It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Monday, December 26, 2022
Russian State TV Hails Lauren Boebert For Refusing To Stand For War Hero Volodymyr Zelensky
Mary Papenfuss
Right-wing Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) won a significant new fan — Kremlin state TV — for refusing to stand and applaud Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky when he spoke to Congress in Washington, D.C., last Wednesday.
It hailed her as “brave” for failing to honor Zelensky, who has led his nation against a bloody, brutal invasion by Russia. The broadcast also gave shout outs to Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) and far-right Fox News host Tucker Carlson for dissing the leader considered a hero by his country.
Carlson had a weird meltdown over Zelensky’s appearance in a “sweatshirt.” He complained the president was dressed “like the manager of a strip club” when he pleaded for more aid from American lawmakers for his war-torn country.
“As far as we know, no one’s ever addressed the United States Congress in a sweatshirt before, but they love him much more than they love you,” Carlson bizarrely griped to viewers.
Russian TV picked up the dig and referred to Zelensky disdainfully as “a man in cargo pants.” It also ran a clip of Carlson mocking lawmakers for “clapping like seals” when Zelensky spoke.
There was no immediate comment from Boebert.
RIGHT WING ZIONIST STATE Israeli businesses decry calls to revise anti-discrimination law
Mon, December 26, 2022 By Steven Scheer
JERUSALEM, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Calls by far-right members of Israel's incoming government to revise anti-discrimination laws have triggered criticism from some of the country's leading businesses and prompted them to announce new policies of their own to combat discrimination.
On Sunday, a member of the far-right Religious Zionism party - one of the parties in the new coalition - told public radio that hotels and doctors should be allowed to refuse services to people on religious grounds, provided others are available.
Leading hospitals and healthcare providers, apparently in response to that suggestion, then put out a video declaring: "We treat everyone."
On Monday, Israel Discount Bank, the country's fourth largest bank, updated its credit policy and said it would not lend money to groups that discriminate against customers on the basis of religion, race, gender or sexual orientation. Its chairman said the update "officially formalizes the obvious".
Cyber security firm Wiz, which is valued at $6 billion, also said on Monday it would work only with companies committed to prevent such discrimination and said it would terminate its business relationships if this was violated.
"Recent calls for revoking basic rights heard in the political arena in Israel are of grave concern to our society," Wiz said in a statement.
Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu, who intends to hold a confidence vote in parliament on his new religious-nationalist coalition on Thursday, has vowed to preserve principles of tolerance.
But his political rivals have accused the veteran conservative leader of being vulnerable to his far-right allies’ policy demands.
Israel's president, Isaac Herzog, whose role is largely symbolic, also warned on Sunday against causing potential harm to individuals' rights.
The head of Microsoft's R&D centre in Israel also waded into the debate on Monday.
"Israel is a democratic and moral country and it must remain so if it wants to stay alive," Michal Braverman-Blumenstyk posted on LinkedIn.
"A discourse that encourages racism and discrimination of any kind has no place in a proper society."
Netanyahu has already drawn criticism from scores of local authorities after naming a far-right politician with a history of anti-LGBTQ speech, Avi Maoz, to head a new "National Jewish Identity" authoritiy with powers over some school activities.
Maoz says he is not anti-gay but is opposed to the LGBTQ movement and has called for the cancellation of the annual Jerusalem gay pride march. (Reporting by Steven Scheer Editing by Ari Rabinovitch and Gareth Jones)
BEFORE XMAS
Report: Americans hold onto $21 billion in unused gift cards
Carter Evans
You may want to check your junk drawer. Nearly half of all Americans are holding onto $21 billion in unused gift cards, according to a new report from Creditcards.com. That averages out to about $175 per person.
According to the National Retail Federation, 54% of Americans said gift cards are the most requested item this holiday season. Creditcards.com also found that 25% of people said they've misplaced their gift cards.
Gift card expert Shelley Hunter told CBS News that it is important to treat a gift card like cash and keep it next to your credit cards. In addition, stores in at least 12 states will give you cash back if you have a small leftover balance.
For unwanted gift cards, Hunter said, there are some reputable websites where you can sell or trade them for a fee. She also said you should take a picture of the card immediately to have a record of the gift card number.
