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Newsom lifts drought declaration for most Californians, yet measures remain in some areas

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Newsom lifts drought declaration for most Californians, yet measures remain in some areas

Following two wet winters that boosted California’s water supplies, Gov. Gavin Newsom has officially lifted a drought emergency declaration in 19 counties that are home to 70% of the state’s population.

The decision will roll back certain drought-related state authorities in counties including Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Orange and Riverside, among others.

At the same time, Newsom decided to keep the drought state of emergency in effect in 39 counties where state officials say significant effects of the severe 2020-22 drought have persisted, including depleted groundwater supplies and threats to native fish.

These 39 counties include regions across the Central Valley and in the watersheds of the Scott, Shasta and Klamath rivers, among other areas.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a visit to the San Diego Zoo in August.

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(Derrick Tuskan / Associated Press)

Newsom referred to this week’s extreme heat wave as he explained why his administration is retaining certain drought authorities in parts of the state.

“As this week’s weather makes clear, California and the West experience extreme weather swings that exacerbate our water challenges and make it more important than ever that we build a climate-resilient water system,” Newsom said. “This targeted action is responsive to current conditions while continuing the tools and support for work underway to help future-proof water supplies in the most impacted communities.”

State officials said Newsom’s order responds to the improved conditions in parts of the state while continuing efforts to support drought recovery. They said where certain drought measures remain in place, they will help the state address continued impacts to local water supplies.

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“We continue to help local communities recover from drought conditions,” said Wade Crowfoot, California’s natural resources secretary. “In some cases, the powers that we have under these orders are quite helpful to support local communities recovering.”

The measures that will remain in place in 39 counties include suspending environmental requirements for certain groundwater recharge projects, giving the state natural resources secretary the authority to suspend environmental requirements for conservation projects and allowing the Office of Emergency Services to continue providing disaster assistance funding. State agencies will also continue to have the authority to adopt emergency regulations to require minimum flows in the Klamath River and Clear Lake watersheds to protect salmon and other fish.

“We know that our water extremes are getting more extreme. Our dry periods are becoming drier. Our wetter periods are becoming wetter,” Crowfoot said. “So business as usual is no longer an option. That is in part why we’re maintaining some of these provisions, to enable us to move more quickly to allow communities to recover from these impacts, but also to prepare for what will be worsening droughts and floods over time.”

California suffered through the state’s driest three-year period on record from 2020 through 2022.

Newsom declared a statewide drought emergency in October 2021 and called for Californians to voluntarily reduce water use 15%.

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The drought ended dramatically in early 2023 as one of the wettest winters on record unleashed flooding and blanketed the Sierra Nevada in heavy snow.

In March 2023, following that series of storms, Newsom rolled back some of the most stringent drought measures, including an order that had required urban suppliers to activate conservation plans for a shortage of 20%.

The termination of the drought emergency in 19 counties ended provisions that had enabled emergency conservation measures, suspended restrictions on water diversions during storms for groundwater recharge, and suspended requirements of state contracting laws, among other things.

In addition to lifting the drought measures, the governor rescinded provisions of prior executive orders that were aimed at recovery efforts following the flooding in 2023.

During the last two wet years, the governor’s drought executive order effectively became a “drought-flood” executive order, enabling expanded efforts to capture floodwaters and address damage, said Karla Nemeth, director of the state Department of Water Resources. She said it’s now the drought provisions that have a “long tail” and are still needed in parts of the state.

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“Even if there isn’t a hydrologic drought, we still have the supply challenges,” Nemeth said.

In the coming decades, climate change is projected to shrink the amount of water California can deliver in an average year. The Newsom administration’s long-term water plans call for California to prepare for an estimated 10% decrease in the state’s water supply by 2040.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor website, about 41% of the state is currently classified as being abnormally dry or in a moderate drought. The unusually dry regions include large portions of Northern California and the southeastern corner of the state.

