mental health.
He believed he has navigated the safety of young users “in a reasonable way.”
Zuckerberg was pressed on Wednesday about whether children younger than 13 have access to Instagram. The app technically requires users to be 13 to sign up, and Zuckerberg said younger children are “not allowed on Instagram.”
A huge sewage spill has leaked millions of gallons of excrement into the Potomac River.
It could take a year to fix and clean up.
The cause is the ancient plumping system that hasn’t been updated since the 1960s.
Donald Trump has decided to have the federal government take over the disaster because Delaware Governor Wes Moore is incompetent.
Wes Moore is blaming Trump because part of the pipeline was on federal lands and Trump is a racist.
Drinking water is not affected.
Just a little FYI: the United States might be attack Iran this weekend.
California officials who turned a blind eye to unemployment scams — potentially worth tens of billions of dollars during the pandemic — will now be put directly under the microscope of the federal government.
The US Department of Labor is set to send a letter to the state’s Employment Development Department announcing a “strike team” will soon be touching down in the Golden State to root out theft and abuse, The California Post has learned. The investigation will be similar to efforts currently underway in Minnesota.
Federal investigators have been combing through financial records tied to Minnesota fraud schemes after prosecutors uncovered what they describe as a sprawling web of pandemic-era theft, including the massive “Feeding Our Future” case that allegedly siphoned roughly $250 million in federal child-nutrition funds through fake claims and shell companies.
The breadth of fraud in California, however, could leave Minnesota’s thievery looking like chump change.
The feds provided California nearly $290 billion in relief funds during the pandemic, and EDD was among the largest recipients as it was tasked with rapidly implementing expanded unemployment benefits.
Amber Glenn skated to “Like a Prayer” during Tuesday’s short program. Now she’s in serious need of one herself.
One of the U.S.’s “Blade Angels,” Glenn was left in tears following a massive error in her skate — she landed a double loop instead of a triple — that left her in 13th place with just the free skate to go.
The 26-year-old was just one of two skaters on the day to land a triple axel, but her blunder was scored as an invalid element for which she received no points.
Glenn cried as she approached her coaches at the end of her skate, clutching the pearl necklace of her outfit.
American Hero Quinn Hughes:
“I love the U.S.”
“It’s the greatest country in the world. Happy to represent it here with these guys and it’s really special.”pic.twitter.com/OwVEhRjWSf
Here is AOC’s answer of whether she would create a wealth tax. Which, of course, is yes. Included is Argentine Foreign Minister Patricia Bullrich’s response.
AOC in Munich indicating she can't wait to impose a wealth tax. An Argentinian politician quickly schools her on how that destroyed wealth in Argentina.
She knows. That's the whole point. Democrats are destroyers.
🚨 HOLY SMOKES. Rep. AOC just SELF-DESTRUCTED while trying to represent America in Germany
"Should the US commit troops to defend Taiwan?"
AOC: "Um, you know, I think that, uhh, eh, this is such a, uh, you know, I th-I think that this is a, umm, this is of course a, uh, a very… pic.twitter.com/VfT98vKhZY
We lost a couple of icons this weekend. One good, one not so good.
Another trans person loses his crap in Rhode Island.
And New York is getting what it deserves.
Some News
Here is some news:
Jesse Jackson has died at the age of 84.
Inventor of the Rainbow Coalition.
Ran for president in 1984 and 1988.
Was a shadow senator for Washington DC.
Robert Duval has died at the age of 95.
Starred in movies like Apocalypse Now, The Godfather, and The Great Santini.
He won an Oscar for Best Actor for the movie Tender Mercies 1983.
Embattled Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Democratic Mayor Jacob Frey both made public overtures to the feds for reimbursement for usage of state and city resources and recouping of other alleged damages.
Minneapolis estimated $47 million in lost wages for people “afraid to leave home” for work, $81 million in small business revenue losses and $4.7 million from hotel cancellations, according to the outlet.
This comes as Minnesota is under investigation for $19 billion for fraud.
Two people were killed and at least three others critically injured after a man who identifies as a woman opened fire at a high school hockey game in Rhode Island.
Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves confirmed in a Monday evening press conference that Robert Dorgan, who goes by the name Roberta Esposito, killed himself after what she said was likely a targeted shooting stemming from a family dispute. A clip circulating on social media appears to show Dorgan’s daughter leaving a police station and telling reporters that her father “shot my family” and “he’s dead now.” The woman added that Dorgan “has mental health issues,” and “was very sick.”
Court records from 2020 confirm that Dorgan had undergone gender reassignment surgery. Dorgan claimed to North Providence Police at the time that his father-in-law attempted to throw him out of the house following his surgery. Around that time, Dorgan’s wife filed for divorce, initially citing “gender reassignment surgery, narcissistic + personality disorder traits” as the reason before crossing them out and writing “irreconcilable differences.”
Authorities have not publicly identified the victims, nor have they confirmed the precise relationships involved in the apparent family dispute. Police have also not released information about the weapon used.
