California's Zero-Emission Vehicle Hype

Good Morning, it’s Wednesday, May 29, here are some of the headlines across California:

✔ California's Zero-Emission Hype Spurs Unrealistic Tech Promises, New Mandates Enacted in Another Area.

✔ A Professor Suspended for Aiding Anti-Israel Protesters and ‘Harming’ Colleagues

✔  Officer Gets Too Friendly with Female Suspect: Body Camera Off, Locked in Patrol Car.

✔ A Shark Attack off Southern California, but How Common Are Great White Encounters Off Our Coast?

Have a great day!

Netter News Team

CALIFORNIA’S LOVE AFFAIR WITH ZERO-EMISSION VEHICLES

The hype over zero-emission vehicles is hitting hyperspeed in the Golden State, so much so that state officials are promising future technology that doesn’t yet exist.

The Future Rules of the Road

🚗The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has mandated that by 2035, all new cars, SUVs, and pickup trucks sold in California must have zero tailpipe emissions.

🚗While existing vehicles can remain on the road, automakers and dealers will only be allowed to sell electric and certain plug-in hybrid vehicles, effectively banning the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035.

🚗Under Section 177 of the Clean Air Act, states must either adhere to federal admissions standards or adopt California’s stringent guidelines.

California Dreaming…

So, this brings us to trains, yes trains.

🚊CARB has mandated that all passenger trains go full ZEV by 2030 and freight trains by 2035.

🚂By 2030, the rule also mandates that diesel locomotives that are over 23 years old be retired (even though they are good for 39 years or longer).

But here’s the thing, EV technology doesn’t currently exist for freight trains which are currently diesel-powered in the US.

And right now, zero-emission green trains are in the infancy development stages for passenger trains.

The closest thing we found for EV trains was this model car by a company called Wabtec on Instagram.

What’s Next

We will be watching what plays out…

• Lawyers and rail industry folks have already teamed up and filed a lawsuit, trying to stop this regulation from taking effect.

• The technology doesn’t exist, And right now, many experts point out that battery-powered trains won’t be strong enough to transport heavy cargo, let alone potentially large passenger trains.

If You’re Not With Us…

Also, we should point out that many states aren’t on board with California’s zero-emission plan for cars, trucks, and SUVs.

• This month we learned that 16 states suing California over this law, claiming it "violates the Constitution and threatens our nation’s economic security."

• Ohio enacted a law in March banning the adoption of California’s emissions regulations and safeguarding the sale and use of diesel and gasoline vehicles.

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POLITICS, ECONOMY, EDUCATION & SCIENCE

STRIKE ERUPTS OVER TREATMENT OF ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTERS

The University of California’s academic workers union has expanded its strike to UCLA, UC Davis, and UC Santa Cruz, bringing the total number of strikers to about 12,000.

Why the Walkout?

Union members are protesting the UC system’s response to anti-Israel protests on campus, which led to the arrests and suspensions of hundreds of students and some faculty. They argue their free speech rights were violated when UC leaders called in police to forcibly remove the encampments.

This is occurring at a critical time, as tens of thousands of high-paying tuition students are supposed to be taking finals. These union employees play a key role in meeting their educational needs.

PROFESSOR SUSPENDED

A San Jose State University Professor who acted as a liaison between anti-Israel campus protesters and campus administration said she has been suspended and is under investigation for helping students violate university policies.

Professor Sang Kil is accused of violating the University’s collective bargaining agreement by encouraging students to protest, harassing colleagues, and creating harmful situations by publicly identifying and posting inflammatory comments about a colleague.

ACTOR MURDER INVESTIGATION

Many across the U-S, but especially in crime-ridden Los Angeles are outraged over the murder of a popular actor by catalytic converter thieves. 37-year-old Johnny Wactor, a regular on the ABC soap opera “General Hospital” was shot and killed over the holiday weekend in downtown Los Angeles.

