Politics
California lawmakers reject proposal to curb well-drilling where nearby wells could run dry
Over the past several years, California’s water managers have seen a pattern emerge in farming areas of the Central Valley: Even as declining groundwater levels have left thousands of residents with dry wells and caused the ground to sink, counties have continued granting permits for agricultural landowners to drill new wells and pump even more water.
A bill that was sponsored by the California Department of Water Resources sought to address these problems by prohibiting new high-capacity wells within a quarter-mile of a drinking water well or in areas where the land has been sinking because of overpumping.
Despite support from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration, the measure was narrowly rejected in the Senate last week after encountering opposition from the agriculture industry, business groups, local governments and water agencies.
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The opposing organizations — which included the California Chamber of Commerce, the California Farm Bureau Federation and more than 30 other groups representing growers and water suppliers — said the bill was “too restrictive and may impede ways to achieve groundwater sustainability.”
Kristopher Anderson, a legislative advocate for the Assn. of California Water Agencies, told a Senate committee that the legislation would impose unworkable mandates and be “a blanket one-size-fits-all moratorium on approval of new wells that will harm local economies while failing to address these issues.”
After a brief debate, members of the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee rejected the bill in a 5-4 vote.
Assemblymember Steve Bennett (D-Ventura), who introduced the bill, said it was intended to address a significant loophole in California’s groundwater law. The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, passed in 2014, created local agencies tasked with developing plans for curbing overpumping in many areas of the state, but left counties in charge of issuing permits for new wells.
That has led to a situation where there are “more straws going in while they’re trying to regulate the current straws,” he said.
In some rural communities, farmworkers and other residents have seen their wells run dry soon after growers drilled new wells to irrigate crops on nearby fields.
“Too many counties have been unwilling to protect the most vulnerable people’s wells because they don’t want to take on the most powerful people, who want to keep putting high-capacity wells in,” Bennett said. “We’ve been trying to get people to do something about it, and they refuse. It is the state’s responsibility to finally say, enough is enough.”
Parts of California have some of the fastest groundwater depletion rates in the world, and matters worsened during the last drought.
Scientists have also found that crops’ water demands are growing in the San Joaquin Valley because of rising temperatures driven by climate change, which is worsening the long-term water deficit.
In parts of the valley, falling water levels have caused the ground to sink at rates of more than half a foot per year. Land subsidence has required costly repairs of levees, canals and other infrastructure, with public agencies footing the bill.
“The counties that are approving the most high-capacity wells are the ones that have the most land subsidence in California,” Bennett said, referring to counties such as Tulare, Fresno and Kern. “It just does not make sense that we keep putting more — hundreds of new high-capacity wells — in areas that have significant land subsidence.”
Bennett has introduced similar legislation three times. He said the bill’s defeat this year means that “the status quo will reign,” allowing the drilling of more wells while land subsidence continues and water levels drop.
“A lot of families, particularly in the Central Valley, will have their wells go dry because we refused to take action,” he said.
The legislation was designed to bring permanent requirements similar to a 2022 temporary drought order issued by Newsom, which required counties and cities to secure verification from a local groundwater agency that permitting a new well wouldn’t be “inconsistent” with local plans. The order also called for agencies to issue a permit only after determining that additional pumping would not likely interfere with nearby wells or cause subsidence that would damage infrastructure.
In a recent report analyzing the effects of Newsom’s executive order, the Department of Water Resources said local agencies “took many approaches to gather relevant information on whether the issuance of a well permit could potentially interfere with nearby wells or contribute to land subsidence.”
But the report also concluded that the continued issuing of well permits in vulnerable areas, where other wells are at risk and the land has been sinking, indicate that in many respects the executive order “failed to achieve its goal.”
The report said residents in parts of Fresno, Madera and Tulare counties told state officials they’re concerned the drilling of more agricultural wells is putting their drinking water at risk, and that pumping for farms “has been prioritized over domestic well users.”
Drawing on the goals of the governor’s order, state officials decided to sponsor legislation that would give firm direction to local agencies.
The bill was supported by leaders of advocacy groups such as the Community Water Center and Clean Water Action, who argued in a letter that as the situation stands, local agencies responsible for managing groundwater have no power to stop new wells from being drilled, resulting in an “unregulated race to the bottom.”
Those who spoke in favor of the bill during the Senate hearing included Paul Gosselin, the Department of Water Resources’ deputy director of sustainable water management. He pointed out that more than 3,000 domestic wells have run dry throughout California since 2020, according to reports submitted to the state.