This is the latest shooting perpetrated by a transgender-identifying attacker. Earlier this month, a man who identified as a woman and wore a dress killed 10 people at a Canadian school. Transgender-identifying shooters perpetrated deadly attacks on schools in Nashville in 2023 and in Minneapolis in 2025. The latter attack was the subject of the last question Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was asked when he was assassinated in September.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has announced his preliminary budget, saying that in order to raise enough tax revenue to fill the gap in New York City‘s budget, New York Governor Kathy Hochul will have to allow him to raise taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers and corporations, or that the tax burden will be passed onto property taxes, which would increase costs for everyday New Yorkers. The funding would primarily go to social services, as Mamdani presented on Tuesday.
Here he is during a press conference yesterday:
Mamdani says if Hochul doesn't allow NYC to raise taxes on corporations and highest earners, he will raise property taxes on New York City homeowners. pic.twitter.com/Bm07LxS9OH
Mamdani said that Hochul and Albany should raise income taxes on those earning over $1 million a year and the “most profitable corporations.”
Mamdani, when asked about the prospect of raising property taxes, said that it should be a “last resort” and that the tax increases would have to be imposed on those who are the wealthiest in the city. The proposal, as a “last resort,” would be a raise of property taxes by 9.5 percent.
Without pursuing either of those two options, Mamdani said that the revenue gap would stay at around $4.7 billion.
Some facts:
The budget has a deficit this year of $3.5 billion.
He wants to spend another $1.2 billion.
The city has spent $3.75 billion on illegal aliens.
The total budget for New York is about $110-120 billion.
Property class
Typical use
2025–26 NYC tax rate (approx.)
Class 1
1–3 family homes, small residential
About 19.8% of assessed valuenyc+1
Class 2
Large residential, co-ops, condos
About 12.4–12.5% of assessed valuenyc+2
Class 3
Utility and special franchise property
About 11.1% of assessed valuenyc+2
Class 4
Commercial/industrial (offices, stores)
About 10.8–10.9% of assessed valuenyc
How your bill is actually calculated
For a given property in NYC, the tax bill is roughly:
Assessed value (after assessment rules, caps, and exemptions) × class tax rate = base tax.
Then NYC applies any exemptions or abatements (e.g., STAR, co‑op/condo abatements, senior/disabled homeowner exemptions) to reduce the bill.
Example: If a Class 1 home has an assessed value of 100,000 (not market value), the property tax before exemptions would be roughly 19,800 for the year at a 19.8% rate.
The Los Angeles Police Department shows there is some sanity in California.
And, speaking of California, they think they may have a solution when it comes to dealing with their budget deficits.
News
Here is some news:
Bill and Hillary Clinton have dropped their opposition and agreed to testify before the House Oversight Committee, which is investigating the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Every federal immigration officer on the ground in Minneapolis will now have a body camera following two recent fatal shootings of anti-ICE agitators.
Christopher Nolan is doing a movie about “The Odyssey,” Homer’s epic poem, and he has cast Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy — the face that launched a thousand ships, the most beautiful woman in the Greek world.
“It wasn’t well thought out,” Chief Jim McDonnell said in a press conference Friday.
“The reality of one armed agency approaching another armed agency to create conflict over something that would be a misdemeanor at best or an infraction, it doesn’t make any sense,” McDonnell added.
The law, known as the “No Secret Police Act,” mandates visible identification and permits violations to be cited as misdemeanors. Governor Gavin Newsom signed the bill into law, it took effect January 1st. The Trump administration has challenged the statute, arguing it interferes with federal operations.
The Department of Justice is challenging the “No Secret Police Act” saying it’s unconstitutional, and creates risks for agents, including harassment.
Exceptions to the law include masks permitted for undercover operations, medical reasons, or specific protective gear, such as tactical helmets.
With the state staring down a budget deficit in the billions and more Californians switching to electric vehicles, Democratic lawmakers are searching for new ways to shore up declining gas tax revenue.
Californians pay the second-highest gas price in the nation behind only Hawaii. In January, the average price was $4.23 per gallon, according to the American Automobile Association.
On Thursday, state legislators advanced Democrat Lori Wilson’s bill, AB 1421, which would direct the California Transportation Commission and the state Transportation Agency to continue studying options for a mileage-based tax, rather than implementing one.
Opponents of the proposal were out in force Saturday, with activists gathering at Cal Expo in Sacramento to collect signatures opposing a raft of new Democratic tax measures, including a potential mileage charge.
Under concepts outlined in the study, the tax could range from two to nine cents per mile. With California drivers logging roughly 11,400 miles a year on average, a mileage charge could cost motorists between $228 and $1,026 annually.
Beyond the price tag, critics warn that tracking drivers’ mileage could be both logistically complex and deeply invasive.
In its current form, the bill would commission a report examining equity concerns for low-income drivers who often travel longer distances in less fuel-efficient vehicles, analyze the potential impact of a weight-per-mile fee on commercial and electric vehicles, and outline regional and statewide options for implementing a road usage charge.
California has a $73 billion deficit according to the Hoover Institute.
(a) State funding for transportation comes mainly from six different fuel taxes and vehicle fees dedicated to specific purposes. These sources generated about $14,000,000,000 in the 2023–24 fiscal year.