“We have full reservoirs. That’s a really good thing. But we also have dry conditions on the horizon. We’ve had really high temperatures this summer that are kind of reminiscent of the summer of 2020,” at the beginning of the last drought, Nemeth said. “So at the onset of yet another year that may provide a degree of extremes, we know we continue to have these counties that we consider to be kind of drought hot spots still because of supply problems, and we’re ready to address those issues as they arise.”

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Judge orders deportation of 'migrant influencer' who bragged about handouts, encouraged squatting: report

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Judge orders deportation of 'migrant influencer' who bragged about handouts, encouraged squatting: report

The illegal migrant from Venezuela who went viral on social media for mocking America and encouraging squatting has been ordered to leave the U.S., according to an exclusive report by the New York Post.

Homeland Security sources told the Post that an Ohio-based judge ordered Leonel Moreno, 27, to be deported from the country on September 9.

Moreno was initially arrested in March for not showing up to required check-ins with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He had illegally crossed into Eagle Pass, Texas, on April 23, 2022.

Whether or not Moreno will actually be deported is up in the air, according to the Post. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s administration recently stopped accepting flights of migrants, complicating the deportation process.

VENEZUELAN ‘MIGRANT INFLUENCER’ WHO ENCOURAGED SQUATTING UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR GUN CHARGES: REPORT

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Leonel Moreno was reportedly ordered to be deported earlier in September. (@Leitooficial_26/Instagram / iStock)

Moreno became infamous earlier in 2024 because of his inflammatory TikTok videos. In one clip, he flaunted a stack of cash and bragged about not working. He also also made fun of migrants who work in landscaping, construction and cleaning.

“I didn’t cross the Rio Grande to work like a slave,” Moreno reportedly said in Spanish. “I came to the U.S. to mark my territory.”

Moreno also claimed that he made $1,000 a week on TikTok, in addition to his family being given $350 a week in government handouts. He also encouraged fellow migrants to squat in abandoned homes, according to TikTok screenshots.

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Split images of Moreno's TikTok

Leonel Moreno speaks to his followers in a combination of still images taken from video. (@Leitooficial_26/Instagram)

After his TikTok account – which amassed over half a million followers – was removed earlier this year, Moreno bragged about the amount of money he earned on Facebook and Instagram.

“Yes, they closed my TikTok account, but I keep earning on Facebook and on Instagram,” the migrant reportedly said in Spanish. “I won’t earn the same, but I am going to get my TikTok account back. I am going to keep earning money.”

Moreno speaking to camera

Venezuelan TikToker Leonel Moreno urged illegal immigrants to take over abandoned homes and invoke squatters’ rights. (TikTok/Screenshot/Leonel Moreno)

Fox News Digital reached out to ICE for additional information.

Fox News Digital’s Stepheny Price contributed to this report.

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Video: Video Shows Arrest of Suspect in Trump Assassination Attempt

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Video: Video Shows Arrest of Suspect in Trump Assassination Attempt

new video loaded: Video Shows Arrest of Suspect in Trump Assassination Attempt

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Video Shows Arrest of Suspect in Trump Assassination Attempt

The Martin County Sheriff’s Office released body camera footage of the arrest of Ryan Wesley Routh, the man suspected of trying to kill the former president at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla.

“Driver, take two steps to your right. Take two steps to your right.” “Come back.” “Driver — walk straight back. Keep walking.”

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Michigan Republicans continue to spar with Dems over deal with Chinese EV company in key House race

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Michigan Republicans continue to spar with Dems over deal with Chinese EV company in key House race

The race for Michigan’s 7th Congressional District is generating national attention as Republicans attempt to tie their Democratic opponent to a controversial deal with a Chinese Communist Party-backed company.

Michigan Republicans are calling on former Democratic State Sen. Curtis Hertel, who is currently running to represent Michigan’s 7th Congressional District, to break his silence on a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) he signed in order to obtain details on controversial plans to use taxpayer funds to help build an electric vehicle battery plant in west Michigan owned by a company with ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

The plant, which was announced by Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in October 2022, was set to get millions in incentives as part of a deal with Michigan lawmakers and Green Charter Township, with promises of bringing over 2,000 jobs to the area.