"I really recommend you use your gift cards right away," Hunter said. "The longer you hold onto a gift card, the higher the probability you'll forget to use it."
Keep in mind, if you don't use those gift cards, retailers will still make money. But they don't want that, experts said. Stores want you to use it because there's a good chance you'll spend even more.
Crypto is like the ‘World of Warcraft’ economy and legitimizing it with regulations would hurt the financial system, says economist
Steve Mollman Sat, December 24, 2022 Horacio Villalobos—Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
In the wake the FTX collapse, calls to regulate crypto have increased among U.S. lawmakers. But doing so would confer legitimacy to the crypto industry, a prominent economist argued this week, and that in turn could lead to more widespread economic damage.
Stephen Cecchetti, an economist and professor at Brandeis International Business School, pointed to the economy within World of Warcraft, an online video game with millions of players.
"The strongest argument, I think, against regulation is about conferring legitimacy," he said at a crypto debate hosted by the Brookings Institution.
"I think of a lot of this stuff as being like a video game, and so if I look at an analog, the World of Warcraft has 120 million players, and it has an economy inside of it,” he continued. “Fortunately, no federal financial regulator has responsibility for overseeing the World of Warcraft. And while there's money involved, I don't think any of us would call on them to supervise online massive multiplayer games. Like the World of Warcraft, crypto, in my view, does nothing to support the real economy, so legitimizing it is simply going to drain creative resources from productive activities."
Crypto regulations
Creating regulations specifically for crypto, he argued, would affect how banks approach the sector.
“Legitimizing crypto is going to encourage banks to purchase crypto assets directly and to lend against them as collateral,” he said. “Imagine where we would be if leveraged financial intermediaries had been holding crypto in November of 2021 before the plunge in value.”
Cryptocurrencies have fallen dramatically in value since late last year. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, has shed more than 60% of its value this year.
If “virtually all of the transactions in the crypto world remain inside of the crypto world without links to the real economy," Cecchetti said, then it “would be as if this stuff was going on on Mars, and it would leave the traditional financial system unaffected. That should be our goal.”
As for the misbehavior in the industry—the “defining feature of the crypto world,” in his view—prosecutors can address it by “enforcing existing laws aggressively, and, where appropriate, going after the celebrities that are promoting this stuff,” he said.
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has been charged with eight criminal counts, including two counts of wire fraud and six counts of conspiracy related to securities and commodities fraud, money laundering, and violations of campaign finance laws. 'Let crypto burn' Calls for greater regulation have gained steam in recent weeks following FTX's epic collapse.
Last weekend, Sen. Sherrod Brown, chair of the Senate banking committee, called for more regulation, and left open the possibility of banning crypto, though he acknowledged it would be “very difficult because it will go offshore and who knows how that will work.”
In a statement following the arrest of Bankman-Fried in the Bahamas, Brown said, “Things that look and behave like securities, commodities, or banking products need to be regulated and supervised by the responsible agencies who serve consumers…Crypto doesn’t get a free pass because it’s bright and shiny.”
Cecchetti believes a good approach would be to “let crypto burn,” as he and Kim Schoenholtz, a professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business, wrote in a recent Financial Times column.
“In the aftermath of the collapse of FTX, authorities should resist the urge to create a parallel legal and regulatory framework for the crypto industry,” they wrote. “It is far better to do nothing, and just let crypto burn.”
Actively intervening, they added, would “provide an official seal of approval to a system that currently poses no threat to financial stability and would lead to calls for public bailouts when crypto inevitably erupts again.”
'Not the time to get greedy': Home flippers getting burned by the housing market downturn are now slashing prices to cut losses — here are the 2 big reasons why
Amy Legate-Wolfe
Home flippers who pounced on recent drops in home prices now face some major hurdles — and potentially major losses.
It’s a story few could have foreseen: After home-flipping reached record heights as 2022 kicked off, the bubble seems to have burst. The 1-in-10 home flipping/conventional sales ratio has dropped as the overall real estate market hits the brakes.
Home sales fell for the ninth month in a row in October, and dipped an astounding 28.4% from October 2021, according to the National Association of Realtors. It’s now causing many property investors to dump their inventory, and fast.
