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States Are Pushing for More Scrutiny of Antisemitism in Schools
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In the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas two years ago, high school teacher Josh Hirsch posted comments on social media in support of Israel. It was unrealistic for Hamas to expect a ceasefire, he wrote, as long as they were holding hostages.
Soon afterward, a former student called for his firing. A note taped outside the door of his Adams County, Colorado, classroom contained his wife’s name and their home address. And a sticker that appeared on his chair read: “Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.”
The reaction startled Hirsch, the only Jewish teacher in his school building. For the first time in his 14-year career, he considered quitting. He stayed and joined an educators’ advocacy network created by the Anti-Defamation League, a way he saw to make schools more inclusive of diverse viewpoints.
“I’ve been a teacher and tried to keep my focus on being the best teacher I could,” he said.
Tensions over the Israel-Hamas war have spilled into schools around the U.S., with advocates reporting a rise in antisemitic harassment since the 2023 surprise attack on Israel. While some argue school leaders have failed to take the threat seriously, others warn criticism of Israel and the military campaign in Gaza are interpreted too often as hate speech.
The Trump administration has not punished school systems the way it has hit colleges accused of tolerating antisemitism, but schools are still facing pressure to respond more aggressively. Several states have pressed for new vigilance, including legislation that critics say would stifle free speech.
Both conservative and liberal states apply more scrutiny
Lawmakers in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Tennessee have passed measures to increase school accountability for complaints of antisemitism, and a law signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, will provide training to identify and prevent antisemitism in schools. In Arizona, the Democratic governor vetoed a bill on how to deal with reports of antisemitism in schools, calling it an attack on educators.
Many of the measures, including one signed by Oklahoma’s Republican governor, call for adoption of a definition of antisemitism that casts certain criticism of Israel as hate speech.
“These bills make it clear that Oklahoma stands with our Jewish communities and will not tolerate hatred disguised as political discourse,” said Kristen Thompson, a Republican state senator in Oklahoma who authored the legislation.
Dozens of states have adopted the definition promoted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, which is also recognized by the U.S. State Department. It lists 11 examples of antisemitic conduct, such as applying “double standards” to Israel or comparing the country’s policies to Nazism.
While supporters of this definition of antisemitism say it is necessary to combat evolving forms of Jewish hate, civil liberties groups warn it suppresses pro-Palestinian speech.
Trump administration approach contrasts with attacks on colleges
The Trump administration has leveraged antisemitism investigations in its efforts to reshape higher education, suspending billions of dollars in federal funding to Harvard, Columbia and other universities over allegations they tolerated hate speech, especially during protests over the Israel-Hamas war.
The White House has not gotten as involved at the K-12 level. At congressional hearings, House Republicans have taken some large school systems to task over their handling of antisemitism, but the administration largely has left it to the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights to address complaints.
In one of the cases under investigation, a complaint described students at the Berkeley Unified School District in California asking Jewish classmates what “their number is,” referring to numbers tattooed on Jews during the Holocaust. It also said teachers made antisemitic comments and led walkouts that praised Hamas.
The district did not respond to a request for comment.
In another California case, the family of a 14-year-old girl filed a federal lawsuit last year alleging she had to leave University Preparatory Academy, a charter school in San Jose, in 2023 because of antisemitic bullying. After the Hamas attack, she said students called her names, including “terrorist.” The California Department of Education and the school said they could not comment on pending litigation.
Nationwide, the ADL recorded 860 antisemitic incidents in non-Jewish schools last year, ranging from name-calling and swastikas etched on lockers to antisemitic materials being taught in classrooms. The number was down from over 1,100 recorded in 2023, but well above numbers in prior years, according to the ADL.
A Massachusetts state commission formed last year to combat antisemitism found it was a “pervasive and escalating problem” in schools.
At one meeting, a commission co-chair, Democratic state Rep. Simon Cataldo, said the Massachusetts Teachers Association was sharing antisemitic resources with teachers, including a kindergarten workbook that describes Zionists as “bullies” and an image of a Star of David made of dollar bills. The union said those were singled out among hundreds of images in art and posters about Palestinians, and links to those materials were removed.
The union said it has engaged in efforts to confront increases in both antisemitism and Islamophobia and accused the commission of “offensive political theater.”
“Those who manipulate antisemitism to achieve political objectives — such as undermining labor unions and public educators — are following the lead of the Trump administration,” the union said in a statement.
Margaret Litvin, an associate professor of Arabic and comparative literature at Boston University, said the commission was “deliberately conflating criticism of Israel with prejudice against Jews and bias against Jews.” That approach will be used to justify “heavy-handed” interference by the state in school district affairs, said Litvin, co-founder of the Boston-area Concerned Jewish Faculty and Staff group.
Controversy reaches the biggest teachers union
The tension reached the National Education Association, the nation’s largest teachers union, which this summer weighed a proposal to drop ADL classroom materials that educators use to teach about the Holocaust and bias. Backers said the ADL had an outsize influence on school curricula and policy, with an underlying pro-Israel viewpoint.
Delegates at the union’s representative assembly narrowly voted to approve the proposal, but they were overruled by the NEA board of directors. Union President Becky Pringle said the proposal “would not further NEA’s commitment to academic freedom, our membership, or our goals.”
In the aftermath, the ADL invited K-12 educators to join a new network called BEACON: Building Educator Allies for Change, Openness, and Networks, which it said is intended to help educators learn from each other how to address and combat antisemitism and other forms of hate.
Hirsch, the teacher in Colorado, was among hundreds who expressed interest.
Some of the blowback he faced stemmed from his online commentary about local activist organizations. After donating money to Black Lives Matter groups and supporting them with a sign in his yard, he expressed feelings of betrayal to see the groups expressing support for Palestinians and not Israel.
He said he was surprised by the reaction to the posts in his predominantly Hispanic school community. A former debate coach, he aims through his work with the ADL network to help students share their opinions in constructive ways.
“If we’re giving them the opportunity to hate and we’re giving them the opportunity to make enemies of someone, it really is counterproductive to what we’re trying to do as a society,” he said.
The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
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Photos You Should See – Oct. 2025
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‘We want to be good’: 3 years in the making, Menlo flag football’s first CCS Open title showcases excellence
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Menlo School flag football, the team many consider the best in the Bay Area, legitimized that hype by winning the first CCS Open Division championship game on Saturday in Santa Clara.Offer valid for non-subscribers only
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Suspect in murder of California family asked online psychic:
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Mark and Marla Palumbo were concerned when their friend and business partner Dr. Henry Han failed to show up for a meeting on March 23, 2016. They would learn the horrific reason why the following day from a news report.
Marla Palumbo: I was in the kitchen on my computer and I kept checking … And I just remember screaming, “they’re all dead.”
Dr. Han, his wife Jennie, and their 5-year-old daughter Emily were found dead in the garage of their Santa Barbara home. Mark Palumbo had just seen them on his way back from a business trip.
Mark Palumbo: We went out for dinner … played Connect Four with Emily.
Mark and Maria Palumbo
Marla Palumbo: He brought his phone to me and I’m just looking at all these pictures of Emily … and they were … taken the Friday before …
Natalie Morales: Just horrific.
Marla Palumbo: Yeah. … and she’s just goofing around with a book … making all these funny faces and … you could tell … she was loving life.
Business Agreement Signed the Last Day of Victim’s Life Led to a Person of Interest
The Palumbos had recently embarked on a new business venture with Dr. Han.
Mark Palumbo: I really loved the guy. I mean he really was smart and curious and open-minded …
Marla Palumbo: He had to come with food … and in shorts and flip-flops you know … just no … air about him.
Natalie Morales: But what made you trust him?
Marla Palumbo: His passion.
Mark Palumbo: Yeah. The way he cared about people.
Don Goldberg had known Dr. Han for more than 25 years and thought of him as a brother. To Goldberg, he was just “Henry.”
Don Goldberg: I was … approximately 10 years older than Henry, but he still called me his younger brother. … you just don’t come across a friend like Henry … It’s once in a lifetime friendship.
Santa Barbara Herb Clinic
When they met, Henry Han was making a name for himself after emigrating from China, where he came from a family of physicians. He would soon take over the Santa Barbara Herb Clinic.
Dr. Glenn Miller: I had several patients … who had had medication side effects … They would say … I went to see Doctor Han … and it went away. … And it was like, I gotta meet this guy.
Dr. Glenn Miller, a psychiatrist, says he and Henry Han developed a mutual respect and even partnered on a book about how Eastern and Western medicine could work together to improve patients’ quality of life.
Dr. Glenn Miller: Henry’s practice was flourishing … as far as active patients, he would see like in a month, it was hundreds … but he also tried to balance it.
In 2009, that balance he was seeking became a reality, when Henry met and married Jennie Yu.
Dr. Glenn Miller: He seemed incredibly happy … It was good to see Henry that happy.
Marla Palumbo: Jennie … was absolutely warm and lovely.
Santa Barbara D.A.’s Office
When they had Emily, the dream was complete.
Don Goldberg: Henry was just … on cloud nine. He was very proud father.
They were often together at the clinic, where Jennie had quickly become Henry’s right hand, says her friend Isaiah Oregon.
Isaiah Oregon: He really trusted her and let her kind of take the reins …
In the spring of 2016, they were getting ready to celebrate Emily’s 6th birthday.
