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Fuel shortages from the Iran war have spread to Europe, but the pain is hitting California and the West Coast as well—and help is years away | Fortune

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Fuel shortages from the Iran war have spread to Europe, but the pain is hitting California and the West Coast as well—and help is years away | Fortune


Europe is facing more widespread fuel shortages heading into the summer as the war in the Middle East drags on, but shortfalls—especially for jet fuel—will soon spread to California and the broader West Coast as the global energy supply shock ripples across the world.

While the U.S. leads the world in crude oil production, California is not able to enjoy the bounty as much as the rest of the country. The Golden State—the fourth-largest economy in the world—essentially operates as an island sandwiched between the Pacific Ocean on one side and mountainous terrain on the other. That makes it difficult and expensive to build oil and fuel pipelines. A tougher regulatory environment and heightened fuel standards have also made the state’s refineries less economical over the years.

The bottom line is California must import a lot of its oil, gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel from Asia—a region that is itself currently struggling with shortages because of its reliance on Middle Eastern supplies.

And, in something of a perfect storm of unfortunate timing, the Iran war coincides with the recent shuttering of the Phillips 66 Los Angeles refinery and the April closure of Valero Energy’s Benicia refinery near San Francisco. The two complexes combined for nearly 20% of California’s oil-refining capacity. Valero also is weighing the future of its Wilmington refinery near Los Angeles.

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“It’s real terrible timing for California to see the loss of two refineries at a time when Asia is struggling with oil supplies of its own,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.

“If we don’t have some concrete [peace] deal here in the next three weeks, then I’m really nervous for the West Coast this summer in terms of jet fuel,” De Haan told Fortune. “That’s not going to be great for California’s economy.”

Norse Atlantic Airways announced this week the cancelation of all its summer flights from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Delta Air Lines is canceling a handful of U.S. flights for now from Detroit to New York. Air Canada cut some flights to New York. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said in his April 22 earnings call that United is raising fares up to 20% and proactively canceling flights at off-peak times and days. And struggling Spirit Airlines—pushed over the cliff by the spike in fuel prices—may need a federal bailout to survive.

The biggest headline in Europe this week was German airliner Lufthansa axing 20,000 flights through October.

“It’s not so much gasoline supply on the West Coast that I’d be worried about yet, but it’s jet fuel out of LAX, San Francisco, Seattle, and then it’s diesel,” De Haan said, arguing that nationwide reductions, especially of new flight routes, are likely in order to conserve fuel. “I would look for a lot of route cancellations potentially this summer.”

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Refineries primarily churn out gasoline to meet passenger vehicle demand, so supply shortages of refined products typically hit jet fuel first and then diesel. Washington, Oregon, Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii, and Alaska all stand to be among the most impacted as well.

Plans for new fuel and refined products pipelines into California are underway, including from Phillips 66, but the earliest those would come online is 2029.

The California Energy Commission told Fortune that jet fuel stocks remain adequate and within historic norms, although supplies are admittedly tight. For West Coast travelers, the near-term risks are sustained higher prices and airline schedule adjustments—not the physical shortfalls that Europe is facing.

But would that remain the case in June if the Strait of Hormuz energy chokepoint is still blocked? “Our analysis is thorough and ongoing, but we can’t provide a definitive answer on that kind of forecasting,” the CEC said.

One partially saving grace is the Trump administration’s decision to temporarily waive the 106-year-old Jones Act, which requires cargo ships moving between U.S. ports to be U.S. built, flagged, and manned, reducing the number of vessels available to move crude oil and refined products between domestic ports.

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The waiver allowing more ships, for instance, to move fuel from the U.S. Gulf Coast through the Panama Canal and up to California to help alleviate shortfalls. The CEC confirmed the waiver is bringing incremental supply to the state.

Looking ahead for relief

While the White House previously touted the Jones Act waiver as a move to lessen the spikes in fuel prices—that impact is minimal—the bigger difference it’s making is the eased logistical movement of supplies to needier domestic areas.

A White House official said California and Alaska count among the biggest beneficiaries of jet fuel deliveries from the Jones Act waiver. And the 60-day waiver could be extended.

Otherwise, California must compete internationally for more expensive and increasingly scarce fuel imports from Asia. The state leans on South Korea, Singapore, Japan, India, and the Middle East for more of its oil and fuel.