“Over the years, those rates of subsidence and dry wells,” he said, have been “ramping up to new historic levels.”
He noted that during flooding last year, the state was forced to spend millions of dollars raising the levee that protects the city of Corcoran because the ground has sunk dramatically.
“It’s not a hypothetical problem we have. It’s a real-world problem facing people,” Gosselin told the senators.
Gosselin called it a “drought resiliency bill” intended to complement the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. That law required local agencies in many areas to develop groundwater plans and curb overpumping by 2040.
There were several exemptions in the bill, such as allowing for the drilling of a replacement well, and easing the prohibition on drilling within a quarter-mile of a domestic well if there is a local ordinance aimed at preventing new wells from interfering with existing wells.
But that wasn’t enough to convince opponents. Fresno County supervisors called the bill an “attempt to fundamentally redirect groundwater management” from the original intent of the state’s law. A group of local agency managers called the California Groundwater Coalition said the proposal would add “burdensome requirements.”
Gosselin said the debate over the legislation brought a “good exchange of ideas.”
“The votes weren’t there to keep the bill going,” he said. “We’re hoping the dialogue and the issues that we raised in the legislation will continue.”
The Department of Water Resources is continuing to pursue other related efforts, including working with local agencies on drought plans and preparing a document outlining “best management practices” for curbing subsidence, he said.
Gosselin said state officials will continue to work with counties and local groundwater sustainability agencies to improve decisions on issuing permits for new wells to “hopefully avoid this continued cycle of increasing dry wells during drought periods.”
Experts shared differing opinions about the legislation.
“I think it’s critically important,” said Jay Famiglietti, a hydrologist and professor at Arizona State University’s School of Sustainability. Without this type of legislative change, he said, “it allows the continued drilling of deep wells that pump a tremendous amount of water.”
“So in addition to sustainability being at risk, we’ll see more and more shallower wells go dry,” Famiglietti said.
Behind the opposition to the bill, Famiglietti said there seems to be a “concerted effort” to drill more wells and delay restrictions. He called the opposition by the agriculture industry shortsighted.
“The state cannot achieve its sustainability goals without leadership from the agricultural industry,” he said. “We want food sustainability, and we need that water to grow food for generations to come.”
A pair of agricultural groups, the Community Alliance with Family Farmers and the California Climate and Agriculture Network, supported the bill.
Ruth Dahlquist-Willard, interim director of the University of California’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, said some sort of policy intervention is needed, but “this type of ‘one size fits all’ approach usually hurts small farms, who have fewer resources to adapt to new policies and go through additional regulatory hurdles.”
If a well goes dry on a small farm, under the bill that farm would be treated the same as a large corporation or a hedge fund when trying to replace the well, she said.
Dahlquist-Willard said she hopes if similar legislation is proposed again, it will include protections for small farms.
Politics
Police rush to SCOTUS justice’s home amid rising threats against conservatives — but report quickly unravels
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Police responded to a “swatting call” at the residence of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett in Virginia on Wednesday evening, police confirmed, marking the latest security scare involving a conservative public figure.
“Yesterday evening at approximately 9:02 p.m., officers responded to a swatting call at the residence of U.S. Supreme Court Justice in Fairfax County,” a Fairfax County Police Department public information officer told Fox News Digital on Thursday when asked about reports concerning the incident at Coney Barrett’s home.
Fairfax police responded to Barrett’s home after they received a call through the department’s non-emergency line, then met with the justice’s security detail, who confirmed the report was “fictitious,” the officer told Fox News Digital.
The incident comes amid years of heightened threats against Supreme Court justices, including protests outside conservative justices’ homes after the leaked Dobbs draft opinion in 2022 showing the court was poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, and the arrest near Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s home of a California man who was later charged with attempted murder.
FBI INVESTIGATING RISE IN SWATTING INCIDENTS AFTER SEVERAL CONSERVATIVES TARGETED, KASH PATEL SAYS
Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett was targeted in a swatting incident at home Wednesday evening. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
“Officers immediately coordinated with Supreme Court Police personnel assigned to the residence and quickly determined that the report was fictitious. No additional police resources were utilized,” the police department said.
Swatting calls target an individual by calling in a false police report for crimes — such as a murder, a hostage situation, bomb threats or active shooters that would require a greater law enforcement response — to the home of the target.