What We Know

• Wactor was shot and killed at 3:25 am Saturday as he got off work bartending in downtown L-A after walking up on three men who had jacked up his car to steal his catalytic converter.

• The LAPD said Wactor was shot without provocation.

• The shooters have not been captured.

• The LAPD released more details about the crime:

Wactor was a talented actor, best known for his role on General Hospital, but he also had many other roles, including on the popular HBO hit, Westworld.

NBC Los Angeles spoke to Wactor’s friends, this story captures the impact he made on so many lives.

‘SCAREWARE’ WARNING

If you see a message like this- DO NOT click on install, shut your phone down immediately. This is called ‘scareware’ and it could trick you into downloading harmful or unnecessary software to your phone. It’s not just iPhone users getting spammed, android users are seeing similar attacks.

MUSK’S BILLION-DOLLAR ‘STARTUP’

If you are counting, Elon Musk owns six companies, and his venture into Artificial Intelligence is now valued at 24 Billion!!!

San Francisco-based, xAI this week announced the company’s Series B funding round had raised $6 Billion from major investors (some even included the Saudi Royal family). The company is expected to challenge OpenAI and others in the AI race.

Musk took to “X” to announce xAI is hiring, with some stipulations, none of which appear to be technical aspects to the job.

HOT TAKES

🚨TRUMP JURY DELIBERATIONS: A New York Jury is set to deliberate today in the first-ever criminal trial of a former US president. The jurors will decide whether former President Donald Trump is guilty of falsifying business records to cover up an alleged 2006 sexual encounter with adult film star Stormy Daniels.

🚨 KNOTTS BERRY FARM BREAK-IN: Two teenagers, previously in the news for breaking into the Intuit Dome in February, have posted another trespassing video on TikTok. This time, they recorded themselves sneaking into Knott's Berry Farm in Orange County by using fire hydrants and trees to climb over a fence. Buena Park police are investigating.

🚨 OFFICER ‘FRIENDLY’: A San Diego Police officer resigned after being locked in the back of a patrol car with a female detainee. Before this, the suspect flirted with him, and he turned off his body camera.

🚨FENTANYL LACED FEARS: Fentanyl laced with animal tranquilizers is causing overdoses across the United States. A San Francisco city supervisor is now urging the city to test for this new opioid, Medetomidine, which is leading to hundreds of overdoses nationwide.

🚨 COLON CANCER TEST: An FDA advisory panel has approved a blood test for detecting colon cancer. The Shield test, developed by Palo Alto-based Guardant Health, is already on the market, but full FDA approval could make it more widely accessible.

GOLDEN STATE GLOW

🌴 A Southern California surfer is pretty chill after a shark tried to take a bite out of his board near San Clemente. The dude is darn lucky it wasn’t his body that the shark didn’t bite into! But listen, shark attacks are VERY rare, only 2 reported in California waters in 2023. So don’t be afraid to get out there.

🌴 We must give a nod to a Cali great: NBA MVP, two-time title winner, and three-time NCAA national player of the year for UCLA, yes we are talking about NBA Hall of Famer, Bill Walton. He died Monday after a lengthy battle with cancer. 🌴6 -foot 11-inch Walton redefined the big man position with his elite skills, both on and off the court.

🌴 Walton grew up in La Mesa and attended Helix High School. Walton lived in San Diego after he retired from the NBA. He was even an Emmy winner. Walton’s family was with him when he passed. He was 71-years-old.

 🗓THIS DAY IN CALI-HISTORY

MAY 29: 

• Midwest inventor Charles Strite filed a patent for the automatic pop-up toaster on this day in 1919, revolutionizing how we eat our bread. His invention was a huge success, enabling him to enjoy a comfortable retirement in Southern California.

• And on this day in 1942, Bing Crosby recorded what would become the world’s best-selling single, “White Christmas” at Radio Recorders Studio in Hollywood. The song has exceeded 100 million copies sold since its release!