West
CA lawmakers slam ‘ivory tower’ state energy ‘politburo’ as estimated 65-cent gas price hike looms
A top California Republican lambasted the prospect of a 65-cent-per-gallon hike in gas prices next month, accusing the state’s energy resources board of being wealthy and out of touch with the working class.
Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones of San Diego cited an analysis reported in the Ventura County Star that new regulations up for a vote Nov. 8 will lead to the near-two-thirds-of-a-dollar hike.
“A governor who lives in idyllic Marin County, a millionaire CARB executive officer, and a Democrat-exclusive board filled with wealthy politicians, former politicians, and academics have set themselves up as judge, jury, and executioner,” Jones said.
The Republican added it seems the board members are looking down from their “ivory tower” at the “struggling middle class and working poor.”
SUNUNU NAMES TWO GOVERNORS ALL THE OTHERS HATE
“Their ‘we know what’s best for you’ attitude is infuriating for hardworking Californians who are already scraping by just to fill their tanks at current prices, let alone after this new hike.”
CARB – the California Air Resources Board – itself reportedly estimated the hike would come out to be 47 cents.
The regulations include stricter limits on carbon intensity in fuel, the paper said.
California already has the highest combined (local-state-federal) gas tax in the nation, at 87 cents, followed by Pennsylvania and Illinois at about 78 cents, according to a 2020 analysis by the American Petroleum Institute.
Jones quipped that he isn’t sure whether it is “arrogance, ignorance or both that the CARB politburo seems to be operating under” in regard to a major jump in already-elevated gas prices.
TOP REPUBLICAN DEMANDS ANSWERS FROM NEWSOM, FEDS OVER WRONGFUL MEDICAID PAYMENTS TO CERTAIN CA IMMIGRANTS
The California state Capitol on March 13, 2024, in Sacramento. (Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for National Urban League)
Ten of the 16 members are “considerably wealthier” than the average Californian, and Chairman Steven Cliff, who was also a Biden NHTSA appointee, is a millionaire, according to public records cited by the lawmaker.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, who appointed several of the members of CARB’s board, was recently asked whether he will require CARB to disclose the true cost of the gas hike.
“You’re the boss,” a reporter said. “I’m not the dictator,” Newsom replied.
“I think you heard exactly what I said — I think it’s important to be transparent.”
Additionally, state Sen. Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh, R-San Bernardino, and Assemblyman Greg Wallis, R-Riverside, urged CARB chair Liane Randolph to postpone its Nov. 8 vote until costs can be officially calculated.
The lawmakers noted that Californians pay an average $1.50 more per gallon than the Lower 48 average.
Meanwhile, state Sen. Henry Stern, D-Malibu, has defended CARB. In one exchange, he told a critic that he sits as the Senate’s ex-officio appointee on the board, and that innovation and competition drive down costs.
“It’s wrong to assume there will be a downstream impact of oil’s compliance with LCFS (though they’ve spent millions propagandizing this warning). Electric vehicles used to be expensive. Now they’re mainstream. Renewable diesel used to be pricey. Now it’s competing with petroleum diesel. That’s why they really want to end LCFS and the regulators who enforce it,” Stern wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Stern recently told KCRA that CARB is “not necessarily good at communicating this to the public. And that’s where folks like me come in and cut through it a bit.”
Amid the back-and-forth, two major oil companies reportedly may be closing refineries in California.
Traffic on southbound Interstate 5 slows during the afternoon commute heading into downtown San Diego on June 28, 2024. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
Last week, Phillips66 announced it would shutter a refinery in Los Angeles, according to OilPrice.com. Now, Valero is reportedly citing regulatory pressures from the Golden State government and leaving “all options on the table,” according to the energy news site.
The frustration with CARB’s work extends beyond Republican circles. Democratic Assembly member Wendy Carrillo of Los Angeles sharply criticized the board for its lack of transparency, echoing concerns raised by an NBC reporter who was repeatedly denied interview requests.
“When I chaired the Assembly Budget Committee on State Administration, one of my biggest frustrations were [agencies] and departments asking for funding but weren’t prepared [with] data and lacked transparency at public hearings – a direct result of laws ceding legislative oversight to administration,” Carrillo said.