(b) The gasoline excise tax is by far the largest of these charges. The tax is 57.9 cents per gallon and generated about $7,800,000,000 in fiscal year 2023–24.
(c) California relies on gasoline and diesel tax revenue to build and maintain its highways, public transit, and other transportation infrastructure, which is a problem in a state aggressively pushing a transition to electric vehicles (EVs).
(d) Since the passage of Senate Bill 1 (Chapter 5, Statutes of 2017), gas taxes have begun to lag, in large part due to Californians adopting lower emission vehicles. The state’s climate goals, including the switch to zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) and reductions in statewide per capita vehicle miles traveled for light-duty vehicles, are projected to reduce fuel tax revenues in the coming years.
(e) California’s gas revenues have steadily increased over the last decade as lawmakers hike tax rates, but that curve is projected to turn downwards as more drivers switch to EVs.
(f) Californians have purchased more than a million EVs in the last four years, according to the California Energy Commission. Those numbers will continue to increase as a result of the state’s mandate for all new car sales to be ZEVs by 2035.
(g) The Legislative Analyst’s Office projects revenues will decline by as much as $2,000,000,000 annually by 2030 and up to $4,000,000,000 annually by 2035. A study by the Mineta Transportation Institute estimated a reduction in revenues of between $4,800,000,000 and $12,100,000,000 by 2040.
(h) The California Transportation Commission projects that the state will collect $31,300,000,000 less in fuel excise tax revenue due to increased fuel efficiency and the proliferation of ZEVs over the next decade.
(i) Collectively, various states and the federal government have undertaken research and exploration of possible revenue mechanisms to supplement or replace the fuel excise tax.
(j) In 2014, the Legislature passed Senate Bill 1077 (Chapter 835, Statutes of 2014) which created the Road Usage Charge Technical Advisory Committee (RUC TAC). The RUC TAC was charged with the development and evaluation of an authorized pilot program to assess the potential for a mileage-based financing mechanism for California’s roads and highways as an alternative to the fuel excise tax system.
(k) In 2017, California completed the SB 1077 pilot program, which enrolled more than 5,000 vehicles that reported more than 37,000,000 miles over a nine-month period. Importantly, the collection of revenue was simulated in the pilot program through mock invoices and payments.
(l) The final pilot program report found further testing of the revenue collection processes should be the next step to undertake in order for California to evaluate revenue flows and identify challenges, efficiencies, and synergies for possible road user charge implementation.
(m) Presently, the state is analyzing the financial impacts of a road user charge on supercommuters, as well as additional engagement with rural communities and tribal nations to better inform constituencies on a road charge concept.
(n) The benefit of a road use charge is that it could be structured to provide gas tax relief to low-income drivers.
(o) Implementing a road use charge in a way that appeals to both low- and moderate-income households and urban and rural communities across the state’s diverse geography will require significant education, negotiation, and compromise.
The video, which the BBC said it has verified, captured the ICU nurse yelling at agents while they were driving away during a heated Jan. 13 protest before booting the back of the car, prompting them to jump out and tackle him to the ground, according to footage from the News Movement.
The man — who was wearing similar clothing in the video to what Pretti had on when he was fatally shot last Saturday — was taken to the ground by at least five agents, who deployed tear gas into the whistle-blowing crowd during the wild confrontation.
An unhinged Virginia nurse who encouraged medical professionals to drug ICE agents with paralytic meds was swiftly canned.
Malinda Cook, a nurse anesthetist at Virginia Commonwealth University Health, was fired by the hospital on Tuesday after she spewed the disturbing remarks in a spate of TikTok videos.
Cook, who was identified by local media, blasted out her so-called “sabotage” tactics as anti-ICE riots exploded across the country.
A COVID-era program that guzzled $5 million of taxpayer money annually to serve booze to homeless alcoholics will finally shutter this year, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie exclusively told The California Post.
“For years, San Francisco was spending $5 million a year to provide alcohol to people who were struggling with homelessness and addiction — it doesn’t make sense, and we’re ending it,” Lurie said.
The taxpayer tipple, called the Managed Alcohol Program (MAP), was created by the San Francisco Department of Public Health in April 2020, when the city began housing homeless people in hotels during lockdown.
The program served just 55 clients during its run — amounting to a $454,000 bar tab each.
To prevent chronic alcoholics from dangerous withdrawal while stores and bars were closed, clinicians brought metered doses of beer and liquor to clients.
But the scheme went on for six years, well after the pandemic ended.
California Governor Gavin Newsom’s $236 million program to help those with severe mental illness who bounce between homelessness and jail has helped a measly 22 people since the its launch in 2022, a new report reveals.
Newsom’s CARE Court was billed as a “completely new paradigm” to get the mentally ill off the streets and into treatment, with up to 12,000 people expected to benefit, the Daily Mail reported.
But only 22 people have been sent to treatment over the past four years, after a state analysis found that up to 50,000 could be eligible for the program.
The 22 court-ordered cases were among roughly 3,000 petitions filed statewide as of October. Of those, only 706 were approved, including 684 voluntary agreements that never intended the meet program’s goal, according to the Daily Mail.