Isaiah Oregon: We were making plans for her birthday party and … you know, had all her presents wrapped.
But just three days shy of her birthday, her loved ones were stricken with grief.
Don Goldberg: I don’t really have adequate words to describe h — how I felt … The sadness … is too deep.
As night fell on the Han estate on Wednesday, March 23, Goldberg tried to process what he had just witnessed. He had called 911 when he couldn’t find the Hans anywhere, and he was with sheriff’s deputies when they discovered the bodies in the garage wrapped in plastic.
Don Goldberg: None of it made any sense at all.
Prosecutor Ben Ladinig says it was shortly before midnight when Santa Barbara sheriff’s investigators obtained a search warrant and began to piece together what had happened inside the house. It appeared the family had been shot while they slept upstairs on the second floor — Henry in the couple’s bedroom, and Jennie and Emily across the hall in Emily’s room.
Ben Ladinig: Emily’s room was tough to see … Mom … probably read her stories to have Emily go to sleep that night and was sleeping with her.
Natalie Morales: What did that tell you about the depravity of the kind of person who could do something like that? … What were they after?
Ben Ladinig: We didn’t know what he was after. But … the depravity I’ve never seen anything like it.
Detectives picked up on the distinct smell of the murderer’s attempts to cover his tracks.
Ben Ladinig: The smell of bleach … was there. …We had bleach bottles found … There were bleach … stains on the carpet and throughout other items upstairs … and then you see bloody things in … a washing machine.
All the bedding, which had been stripped from the beds was found piled in the laundry room and in the machine.
Ben Ladinig: The washing machine, the alarm had gone off because it — the load was unbalanced. And within there are a huge group of bloody sheets …
Santa Barbara D.A.’s Office
Wedged in pillows in the laundry, crime scene investigators found a .22 caliber bullet and bullet fragments. Three matching shell casings were found within the wrapping of Jennie’s body, and one was later found lodged between the baseboard and box spring of Emily’s bed.
Ben Ladinig: We had one bullet that was a through and through … it was perfect for comparison … for … the murder weapon.
Ben Ladinig: As things are going, we start to find clues as to … who potentially could be involved.
Inside a paper bag next to Henry’s bed, detectives found a document signed the last day Henry was seen alive. It provided a name.
Ben Ladinig: It’s basically a four-page business contract between two partners. Partner one, Pierre Haobsh, and partner two, Dr. Han.
Don Goldberg knew a Pierre that Dr. Han was associated with, but Goldberg thought he was harmless.
Don Goldberg: I did not think that … Pierre was capable of … murder … I never really saw Pierre become angry or agitated.
But the Palumbos had a bad feeling.
Natalie Morales: You didn’t trust him?
Mark Palumbo: I did not.
A Suspect is Sought as a Community Mourns
The indelible scar left by the murders was the kind that not even Dr. Han could’ve healed.
Paul Wellman/Santa Barbara Independent
Kymberlee Ruff: It was like a bomb exploded … Nobody could move for weeks. … There is something … very, very, very dark going on.
Kymberlee Ruff says Dr. Han treated her family for two decades — ever since she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer shortly after giving birth to her son. Ruff says Dr. Han’s holistic approach allowed her to nurse her newborn while still treating her tumors.
Kymberlee Ruff: He could do anything. … No matter how scared you might be, or- or frightened, you just left feeling like it’s gonna be OK. Yeah, he was something.
Instilling hope may have been one of the secrets to why his patients say Dr. Han could heal just about anything.
Sheri Buron: Dr. Han, like, saved my life.
Sheri Buron was also a young mother with cancer when she went to Dr. Han.
Sheri Buron: My daughter, Abbey, was 15 months old … I felt a lump under my armpit.
Even though she had the prescribed surgery and chemotherapy, she credits Dr. Han with her survival.
Sheri Buron: There were so many people that passed away around me. … He got me through it.
Natalie Morales: What was the impact for you of his loss?
Sheri Buron: It’s the fear of … if something comes back. … And I’m … trying every day to be positive and … try to stay with his level of calm and how much confidence he had that like everything’s taken care of.
That conviction is what had drawn the Palumbos — who worked in the skincare industry — into their partnership with Dr. Han, hoping to treat various skin maladies.
Marla Palumbo: Henry was very interested in CBD.
Having used CBD in his practice to treat pain and inflammation, Henry Han wanted to harness its full potential. It was groundbreaking science at the time, and he wanted 25-year-old Pierre Haobsh to help develop it.
Don Goldberg: Pierre … from what we gathered had a lot of experience, uh, in laboratories … in this case relating to CBD.
Henry Han had taken a liking to Haobsh after meeting him through another associate, but the Palumbos were uncomfortable with Pierre from the start.
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Marla Palumbo: You know how when you meet somebody … you can’t put your finger on it … but something’s not right. That was Pierre.
Mark Palumbo: It was always this kind of little boiling simmer.
When it came time to do the lab work, the Palumbos say the results were disturbing.
Marla Palumbo: What we came to find out was he was using toxic materials … when … we called him on it … he said, you know, “I’m just learning more about the molecules” … it was just weird.
As it turned out, Haobsh wasn’t a formally trained scientist. He didn’t even have a college degree.
Mark Palumbo: The more you got under that surface, the more you realize that he could, uh, talk a game and stay over the folks’ heads a bit scientifically …
Natalie Morales: Sounds like he was sort of … a snake oil salesman-type, right?
Marla Palumbo: He was —
Mark Palumbo: — sophisticated one, but yes —
Marla Palumbo: Yeah, very sophisticated one.
There was more eyebrow-raising behavior — Haobsh had also made odd charges on Henry Han’s account.
Marla Palumbo: I was doing all the finances … And I’m like, this doesn’t look right.
Natalie Morales: Not a business expense —
Marla Palumbo: Not at all.
After Marla Palumbo flagged the charges to Henry Han, he discovered they were for escort services.
Marla Palumbo: Henry was, “You won’t believe this! Pierre’s out.”
Natalie Morales: That was the final straw.
Marla Palumbo: That was Henry’s final straw.
Mark Palumbo: For Henry, yeah.
But then, a few weeks before the murders, the Palumbos say Henry Han brought up Pierre Haobsh out of the blue.
Marla Palumbo: Henry mentioned that he had learned a lot more about Pierre’s upbringing … how much Pierre had to overcome from his childhood. … Mark nor I really responded. We didn’t want to have Pierre back in our fold at all.
The Palumbos were not alone in being wary of Pierre Haobsh. Jennie Han’s friend, Isaiah Oregon, says Jennie also had concerns and confided in him about them four days before the murders.
Isaiah Oregon: It was weighing on her heavily. … “Do we trust him? … Do we give him another chance?” … I was like, “Absolutely not.” … If he stole from you before, he’s gonna steal from you again.”
But Pierre Haobsh had already ingratiated himself back into Henry’s good will.
Don Goldberg: Henry had a very trusting nature … Henry had shared with me that Pierre told him that he was … ill … that it was late-stage cancer and that, uh, he was going to do what he could to help Pierre.
Isaiah Oregon: Using Henry’s good nature … by lying to him, by manipulating him.
Authorities learned that Haobsh had been an overnight guest at the Han’s home before the murders and had formed a new partnership with the healer. There was that contract found in the master bedroom they had signed the last day of Henry’s life. But Prosecutor Ben Ladinig says it didn’t seem legitimate.
Ben Ladinig: It … was like a college sophomore drafted it. … It was not notarized, not witnessed.
Detectives had found something else of interest.
Ben Ladinig: A brilliant detective … found … packaging to … the plastic … wrapping … that all three of the Han family were wrapped in … In a trash can, in the kitchen area next to packaging … of 3M duct tape, similar to the duct tape that was used to wrap all three of the bodies.
Santa Barbara D.A.’s Office
He recognized the plastic wrap was a Home Depot brand and reached out to the company’s security department.
Ben Ladinig: And Home Depot was, within hours of us … gaining an entry into the house, able to run those two items together, to see if they had been purchased in the Southern California region within the last several days or weeks.
A Home Depot in Oceanside, California, had security footage of a man who matched the DMV photo of Pierre Haobsh, who also happened to have an Oceanside address.
Ben Ladinig: And that was “Bam!” We knew. … He’s walking out with three huge plastic rolls … and sure enough, duct tape.
Santa Barbara D.A.’s Office
Natalie Morales: So within hours of … the crime scene being discovered, Pierre Haobsh became … a person of interest.
Ben Ladinig: Yes.
But where was Haobsh now? Detectives had a hunch. Data from the Hans’ cellphones — which were missing — showed they were traveling south, further, and further from Santa Barbara.
Ben Ladinig: Then inexplicably, Henry’s phone goes dark … but Jennie’s is still on and it keeps going south. …We’re getting basically digital footprints leading down to the Oceanside area from a dead woman’s phone.
A Key Witness Tells Detectives Pierre Haobsh Confessed to Him
Sgt. Anthony Flores (driving): Anytime you’re trying to stop somebody that is wanted for homicide, the stakes are gonna be high.
The day after the Han family was found murdered, a manhunt was underway in Oceanside, California — nearly 200 miles from the crime scene. Sgt. Anthony Flores and his partner were part of the local Oceanside Police team assisting the Santa Barbara investigation.