“The risk is California has to compete on price to get those barrels, and what’s an already expensive market becomes really expensive,” said oil forecaster Dan Pickering, founder of Pickering Energy Partners consulting and research firm.

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While the rest of the country is worried about fuel prices and not physical shortages, California is a “different animal,” Pickering said, “The risk in California is both its price and its availability. And, because availability is tough, the price goes up even more.”

Already, California’s gasoline prices are 45% above the national average. The national average on April 23 for a gallon of regular unleaded was $4.03, while it’s a U.S.-leading $5.85 in California. And there’s a $2 gap between diesel prices in California compared to the national average, $7.49 per gallon versus $5.47.

Despite the geographical and regulatory challenges of building new fuel pipelines to California, several projects have popped up to help fill the gaps left by the refinery closures.

Phillips 66 and Kinder Morgan plan to build the Western Gateway Pipeline System from Texas to Phoenix and southern California. Pipeline developers ONEOK and HF Sinclair are both weighing competing projects.

But the Western Gateway project isn’t slated for completion until 2029, so bridging that gap will prove to be the challenge, De Haan said.

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“It’s great news for California because they’ll have better-connected markets,” De Haan said. “California will be a little bit less of a petro island.”

Kinder Morgan CEO Kim Dang said on the company’s earnings call this week that the war in the Middle East highlights the need for the project.

“California has to import some of its supply, and that makes it subject to the variability in global markets,” Dang said. “Instead of bringing in a fair amount of product over the water, they’ll now be bringing in supply from Texas and from the eastern United States. The other thing it does is it serves the Phoenix market, which is also right now reliant on the California refining capacity.

“I think it’s a great solution for California and for Arizona to be able to access domestic supply, as opposed to having to be reliant on the international market,” Dang added.

In the immediacy though, Pickering fears the world is still “dangerously complacent” about the war and the greatest energy supply shock in history. Oil and fuel shortages are almost guaranteed at least through the end of this year, and Pickering doesn’t see a peace deal occurring overnight.

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“If they don’t [make a deal], in a month or two, the problems that we’re seeing in Asia are going to be everywhere,” Pickering said. And, if June is when shortages really kick in, well, “June is a day closer every day.”



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Becerra leads Hilton by wide margin in California governor’s race, new poll finds

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Becerra leads Hilton by wide margin in California governor’s race, new poll finds


A new poll in the race for California Governor shows Democrat Xavier Becerra is leading Republican Steve Hilton by a wide margin — 61% to 36%.

Becerra leads Hilton across several demographics: age, gender, homeownership, income, racial/ethnic groups and across the state’s major regions.

The poll also found 85% of likely voters say that the gubernatorial candidates’ positions on the environment are important — 60% of Democrats call it “very important,” compared to 29% of Republicans.

The poll surveyed 1,578 California adults from June 29 through July 6 and was conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California. The poll was conducted in English and Spanish, and 1,003 of those who were polled were likely voters.

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The same poll found that a large majority of Californians do not want new data centers built in their area. Only about a quarter of those surveyed are in favor of the construction of data centers.

The PPIC survey focused on Californians and the environment.

Another key finding was that Californians are most likely to name wildfires as the top environmental issue facing the state today, followed by climate change, government overregulation and water supply. Of those polled, about six in 10 think that the state and local governments are not doing enough to address wildfires.

The California General Election will be held on Nov. 3, 2026.

Copyright © 2026 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.

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California DMV orders 11,000 drivers to retake exams due to suspected cheating

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California DMV orders 11,000 drivers to retake exams due to suspected cheating


A routine internal monitoring sweep by the California Department of Motor Vehicles has flagged thousands of suspicious test results, prompting a massive recall of licensed drivers to testing centers. 

The state agency has warned that anyone who fails to comply with the retesting directive will face immediate cancellation of their driving privileges.

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What we know:

The California DMV sent letters to about 11,000 licensed drivers last month after identifying suspicious patterns in their written test results. 

According to the agency, these irregularities were detected through routine internal monitoring and point to various methods used to circumvent the testing process. 

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PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 11,000 CA drivers told to retake written test or lose licenses

The DMV has stated that the issue is entirely “test-taker related” and not the result of an internal technical glitch or the involvement of artificial intelligence. 