“Anybody that’s flipping right now needs to be looking closely at pricing of property: Price it to sell. Today is not the time to get greedy,” Noah Brocious, president of Capital Fund I, a hard-money lender that does business in Phoenix, Colorado and Texas, told Bloomberg News in the fall.
It’s true that elsewhere — in the stock market, for example — low prices and selloffs reveal golden opportunities to buy. But for those eagerly eyeing the housing market, it’s time to think again.
Slumping demand
Home flippers must face facts: The skyrocketing demand we saw earlier this year may not return for years, if ever. First, housing inventory reached a 10-year low back in January 2022, according to Trading Economics, with just 860,000 single family and condo units for sale in the United States.
About 115,000 single-family homes and condos were “flipped” in the U.S. during the second quarter of 2022, according to real estate data curator ATTOM. This made up about 8.2% of all home sales in the quarter, or up to one in 12 transactions. It indicated that any economic cooldown had not yet manifested in the broader market.
“The total number of properties flipped was the second-highest total we’ve recorded in the past 22 years, and the median sales price of a flipped property — $328,000 — was the highest ever,” said Rick Sharga, executive vice president of market intelligence for ATTOM.
“The big question is whether the fix-and-flip market will begin to lose steam as overall home sales have declined dramatically over the past few months, and the cost of financing has virtually doubled over the past year.”
Inventory of homes for sale peaked in July at 1.31 million homes. While that came down to 1.22 million homes in October, a general rise has continued even as demand continues to fall.
Rising rates
Now for the second issue facing home flippers, the one that’s making everyone groan: higher interest rates. That means costlier mortgages, which have socked flippers with massive increases in their loans.
As property investors usually invest in several homes at once, it’s no wonder that many now want to get them off their hands. But with prospective buyers also turned off by high rates, it’s turning into a Hail Mary play.
With that in mind, many property investors will want to wait before they get greedy over home prices. Today, a great deal on a home is counterbalanced by a mortgage with a far higher interest rate compared to this time last year.
There is some hope on the horizon, though, according to the ATTOM report. After six straight periods of losses, profit margins rose during the latest quarter. The gross profit on a typical transaction hit $73,700, up 10% year-over-year and 10% quarter-over-quarter.
What’s next, then? Americans should have more information on forward-looking trends when the next housing reports come out at the end of the month.
Meanwhile, bear this in mind: As home flipping tends to mirror the rest of the market, property investors should brace for further drops — stomach drops included.
A better way to buy property?
Of course, flipping single-family homes and condos isn't the only way to invest in real estate.
Amid hot inflation and the uncertain economy, real estate moguls are still finding ways to effectively invest their millions.
Prime commercial real estate, for example, has outperformed the S&P 500 over a 25-year period. With the help of new platforms, these kinds of opportunities are now available to retail investors. Not just the ultra rich.
With a single investment, investors can own institutional-quality properties leased by brands like CVS, Kroger and Walmart — and collect stable grocery store-anchored income on a quarterly basis.
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
Oil Passes Natural Gas as Main Fuel for Power Plants in New England
Naureen S. Malik Sat, December 24, 2022
(Bloomberg) -- Oil took over from natural gas as the leading fuel for power plants in New England, a significant switch that signals how the grid is desperately trying to keep the lights on in the face of a winter massive storm.
The six-state grid relied on oil for at least a third of its power generation and for as much as 40% at times on Saturday, ISO New England data show. Natural gas provided as little as 15% by mid-afternoon.
The region typically only uses oil to meet demand on the hottest and coldest days of the year as back up. Heading into the peak evening hours, New England issued a series of grid alerts warning of a possible shortfall of power reserves and asked market members to voluntarily conserve electricity.
The operator later said it’s trying to buy emergency supplies from market participants or neighboring regions. The situation is so tight that prices jumped to more than the $2,000 a megawatt-hour price cap on Saturday evening. This time last week, spot power was in the $30 range.
While New England was always likely to be operating on tight supplies this winter, the fact that oil overtook gas, nuclear and hydro — typically the cheapest and biggest sources of power on this grid — shows a level of severity perhaps expected later in the season. Dirty Oil
The storm is already stoking up a debate about the energy transition: how to ensure there are enough power plants online to meet heating needs in extreme conditions. And when an operator resorts to a fossil fuel as dirty as oil to stave off outages, that adds another level of tension to the debate.