Sgt. Anthony Flores: We had come in to work with our Special Enforcement section … And we were gonna be the stop car for that day. … If … given a window of opportunity … to take him into custody or potentially stop him.
Meanwhile, undercover detectives were conducting surveillance at the residence Pierre Haobsh shared with his father and updating all units — including the homicide team that had driven down from Santa Barbara with Prosecutor Ben Ladinig.
Ben Ladinig: All of a sudden, we get chatter … on our intercoms … “dad’s on the move.”
The surveillance team followed Pierre Haobsh’s father as he drove to a Walmart parking lot, where security cameras captured him meeting up with none other than Pierre.
Santa Barbara D.A.’s Office
Ben Ladinig: That’s dad driving in … sedan and then you see the Lexus following shortly behind … They appear to be communicating briefly together … you can just see that trunk pop — on dad’s car.
After transferring two large duffel bags to Pierre Haobsh’s car, they both drove off.
Ben Ladinig: We gotta move quickly.
Sgt. Anthony Flores (driving): It was … a little after midnight and … we had just got the update that the suspect was on the move … As we’re traveling, we’re hearing that he’s pulling into the ARCO station.
Sgt. Anthony Flores: He had a few miles of a head start.
The other units and Ladinig had pulled over by the ARCO station waiting for the arrest team to arrive.
Ben Ladinig: Then all of a sudden, you see … an unmarked car … drive right through the middle of that intersection … sparks fly and … it just basically comes in, pulls in and lays on the brakes … Two huge dudes get outta the car and pull gun on him and prone him out. And our eyes are like saucers. We’re like, whoa.
Natalie Morales: Wow.
Santa Barbara D.A.’s Office
Natalie Morales (at ARCO station): It’s 200 miles away that this investigation started and it culminated here.
Sergeant Flores had handcuffed Pierre Haobsh.
Natalie Morales (at ARCO station): What do you remember about that arrest?
Sgt. Anthony Flores: I remember it going down really fast … all of our senses were heightened …
Within 48 hours of the murders, investigators had the Han family’s alleged killer in custody. Pierre Haobsh waived his Miranda rights and started talking to detectives. What he told them was something out of a spy thriller. He claimed that his life was in danger.
PIERRE HAOBSH (to detective): Over the past couple of days, I—I kid you not I’ve been shot at. … probably about five individuals so far that I shot in self-defense.
He claimed he was being targeted because of a scientific marvel he had invented.
DET. HENDERSON: What does it do?
PIERRE HAOBSH: It’s, um, it’s a very, very advanced energy source. … it’s — it’s a quantum kinda energy source. … I think probably at least 15 individuals who have been connected to this project are — are dead.
Santa Barbara Superior Court
Pierre Haobsh said he had gone to Dr. Han’s house earlier in the week to install one of his perpetual energy devices and that the plastic wrap and duct tape he was seen purchasing were for that purpose.
PIERRE HAOBSH (to detective): Dr. Henry, we, um, we signed a contract together … he was going to facilitate taking the technology out to China. … love— love the guy to death. … he really, um, really liked this project …
Pierre Haobsh said he had left Santa Barbara around 2 p.m. on March 22 — the day before the murders — after signing the contract. But detectives pushed back.
DET. HENDERSON: There’s more to this story that you’re not telling me. … Dr. Han is dead.
PIERRE HAOBSH: What!? … I had —no clue that — oh my gosh. Everything was perfectly fine when I left.
Pierre Haobsh was adamant he would never hurt the family and insisted the shadowy figures who had been after him had killed the Hans and were trying to frame him for murder.
PIERRE HAOBSH (to detective): … I invented a technology that changes the world… oil companies and people don’t want this technology out there.
Ben Ladinig: It was this massive conspiracy to keep this … next-level energy system from getting out to market. … “James Bond,” “Mission Impossible” … this fantastical life.
Pierre Haobsh’s outlandish story continued, but then detectives received an unexpected call from someone who claimed to have information about the murders.
TJ Direda: I’m a pretty rough around the edges guy … I have rough around the edges friends.
TJ Direda was a marijuana grower who said Dr. Han had approached him about supplying CBD-rich strains. Direda had also met Pierre Haobsh.
TJ Direda: Dr. Henry had told me … that he was … like a prodigy street chemist … he had done some stuff that was ahead of his time.
Natalie Morales: So, a little bit of a mad scientist?
TJ Direda: Yeah, I would say.
Natalie Morales: Perhaps, yeah.
According to Direda, Pierre Haobsh had a penchant for making up grandiose stories to seek attention. But he befriended him, nonetheless.
TJ Direda: He was … that … awkward … kid that wanted to fit in. … And … I was the guy in high school that stuck up for kids like that … So … I, uh, took an interest in him … in that regard. …
Natalie Morales: You think he trusted you then?
TJ Direda: Oh, he absolutely trusted me.
As Direda revealed to detectives, Pierre Haobsh had reached out to him via text the morning of the murders. The message sent at 09:39 a.m. said: “I need your help with something urgently… Like its urgent!!!!!”
Natalie Morales: What was he asking for?
TJ Direda: Uh, he needed my help. … moving something.
He says Pierre Haobsh told him he was in Santa Barbara and needed to talk face to face. So Direda had him come to his house in Thousand Oaks, about an hour away.
TJ Direda: The first thing out of his mouth … “just so you know, I’m a monster.” … He had told me right then and there that he had killed Dr. Henry … his wife and his child … and needed help …
Natalie Morales: Did he give you details … of what he did?
TJ Direda: He did.
Direda told detectives Pierre Haobsh said he had tried to put the bodies in his car, but they wouldn’t all fit and Henry was too heavy — details Ladinig says only the killer would know.
Ben Ladinig: How the killings were done, how the bodies were wrapped up … how he had the doctor’s phone …
Direda told detectives Pierre Haobsh had also revealed his motive: $20 million that he planned to drain from Henry’s accounts after killing the family. Direda says he didn’t know if what he was hearing was another one of Haobsh’s far-fetched stories. And until he knew for sure, he decided to play along.
TJ Direda: I just wanted to get him out of the house and confirm whether what he had just said was true or not. … I said let me work on it and I’ll call you later …
Once Pierre Haobsh was gone, Direda tried to reach Dr. Han and anyone who might have information, to no avail.
TJ Direda: I didn’t want to call the police because I didn’t — I wasn’t sure yet … it was chaotic. It was … it was scary and also … confusing.
Pierre Haobsh kept messaging him. Around 5 p.m., when Direda still hadn’t provided any assistance, Haobsh texted him with a proposition.
Natalie Morales: “Want to come to Vegas tonight? I’ll pay.” What did you think the reason for that all-of-a-sudden trip to Vegas?
TJ Direda: At that point, I wasn’t sure. It didn’t sound right … He was probably gonna kill me and somehow make it look like I had something to do with it.
Natalie Morales: You were gonna be the fall guy.
TJ Direda: Right.
Direda made up an excuse why he couldn’t go. And Haobsh would send him one final text at 7:35 p.m. that night: “Yep. Am screwed. They just found everything. My lives over. Only if I got to it all sooner.”
Ladinig says Pierre Haobsh had just returned to the crime scene with a big truck to transport the bodies, but law enforcement had beaten him to the scene.
Ben Ladinig: He knew his goose was cooked.
More Disturbing Details About the Han Family Murders Emerge
Pierre Haobsh’s arrest near Oceanside, California, had come at a critical juncture. He was armed with a 9-millimeter handgun that was in plain view on the driver’s side floorboard. He also had his passport and those duffel bags, which he had received from his father minutes earlier.
Ben Ladinig: Two “go bags.” … Basically, whatever you need, clothes … everything for the person to live for months.
Haobsh’s father was also detained and questioned, but he was released later that morning.
Ben Ladinig: We could’ve charged him … as an accessory, but we didn’t have any indication. … that dad … was involved in any way, shape, or form in the killing …
The next day, during a closer examination of Haobsh’s car at the crime lab, “You name it we found it in that car,” said Ladinig.
There was Henry’s wallet, credit card and Social Security number, along with an expended shell casing. There were also the victims’ phones and tablet, all wrapped in aluminum foil, in an attempt to evade tracking.
Ben Ladinig: And in the trunk … you lift up where the spare tire would be … the murder weapon … suppressor silencer, ammunition.
The Santa Barbara Independent
A week after the murders, the autopsies revealed the victims had been shot 14 times — three each into Henry and Jennie, and most disturbing, eight in Emily.
Ben Ladinig: That ammunition … is the same stuff that we found at the crime scene, in the decedent’s bodies … Match, match, match, match, match. Everything.
Pierre Haobsh was charged with three counts of first-degree murder, making him eligible for the death penalty.
Defense attorney Christine Voss, who was with the Public Defender’s Office at the time, represented Haobsh.
Christine Voss: It was one of the most challenging cases, if not the most challenging case I ever came upon. … He really wanted to be vindicated. … To me, the goal was for him to not get death.
At the eleventh hour, the D.A.’s office agreed to waive the death penalty in exchange for a more expedient bench trial, which meant a judge, not a jury, would render a verdict.
On Oct. 25, 2021 more than five-and-a-half years after the murders, the prosecution delivered its opening statement and laid out its theory of the case — that Pierre Haobsh had plotted the murder of the Han family for financial gain. They painted him as a career con man who up until the murders flaunted his intelligence and supposed wealth.
Marla Palumbo: His entire life’s drive was being rich.
