Gavin Newsom is taking a victory lap today on the first anniversary of California’s film and TV tax credits program being jacked up to $750 million, and the potential presidential contender has Disney, a Shrek prequel, and Ben Affleck along for the ride.

Along with an untitled Pixar project, the Argo Oscar winner’s upcoming Gingerbread Men, the Hailee Steinfeld and Rashida Jones-starring animated Hexed from the House of Mouse and DreamWorks’ Eddie Murphy-led Donkey were among 41 films that received $187 million in incentives today.

The Pixar flick was awarded the most in credits with $26.7 million in what has become a very helpful program for animation the past 365 days. Not that ‘toons don’t pay off. The four animated features are estimated to inject $711 million into the Golden State’s economy. That breaks down to about “$145 million in qualified wages, employing over 1,900 cast and crew members” for the home of Hollywood, according to the California Film Commission.

“We received the approval letter informing us that Gingerbread Men was accepted into the California Film and Television Tax Credit Program,” Affleck said of the indie from his and pal Matt Damon‘s Artists Equity.“ Gingerbread Men got $7 million from the state.

“Under the program, we have been able to make the films Argo, Unstoppable, and Accountant 2,” Affleck added. “Our upcoming film, Gingerbread Men, will be filmed in Los Angeles, California – close to our company office and the best and most experienced cast and crew, vendors, and service providers. Let’s continue to keep the California film industry alive with the help of the California Film and Television Tax Credit Program!”

Take a look at the full list of conditionally approved awards here:

Overall, the bean counters in Sacramento anticipate the 41 projects will generate $1.1 billon “in direct production spending in California” and “$145 million in qualified wages, employing over 1,900 cast and crew.”

That figure factors nicely into some very big numbers that Governor Newsom heralded Tuesday.

Specifically, $6.6 billion has been created for the state’s economy over the past year out of 170 credited projects. While that sum sounds (and is) impressive, the figure that may get the town truly jazzed is the “nearly 35,000 cast and crew jobs across California” the Governor’s team says have come out of the last year since the program allotment leapt up.

To that, including the awarded big screeners revealed today, Gov. Newsom sure sounded like he was prepping a stump speech for the Heartland on the California miracle, so to speak.

“California has long set the standard for entertainment production, creating good-paying jobs and showcasing the creativity and innovation that define the Golden State,” the governor asserted. “The first year of the expanded tax credit program is already delivering results — generating billions in economic activity, creating opportunities for businesses and the workforce, and bringing more productions home to California.”

Maybe the biggest praise came from Burbank.

“Governor Newsom, and the legislative leaders who have worked to strengthen opportunities for production here as we continue to invest in California’s world-class creative workforce,” said Alan Bergman, Disney Entertainment Studios chairman Tuesday.

Reading the tea leaves-ish, does that mean we’ll see some Marvel movies coming over from the tax incentive rich UK soon?

Just askin’.

A man has been arrested for involuntary manslaughter after a woman was killed and three other people were injured from a fireworks explosion in Southern California over the holiday weekend, authorities said.

Officers responded at about 8:30 p.m. local time on July 4 to a reported vehicle fire in a neighborhood in the city of Chino, California, the Chino Police Department said in a news release. Chino is located in western San Bernardino County, about 35 miles east of Los Angeles.

When officers arrived, police said they found that an explosion had occurred and multiple people had been injured. Officers immediately provided first aid to several victims with serious injuries. A nearby vehicle was also engulfed in flames as a result of the explosion, according to police.

“Based on the preliminary investigation, detectives believe a large quantity of fireworks ignited, causing the explosion,” police said in the news release, adding that the incident remains under investigation.

Derion Tradon James Jr., 28, was detained at the scene and later booked into the West Valley Detention Center for involuntary manslaughter, police said. The case will be submitted to the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office for review.