CARB did not respond to a request for comment.
Read the full article from Here
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A federal appeals court on Friday struck down California’s ban on openly carrying guns across most of the state.
In a 2–1 decision, the San Francisco-based Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled California’s ban on open carry in counties with more than 200,000 people — covering roughly 95% of the state’s population — violates the Second Amendment, according to Reuters.
U.S. Circuit Judge Lawrence VanDyke, writing for the majority, said the ban conflicts with the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, which requires gun regulations to be consistent with the nation’s “historical tradition of firearm regulation,” Reuters reported.
NRA SUES CALIFORNIA OVER BAN ON GLOCK-STYLE FIREARMS: ‘VIOLATES THE SECOND AMENDMENT’
U.S. Circuit Judge Lawrence VanDyke appears in a video released by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals March 20, 2025. (9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals/Handout via Reuters)
“The historical record makes unmistakably plain that open carry is part of this Nation’s history and tradition,” VanDyke wrote. “It was clearly protected at the time of the founding and at the time of the adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment.”
VanDyke also noted that California previously allowed residents to openly carry holstered handguns for self-defense without penalty until 2012.
CALIFORNIA’S CRACKDOWN ON ‘LESS-LETHAL’ WEAPONS SPARKS 2A LAWSUIT TARGETING NEWSOM ADMINISTRATION
A pistol is concealed in a belt. (iStock)
“That changed only when California enacted its urban open-carry ban barely over a decade ago in 2012,” he said. “In doing so, California joined a tiny minority of states to have adopted such severe restrictions on open carry.”
The decision overturned part of a 2023 ruling by a lower court that had dismissed a lawsuit filed in 2019 by gun owner Mark Baird, while rejecting his challenge to open-carry licensing in smaller counties, according to Reuters.
FEDERAL APPEALS COURT RULES CALIFORNIA AMMUNITION BACKGROUND CHECKS UNCONSTITUTIONAL
A retail store in San Ramon, Calif., July 21, 2019. (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
In October, the National Rifle Association (NRA) and other gun groups said they were suing California over the state’s ban on Glock-style guns with features known as switches that allow them to be converted to fully automatic weapons.
The NRA was joined by the Firearms Policy Coalition, Second Amendment Foundation, Poway Weapons & Gear, and two NRA members in challenging the state’s ban.
Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion contributed to this report.
Read the full article from Here
San Francisco, CA
Philadelphia Eagles to play San Francisco 49ers in NFL playoffs. Here’s what you need to know.
The Philadelphia Eagles will begin the playoffs against the San Francisco 49ers in the wild-card round next weekend at Lincoln Financial Field.
The Birds (No. 3 seed) had a chance to earn the No. 2 seed with a win, but lost to the Washington Commanders in the regular season finale.
Here’s what you need to know about the matchup vs. the 49ers and more.
Which day will the Eagles and 49ers play?
The date and time of the wild-card round matchup between the Eagles and 49ers have yet to be announced, but playoff games are scheduled for Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
Two games will take place Saturday, three will happen Sunday and the final first-round matchup will be on Monday night.
Eagles and 49ers postseason history
The Eagles and 49ers have only met twice in postseason history, most recently in the NFC championship game in the 2022 season.
The Eagles won that game, 31-7, before falling to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII. In that game, the 49ers were decimated at quarterback as Brock Purdy and Josh Johnson suffered injuries.
After Johnson exited, Purdy returned to the game in the third quarter, but he was unable to throw the football beyond a few yards. The injuries to San Francisco’s quarterbacks led to the NFL approving a rule change that allows teams to play an emergency quarterback if the starter and backup are injured.
The Eagles are 1-1 vs. San Francisco all-time in the playoffs. Philadelphia’s loss to the 49ers in the playoffs happened in the wild-card round in 1996.
The title game in the 2022 season between the Eagles and 49ers started a rivalry that boiled over into 2023.
In 2023, the 49ers traveled to Lincoln Financial Field in Week 13 and dominated the Eagles, 42-19. The loss started the infamous collapse for the Eagles to end the season as the Birds lost six of the final seven games, including the playoff exit vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The loss to the Niners in the 2023 season also featured Eagles security chief Dom DiSandro and then-49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw being ejected from the game after a scuffle on the sideline.