On the 13-state Eastern US grid operated by PJM Interconnection, gas was king but supply constraints also contributed to an unexpectedly large number of outages that prompted warnings of rotating blackouts.
Fossil fuels gained share on other grids. After the wind died down in Texas on Friday, gas accounted for 73% of power generation that night with coal making up the bulk of the rest. Coal also gained share in the Central US grid operated by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator.
ICYMI
McDonald's unveils first automated location, social media worried it will cut 'millions' of jobs
Peter Aitken Sat, December 24, 2022
McDonald’s opened its first automated restaurant, with machines handling everything from taking orders to delivering the food – and dividing opinions everywhere.
"When you step inside the test restaurant concept, you'll notice it's considerably smaller than a traditional McDonald's restaurant in the U.S.," McDonald’s said in a statement. "Why? The features—inside and outside—are geared toward customers who are planning to dine at home or on the go." The Fort Worth, Texas, location uses technology to minimize human interaction when ordering and picking up food. The restaurant features an "Order Ahead Lane" where customers can receive orders by conveyor belt, Newsweek reported.
The initiative is part of McDonald’s "Accelerating the Arches" plan, which works to grow and innovate the customer experience, but not everyone is pleased with the direction the restaurant chain has chosen.
TikTok user @foodiemunster shared a video of their experience, which showed the user going into a small but empty McDonald’s with one kiosk to order food and a conveyor belt that delivers it when ready.
"Inside the restaurant, there's a delivery pick-up room for couriers to retrieve orders quickly and conveniently," McDonald’s explained in its statement. "There are also kiosks, where customers can place their orders to go, and a pick-up shelf for orders."
"Outside the restaurant, there are several parking spaces dedicated to curbside order pick-up, as well as designated parking spaces for delivery drivers."
A customer accepts their order off the conveyor belt at the drive-thru window, avoiding all human interaction during their order process.
McDonald's stressed that a restaurant crew will remain to help prepare the orders, and the removal of tasks such as handling the register and delivering food to the front or drive-thru lanes will help improve the team's ability to assemble orders.
"The technology in this restaurant not only allows us to serve our customers in new, innovative ways, it gives our restaurant team the ability to concentrate more on order speed and accuracy, which makes the experience more enjoyable for everyone," explains Keith Vanecek, the franchisee operating the test restaurant.
The Fort Worth location that serves as the pilot for the automated program.
"I am immensely proud to have this new restaurant concept serving our customers in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex."
Social media response indicated people did not universally agree whether this was a positive or negative change: Some people celebrated the innovation as a move towards faster and more accurate orders, but others took a more cynical position and predicted that it would lead to a loss of "millions of jobs."
"Honestly, if they go through with this I'll just boycott McDonald's. Their food's mid at best anyway," one user said.
McDonald’s did not respond to a FOX Business request for comment by time of publication.
'A recession is not inevitable': White House economist Jared Bernstein on the outlook for 2023
White House chief economist Jared Bernstein told Yahoo Finance this week he’s optimistic the U.S. economy can keep growing next year, and remains encouraged by signs inflation is coming down.
“A recession is not inevitable,” Bernstein said from his office in the Old Executive Office Building, overlooking the North Lawn of the White House. “I think there are reasons to be optimistic that the path to a steady and stable transition is plausible and credible.”
Bernstein noted recent data support a likely path where the economy transitions to growth that is below last year’s levels but is still positive, while employment growth slows, in part through diminished vacancies though there are still strong job gains. This outlines, broadly, the "soft landing" scenario so much talked about by Federal Reserve watchers and Wall Street.
“You take the help wanted signs out of the window, not the workers out of the shop and that helps to take some pressure off nominal wage growth,” he said.
Bernstein suggested that the Federal Reserve’s forecast for economic growth is consistent with the model he sees for below-trend GDP. White House Council of Economic Advisers member Jared Bernstein speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 1, 2022. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Economic growth should slow, in Bernstein's view, which helps close the gap between labor demand and supply, helping to slow nominal wage growth, in turn leading to slower price growth.