A partial audio recording of the police audio surfaced on X on Thursday that reported a “call came in for sounds of gunshots.” Law enforcement can be heard saying there was a “suspicious noise” at a 24-hour security coverage for a “high-priority resident” of the county.
FROM RALLY GUNFIRE TO WHITE HOUSE SHOOTING, THREATS AGAINST PRESIDENT TRUMP CONTINUE TO MOUNT
Barrett was on the bench Thursday morning alongside her colleagues, and read aloud summaries of two opinions she authored. Barrett made no mention of the Wednesday incident in her bench remarks.
“Swatting is an attempt to get an innocent person killed—in this case, a sitting Supreme Court Justice,” posted Republican Utah Sen, Mike Lee on X as reports of the incident surfaced Thursday. “The proper response will be putting the offender in prison for many, many years.”
Police officers watch abortion-rights advocates demonstrate outside Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s home in Chevy Chase, Md., on May 18, 2022. (Bonnie Cash/Getty Images)
MIKE DAVIS: THE SUPREME COURT BETRAYED AGAIN — THIS TIME FROM THE BENCH
The leaked Dobbs draft opinion became a lightning rod for protests, with abortion-rights activists demonstrating outside the homes of Barrett, Kavanaugh and other members of the court’s conservative majority.
In June 2022, Californian Nicholas John Roske was charged with attempted murder for making violent threats against Kavanaugh while carrying a gun, knife and pepper spray near the justice’s home. He was later sentenced to eight years behind bars.
Attacks on conservative leaders have been on the rise, most recently targeting the commander in chief, including just in April at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner.
Protesters gathered near the home of Justice Barrett. (Fox News)
There were two public assassination attempts on Trump’s life in 2024, beginning in Butler, Pennsylvania, where a bullet grazed his ear after a gunman climbed onto a roof during a rally on July 13, 2024.
Earlier this month, a California Army veteran known for his display of “Make America Great Again” memorabilia and American flags outside his residence, dubbed the “Trump House,” was attacked and beaten to death.
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Fox News Digital reached out to the Supreme Court for comment.
Fox News’ Bill Mears contributed to this report.
Politics
Bari Weiss shakes up ‘60 Minutes’ with a new executive producer; Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi exit
The venerable news magazine “60 Minutes” is undergoing a major overhaul under CBS News Editor in Chief Bari Weiss, who hired a new executive producer and ousted two correspondents.
Weiss announced Thursday the appointment of a new executive producer to replace Tanya Simon, a 26-year veteran of the program who took over the top job in July. She will be replaced by Nick Bilton, a former New York Times technology columnist and documentary filmmaker.
Weiss also fired “60 Minutes” correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi, who clashed with her boss over a segment on President Trump’s immigration policies, and Cecilia Vega, who joined the program in 2023.
Bilton will be the first executive producer in the 58-year history of “60 Minutes” to come from outside the tightly-knit organization. The program has only had four leaders in its history — Don Hewitt, Jeff Fager, Bill Owens and Simon — all of whom came up through the ranks of CBS News.
Weiss is said to have developed a solid relationship with Simon, whose late father Bob Simon was a highly respected correspondent for the program. But the connection apparently deteriorated after Weiss did not receive advance notice of Anderson Cooper’s sign-off from the program, ending his nearly 20-year run as a correspondent.
Cooper, who is also a full-time anchor at CNN, turned down a new “60 Minutes” deal from Weiss. During his final appearance, he expressed fears about the editorial independence of the program.
Tanya Simon is being replaced as executive producer of “60 Minutes.”
(Michele Crowe / CBS News)
“Things can always evolve and change, and I think that’s awesome, and things should evolve and change, but I hope the core of what ’60 Minutes’ is always remains,” Anderson told viewers. “I think the independence of ’60 Minutes’ has been critical.”
Speculation over changes at “60 Minutes,” the most-watched news program on television for 52 consecutive years, have been swirling for months since Paramount Chief Executive David Ellison installed Weiss to oversee editorial content at CBS News.
The program has been in turmoil since October 2024, when President Trump filed a $20-billion lawsuit against CBS over an interview conducted with then-Vice President Kamala Harris. That suit was settled to clear the regulatory path for Skydance Media’s acquisition of Paramount.