But the project quickly drew the ire of local voters, in large part due to the company behind the plant, Gotion Inc., being a subsidiary of Gotion High-Tech, which has strong ties to the Chinese Communist Party. 

CCP-BACKED TECH COMPANIES ARE POISED TO CASH IN ON BIDEN’S CLIMATE BILL, NATIONAL SECURITY EXPERTS WARN

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Two former Michigan state Senators: Republican Tom Barrett, left, and Democrat Curtis Hertel Jr., right, are running to represent Michigans 7th Congressional District. (AP Photo/File)

Last fall, local voters ousted five of the seven township board members over their support of the project, while the other two members resigned.

That controversy has now bled over into the race for Michigan’s 7th Congressional District, one of the few true toss-up House races in the state, thanks to Hertel being one of several lawmakers from both parties to sign the NDA with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation that allowed them to learn about and negotiate details on the proposed plans for the plant.

Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin, who is vacating her seat in Michigan’s 7th District to pursue a run for U.S. Senate, recently spoke out against the Gotion deal, further intensifying calls on Hertel to do the same.

“To me, until there’s a national security vetting, I don’t love the idea of moving forward on any project or any sale of farmland” to a Chinese entity, Slotkin told reporters at a campaign event earlier this month. “I believe that we need to not just think about economic [aspects], but also about the national security implications of Chinese-affiliated companies.”

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Michigan congresswoman Elissa Slotkin

Rep. Elissa Slotkin. (Getty Images)

BIDEN ADMIN GREEN-LIGHTS CHINESE EV BATTERY FACTORY IN MICHIGAN, DESPITE LOCAL OPPOSITION

“Hertel must answer whether or not he agrees with his comrade pal Elissa Slotkin, and if he regrets signing the NDA to sell out Michigan taxpayers to the CCP,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokesperson Mike Marinella.

The controversy over the plant has also garnered attention in the presidential race, with former President Donald Trump saying on Truth social last month that he is “100% OPPOSED” to the plant, adding that Gotion “would put Michiganders under the thumb of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing.”

Meanwhile, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, highlighted the controversy during a campaign stop in Michigan last week.

“I think the most important thing is we have to stop paying Chinese manufacturers to manufacture, whether it’s here or overseas,” Vance told reporters in Michigan after his speech. “We want to build an American manufacturing industry and an American middle class. If we want to pursue these policies, let’s do them for Americans and American businesses.”

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JD Vance closeup photo at podium

Republican vice presidential candidate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) speaks at NMC-Wollard Inc. / Wollard International on August 07, 2024 in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. (Adam Bettcher/Getty Images)

But questions over Hertel’s involvement in the project continue to be the focus of Michigan Republicans, most notably after it was reported last year that Hertel was on of several Democratic lawmakers in the state to receive funds from a Political Action Committee (PAC) linked to the law office of Warner Norcross + Judd, a firm acting as a foreign agent to represent Gotion.

According to a Fox News report last September, the firm’s PAC donated $2,400 to the state campaign for Hertel, who represented Michigan’s 23rd State Senate district from 2015 until January.

One lawmaker who did not sign an NDA related to the project is former Republican State Sen. Tom Barrett, Hertel’s opponent in the race for Michigan’s 7th Congressional District. Barrett has also seized on the controversy, arguing Hertel owes people an explanation for his involvement with the project.

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“Curtis Hertel, a 22-year career politician, owes the people of Mid-Michigan an explanation as to why he signed a secret NDA to give $175 million of their tax dollars to a CCP-backed company,” Barrett told Fox News Digital. “The fact that he took money from foreign agents on behalf of Gotion should disqualify him from Congress.”

Reached for comment by Fox News Digital, Hertel campaign communications director Sam Kwait-Spitzer dismissed the claims by Republicans as a “false attack.”

“Curtis signed no NDA with Gotion, and Tom Barrett is trying to cover for his own record of voting against 5,000 good-paying manufacturing jobs here in Mid-Michigan and trying to cede the future of the auto industry to China,” he said.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

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