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To address the suspected fraud, several cases have already been referred to county district attorneys for criminal prosecution.

What we don’t know:

The DMV has not revealed the specific cheating methods used by the test-takers, nor have they disclosed the exact locations or dates of the flagged tests. 

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It’s unclear exactly how many of the 11,000 affected drivers have already completed their retests or how many licenses have been canceled so far.

What they’re saying:

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A DMV spokesperson emphasized the importance of exam security in an email to City News Service: “The California DMV has identified irregularities in certain driver knowledge test results that may indicate instances of cheating.”

The spokesperson further explained, “Some individuals may have attempted to circumvent the testing process using various cheating methods.”

Addressing the root cause, the spokesperson added, “Nonetheless, these irregularities are test-taker-related and not the result of an internal DMV technical issue, or the involvement of artificial intelligence. Ensuring the integrity of the knowledge testing process is essential to public safety and to confirm that drivers understand California’s rules of the road.”

Regarding the lack of specific details on how the cheating occurred, the department stated, “DMV is not sharing additional information at this time, so as not to reveal investigative methods and protect the integrity of the investigative process.”

Sen. Tony Strickland (R-Huntington Beach), vice chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, recently sent a letter to DMV administrators expressing concerns about the situation.

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On Tuesday, Strickland released a statement saying the DMV’s own letter to drivers created “confusion and unnecessary anxiety” among new license holders.

“The DMV is a state agency that serves millions of Californians, and they deserve clear communication along with timely information when something like this happens,” Strickland said. “I have heard from Californians who believe this language suggests the DMV is accusing them of cheating or engaging in misconduct during the examination process. Whether that is the Department’s intent or not, the wording of the notice has created confusion and unnecessary anxiety. In my letter, I requested additional information about what happened and the steps the department is taking to address the issue.”

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What’s next:

The DMV will continue to monitor test results internally while working alongside county district attorneys on the active criminal referrals. 

Drivers who received the letters must schedule and pass their exams before their individual 30-day deadlines expire to avoid losing their driving privileges.

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What you can do:

If you received a letter from the DMV regarding testing irregularities, you must visit a local DMV office as soon as possible to retake your knowledge test. 

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Be sure to complete and pass the exam within the mandated 30-day window to prevent your driver’s license from being canceled.

The Source: This report is based on official statements and email correspondence provided by the California Department of Motor Vehicles to City News Service.

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California man who killed estranged wife’s lover while they slept sentenced

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California man who killed estranged wife’s lover while they slept sentenced


A now 33-year-old Northern California man, who was on the run in Mexico for five nearly five years, has been sentenced for the murder of his estranged wife’s boyfriend while the couple was sleeping in her apartment in 2017.

Arturo Hernandez was 25 when he learned that a man named Anthony Freas was in a relationship with his estranged wife. His calls to her after hearing about the situation went unanswered, according to investigators.

On Nov. 19, livid over the relationship, Hernandez went to the Regency Apartments in the 5900 block of Riza Avenue, where his wife lived. He broke into the apartment where the couple was sleeping, entered her bedroom and stabbed Freas multiple times before fleeing the scene, according to a news release from the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office.

Anthony Freas was killed while sleeping by his girlfriend’s estranged husband on Nov. 19, 2017. (Justice4Anthony/Facebook)

Officers with the Sacramento Police Department responded to the apartment and found Freas suffering from at least one stab wound to the upper body. They began life-saving measures until paramedics arrived and rushed him to a hospital, where he later died.

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Authorities launched a manhunt for Hernandez, who was considered armed and dangerous, The Sacramento Bee reported.

  • California man who killed estranged wife's lover while they slept sentenced
  • California man who killed estranged wife's lover while they slept sentenced

It was later learned that he fled to Mexico, though it is unclear where he had been hiding or with whom.

Hernandez evaded law enforcement until July 2023, when he was arrested by Mexican authorities and FBI agents. He was later extradited back to Sacramento to stand trial.

On March 24, a jury found Hernandez guilty of second-degree murder and found true the allegation that he personally used a weapon during the attack.

More than three months later, on July 10, Judge Alyson Lewis sentenced him to 16 years to life in state prison.

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