Ben Ladinig: He … sent … screenshots of his Chase account from anywhere from about $3 million up to $940 million dollars to various people attempting to dupe them that he’s this jet setting, billionaire.
Pierre Haobsh claimed he had received big offers for his energy technology.
Christine Voss: I’m not a scientist, but I don’t know that there’s a such thing as a perpetual energy machine.
But several years before the murders, Haobsh was actually being paid to build one.
Samantha Spidell: It was gonna be a new source of energy as if he was, you know, an Elon Musk …
Samantha Spidell met Pierre Haobsh circa 2012 when he moved into a penthouse apartment in a luxury high-rise she managed in Tempe, Arizona.
Samantha Spidell: He … pulled up … and had this … bright red Ferrari … it was very flashy.
Ladinig says Haobsh had duped a group of high-rolling investors into financing his invention, until they realized it didn’t actually work.
Ben Ladinig: He had basically defrauded all these people and the money dried up … When the murders were committed I think he had less than $500 to his name.
Prosecutors presented a detailed timeline retracing Haobsh’s movements, including his digital footprint, in the days before and after the murders. They say as early as March 17 — six days before the murders — he had looked into impersonating the doctor at his bank.
Ben Ladinig: He’s searching for Asian disguises and real flesh masks.
Natalie Morales: Like a “Mission Impossible” face mask.
Ben Ladinig: Right. Hundred percent. … this is his fantastical world that he lived in.
There’s no evidence he ever purchased a mask. But a time-stamped receipt and security video placed him at an Arizona gun store four days before the murders — purchasing ammunition and two firearms, including the alleged murder weapon.
Ben Ladinig: — a .22 pistol with a threaded barrel … for what is a silencer or suppressor …
On March 20, he was back in Oceanside, California, buying supplies before driving up to the Han’s house under the guise of installing the energy machine. Instead, Ladinig says Pierre Haobsh bugged Henry Han’s computer with a spyware app called a keylogger.
Ben Ladinig: What keyloggers do is every stroke, every click of the mouse, every navigation page you go, it documents all of it.
To their surprise, investigators also found the keylogger on Pierre Haobsh’s laptop. On March 21, while Haobsh was still at the Han’s home, the keylogger had recorded chilling search terms on his laptop.
Ben Ladinig: What part of the skull is more penetrable? … What ammunition would be better …
Natalie Morales: As a guest in Dr. Han’s house –
Ben Ladinig: A guest— he’d been staying there –
Natalie Morales: — for the two nights before … Planning, this execution-style murder.
Ben Ladinig: Yes.
Pierre Haobsh left the Han residence on March 22, but prosecutors allege he went back around 4 a.m. the next morning to carry out the murders. They say later that day he began frantically trying to siphon money from Henry Han’s accounts.
Ben Ladinig: He’s using phones. … He’s using fake email accounts. He’s doing all these things from … personal identifying information of Dr. Han’s that he stole earlier that week.
A Chase fraud alert had flagged an attempted payment for $72,000. Meanwhile, Pierre Haobsh also rented that big truck he allegedly drove to the crime scene hoping to move the bodies.
Ben Ladinig: There are black and whites all over that house. … The crime scene’s being processed.
The Palumbos say the meeting they were supposed to have with Henry Han just hours after he was murdered had foiled Pierre Haobsh’s plans.
Marla Palumbo: He thought … that he had that whole day to clean up his mess before Henry would be missed.
Mark Palumbo: He wasn’t fast enough.
Marla Palumbo: I think we screwed it up for him, happily.
That’s when prosecutors say he fled, driving south toward Oceanside. Ladinig argues Pierre Haobsh’s subsequent searches betray his guilty conscience: “is car searched entering tijuana”; “How Crime Scene Investigation Works“; and “how long do fingerprints take to process”. Incredibly, he even consulted an online psychic named Count Marco and asked him “will I get causght for what I did?”
Ben Ladinig: And Count Marco replies, well, what did you do, Pierre?
Pierre Haobsh never gave Count Marco an explanation, but on the stand, he couldn’t stop talking.
Pierre Haobsh Tells an Outlandish Story on the Stand
Christine Voss: This was a tough case … but that didn’t change the fact that Pierre was entitled to a vigorous defense.
Defense Attorney Christine Voss was in an unusual position.
Christine Voss: This was a really well investigated case. … Because my client wanted to have a trial and wanted me to turn every stone, I did.
Turn every stone and raise any possible reasonable doubt.
Natalie Morales: You argued that there were elements presented that were implausible … unprovable and simply impossible, those were your words.
Christine Voss: Yeah.
Voss expressed concerns that the alleged murder weapon and silencer found in Haobsh’s car didn’t match up.
Christine Voss: It absolutely did not connect to the firearm that they believed was the murder weapon.
She seized on discrepancies in the location data from Haobsh’s car and phone that the prosecution had used in its timeline.
Christine Voss: He could not possibly have been in San Diego and Santa Barbara simultaneously, or Thousand Oaks and Santa Barbara simultaneously. But that’s what the GPS data showed.
And she attacked the credibility of the prosecution’s star witness, TJ Direda. Voss questioned why Direda waited nearly two days to contact authorities, and argued in that time, he could have gotten details about the crime scene that the prosecution claimed only the killer knew.
Christine Voss: It was not the best kept crime scene … he was making various phone calls after he heard about the death of Dr. Han …
But Voss concedes much of Direda’s testimony was corroborated by the evidence.
Ben Ladinig: This case was over within the first 72 hours.
Santa Barbara Independent/Ryan P. Cruz
In fact, the only witness who provided testimony that someone other than Pierre Haobsh was the killer was Pierre Haobsh. During three days on the stand, he repeated the action-packed account he’d given detectives about having shootouts with shadowy figures. Now he said he was sure they were sent by the Department of Energy.
Natalie Morales: It sounds like there’d be a trail of bodies … But yet, is there proof of this trail of bodies anywhere to your knowledge?
Christine Voss: No. … which further made him believe it was the Department of Energy …
And what about all that evidence investigators found?
Ben Ladinig: The DOE … planted them … it’s all a frame, all that stuff is framed. The banking stuff, frame job. … What’s in my car, frame job.
Christine Voss: It was difficult for me to embrace Pierre’s testimony.
Natalie Morales: Do you think he himself believed some of the things … he was saying were true?
Christine Voss: Oh yeah, definitely.
Samantha Spidell: He was obsessed with the government.
Samantha Spidell attests there were some kernels of truth in his stories.
Samantha Spidell: Pierre mentions that his dad had ties to the CIA … And I could tell that he … wanted his dad’s … approval.
When his father died in 2023, his obituary stated he was, “a key player in clandestine Central Intelligence Agency operations during the 1980s.” Pierre Haobsh also told Spidell that his sister was going to star in a reality TV show.
Samantha Spidell: She got cast on a newlyweds reality show … and Pierre was gonna be in it … come to find out that was true.
In fact, both Haobsh and his father made appearances on the second season of the Bravo TV series “Newlyweds, The First Year.” Pierre was even shown giving his brother-in-law a cooking lesson.
But Prosecutor Ben Ladinig argued any grains of authenticity in Haobsh’s life were far outweighed by deceit.
Natalie Morales: You called him “a lying liar who lies about lying.”
Ben Ladinig: Right … Lie, lie, lie, lie hundreds of lies we found on him. … His life was a con.
On Nov. 24, 2021, Judge Brian Hill would get the case. None of Pierre Haobsh’s family members attended his trial. The judge made his ruling: guilty on all counts.
Natalie Morales: The judge, when he issued his ruling, said … his decision was beyond a shadow of a doubt, absolutely no doubt of Pierre Haobsh’s guilt.
Ben Ladinig: Yeah … very satisfactory to hear that.
Christine Voss: I wasn’t surprised.
Natalie Morales: And what was Pierre’s reaction upon hearing that ruling?
Christine Voss: Well, he was visibly disappointed.
Isaac Hernandez, Mercury Press Inc./Isaiah Oregon
On April 15, 2022, Pierre Haobsh was sentenced to three life terms without the possibility of parole. It was little comfort to those still mourning Henry, Jennie and Emily.
Don Goldberg: I don’t understand how there really could be justice.
Isaiah Oregon: He’s still alive … and — and they’re not. … He took precious moments that … we’ll never get. (wipe tears from his eyes)
Marla Palumbo: I want him to feel every pain possible for what he did.
Mark Palumbo: Not enough bad things can happen for him.
Nearly a decade after the murders, the wounds are still raw.
Isaiah Oregon: It’s hard to think of them.
Dr. Glenn Miller: He was a really good man. … you don’t replace a Henry Han. No.
Don Goldberg: Pretty much every day I think of Henry and Jennie and Emily. … There’s an old … phrase that … a good man and a good family lives for limited time, but a good name shall live forever … They lived too short … but … their name lives on forever.
Haobsh’s conviction was upheld by the California Court of Appeal in January 2025.
He also petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to release him. The Court denied his petition.
On Monday, Oct. 27, 2025, TJ Direda died.
Produced by Gayane Keshishyan Mendez. Greg Fisher is the development producer. Iris Carreras and Hannah Vair are the field producers. Ken Blum and Diana Modica are the editors. Cameron Rubner is the associate producer. Lourdes Aguiar is the senior producer. Nancy Kramer is the executive story editor. Judy Tygard is the executive producer.