But from a business standpoint, “60 Minutes” is a curious target for a revamp. The program is one of the most profitable hours on the CBS prime-time schedule while retaining its status as television’s most prestigious journalism operation. While the ratings for “60 Minutes” get a boost from a lead-in from high-rated NFL late-afternoon games, it remains one of the few network shows that viewers make an appointment to watch.
The segment that doomed Alfonsi, “Inside CECOT,” detailed the Trump administration’s treatment of hundreds of Venezuelan migrants who were deported to an El Salvador prison known for its harsh conditions. The segment was scheduled to run Dec. 21 but was pulled the day before air by Weiss, who believed it needed more reporting, including a direct response from the administration, which did not participate.
Alfonsi, the “60 Minutes” correspondent who worked for months on the piece, protested the move by Weiss, calling it politically motivated in an email she sent to colleagues.
The story eventually ran on Jan. 18 without any substantial changes to its tone or reporting. Weiss acknowledged internally that pulling the segment after it had already been promoted was a mistake.
But Alfonsi said publicly that she fully expected to be let go from the program. Her contract ended with the recently concluded TV season.
Alfonsi first joined as a correspondent by CBS News in 2002. She left for ABC News in 2008 but returned to CBS in 2013 and joined the flagship edition of “60 Minutes” in 2015.
Politics
RFK Jr. responds to snake-handling critics with new video showing him wrangling a venomous rattlesnake
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Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. shared another snake-handling video Wednesday after social media users raised concerns over his earlier encounter with a pair of black racer snakes.
Kennedy Jr. posted an Instagram video captioned, “In response to the many comments about venomous snakes, this video shows how Cheryl and I handled a recent rattlesnake rescue.”
The clip begins with Kennedy Jr. sitting in his home office before someone alerts him to a snake in the driveway.
“Hold on, guys. I’ll be back in a flash,” he says before grabbing a bucket and a small net and heading outside.
RFK JR BAREHANDS A PAIR OF SNAKES ON DR. OZ’S PATIO IN WILD VIDEO
RFK Jr. wrangles a Western Diamondback rattlesnake during a rescue video shared to Instagram Wednesday. (Instagram/RFKJr.)
The HHS secretary then carefully scoops up the rattlesnake as onlookers react in amazement.
After placing the snake in a bucket, Kennedy Jr. later pins it behind the head and lifts it toward the camera while explaining how to identify the reptile.
“His fangs are in there. I don’t want to touch them,” he said. “This is a beautiful snake. This is a Western Diamondback. You can tell by these rings at the end of his tail.”
Kennedy Jr. then asked his wife, actress Cheryl Hines, to bring him a pillowcase before transporting and releasing the snake back into the wild.
ACTRESS CHERYL HINES CLASHES WITH ‘THE VIEW’ OVER HER HUSBAND RFK JR’S RECORD SERVING AMERICANS
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. proudly displays a pair of black North American racer snakes he caught on Dr. Oz’s patio. (Robert F. Kennedy Jr.)
The Instagram post appeared to respond directly to criticism and concern sparked by another snake video Kennedy Jr. shared Tuesday on X.
In that clip, Kennedy Jr. grabbed two black North American racer snakes with his bare hands while visiting Dr. Mehmet Oz’s patio as Hines watched in apparent horror.
“Honey, honey … why?” Hines yelled as Kennedy Jr. cornered the snakes.
Kennedy Jr. then lunged at the reptiles and eventually lifted both by their tails as they repeatedly bit his hands.
CHERYL HINES SHARES HARROWING EVACUATION FROM WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS’ DINNER AS GUNSHOTS RANG OUT
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cheryl Hines attend the 2026 White House Correspondents’ Dinner at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C., on April 25, 2026. (Taylor Hill/WireImage)
“Black snakes, they’re biting me,” Kennedy Jr. said with a smile.
The snakes continued striking at his hands as Hines pleaded, “Bobby, please! Bobby, Bobby, please,” before later telling him, “You are nuts.”
Kennedy Jr. later posted the video to X with the caption, “Cheryl cheerleads the removal of a pair of Black Racers from Dr Oz’s patio.”
According to the Florida Museum of Natural History, black racer snakes are nonvenomous and generally harmless to humans, though they will “readily bite to defend themselves.”
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The earlier video showed Kennedy Jr. handling nonvenomous snakes, while Wednesday’s Instagram clip focused on a venomous Western Diamondback rattlesnake, prompting some social media users to question whether the HHS secretary was taking unnecessary risks.
Fox News Digital’s Robert McGreevy contributed to this report.
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