California
California Gov. Newsom signs law to prevent gas prices from spiking in state with country’s highest pump costs

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law Monday aimed at preventing gas prices from spiking, marking the Democrat’s latest move in a battle with the oil industry over energy prices and the impacts of climate change.
Californians pay the highest rates at the pump in the U.S. due to taxes and environmental regulations. The average price for regular unleaded gas in the state was about $4.68 per gallon as of Monday, compared to the national average of $3.20, according to AAA.
The new legislation was inspired by findings from the state’s Division of Petroleum Market Oversight that showed that gas price spikes are largely caused by increases in global crude oil prices and unplanned refinery outages. The law gives energy regulators the authority to require that refineries keep a certain amount of fuel on hand. The goal is to try to keep prices from increasing suddenly when refineries go offline for maintenance. Proponents say it would save Californians billions of dollars at the pump.
Newsom joined lawmakers at the state Capitol to sign the law and criticized the oil industry for its efforts to keep the legislation from passing.
“They continue to lie, and they continue to manipulate,” he said. “They have been raking in unprecedented profits because they can.”
Newsom signed the measure just weeks ahead of the November election, but he said the legislation was not about politics. He has two years remaining in his second term.
Opponents of the law have said it could unintentionally raise overall gas prices and threaten the safety of workers by giving the state more oversight over refinery maintenance schedules. Some argued delaying necessary maintenance could lead to accidents.
“Legislators still fail to understand our industry or what drives high gas prices,” said Catherine Reheis-Boyd, president of the Western States Petroleum Association, in a statement. “Regulators remain fixated on controlling businesses with more taxes, fees, and costly demands.”
Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher made a motion for lawmakers to adjourn before the Assembly voted to send the bill to Newsom’s desk Monday. Republicans introduced proposals of their own aimed at lowering gas prices, but they were blocked in the Democrat-dominated Legislature. One of the bills that failed to advance would have exempted transportation fuels from the state’s cap and trade program.
Newsom unveiled the legislation in August, during the last week of the regular legislative session. But lawmakers in the state Assembly said they needed more time to consider it. The governor called the Legislature into a special session to pass it.
Newsom also called lawmakers into a special session in 2022 to pass legislation aimed at penalizing oil companies for making too much money.
State Senate President Pro Tempore Mike McGuire said the new law is just one part of the state’s efforts to help lower the cost of living for Californians.
“This bill sets the stage to ease gas price spikes and provide additional certainty through enhanced storage and oversight,” he said. “I firmly believe Californians are tired of the price spikes.”

California
FBI agent posing as 12-year-old girl ensnares alleged pedophile in California

A 41-year-old Ventura man is facing the possibility of life in prison after he sent a federal agent posing as both a dad and a daughter sexually explicit photos, authorities announced earlier this week.
Trevor Lyons began speaking to the undercover agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in August 2024 on the Kik messaging app. At the time, the agent was posing as the father of a 12-year-old girl who used the name “UC Dad,” the L.A. Times reported.
According to the indictment, Lyons responded, “Oooof. A tad young but do you have pics?” when the undercover officer gave him the age of his fictitious daughter.
Federal officials also said Lyons told UC Dad that he wanted to talk to the young girl, saying, “I’d love to see how much of a freak she is.”
The 41-year-old then offered photos of his own 17-year-old daughter from when she was 15 years old and continued to have sexually explicit conversations with UC Dad that month on Telegram.
In September 2024, Lyons added what he thought was UC Dad’s 12-year-old girl as a friend on Discord, telling her that he was 40 and asking if she had ever seen a penis before, the indictment details. As the conversations continued to escalate, investigators say he asked UC Dad’s daughter if she had ever performed oral sex and offered to teach her how before sending an explicit photo and video with a request that she perform it on him.
Law enforcement seized various electronics from Lyons in December 2024, including an iPhone 16, an iPad and a Samsung Galaxy flip phone.
In the indictment, filed in August this year, investigators allege Lyons had a yearslong history of distributing child pornography along with accusations that in May 2020, he coerced a minor to engage in sexually explicit acts for photographs that would be distributed as child sexual abuse materials.
The 41-year-old, according to federal investigators, went by several usernames online, including Defi Samurai, Carly and Herbdoc.
He was arrested Oct. 20 after a federal grand jury charged him in a nine-count felony indictment with sexual exploitation, attempted sexual exploitation of a child for the purpose of producing sexually explicit visual depiction, attempted enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity and distribution of child pornography, according to the FBI.
“If convicted on all charges, Lyons faces a statutory maximum sentence of life in prison,” federal officials said.
California
Pedestrian killed by big rig in hit-and-run on I-5 in Yolo County, CHP says

A man died Tuesday night after being struck by a big rig while running along southbound Interstate 5 northwest of Woodland in California’s Yolo County, officials said.
The California Highway Patrol’s Woodland division said it happened around 8 p.m. near the Interstate 505 interchange, between Dunnigan and Zamora. Crews were already responding to a nearby medical call and were able to arrive quickly, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
Witnesses told officers that an all-white big rig initially slowed down after the crash but then continued driving south on I-5 toward Sacramento. The CHP says the truck likely has damage to its front left corner.
The CHP Woodland is asking anyone who may have seen the crash or has information about the truck or its driver to contact their office.
Traffic in the area was not affected.
California
Motorcycle rider sent over guardrail in fatal Southern California crash

California Highway Patrol (CHP) investigators are trying to determine what led up to a fatal motorcycle crash in Corona over the weekend.
The collision occurred as the vehicles were traveling in opposite directions near a sharp turn on Cajalco Road just east of Eagle Canyon Road around 8:45 p.m. Sunday.
Arriving officers found the motorcycle down in the roadway near a car with front-end damage and a smashed windshield.
The unidentified motorcycle rider was sent over the railing as a result of the crash and was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics, news video service OnScene.TV reported.
The occupants of the car involved in the crash were treated at the scene by paramedics but were not transported to a hospital, the news service stated.
It was unclear if drugs or alcohol were factors in the crash.
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