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Inside dads’ hunt for the perfect burger: A “silly topic that we take very, very seriously”
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Inside dads’ hunt for the perfect burger: A “silly topic that we take very, very seriously” – CBS News
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Newsom appears onstage at Texas rally to celebrate Prop. 50 victory, take swipes at Trump
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Gov. Gavin Newsom strode onstage in Houston on Saturday to a cheering crowd of Texas Democrats, saying Proposition 50’s victory in California on election day was a win for the nation and a firm repudiation of President Trump.
Newsom possessed the air of a politician running for president at the boisterous rally, a possibility the California governor says he is considering — and the location he chose was not happenstance.
Newsom accused Trump of pressuring Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to rejigger the state’s congressional districts with the goal of sending more Republicans to Congress, an action that triggered California’s Proposition 50. Newsom successfully pushed for a special election on the ballot measure to counter the efforts in Texas, which the governor said wasan attempt by Trump and the Republicans to “rig” the 2026 midterm election.
Cheers erupted from the friendly, union-hall crowd when Newsom belittled Trump as an “invasive species” and a “historically unpopular president.”
“On every issue, on the economy, on terrorists, on immigration, on healthcare, [he’s a] historically unpopular president, and he knows it, and he knows it,” Newsom said. “Why else did he make that call to your governor? Why else did he feel the need to rig the election before even one vote was cast? That’s just weakness, weakness masquerading as strength. That’s Donald Trump, and he had a very bad night on Tuesday.”
Newsom was the main political force behind Proposition 50, which California voters overwhelmingly approved in Tuesday’s special election. The statewide ballot measure was an attempt to counter Trump’s push to get Republican-led states, most notably Texas, to redraw their electoral maps to keep Democrats from gaining control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2026 midterms and upending his agenda. Newsom and California Democrats hope the change will net an additional five Democrats in California’s congressional delegation, canceling out any gains in Texas.
Newsom thanked Texas Democrats for putting up a fight against the redistricting effort in their state, saying it inspired an uprising.
“It’s dawning on people, all across the United States of America, what’s at stake,” Newsom told the crowd. “And you put a stake in the ground. People are showing up. I don’t believe in crowns, thrones. No kings.”
Newsom’s trip to Texas comes as the former San Francisco mayor has been openly flirting with a 2028 run for president. In a recent interview with “CBS News Sunday Morning,” Newsom was asked whether he would give “serious thought” after the 2026 midterms to a White House bid.
“Yeah, I’d be lying otherwise,” Newsom replied. “I’d just be lying. And I’m not — I can’t do that.”
In July, Newsom flew to South Carolina, a state that traditionally hosts the South’s first presidential primary. He said he wanted to help his party win back the U.S. House of Representatives in 2026. But South Carolina is a solidly conservative state and did not appear to have a single competitive race.
During that trip, South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn, the highest-ranking Black member of Congress and renowned Democratic kingmaker, told The Times that Newsom would be “a hell of a candidate.” Newsom received similar praise — and encouragement — when he was introduced at the “Take It Back” rally in Houston.
Newsom now heads to Belém, Brazil, where representatives from 200 nations are gathering to kick off the annual United Nations climate policy summit. For Newsom, it’s a golden opportunity to appear on a world stage and sell himself and California as the antidote to Trump and his attacks on climate change policy.
The Trump administration this year canceled funding for major clean energy projects such as California’s hydrogen hub and moved to revoke the state’s long-held authority to set stricter vehicle emissions standards than the federal government.
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Infant Botulism in 10 US States Linked to Formula Being Recalled
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Federal and state health officials are investigating 13 cases in 10 states of infant botulism linked to baby formula that was being recalled, authorities said Saturday.
ByHeart Inc. agreed to begin recalling two lots of the company’s Whole Nutrition Infant Formula, the Food and Drug Administration said in a statement.
All 13 infants were hospitalized after consuming formula from two lots: 206VABP/251261P2 and 206VABP/251131P2.
The cases occurred in Arizona, California, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas and Washington.
No deaths were reported. The FDA said it was investigating how the contamination happened and whether it affected any other products.
Available online and through major retailers, the product accounted for an estimated 1% of national formula sales, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
People who bought the recalled formula should record the lot number if possible before throwing it out or returning it to where it was purchased, the CDC said in a statement.
They should use a dishwasher or hot, soapy water to clean items and surfaces that touched the formula. And they should seek medical care right away if an infant has consumed recalled formula and then had poor feeding, loss of head control, difficulty swallowing or decreased facial expression.
Infant botulism is caused by a bacterium that produces toxins in the large intestine.
Symptoms can take weeks to develop, so parents should keep vigilant, the CDC said.
A ByHeart spokesperson did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Saturday.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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UC reaches contract agreement with 21,000 employees, averting a strike
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The University of California and a union representing 21,000 healthcare, research and technical professionals across the UC system reached a contract agreement and averted a strike, the university and union announced Saturday.
The union, University Professional and Technical Employees (UPTE), had been bargaining with UC for 17 months for a new contract, and the two sides were in mediation for three weeks. After talks broke down earlier this week, UC said UPTE approached the mediator to re-engage with the university.
The union was set to strike Nov. 17 and 18 and be joined by more than 60,000 supporters from two additional UC unions, AFSCME 3299 and the California Nurses Assn.
The unions said it would have been the largest labor strike in UC history. AFSCME 3299 represents patient care technical workers, custodians, food service employees, security guards, secretaries and other workers at UC hospitals and campuses.
UC and UPTE said details of the tentative contract, which union members must ratify, would be released next week. Prior to the agreement, UPTE workers were seeking investments from UC into retention, pay and ensuring safe working conditions to help address a staffing crisis that the union said “threatens patient care, student services, and the research mission at the heart of the UC system.”
“The finalized agreement reflects the university’s enduring commitment and UPTE’s advocacy for our employees who play critical roles across the University,” a joint statement from UC and UPTE read. “Both parties acknowledge and appreciate the collaborative spirit that allowed us to move forward and reach a resolution that supports our valuable employees and the University of California’s mission of excellence.”
UPTE rescinded its strike notice pending a membership ratification vote, according to a statement from Dan Russell, UPTE president and chief negotiator.
“Our tentative agreement is a hard-won victory for 21,000 healthcare, research, and technical professionals across UC — and one that will benefit millions of UC patients and students, as well as people across the world who benefit from UC’s cutting-edge research,” Russell said. “We continue to stand with AFSCME and CNA members as they fight and strike for a similar agreement for their members.”
Meredith Turner, the UC senior vice president of external relations and communications, said the agreement was the result of “constructive dialogue and a shared commitment to finding common ground while maintaining financial responsibility in uncertain times.”
Turner had previously opposed the strike, saying in a video statement posted online Thursday that UC was “disappointed, but not surprised that UPTE has once again chosen disruption over dialog.”
She said UC had been bargaining in good faith, offering “real improvements, meaningful raises, strong benefits and fair working conditions that reflect how much we value our employees.”
UPTE previously engaged in three statewide strikes this year in addition to a fourth strike last November, which was limited to UC San Francisco.
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Democrats Seize on Trump Administration’s Efforts to Fight Food Stamp Payments
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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The Trump administration’s legal efforts to fight having to fully fund food stamps for millions of vulnerable Americans is creating an opening for Democrats eager to use the longest government shutdown in U.S. history to paint the president as callous and out of touch.
“Donald Trump and his administration have made the decision to weaponize hunger, to withhold SNAP benefits from millions of people, notwithstanding the fact that two lower courts, both the district court and the court of appeals, made clear that those SNAP benefits needed to be paid immediately,” House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said on CNN Saturday, calling the actions “shameful.”
“Donald Trump is literally fighting in court to ensure Americans starve. HE DOES NOT CARE ABOUT YOU,” echoed California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a potential 2028 presidential contender, on X.
A judge had given the administration until Friday to make the payments. But the administration asked an appeals court to suspend any orders requiring it to spend more money than is available in a contingency fund, and to move forward with planned partial SNAP payments for the month instead.
The legal wrangling comes after the administration and Republicans endured a bruising Election Day last week. Democrats scored commanding wins up and down the ballot and on ballot measures across the country amid signs that voters’ economic woes are top of mind — a warning sign for the president and his party heading into next year’s higher-stakes midterm elections.
But its efforts around food stamps could complicate that.
Blame game and workarounds
An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted in October, as the shutdown stretched into its third week, found that roughly 6 in 10 Americans said Trump and Republicans in Congress bore “a great deal” or “quite a bit” of responsibility for the shutdown, while 54% said the same about Democrats in Congress. At least three-quarters said both sides deserved at least a “moderate” share of blame.
The White House did not respond to questions Saturday about its rationale for appealing the SNAP orders to the Supreme Court or whether it was concerned about the optics of fighting against making the full payments.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, appearing on Fox News, again blamed Democrats for refusing to vote to reopen the government and made the case that funding had to come from Congress.
“We can’t just create money out of the sky,” she said. “You can’t just create money to fund a program that Congress refuses to fund.”
While hundreds of thousands of federal workers have been furloughed and gone over a month without paychecks, the president has gone out of his way to ensure those he favors have been paid.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said her department had found a way to pay the U.S. Coast Guard and law enforcement officers within the department, including border patrol agents and immigration officers with funds from the sweeping “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” Trump signed this summer.