The Eagles and 49ers haven’t played each other since the 2023 season.
How the Eagles and 49ers got here
The Eagles went 11-6 in the 2025 season and won the NFC East for the second consecutive year, which ended a 20-year stretch of the division not having a repeat winner.
The Niners had a chance to earn the No. 1 seed, but fell to the Seattle Seahawks Saturday night. The 49ers finished the year with a 12-5 record to earn the No. 6 seed.
DENVER — The Broncos have checked off their second goal of the season.
Denver officially clinched the AFC’s No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs with Sunday’s 19-3 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
As the top seed, the Broncos will receive a first-round bye in the 2025 playoffs and will host their first playoff game of the year in the Divisional Round on Saturday, Jan. 17 or Sunday, Jan. 18 at Empower Field at Mile High.
The Broncos, the lone team in the AFC to receive a first-round bye, will host the lowest remaining seed in the AFC playoff field in the Divisional Round. Denver’s possible opponents for its playoff opener include the Texans, Bills, Chargers and the yet-to-be-determined winner of the AFC North. If the Broncos earn a win in the Divisional Round, they would also host the AFC Championship Game.
Denver finished the 2025 regular season with a 14-3 mark, which is tied for the most regular-season wins in franchise history. The Broncos earned the No. 1 seed over the Patriots (14-3) due to a better record in games against common opponents.
The Broncos are the No. 1 seed in the AFC for the first time since 2015, when they went on to win Super Bowl 50. Denver has earned the No. 1 seed for an AFC-best ninth time, and two of the Broncos’ three Super Bowl titles have come after earning the No. 1 seed. The Broncos advanced to the Super Bowl in six of the eight previous seasons in which Denver earned the top seed in the conference.
Broncos Head Coach Sean Payton has now led teams to the No. 1 seed on three occasions in his career, and he is one of five coaches to lead two different organizations to a No. 1 seed.
Bo Nix, meanwhile, became the fourth quarterback in franchise history to lead the organization to a No. 1 seed — joining Ring of Famers John Elway, Peyton Manning and Craig Morton.
Learn more about playoff tickets and suites by visiting DenverBroncos.com/Tickets
Cuba says 32 Cuban fighters killed in US raids on Venezuela
US appeals court strikes down California’s open-carry ban in major Second Amendment ruling
Police seek suspect after dentist and wife found shot dead at home while 2 young children are unharmed
Texas requires students learn about ‘perils of communism’ in sweeping new curriculum overhaul
Redistricting battles brewing across the country as parties compete for power ahead of 2026 midterms
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Video: ‘It Didn’t Have to Happen This Way:’ U.Va. Faculty Call for Review of Police Response to Protests
Cuba says 32 Cuban fighters killed in US raids on Venezuela
Dan Bongino officially leaves FBI deputy director role after less than a year, returns to ‘civilian life’
Hundreds march in silence to honour Crans-Montana fire victims
Here’s a partial list of U.S. elected officials opposing Trump’s invasion of Venezuela
Crans Montana organises solemn march for the victims • FRANCE 24 English
-
World1 week agoHamas builds new terror regime in Gaza, recruiting teens amid problematic election
-
Indianapolis, IN1 week agoIndianapolis Colts playoffs: Updated elimination scenario, AFC standings, playoff picture for Week 17
-
Business1 week agoGoogle is at last letting users swap out embarrassing Gmail addresses without losing their data
-
Southeast1 week agoTwo attorneys vanish during Florida fishing trip as ‘heartbroken’ wife pleads for help finding them
-
World1 week agoSnoop Dogg, Lainey Wilson, Huntr/x and Andrea Bocelli Deliver Christmas-Themed Halftime Show for Netflix’s NFL Lions-Vikings Telecast
-
Politics1 week agoMost shocking examples of Chinese espionage uncovered by the US this year: ‘Just the tip of the iceberg’
-
News1 week agoRoads could remain slick, icy Saturday morning in Philadelphia area, tracking another storm on the way
-
World1 week agoPodcast: The 2025 EU-US relationship explained simply