“The key goal is to maintain the progress we've made thus far, particularly in the job market, while reducing inflationary pressures,” said Bernstein.
The unemployment rate, in the Fed's outline, is expected to rise to 4.6% by the end of next year, up from 3.7% as of November.
Bernstein said President Biden’s biggest economic priorities for next year include implementing key economic legislative packages passed this year: the infrastructure plan, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the CHIPS Act, which seeks to boost the manufacturing of semiconductors in the U.S.
“Not only do we think that the economy can absorb what we're trying to do here and stay on the forecasted inflation path,” Bernstein said, "but we actually think that with some of the headwinds in this economy, including the Fed’s hiking cycle and other demand issues, these measures will provide some helpful tailwinds to working Americans.” 'I hope that the peak is behind us.'
Bernstein told Yahoo Finance he feels good about the slowdown in inflation, pointing to the two-point percentage point drop in headline inflation on the consumer price index seen in recent months, from from 9.1% in June to 7.1% as of November.
Paraphrasing President Biden, Bernstein said: “I hope that the peak is behind us.”
Bernstein added the caveat: “I'm pretty cautious about calling any kind of global peak [in inflation]. We've seen head fakes before. That said, there are reasons why we're confident that we've seen some positive momentum.”
He said it’s possible the drop in prices could stick because of the slowdown in core goods inflation, thanks to the unsnarling of supply chains and the faster pace with which goods are getting shipped to shelves.
Bernstein added that by the second half of next year, the drop in rents and housing prices will start showing up in inflation data, helping put downward pressure on price increases. From there, Bernstein said he's looking for continued softening in the job market to ease wage pressure eventually and bring down inflation.
When it comes to inflation and Congress' relationship with the Fed, Bernstein said he thinks it's important fiscal policy complement monetary policy.
“This is not a good time to fight the Fed,” he said.
SURE IT IS
INCREASE TAXES NOT INTEREST RATES!!!
STILL BETA TESTING
A Tesla in 'full-self-driving' mode caused an 8-car crash in California and injured 9 people, report says
Nora Naughton
A Tesla reportedly in "full self-driving" mode caused quite a pileup in California, according to CNN.David Zalubowski/AP
Tesla's unexpected "phantom braking" problem caused an eight-car pileup, according to CNN.
NHTSA is already investigating the phenomenon known as "phantom braking."
Tesla's latest "Full Self-Driving" software can be engaged on surface roads.
Tesla's "phantom braking" problem, already under federal investigation, caused an eight-car pileup in the San Francisco Bay Area last month, according to a report from CNN.
Nine people were treated for injuries following the crash, including one juvenile who was hospitalized, according to a report detailing the crash that CNN reports it obtained via a records request.
The driver of the vehicle that caused the crash told authorities his Tesla was in "full-self-driving" mode at the time of the accident, CNN reports.
In the report, the California Highway Patrol said it could not confirm if the "full-self-driving" software was active at the time of the crash, per CNN.
The crash occurred on Thanksgiving, hours after Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced on Twitter that the car company's "Full Self-Driving Beta" would be available to all Tesla drivers in North America who have purchased the option.
In previous complaints to NHTSA, Tesla owners have recounted incidents in which their vehicles unexpectedly and violently brake at highway speeds. These incidents tend to happen when the driver has switched on their Tesla's Autopilot system, which automatically accelerates, brakes, and steers on highways.
Tesla's "Full Self-Driving Beta," released on Thanksgiving, takes that automated driving system one step further. Instead of being limited to highway driving, Tesla owners with Autopilot can hand over control of their vehicle to the "self-driving" software on surface roads, and the Tesla is supposed to complete full trips on its own.
The new software appears to still have some bugs to work through. Earlier this week, a YouTuber posted a video of their 23-minute drive to work using the Full Self-Driving beta highlighting how stressful the software can be to use.
Ultimately, the YouTuber said he's comfortable using FSD on the highway, but "not much else."
Year End: California's Electric Vehicle Law Takes Nation into New Territory
California's move to ban the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles is inspiring support and courting controversy.
The California Air Resources Board on Aug. 25 put the internal combustion engine on notice.
Declaring that global warming is “a significant threat,” the agency, which is charged with protecting the public from the harmful effects of air pollution, banned the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles starting in 2035.