And FBI director Kash Patel has said that FBI special agents are still being paid — though other bureau workers are not. The administration has not said where that money is coming from.
Trump has repeatedly voiced skepticism about SNAP, and he and the White House have offered conflicting messages on what would happen to the program during the shutdown.
In a social media post Tuesday, Trump announced that the administration would not pay out any SNAP benefits until the shutdown was over, and suggested that some who receive benefits are not really in need.
Hours later, however, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration would pay out partial SNAP benefits using contingency funding “that is supposed to be for emergencies, catastrophes, for war.”
But when asked Thursday about a judge ordering the administration to make the full payment, the president directed Vice President JD Vance, who was sitting next to him, to answer.
Vance called the ruling “absurd,” because, he said, “you have a federal judge effectively telling us what we have to do in the midst of a Democrat government shutdown.””
“In the midst of a shutdown, we can’t have a federal court telling the president how he has to triage the situation,” he said.
Trump added that he believes the country “has to remain very liquid because problems, catastrophes, wars, could be anything. We have to remain liquid. We can’t give everything away.”
The administration has faced lawsuits from Democratic-leaning states, nonprofits and cities since shortly after announcing that SNAP benefits would not be available in November because of the shutdown.
But two judges separately ordered the government to keep the money following, ruling last week that the administration could not skip November’s benefits entirely. In both cases, the judges ordered the government to use an emergency reserve fund containing more than $4.6 billion to make the payments, which cost between $8.5 billion and $9 billion each month.
After the administration announced it would cover only 65% of the maximum monthly benefit, one judge ruled that they could not and would need to find the money to fully fund the program for November.
The Justice Department filed an emergency appeal. In its court filings Friday, the administration contended that the judge had usurped both legislative and executive authority. When a higher court refused to nullify the Friday payment deadline, the Trump administration turned quickly to the Supreme Court.
Through an order signed by liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the high court agreed to keep the full-payment order on hold until 48 hours after the appeals court rules on whether to issue a more lasting pause. Jackson, a frequent dissenter from a series of recent decisions in favor of the administration, is the justice assigned to oversee appeals from Rhode Island, where the case originated.
The legal wrangling has left millions of Americans who depend on food aid in confusing limbo. People in some states have reported receiving their full benefits for November, while others could be waiting until at least next week.
___ Colvin reported from New York and Whitehurst from Washington.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Fairfield: I-80 closed at Travis Boulevard
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By Bay City News
Traffic on eastbound Interstate Highway 80 in Fairfield was stopped on Saturday morning after the interstate was closed because of police activity on the Travis Boulevard overpass.
The California Highway Patrol said traffic was stopped in the eastbound lanes as of about 8:35 a.m. and asked drivers to take alternate routes.
The Fairfield Police Department also sent an advisory at that time asking drivers to avoid the Travis Boulevard overpass.
Live traffic data from Google maps showed traffic backed up to state Highway 12. West Texas Street and other side streets were seeing impacts as of about 9 a.m.
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What to know if your travel plans are impacted by the FAA’s flight cancellations
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If you have upcoming travel plans anytime soon, you might notice fewer options on the airport’s departure board.
Airlines are scaling back flights at dozens of major U.S. airports to ease the pressure on air traffic controllers, who have been working unpaid and under intense strain during the ongoing government shutdown.
The Federal Aviation Administration says the decision is necessary to keep travelers safe. Many controllers have been putting in long hours and mandatory overtime while lawmakers are at a standstill over how to reopen the government.
Major hubs like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago are among those affected, and the ripple effects could mean more cancellations, longer delays and fuller flights for travelers across the country. The cutbacks will impact hundreds if not thousands of flights daily.
Here’s what to know about the FAA’s order — and what you can do if your plans are disrupted:
Is my airport on the list?
There’s a good chance it is. The list spans more than two dozen states.
It includes the country’s busiest airport — Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Georgia — and the main airports in Boston, Denver, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Miami, San Francisco and Salt Lake City.
Multiple airports will be impacted in some metropolitan hubs, including New York, Houston, Chicago and Washington.
How long will this go on?
It’s hard to say. Even if the shutdown ends soon, the FAA has said it would not lift the flight restrictions until staffing at airport towers and regional air traffic centers makes it safe to do so.
“It’s going to take time to work through this,” said Michael Johnson, president of Ensemble Travel, an association of travel agencies in the U.S. and Canada.
That’s why, he said, it’s important to plan ahead — whether you’ve already booked flights or you’re just starting to make holiday travel plans.
Know before you go
Airlines say they will let their customers know if their flight is called off.
Still, it doesn’t hurt to check your airline’s app or a flight-tracking site for updates before you leave for the airport. It’s better to be stuck at home or in a hotel than stranded in a terminal.
My flight was canceled. Now what?
“Take a deep breath. Don’t panic,” Johnson said. “There are options available. They may not be ideal, and they may be inconvenient, but you have options.”
If you’re already at the airport, it’s time to get in line to speak to a customer service representative. While you’re waiting, you can call or go online to connect to the airline’s reservations staff. It can also help to reach out on the social platform X because airlines might respond quickly there.
Now might also be the time to consider if it makes sense to travel by train, car or bus instead.
Kyle Potter, executive editor of Thrifty Traveler, said the shutdown is different from when a single airline is having problems and travelers can just pick another carrier.
“The longer the shutdown drags on, it’s unlikely that there will be one airline running on time if the rest of the them are failing,” Potter said.
Can I get a refund or compensation?
The airlines will be required to issue full refunds, according to the FAA. However, they aren’t required to cover extra costs like meals or hotel stays — unless the delay or cancellation was within their control, according to the Department of Transportation.
You can also check the DOT website to see what your airline promises for refunds or other costs if your flight is disrupted.
Should I just stay home for the holidays?
Not necessarily. You might just need a little more planning and flexibility than usual.
A travel adviser can help take some stress off your plate, and travel insurance may give you an extra safety net.
Johnson also warned that flights could sell out fast once the shutdown ends.
“There will be a flurry of booking activity,” he said. “So try to get ahead of it and make sure that you’re protected.”
Booking an early flight can also help, says Tyler Hosford, security director at risk mitigation company International SOS. If it gets canceled, you still “have the whole day” to sort things out.
Other tips
Travel light. Limiting baggage to a carry-on means one less airport line to deal with, and if your plans change unexpectedly, you’ll already have everything with you.
Give yourself extra time at the airport, especially if you’re an anxious flyer or traveling with young children or anyone who needs extra help getting around.
And be nice. Airline agents are likely helping other frustrated travelers, too, and yelling won’t make them more willing to help. Remember, the cancellations aren’t their fault.
“An extra ounce of kindness to yourself and to others at this time of year, with all of the disruptions, will go a long way,” Johnson said.
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California Republicans sue over new US House map approved by voters
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Republicans filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday to block a new U.S. House map that California voters decisively approved at the ballot.
Proposition 50, backed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, is designed to help Democrats flip as many as five congressional House seats in the midterm elections next year. The lawsuit claims the map-makers improperly used race as a factor to favor Hispanic voters “without cause or evidence to justify it,” and asks the court to block the new boundaries ahead of the 2026 elections. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, is funded by the National Republican Congressional Committee.
The Supreme Court has ruled that “states may not, without a compelling reason backed by evidence that was in fact considered, separate citizens into different voting districts on the basis of race,” the lawsuit says.
There have been two analyses showing there were no voting rights problems that warranted the redrawing of the map, it adds.
The complaint was filed by The Dhillon Law Group, the California-based firm started by Harmeet Dhillon, who is now an assistant attorney general for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Justice.
The lawsuit also alleges that state lawmakers and a mapmaking consultant admitted in public statements that they intentionally redrew some districts to have a Latino majority. In one of the press releases from state Democrats, lawmakers said that the new map “retains and expands Voting Rights Act districts that empower Latino voters” while making no changes to Black majority districts in the Oakland and Los Angeles areas, the lawsuit says.
“The map is designed to favor one race of California voters over others,” Mike Columbo, whose plaintiffs include a state Republican lawmaker and 18 other voters, said at a news conference Wednesday. “This violates the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection under the law, and the right under the 15th Amendment.”
The mapmaking consultant Paul Mitchell declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation.
Newsom’s office said on a social media post that the state hasn’t reviewed the lawsuit but is confident the challenge will fail.
“Good luck, losers,” the post reads.
Democrats said the measure is their best chance to blunt Texas Republicans’ move to redraw their own maps to pick up five GOP seats at Trump’s urging.
It’s unclear whether a three-judge panel convened to hear such cases would grant a temporary restraining order before Dec. 19, the date when candidates can start collecting voter signatures to qualify for the ballot. It’s essentially the first step in officially running in the 2026 midterm elections. Columbo said he’s hoping to get a decision in the upcoming weeks and predicted the case to reach the Supreme Court.
Republicans have filed multiple lawsuits in California to block Democrats’ plan with little success so far.
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US Hit With Second Day of Flight Cuts as Shutdown Drags On
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. airlines and travelers slogged through a second day of flight cuts across the country on Saturday as the government shutdown was expected to drive more cancellations in the days to come.
The Federal Aviation Administration instructed airlines to cut 4% of flights on Saturday at 40 major airports because of the shutdown. The cuts will rise to 6% on Tuesday and then to 10% by November 14.
