Fresh hell for California drivers as Gavin Newsom quietly hikes gas prices again
Californians are set to be hit by further gas price hikes as Gavin Newsom quietly slipped through another tax increase.
The governor sent out a notice Monday signaling its gas tax will increase by about 2 cents beginning July 1.
The tax will increase from 61.2 cents a gallon to 63.4 cents for regular gas. Diesel fuel saw a smaller jump of about 1.6 cents.
The Golden State is often maligned for having the highest gas prices in the nation.
But the tax increase comes as prices for regular gas are falling statewide from $6.10 a gallon on average a week ago to $6.01 on Tuesday, according to AAA.
The added tax guarantees prices will jump slightly on July 1.
California’s excess gas taxes are due to the state’s commitment to battling climate change, Newsom’s administration has signaled.
It also dissuades drivers from adopting gas-guzzling vehicles and sways them toward expensive electric ones.
Lowering gas prices or allowing consumers to keep their gas vehicles has been a popular campaign stance for California gubernatorial candidates, including Republican Steve Hilton and Democrats Matt Mahan and Xavier Becerra….
Fake California store had hidden entrance to massive smuggling tunnel to Mexico — as four charged
A fake “Buy 4 Less” store in San Diego had a hidden entrance to a cross-border tunnel to Tijuana, cops have revealed — as four suspects have been charged.
Authorities called it a “sophisticated cross-border tunnel” that had electricity and ventilation. The hole was estimated to be about 1,933 feet long, 55 feet deep, and 4.5 feet in height, with reinforced walls.
Investigators discovered the tunnel after they surveilled the store for months, observing suspicious activity and “minimal foot traffic from customers” coming to the Otay Mesa “Buy 4 Less” store.
Law enforcement observed the “employees” of the store exhibit “unusual activity,” like transporting suitcases, which appeared to be empty, in and out of the store.
Officials decided to spring when they saw people in two separate instances outside the store loading suspicious items into vehicles, making several separate traffic stops leading to massive drug seizures.
In total, officials seized about 2,270 pounds of cocaine from the stops. A search warrant was requested and granted for the store afterwards, leading to the discovery of the tunnel.
Two U.S. residents — 29-year-old Gregorio Epifanio Hernandez Lopez of San Diego and 32-year-old Jose Jimenez of San Diego were charged along with Mexican residents Antonio Cortez, 18, and Brandon Escalante Sandoval, 26….
Six Dead After Man Allegedly Opens Fire on Family Members in Iowa
KCCI noted that police were dispatched to a resident at 12:12 p.m. and arrived to find four deceased individuals inside.
FOX News reported that 52-year-old Ryan Willis McFarland was allegedly at the first residence before police arrived and is believed to have killed all six of the deceased individuals.
Police later discovered McFarland on the city’s riverfront trail, where he had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Two other deceased individuals were discovered later in the day: one in a another residence and one in a business. The two additional deceased individuals had also been shot.
Muscatine Police Chief Anthony Kies indicated that all the deceased are related and the incident is believed to stem from a domestic dispute…
Pizza Hut employee was allegedly spit on and curb-stomped by a couple after an order mix-up
Oklahoma’s News 4 reports that as of Monday, police were still searching for that couple, Cortez Davis and Jessica Ellis, due to their alleged response to the order mix-up. A response that allegedly included Ellis entering the restaurant, yelling profanities and demanding that the employee “fix the **** up.”
As he was attempting to issue Ellis a refund for the $22.49 order, she is accused of spitting in his face and telling the employee that “her man” would be “handling this.” The employee called the police after she left, but that wasn’t the end of it.
Davis allegedly forced his way into the Pizza Hut and, according to court documents, he punched the employee in the face, curb-stomped him three times, and kicked him in the head before leaving the scene without food or a refund
Police say that they were able to contact Ellis by phone after the incident and that she admitted that much of what was alleged had taken place. Although, she was focused on getting a refund.
She’s even reportedly called 911 multiple times to request her $22.49 refund and that an officer bring her the money. For those wondering, that typically isn’t how the refund process works.
Netanyahu: IDF to stay course in Lebanon; EU seeks mediator role in Iran talks TV7Israel News 2 June
1) U.S. President Donald Trump reins Israel in – that after Jerusalem prepares to launch a large scale offensive against the Iranian-proxy Hezbollah.
2) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserts, “IDF will continue its operations in Southern Lebanon as planned.”
3) The European Union is promoting itself as a valuable mediator – as it maintains no role in negotiations between the United States and Iran.
LI illegal migrant stabbed neighbor 50 times before killing co-worker at Wendy’s — his bizarre motive revealed
A deranged illegal immigrant stabbed his upstairs neighbor 50 times inside their Long Island apartment building – all because her high heels made too much noise, prosecutors said Tuesday as he pleaded not guilty to slaughtering two women
Rony Yahir Alvarenga Rivera, 22, allegedly told cops that he first hacked neighbor Eddy Raquel Hernandez Castillo to death on April 30 because the racket she made drove him nuts.
“He told her he was annoyed by the noise that she was making, wearing high heels and talking loudly on the phone,” Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly told reporters. “When he was arrested, his clothes were full of blood.”
