West
Progressive journalist says Newsom must take 'accountability' for how he 'destroyed' California
Ana Kasparian of “The Young Turks” declared she will never take Gov. Gavin Newsom seriously as a potential Democratic presidential candidate until he takes responsibility for California’s decline.
On “Her Take,” a new Valuetainment Studios podcast, co-hosts spoke about the current crop of Democratic leaders who may be vying to lead the party in the 2028 election. In the wake of President Donald Trump’s historic victory in 2024, the Democratic Party has been deeply divided over not just who should take the reins, but whether they need a fundamental shift in policy.
Co-host Jillian Michaels, a former Californian, brought up how Newsom is a potential frontrunner for the upcoming election, drawing an immediate wave of dismay from her co-hosts.
“This guy has tried,” Michaels said, noting that the governor is changing his tactics. “He’s taken notes, he’s tried to be somewhat critical of his own party, he’s tried to reach out to the other side. He’s tried to be antithetical to, you know, ‘everything exists in our silo, and we don’t reach across the aisle.’ He’s tried to show himself.”
Kasparian, a left-wing commentator who frequently shreds California’s far-left policies, replied, “I will never take that piece of crap seriously, and yes, I’m calling Gavin Newsom, my governor unfortunately, a piece of crap until he does some accountability for how he destroyed the state of California.”
Ana Kasparian scorched Gov. Newsom for his leadership of California, particularly for trying to scapegoat Donald Trump. (“Her Take/Valuetainment Studios)
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Rather than take a broad look at the Democratic Party, Kasparian recommended that Newsom “look inward and take a good hard look at the policies that you championed in our state that have completely destroyed the state.”
“He’s trying to blame Donald Trump for the loss of jobs in California,” she added. “Are you kidding me? The loss of jobs started well before Trump won the election, and it was the result of his policies, cumbersome regulations, that have now led to oil companies, for instance, deciding, ‘We’re not doing this anymore, we’re going to leave.’”
Kasparian also argued that crime has exploded under his watch.
“You have rampant crime that Democrats want to deny exists, but it obviously does when businesses close up shop and move to other states because the cost of doing business is so expensive,” she said. “Insuring businesses in California is astronomical because of the issues with crime.”
Multiple members of the panel had grievances to share about Gov. Newsom’s leadership of California. (“Her Take”/Valuetainment Studios)
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Kasparian went on to condemn the governor, claiming, “in an effort to save California money, he preemptively shut down four state prisons. There is no room to put any of these inmates in.”
This has caused an issue for the state, she said, where now county jails that were already overflowing now have to release inmates “regardless of how much time they’ve served.”
“Even if they’ve been sentenced to decades behind bars, they’re being released after serving two, three years because there’s no room for them,” Kasparian said.
Gavin Newsom speaks after being elected governor of the state during an election night party in Los Angeles, California, on November 6, 2018. (REUTERS/Mike Blake)
Michaels shared a story about a man who was released early from jail after he invaded her house with a video camera and duct tape.
“Gavin Newsom is a wrecking ball to California. He is, as [Adam] Corolla says, a ‘policy disaster,’” she lamented.
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San Francisco, CA
Oakland Airport’s ‘San Francisco’ rebrand has failed to reverse plunging passenger numbers
The controversy over the Oakland airport’s addition of San Franisco to its name brought headlines, but not travelers, even during the typically frenzied holiday season.
Passenger traffic at OAK (now officially known as Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport) dropped steeply over the past year, even as air travel nationwide held steady and its rival to the west seeing record numbers.
The naming controversy generated publicity and a tiff with San Francisco International Airport, but not the desired increase in traffic. In the 12 months through September 2025, approximately 8.2 million people passed through OAK for domestic flights — 1.8 million, or 17%, fewer than in the previous year, according to federal data (opens in new tab). Passenger traffic was down 15.5% (opens in new tab) in the first three quarters of 2025.
International travel showed a bump, but with limited routes to only Mexico and El Salvador.
The drop at OAK is happening as domestic travel around the country has remained flat, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (opens in new tab).
In fact, Oakland’s decline in the first half of 2025 was the worst of all 93 major U.S. airports, according to LocalsInsider.com (opens in new tab). The second-sharpest drop was at Chicago’s Midway, which was 12.9% off from the previous year.
The decline in passengers isn’t tied to fewer flights being offered. OAK data shows just 56 fewer so-called “airplane movements” through September compared with last year, a negligible 0.03% decrease out of more than 153,000 flights.
Why the dropoff?
The Port of Oakland, which operates the airport, says people aren’t traveling for work anymore.
“Like all of the industry, the decline at OAK can be attributed to the decline in business travel,” said Kaley Skantz, a port spokesperson.
But Collin Czarnecki, who leads Locals Insider’s research on airlines, ties the troubles to a larger industry trend: the death of the middle-class airport.
“Overall, the ‘why’ is sort of this bigger picture,” he said. “Secondary hubs and midsize airports are seeing a lot of change with low-cost carriers.”
Despite the declines, OAK is moving forward with a major makeover and adding 16 gates because of a previous forecast (opens in new tab) that annual passenger levels would reach 24.7 million in 2038. Current traffic has yet to match 2019 levels.
Meanwhile, for San Francisco’s airport, the outlook is sunny.