The cuts, which began at 6 a.m. ET (1100 GMT) on Friday, include about 700 flights from the four largest carriers – American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines.
Airlines will cut fewer flights on Saturday than Friday because of lower overall volume. United will cut 168 flights, down from 184 Friday, while Southwest will cancel just under 100 flights, down from 120.
During the record 39-day government shutdown, 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 security screeners have been forced to work without pay, leading to increased absenteeism. Many air traffic controllers were notified on Thursday that they would receive no compensation for a second pay period next week.
The Trump administration has ramped up pressure on Congressional Democrats to agree to a Republican plan to fund the federal government, which would allow it to reopen.
Raising the specter of dramatic air-travel disruptions is one such effort. Democrats contend Republicans are to blame for the shutdown because they refuse to negotiate over extending health insurance subsidies.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said it was possible that he could require 20% cuts in air traffic if things get worse and more controllers do not show up for work.
“I assess the data,” Duffy said. “We’re going to make decisions based on what we see in the airspace.”
Separate from the cancellations, absences of air traffic controllers on Friday forced the FAA to delay hundreds of flights at 10 airports including Atlanta, San Francisco, Houston, Phoenix, Washington, D.C., and Newark. More than 5,600 flights were delayed Friday.
Earlier this week, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said 20% to 40% of controllers were not showing up for work on any given day.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus)
Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.
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Riordan outslugs Serra in WCAL championship bout, giving Crusaders first league title since 2000
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Archbishop Riordan won the WCAL championship with an undefeated record on Friday night in San Mateo, ending 25 years without a league title in a classic heavyweight match.Offer valid for non-subscribers only
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Long Beach Wilson football falls to Paraclete in OT thriller in playoffs
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Wilson’s Brooklyn Vega gets the catch in the end zone for a Bruin two-point conversion in Long Beach , CA, on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
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Wilson’s Brooklyn Vega gets the catch in the end zone for a Bruin two-point conversion in Long Beach , CA, on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
LONG BEACH — It took more than four quarters of football to determine who was going to advance to the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Division 4 playoffs.
With the game tied at 48 all, Long Beach Wilson, who had rallied and tied it twice in the fourth quarter after 14-point deficit in the second half, got the ball first in overtime. The Bruins started the drive with a six-yard run, followed by three incompletions and turned it over on downs at the Paraclete 19.
Wilson’s defense forced a four-yard loss on Paraclete’s first play in overtime. However, Paraclete senior quarterback Joseph Mesa dropped back and threw a 29-yard game-winning touchdown pass to to senior receiver Savaughn Gentle to secure a 54-48 road win in overtime against Long Beach Wilson in the first round of the CIF-SS Division 4 playoffs Friday.
“They never gave up in this game,” Long Beach Wilson first-year coach Raudric Curtis said. “It could have went either way at the end like you said. We didn’t get that drive. We had a couple of mistakes that cost us that big moment but we were right in the fight and that’s what I want them to remember.”
Paraclete, the Angelus League co-champion, was led by Mesa, who completed 28 of 38 passes for 446 yards, seven touchdown and one interception, including a 47-yard Hail Mary touchdown to Gentle as time expired in the first half. The game-changing play put Paraclete up 41-27 at halftime.
Paraclete improved to 9-2 overall and will host Oaks Christian (5-6) in the quarterfinals on Nov. 14.
“We have a balanced offense,” Paraclete first-year coach Erick Jackson said. “We have a running back that ran for over 1,200 yards. He’s a dog. Kyle Fulton is the truth but my quarterback (Joseph Mesa) can slang it and Adrian Jones is just flat out special.”
Wilson was led by senior running back Kori Scott with 174 rushing yards, three touchdowns on 18 carries, including his 54-yard run, which tied the game at 48 all with 1:53 left in the fourth quarter. Senior quarterback Mack Cooper completed 11 of 20 passes for 170 yards two touchdowns and one interception.
“We had to come prove something,” Scott said. “Even though we might not have won, we proved ourselves. People looked down on us. You can’t do that with a team like us.”
The Bruins, who won an outright Moore League championship for the first time since 1991, finished the season 9-2. They moved up to Division 4 after losing in the Division 9 final last season.
“I think it was a very amazing season,” Scott continued. “We proved a lot of people wrong and we made history. Something a lot of people can’t do.”
Wilson sophomore sophomore running back Jemel Grigsby’s 3-yard touchdown run made it 41-39 with 5:19 left in the fourth quarter. The Bruins tied the game at 41 on a 2-point conversion catch by junior receiver Brooklyn Vega on his 17th birthday.
Paraclete responded with 28-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Mesa to senior receiver Adrian Jones, who finished with a game-high eight receptions for 184 yards and three touchdowns. The Spirits led 48-41 with 3:39 to go.
Wilson answered with Scott’s 54-yard touchdown run, to pull within 48-47 with 1:53 to go. The Bruins nearly went for 2 to go-ahead for good but after two penalties, they made a PAT, and tied the game at 48.
“Kori is a leader,” Curtis continued. “He’s a tried and true football player. He’s one of those old-school rugged running backs but he has breakaway speed. He can open it up too. He’s really flying under the radar.”
The teams combined for 68 points and 554 yards of total offense in the first half, as Paraclete scored touchdowns on the team’s first six possessions, including a Hail Mary touchdown before halftime.
Gentle, who finished with six catches for 135 yards and three touchdowns, intercepted a Wilson pass in the end zone early in the third quarter, to keep the Spirits in control.
Wilson answered back with senior running back Scott’s 6-yard touchdown run. The PAT was no good. Paraclete led 41-33 with 3:52 left in the third quarter.
Bruins senior defensive back Andrew Piggue II’s interception in the end zone kept Paraclete off the scoreboard late in the third.
Meanwhile, Wilson stopped Paraclete on a fourth-and-1 from midfield and got the ball back at the 45 with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter and later tied the game at 41 and 48 all.
“We are a family program,” Curtis explained. “We are Wilson. It is the age of Wilson and though Paraclete got us today, this program is here to stay for a long time.”
Paraclete began the game with an explosive 48-yard kick return by junior Jaivyn Nelson to the Wilson 48. Mesa took advantage of short field with a three-play scoring drive, capped off with a 33-yard touchdown pass to junior receiver Jeffrey Patino. The PAT was no good. Paraclete led 6-0 with 10:34 left in the first quarter.
The Spirits kept up the pressure and extended their to 12-0 on Mesa’s 54-yard touchdown pass to Jones. The 2-point conversion was no good. Paraclete led 12-0 with 6:16 left in the first.
Wilson responded with senior quarterback Cooper’s 41-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Thomas Jones with 6:03 left in the first quarter. It was a one-play scoring drive. Paraclete led 12-7.
Mesa answered with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Gentle. The 2-point conversion was good. Paraclete led 20-7 with 11 seconds left in the first.
Wilson answered with a 28-yard touchdown pass from Cooper to sophomore Kyle Harris. It was a two-play scoring drive started off by Scott’s 28-yard run. Paraclete led 20-14 with 11:51 left in the second quarter.
On fourth-and-8 from the Wilson 11, Mesa scrambled out of a sack and threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Jones in the corner of the end zone. The 2-point conversion was no good. Paraclete led 26-14 with 5:54 left in the second.
Wilson responded with a 1-yard touchdown run by Grigsby. The PAT was no good. Paraclete led 26-20 with 2:49 left in the second.
Paraclete sophomore running Kyle Fulton Jr.’s 1-yard touchdown run made it 32-20. Spirits junior kicker Oscar Rivas’ fake PAT pass was good for 2. Paraclete led 34-20 with 1:16 to go in the first half.
Wilson’s offense would not be denied as Scott’s 6-yard touchdown run made it 34-27 with 20 seconds to go before halftime.
POSTGAME: Long Beach Wilson coach Raudric Curtis and 2026 running back Kori Scott both said they were proud of Wilson’s historic season.
The Bruins lost 54-48 in the 1st round of the Division 4 playoffs vs. Paraclete.
Coach Curtis said Wilson is here to stay for a long time. pic.twitter.com/t1nTt3LNLz
— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) November 8, 2025
MUST SEE VIDEO: Paraclete football ends the first half with a Hail Mary touchdown.
Halftime: Paraclete 41, Long Beach Wilson 27 in the first round of the CIF-SS Division 4 playoffs.
Paraclete 2026 QB Joseph Mesa has completed 13 of 16 passes for 277 yards and five touchdowns.… pic.twitter.com/BpVV1rZbFl
— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) November 8, 2025
Paraclete football first year head coach Erick Jackson before his team’s CIF-SS Division 4 playoff opener on the road at Long Beach Wilson. pic.twitter.com/u2v201D7VH
— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) November 8, 2025
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The Government Shutdown Prompts the Cancelation of Some Veterans Day Events
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Normally on Veterans Day, volunteers gather at the Riverside National Cemetery in California to place flags alongside more than 300,000 gravesites. But not this year.
The longest federal government shutdown on record is curtailing and outright canceling parades, ceremonies and other events across the U.S. that are normally held to mark Veterans Day. It’s another fallout of the shutdown that has disrupted flights and food assistance, and was already being squarely felt by military families who are worried about their paychecks.