Following the incident, police said investigators and fire personnel remained at the scene as they worked to ensure the area was safe and evaluate any remaining fireworks, debris and other hazards. Several nearby roadways were closed over the weekend.

The Chino Police Department is leading the criminal investigation. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner will conduct the death investigation, while the Ontario Fire Department Bomb Squad is assisting investigators with the explosives-related part of the case.

Woman died at hospital after sustaining severe injuries

Three people were transported to local hospitals with severe injuries, according to police. One of the victims, a woman in her 20s, later died from her injuries at a hospital.

Her identity is being withheld pending identification and notification of next of kin by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner, police said.

The two other victims suffered serious injuries and are expected to survive, police said. Their identities have not been released.

A fourth victim, who police described as a juvenile, was taken to a hospital for evaluation and “has since been released to a parent or guardian,” according to the news release.

‘Definitely felt a big bang’: Pilot says firework hit Delta plane landing at Chicago airport

Latest fireworks-related incident during July Fourth celebrations

Ahead of July Fourth celebrations, experts had warned the public to stay safe around fireworks, citing a spike in the number of fireworks-related fatalities in 2025.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), there were 15 deaths and 13,000 injuries in the United States attributed to either the misuse of or malfunctions with fireworks. Of those, 1,300 emergency-room-treated injuries were caused by sparklers.

About 68% of all fireworks injuries occur in July; July Fourth is the most injury-prone day, with 27% of total injuries, USA TODAY previously reported. New Year’s Day is the second-largest, with 5.5% of total injuries.

Numerous incidents involving fireworks were reported across the country over the holiday weekend, including several in Southern California.

In Los Angeles County, the fire department said a man was critically injured after a fire burned at least two cars in a parking lot in the Wilmington neighborhood on July 3. The incident also prompted the evacuation of a nearby hotel and a two-story single-family home, displacing 10 adults and two children.

After extinguishing the flames with foam, crews discovered “what appeared to be potentially dangerous explosives/fireworks” near the vehicles, and the Los Angeles Police Department bomb squad determined that “commercial grade fireworks” were found on the ground next to the burned vehicles, according to the department.

Fourth of July celebrations in Newport Beach, California, a coastal city in Orange County, led to over 400 arrests after large crowds became disorderly, according to police. “As the crowd rapidly grew, individuals engaged in increasingly dangerous and unlawful behavior” including by “blocking roadways, restricting emergency vehicle access and throwing explosive mortars, fireworks and other projectiles at police officers,” the city of Newport Beach said.

Contributing: Stephen J. Beard and Paris Barraza, USA TODAY

Activists are pushing for Black English to be legitimized in preschool as a way to build children’s literacy skills in California.

The Black Californians United for Early Care & Education (BlackECE) is part of a movement to challenge “harmful language hierarchies and affirm Black English as a legitimate, rule-governed language rooted in Black history, culture, and community.”

The movement also seeks to “address how language bias shows up in early learning spaces–and how it can be dismantled.”

“I don’t want my son to walk into any room and feel like his voice is not valued or his perspective can’t be heard because he’s not saying it one way or the other,” the co-founder of BlackECE Ashley Williams told PBS.

She also remembered how speaking Black English is full of slangs and grammatical errors so it came with a lot of embarrassment.

BlackECE is a nonprofit organization centered around a 10-point policy plan that seeks to gain reparations and help Black children, families, and workers.

California released a plan promoting early dual language learning and calling on the state’s education system to support bilingual children in their development in 2020, but the advocacy group believes that Black vernacular should be included.

“We talk about multilinguals, but we don’t include Black children who may be African-American English speakers,” the Director of the Children’s Equity Project Xigrid Soto-Boykin said.

Williams also recalled her experiences in having to “talk white” and talking in her comfortable English and feeling insecure.

Around 20% of American children and 44% of five to seventeen year-olds in California are considered to be bilingual, according to the National Library of Medicine’s research in 2020.

However, only 89% of African-Americans solely speak English at home.