Rivera, an immigrant from El Salvador, entered the US illegally as an unaccompanied 12-year-old in 2016, according to federal authorities.
Nassau prosecutors said the accused killer later told detectives that he knew he would get caught after the grisly slashing – so he planned a second fatal attack.
Shortly after midnight on May 1, Rivera allegedly drove to his job at a Lynbrook Wendy’s and waited outside by a dumpster for nearly a half hour before he ambushed coworker Ana Maria de Aguila Cordova, a 42-year-old mother of three, when she came out to take out the trash.
Rivera had a “beef” with Corodova and felt “disrespected” by her, and stabbed her upwards of 30 times during the bloody assault, the DA’s office said.
The maniac then called the cops on himself from an area 7-Eleven, police said.
Rivera, 22, allegedly confessed to both slayings, but pleaded not guilty as he was arraigned on murder and other charges in Nassau County court on Tuesday.
‘Senseless’: 66-year-old woman stabbed 20 times in deadly train attack, officials say
A 66-year-old woman was stabbed to death in what authorities described as a random attack aboard a Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) train, with investigators saying the suspect slashed her throat before stabbing her up to 20 times.
The woman, identified as Margaret Swan, was riding a train near Atlanta’s Oakland City Station on Saturday when she was allegedly attacked by 25-year-old John Elijah Matthews, according to MARTA Police Chief Scott Kreher.
Authorities said surveillance video showed the alleged assault was unprovoked and that the suspect and woman did not appear to know one another.
“There’s no evidence at this time to suggest they knew each other — this was merely a random act of violence,” Kreher said.
“He walked over, stood next to her, and within 30 seconds he had killed her,” Kreher added.
Matthews was arrested shortly afterward at Oakland City Station while still carrying a knife, authorities said.
Swan’s death has intensified concerns about safety on Atlanta’s transit system, coming less than a week after another stabbing at a MARTA station.
Some riders have blamed temporary fare-gate changes that have allowed passengers to enter stations without paying while new equipment is installed, though officials have not linked the policy to the attack…..
These political consultants brag about spending your tax dollars to influence elections
Local government agencies in California are legally barred from advocating for or against local tax initiatives, yet those same agencies stand to gain millions—or billions—if voters say yes.
Political consultants have turned that conflict into a business, collecting taxpayer dollars to help governments run secret campaigns under the guise of “neutral” public education, an investigation by The Center Square found.
If fines are levied against the government, they typically pale in comparison to the amount of money already raised by an initiative.
“Even a million dollar fine would be chump change considering they could raise hundreds of millions of dollars on a tax increase,” said Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. “(We have) repeatedly alerted voters about public funds being used for political advocacy. Local governments are the worst offenders.”
Some companies are more direct than others with the way they advertise their ability to use your tax dollars to influence elections and raise tax dollars.
One such company, The Lew Edwards Group, brands itself as “the California leader in successful sales tax measures” and advertises its ability to help elected officials benefit from “highly targeted strategy, mail, media, paid digital, field operations, and social media approaches.”
The company’s website is chock-full of references to helping government agencies “win” rather than providing down-the-middle information to voters.
“They are experts at using phrases that will encourage a yes vote,” said David Kline, a spokesman for CalTax. “(They are) trying to stay out of legal trouble… or at least pushing the envelope as much as they can.”
According to her biography, company founder Catherine Lew prides herself on helping government agencies find ways to raise billions of dollars….
Hezbollah launches rockets, drones after Trump says terrorists agreed to stop attacks, IDF says
The Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist organization continued to launch rockets and drones overnight on Monday, the Israel Defense Forces said, hours after US President Donald Trump announced an end to hostilities.
Overnight, sirens sounded across the Galilee and Golan Heights after projectiles were fired from Lebanon.
The IDF said two launches crossed into Israeli territory and were intercepted, with no casualties reported.
Additional alerts were triggered in the western Galilee over a suspected drone infiltration; the IDF said a “suspicious aerial target” fell near the border and that there were no injuries.
Air-raid sirens were also activated in the eastern Galilee town of Metula after a Hezbollah rocket struck near IDF soldiers operating in Southern Lebanon, the military said. No injuries were reported.
Attacks continued on Tuesday morning, with the Israeli military confirming that “a suspicious aerial target was identified in the area in which IDF soldiers are operating in Southern Lebanon.”
“The incident has concluded. No injuries were reported,” the IDF stated.
Hezbollah’s attacks resumed some three hours after Trump announced he had spoken with “representatives of the leaders” of the terror group, who he said agreed to stop firing on the Jewish state and its troops…..
Ukraine calls on allies for more arms after Russia launches ‘massive’ attack
Russia launched hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles at Ukraine overnight Monday into Tuesday, in one of its largest air assaults yet. Ukrainian officials say at least a dozen people were killed and more than 100 wounded in the attacks.
You people in California need to wake up: Tito Ortiz | National Report
On Tuesday’s “National Report,” former UFC fighter Tito Ortiz called on Golden State voters to elect a Republican for Governor and Spencer Pratt for Mayor of Los Angeles