In California, organizers of “A Flag for Every Hero” said they couldn’t move forward with the event on Tuesday without access to restrooms, traffic control and other needs for the thousands of participants. Elsewhere, a lack of federal employees and access to military facilities has scrubbed other Veterans Day events.
“We have a responsibility to provide them the resources they need, and unfortunately with the shutdown we’re unable to do that,” Laura Herzog, founder and CEO of Honoring Our Fallen, which organizes the Riverside National Cemetery event.
Many communities will still hold Veterans Day gatherings, including some of the nation’s largest and well-known events such as the annual observance at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia and the New York Veterans Day Parade.
The disruption to a federal holiday that is intended to honor those who have served in the armed forces comes as military families face uncertainty week to week about their pay. The Trump administration has found ways to pay troops twice since the shutdown began Oct. 1.
The Texas National Cemetery Foundation canceled an annual Veterans Day event at the cemetery in Dallas-Fort Worth, saying organizers wouldn’t have time to stage the ceremony even if the shutdown ended soon. In Virginia, city leaders in Hampton cited concerns about a lack of servicemembers to participate in its annual parade because of the shutdown.
“Our veterans deserve to be recognized with great pomp and circumstance,” Hampton City Manager Mary Bunting said in a news release. “Without the presence of our active-duty military, we are concerned that the parade would appear sparse and that the recognition might fall short of the honor our veterans so richly deserve.”
Organizers of Detroit’s annual Veterans Day parade say they’re moving forward with the Sunday event, but it won’t include an appearance by a U.S. Army band or a helicopter flyover. Others are relying on even more help from volunteers than usual to make up for the lack of federal resources.
Despite the upheaval, some communities are still trying to find ways to honor veterans even as events are canceled.
In Mississippi, the Gulf Coast Veterans Association canceled its annual parade in Pass Christian. But the group said it would use funds for the event to instead provide Thanksgiving dinners for veterans and active-duty members.
“While we share in the disappointment, we are choosing to turn this setback into a blessing,” the group said in a Facebook post.
When U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales learned that the Veterans Day ceremony at Fort Sam Houston Cemetery in San Antonio wouldn’t take place, the Republican congressman’s office took up organizing the annual event.
Gonzales, a Navy veteran whose grandfather is buried at the cemetery, said that meant working with nonprofits to find someone to sing the national anthem and to provide chairs for attendees.
“We honor our veterans no matter what, and that’s exactly what we did,” Gonzales said.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Photos You Should See – Oct. 2025
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Bay Area News Group boys athlete of the week: Ashish Naveen, Dougherty Valley
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Dougherty Valley’s Ashish Naveen scores eight goals, hands out four assists in water polo victory over Pittsburg.Offer valid for non-subscribers only
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California steps in as Trump skips global climate summit in Brazil
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Nearly 200 nations are gathering this week in Belém, Brazil, to kick off the annual United Nations climate policy summit, but there is one glaring exception: The Trump administration is not sending any high-ranking officials.
California hopes it can fill in the gap. The state, as it usually does, is sending a large delegation to the Conference of the Parties, including first-time attendee Gov. Gavin Newsom and top officials from the California Natural Resources Agency, Department of Food and Agriculture, Air Resources Board, Public Utilities Commission and Governor’s Office of Tribal Affairs.
The state aims to build on its reputation as a global climate leader, sharing its experience with clean energy technology and job creation and showcasing its track record of climate agreements with other countries and regions.
Newsom, who is positioning himself for a 2028 presidential run, told The Times he “absolutely” sees California as a proxy for the U.S. at this year’s conference, which is the main global venue for countries to strengthen their commitments to reducing greenhouse gases.
“California has a responsibility, but also a unique opportunity at this moment, to remind the world that we’re here, that we believe these issues matter, and that there’s an opportunity here to reinforce existing alliances and develop new ones,” the governor said.
California’s strong presence at COP also marks an escalation of Newsom’s ongoing battle with President Trump. The two have clashed over immigration and climate, with the president’s energy and environment agenda often targeting the state. The Trump administration this year canceled funding for major clean energy projects such as California’s hydrogen hub and moved to revoke the state’s long-held authority to set stricter vehicle emissions standards than the federal government.
But this year’s Nov. 10-21 gathering also comes at a critical moment for the world. It’s the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement, a seminal treaty signed at the 2015 COP in which world leaders established the goal of limiting global warming to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) above preindustrial levels, and preferably below 2.7 degrees F (1.5 degrees C), in order to prevent the worst effects of climate change.
Most experts and scientists agree that the 2.7 degree target is no longer within reach. The last 10 years have been Earth’s hottest on record, driven largely by greenhouse gas emissions that come from the burning of fossil fuels.
“One thing is already clear: We will not be able to contain the global warming below 1.5 degrees [C] in the next few years,” U.N. Secretary General António Guterres said at a recent gathering of the World Meteorological Organization. “The overshooting is now inevitable.”
The U.N.’s annual Emissions Gap report released in conjunction with the conference finds that without immediate and aggressive action, the world is on track to warm between 4.14 and 5.04 degrees (2.3 and 2.8 degrees Celsius) over this century.
Yet Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Agreement on his first day back in office, a move he also made during his first term as president. In a January executive order he stated that the Paris Agreement and other international climate compacts pose an unfair burden on the U.S. and steer American dollars to other countries.
The U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement is expected to add an additional 0.18 degree to the latest warming projections, in effect nullifying a small gain made since last year, the U.N. report says. It notes that every fraction of a degree of warming means more losses for people and ecosystems, higher costs to adapt, and more reliance on uncertain techniques to remove carbon from the atmosphere.
However, the report underscores that the technology to deliver big emissions cuts already exists, pointing to booming developments in wind and solar energy, much of which is occurring overseas.
It’s a sector where California can lead, Newsom said, adding that the Trump administration has “doubled down on stupid” by ceding so much ground to China. The Golden State has invested heavily in renewables, battery energy storage and the electrification of buildings and vehicles. California has also set ambitious decarbonizaiton targets and reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 21% since 2000 while its economy has grown 81%.
“We want to continue to tip the scales, and this is about economic growth, this is about jobs, and this is about addressing the other crisis of our time: affordability,” Newsom said. “When you talk about energy efficiency, you’re talking about affordability. When you talk about wind and solar, you’re talking about abundance and you’re talking about affordability.”
California has already helped to spread a lot of real technology. The state’s aggressive emission rules were pivotal in pushing automakers toward electric vehicles, with Toyota largely developing its Prius for California’s market. The state was the first to mandate battery energy storage at its major utilities, helping jump-start the modern grid-battery market, while its cap-and-trade carbon market program has been emulated in places around the world.
State leaders hope to highlight more than their progress at home. In recent years, California has also forged subnational agreements and partnerships with other regions and countries on issues such as delivering clean transportation, cutting pollution and developing hydrogen and renewables. Newsom is expected to sign additional agreements at COP this year, although his team declined to provide a preview of what they will entail.
Among the state’s dozens of existing agreements are a memorandum with Mexico’s Baja California Energy Commission focused on clean ports, zero-emission transportation and grid reliability; and memorandums with several provinces in China on pollution reduction and offshore wind power. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection also has partnerships with several countries that are sharing resources and best practices for managing vegetation and combating wildfires.
Focusing on these actions at the state and regional level has become a key part of COP conferences as the conversation gains urgency and shifts to deployment, according to Rachel Cleetus, senior policy director at the nonprofit Union of Concerned Scientists.
“There is a whole other face of the United States — we have a lot of subnational actors, including leading states and cities and forward-looking businesses, who will be at COP showing the rest of the world that the United States does understand that it’s both in the interest of our country, as well as the global interest, to tackle climate change,” Cleetus said.
California’s delegation in Brazil also includes Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot, who represented the state at the Local Leaders Forum in Rio de Janeiro this week.
“This year, our federal government is totally missing in action … and the rest of the world needs to understand that America is still in this fight, and we’re moving forward,” Crowfoot said in a briefing.
Crowfoot highlighted California’s carbon market partnership with Quebec and one with Denmark that yielded groundwater monitoring technology that California uses today, among other examples of international efforts.
This year’s COP conference, which is taking place near the Amazon River delta in northern Brazil, is heavily focused on forest restoration and nature-based solutions, which California also focuses on through its 30×30 program to conserve 30% of the state’s lands and coastal waters by 2030, Crowfoot said. The Golden State already has deep ties to the region stemming from its landmark 2019 Tropical Forest Standard program, which set guidelines on carbon credits awarded for reducing deforestation.
Newsom said that at COP, he will highlight climate action as the defining economic opportunity of the 21st century. He is slated to speak at the Milken Institute’s Global Investors’ Symposium, a gathering of leading investors and business executives, about how California shows that clean energy investments create jobs and profit. Green jobs now outnumber fossil fuel jobs in the state, 7 to 1.
“Were not just talking about this from the perspective of trying to be good citizens,” Newsom said. “We’re also trying to be competitive geopolitical players. We want to dominate in the next big global industry.”
Still, there is much work to be done.
Every five years, parties to the Paris Agreement are required to submit targets for their greenhouse gas emissions. The targets so far have “barely moved the needle,” according to the U.N. report, and the ones handed in this year aren’t nearly aggressive enough.
“It’s devastating to see that now we are definitely going to breach the 1.5 C benchmark,” said Cleetus, of the Union of Concerned Scientists.
“But world leaders still have the power to sharply cut these emissions,” she said.
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