California

Another $100 billion needed to complete California's bullet train project

Published

2 years ago

March 15, 2024

Another 0 billion needed to complete California's bullet train project

LOS ANGELES — When California’s “bullet train” was pitched to voters back in 2008, the cost of linking Los Angeles to San Francisco via high-speed rail was said to be about $40 billion.

But now, more than 15 years later, state officials say it’s going to cost as much as $35 billion just to complete the 171-mile stretch between Bakersfield and Merced. Completing the entire line will require an additional $100 billion.

“It’s never going to get built,” Republican State Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones said. “It’s never going to come to San Diego. It’s never going to come to L.A., and it’s always going to be $100 billion away.”

Jones has been a fierce opponent of the high-speed rail project. He’s been pushing for California to pull the plug on the project and end it.

“Spending $100 billion more does not justify the original $18 billion that we’ve wasted on this,” he said.

The latest bullet train update came earlier this week at a California State Senate High-Speed Rail Authority hearing. The authority’s CEO Brian Kelly said he’s looking to the federal government for more funding, as well as from private industry, but insists the project is still viable.

“The only way you get the public [to support the project] is by performing better, and I think the authority is performing better today than it was and I think it will going forward,” Kelly said in the hearing.

Opponents though say the project has been sucking too much money away from issues that are more important to California taxpayers, like education, housing and mental health.

But Jones does say bullet trains can have a future in California, pointing to the Brightline West project that aims to connect Las Vegas to Los Angeles with a two-hour train ride. Speeds on that route are expected to hit up to 200 mph.

The difference between that project and the state’s high-speed rail, Jones says, is that private companies and investors are driving the Brightline West line, with considerably less dependence on taxpayer funding.

“When you put projects like this in a private enterprise… you get efficiency and you get proper planning,” he said.

But even the Brightline project has gotten $3 billion in federal funds, and the company’s founder recently told the Los Angeles Times that roundtrip tickets will eventually cost more than $400.

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California

California toddler falls out of moving car, mother charged

Published

8 hours ago

January 27, 2026

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California toddler falls out of moving car, mother charged

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A California mother was arrested on felony child abuse charges after a viral video showed her 19-month-old child falling from a moving SUV at a busy Fullerton intersection, police said Monday.

The Fullerton Police Department said it became aware of the video, which shows a black SUV turning at an intersection when a passenger-side door suddenly opens. A small child then falls out of the vehicle and onto the roadway.

The SUV immediately stops, and a car following behind narrowly avoids colliding with it. The car stops just short of the child on the roadway.

The video shows an adult woman running from the driver’s side, picking up the child and placing the toddler back inside the SUV before driving away.

MAN RUNS INTO FLORIDA STREET TO SAVE TWO YOUNG CHILDREN WHO WANDERED AWAY FROM RENTAL HOME

A black SUV turns at an intersection when a passenger-side door suddenly opens and a small child falls out of the vehicle and onto the roadway. (Fullerton Police Department)

A witness called police on Saturday and provided identifying information about the vehicle. Officers traced the SUV to a home in La Habra, where they located the vehicle, the child and a suspect believed to be the woman seen in the video.

A car following the SUV narrowly avoided hitting the child and SUV. (Fullerton Police Department)

Police identified the child as a 19-month-old who suffered injuries consistent with the fall. The toddler was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment and is expected to make a full recovery.

FLORIDA DEPUTIES RACE TO SAVE 4-YEAR-OLD WHO STOPPED BREATHING AND HAD NO PULSE ON INTERSTATE, VIDEO SHOWS

The suspect was identified as Jacqueline Hernandez, 35, of La Habra, and the child’s mother. She was arrested and booked into the Fullerton City Jail for felony child abuse, police said.

The child’s mother, identified as Jacqueline Hernandez, 35, of La Habra, picks the child up from the road. Hernandez was later arrested and charged with felony child abuse, police said. (Fullerton Police Department)

Neighbors told FOX11 Los Angeles that the family has several children and could not believe the mother would put her children in such a dangerous situation.

“I can’t excuse something like that, I’m sorry,” a neighbor who wished to remain anonymous told the local station.

Investigators believe the incident occurred between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. on Jan. 20. Police said they did not receive any emergency calls related to the incident at the time.

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The investigation remains ongoing, and police are asking anyone with additional information to contact the Fullerton Police Department’s Sensitive Crimes Unit.

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California

California gubernatorial candidates outline their priorities at UCSF event

Published

20 hours ago

January 26, 2026

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California gubernatorial candidates outline their priorities at UCSF event

Several of the candidates vying to become California’s next governor gathered Monday at the University of California, San Francisco to make their case to voters.

Seven Democrats took the stage at UCSF to outline their priorities for their first 100 days in office. Republican candidates were invited but declined to participate.

On June 2, California voters will narrow the field to two candidates in an open primary. Those two will then face off on Nov. 3.

NBC Bay Area’s Velena Jones has more in the video report above.

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California

California joins UN health network following US departure from WHO

Published

4 days ago

January 23, 2026

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California joins UN health network following US departure from WHO

Jan 23 (Reuters) – California said on Friday it will become the first U.S. state to join the World Health Organization’s global outbreak response network following the Trump administration’s decision to pull Washington out of the WHO.

The network, comprised of more than 360 technical institutions, responds to public health events with the deployment of staff and resources to affected countries.

It has tackled major public health events, including COVID-19.

The state’s decision to join the network comes more than a year after U.S. President Donald Trump gave notice that Washington would depart from the WHO. On Thursday, it officially withdrew from the agency, saying its decision reflected failures in the U.N. health agency’s management of the pandemic.

California Governor Gavin Newsom decried the United States’ move on Friday, calling it a “reckless decision” that will hurt many people.

“California will not bear witness to the chaos this decision will bring,” Newsom said in a statement. “We will continue to foster partnerships across the globe and remain at the forefront of public health preparedness, including through our membership as the only state in WHO’s Global Outbreak Alert & Response Network.”

The governor’s office said he met with the WHO’s Director General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week, where they discussed collaborating to detect and respond to emerging public health threats.

The WHO did not immediately respond when reached for comment.

Reporting by Jasper Ward in Washington
Editing by Rod Nickel

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