With its nonstop flights to the East Coast, Europe, and Asia, SFO is in a different class. The airport showed 5.1% growth in 2025 from 43.5 million to 45.7 million passengers, according to its own data (opens in new tab). SFO also boasted that it had its busiest Thanksgiving travel season on record. OAK officials said they lacked the daily data to analyze Thanksgiving traffic.
SFO representatives attribute the gains to the airport’s mix of domestic and international flights and business and leisure travelers.
“Drilling down further, the diversity of our international service is a real advantage, as our fortunes aren’t tied strictly to the performance of one specific market,” SFO spokesperson Doug Yakel said.
Business owners near OAK say they don’t get much lift from their proximity to the travel hub. Alan Liang, who owns a Mexican restaurant, a burger joint, a towing company, and an auto repair shop in a plaza along Hegenberger Road, said about 95% of his customers are blue-collar workers with jobs nearby.
“I never came across anyone who said, ‘I’m here in town and came to get a bite,’” said Liang. Crime has scared away customers and led to the closure of chain restaurants like In-N-Out Burger, Black Bear Diner, and Denny’s.
“A few decades ago, Hegenberger primarily benefited from the traffic flow from the airport,” he said. “It’s extremely hard for me to believe that today.”
The fortunes of Oakland’s airport are intertwined with the popularity of Southwest Airlines, which accounts for 83.3% of OAK’s passengers, according to federal statistics. Spirit Airlines had been the airport’s second-largest carrier, with nearly 6% of travelers, but the company in October pulled out of Oakland (opens in new tab), as well as San Jose.
To stabilize its position and grow, OAK should strive to become a hub for a major airline like Delta or American, according to Linchi Kwok, a Cal Poly Pomona professor who specializes in travel and tourism.
“It would bring a lot more traffic and draw customers who are loyal to the airline,” said Kwok. “Everyone can benefit from healthy competition.”
It’s time for the AFC’s #1 team to meet the NFC’s #2. Today the Denver Broncos host the Green Bay Packers in a key late-season inter-conference matchup that could have playoff seeding implications for both teams.
In Denver, the Broncos will be trying to hold on to the top spot in the AFC and keep their impressive win streak rolling. Denver has won ten straight games, some of them in fairly ridiculous fashion, but they sit at 11-2, sharing the top record in the NFL with the New England Patriots, who are just behind them in the playoff picture based on conference record.
The Packers, meanwhile, want to hold on to the lead in the NFC North before they have their rematch with the Chicago Bears next Saturday night. Green Bay sits behind only the Los Angeles Rams in the playoff race in the NFC, and they want to return to the Central time zone with that lead intact.
Join us here at Acme Packing Company to discuss today’s game, and Go Pack Go!
The Seattle Mariners have emerged as one of two front-runners in trade talks with the St. Louis Cardinals for utilityman Brendan Donovan, The Athletic’s Katie Woo reported on Saturday.
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Woo reported a league source said trade discussions between the Mariners and Cardinals have been heating up since the Winter Meetings, and that switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje and outfielder Lazaro Montes – two of Seattle’s top-seven prospects, per MLB pipeline – are two names St. Louis has inquired about, among others.
The Cardinals will not trade Donovan unless they are “blown away” by the return, and it’s believed they are looking for at least two prospects, per Woo’s reporting.
The San Francisco Giants were the other of the two front-runners Woo named. She also said that both the Mariners and Giants remain engaged in talks with the Arizona Diamondbacks about second baseman Ketel Marte.
Can the M’s give up what Arizona wants for a Ketel Marte trade?
Donovan, who will turn 29 next month, has two years of club control remaining. He’s played every position except catcher during his four-year career, with the majority of his time coming at second base and left field. He would figure to mainly factor in at second base and third base for the Mariners, who have young players like Cole Young, Ben Williamson and Colt Emerson vying for time at those positions.
Donovan was a first-time All-Star in 2025, batting .287 with a .353 on-base percentage, .422 slugging percentage, .775 OPS, 32 doubles, 10 home runs and 50 RBIs in 118 games. His 13% strikeout rate ranked in the 92nd percentile of big league hitters and his 13.4% whiff rate in the 95th percentile, per Baseball Savant.
Over four MLB seasons, Donovan has a career .282 average with a .361 on-base percentage, .411 slugging percentage, .772 OPS, 97 doubles, 40 homers and 202 RBIs in 492 games. He won the NL Gold Glove for utility players during his rookie season in 2022.
As for the prospects Woo reported the Cardinals inquiring about, the 22-year-old Cijntje is Seattle’s No. 7 prospect, per MLB Pipeline. The unique pitcher had a 3.99 ERA and 1.22 WHIP while holding opponents to a .207 average, striking out 120 batters and walking 51 in 108 1/3 innings pitched over 26 appearances (23 starts) across High-A and Double-A in 2025.
The 21-year-old Montes is considered to be the best power-hitting prospect in the Mariners’ farm system and is their No. 3 overall farmhand, per MLB Pipeline. The slugging outfielder hit .241 with a .354 on-base percentage, .504 slugging percentage, .858 OPS, 19 doubles, seven triples, 32 home runs, 89 RBIs, 83 walks and 169 strikeouts over 131 games across High-A and Double-A this year. Montes finished tied for third in home runs among minor leaguers across all levels.
The report that the M’s are one of the top contenders for Donovan came on the same day as they lost out on re-signing their top remaining free-agent target, second baseman/designated hitter Jorge Polanco, who reportedly agreed to a two-year, $40 million deal with the New York Mets.
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