"California experiences a wider range of the effects of climate change and suffers these effects to a greater degree than other states in the nation," the resolution said, "including extreme and prolonged drought, dwindling supplies of fresh water from loss of snowpack, more extensive and severe wildfires, and rising storm surges and sea levels.”
The move followed California Gov. Gavin Newsom's 2020 executive order to shift the the largest auto market in the U.S away from the internal combustion engines.
The board's action was hardly the Golden State's first attempt to combat air pollution. In 1966, California established the first tailpipe emissions standards in the nation. California Out Ahead of Other States
The board went on to adopt the nation's first nitrous oxide emissions test for cards and and led the way to the development of the catalytic converter, which remove smog-forming hydrocarbons from exhaust gas.
"California is out ahead of other US states in banning internal combustion vehicle sales after the mid-2030s, though it is no longer alone," said Timothy Johnson, professor of the practice of energy and the environment at Duke University,
"I expect the trend to continue at the state level, and US cities and the federal government are getting into the act, for instance, by setting goals for fleet vehicle electrification," he added.
Other states are indeed following California's example. New York, Washington, Massachusetts, Oregon and Vermont are expected to adopt a similar 2035 mandate. Minnesota and Virginia may also follow suit,
Outside of the U.S., the European Union is looking to ban the sale of new diesel and gasoline cars and vans. In October, the European Council and European Parliament came to a provisional agreement on the idea.
"So, I think it is fair to say that we are at an EV tipping point," Johnson added. "In addition to government efforts to electrify transportation, the global auto industry no longer considers electric vehicles a niche, and many manufacturers are now planning for an all-electric future.. And the same applies to utilities."
Johnson said he expects these collective actions will "create a critical mass that will eventually turn public opinion and get EVs into places that are not actively promoting the transition."
"But a lot must be done if these policies are to succeed," he said. Battery Production Needs to Ramp Up
One of the challenges will be increasing battery manufacturing. Edward Anderson, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin's McCombs School of Business, said automakers have forecast plans to build about 50 million electric vehicles by 2030.
"Estimates are that world battery production in 2030 will only be sufficient to enable building 30 Million EVs, leaving a gap of 20 million vehicles that won't have batteries in 2030," he said. "Ramping up battery plants can be done in principle in two to three years."
However, Anderson said ramping up lithium mining and lithium chemical refining will take closer to a decade.
"So, it's probably too late to make up the 20 million EV gap, even if we start now," he said.
The net result, Anderson said, "is that battery prices are going to increase over the next few years, which feeds into one of the bigger criticisms of the mandate, which is that EVs are more expensive than gas vehicles."
Johnson also noted the need for increased battery production as it will mean "a lot more mining and public acceptance of this activity on a short time frame if we want to manage the economic impacts of supply constraints."
"Mining and mineral processing can be cleaner, but there is no escaping the need to move dirt and disrupt the landscape," he said. "And all that electricity needs to be clean. Solar and wind are not the only forms of zero-carbon electricity available, but they must scale well beyond what we see today." 'Using EVs as Punching Bag'
This, in turn, Johnson said, "brings us back to demand for land and the resulting landscape changes."
"If politicians want to use EVs as a punching bag, issues like this will unfortunately provide likely targets," he said.
Another concern is the lack of charging stations, which Anderson said "disadvantages those with long commutes or those who live in apartments."
"It will also disadvantage those who live in cold states, because—unlike gas cars which use waste heat from the engine—the batteries will have to be drained to produce heat," he said.
Resistance is also coming on the political front.
In May, the Republican attorneys general of 17 states filed a lawsuit charging that Michael Regan, the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, of violating the Constitution’s equal sovereignty doctrine by granting California the authority to set emissions restrictions that are stricter than the national limit.
The EPA reinstated California's authority under the Clean Air Act to implement its own emissions standards, which had been revoked in 2019 under former President Donald Trump.
"Today we proudly reaffirm California’s longstanding authority to lead in addressing pollution from cars and trucks,” Regan said in a March 9 statement. "With today’s action, we reinstate an approach that for years has helped advance clean technologies and cut air pollution for people not just in California, but for the U.S. as a whole.”
