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With New Permits, Newsom Ramps Up Fracking in California
Gov. Gavin Newsom's oil and gas regulatory agency has approved 12 new permits for Chevron to conduct hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in the Lost Hills Oil Field in Kern County.
The authorizations -- issued late Thursday afternoon, just before the holiday weekend -- will allow Chevron to frack these wells 168 times.
SACRAMENTO, Calif.
Gov. Gavin Newsom's oil and gas regulatory agency has approved 12 new permits for Chevron to conduct hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in the Lost Hills Oil Field in Kern County.
The authorizations -- issued late Thursday afternoon, just before the holiday weekend -- will allow Chevron to frack these wells 168 times.
"It's outrageous that Gov. Newsom is handing out fracking permits during a pandemic that disproportionately harms polluted communities," said Hollin Kretzmann, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. "The governor needs to stop recklessly approving fracking and new oil and gas drilling. Instead of restarting fracking in areas already suffering from dirty air, Newsom should direct oil companies to start plugging these dangerous wells to create jobs and move us away from polluting fossil fuels."
Newsom ended a moratorium on fracking permits in April when the California Geologic Energy Management Division approved 24 new permits for Aera Energy LLC. Including Chevron's new permits, Newsom has now granted a total of 48 fracking permits since ending the moratorium.
Because each permit allows an operator to frack the same well multiple times, the actual number of fracking events authorized is 360. The fracking will occur in Kern County, which already suffers from some of the poorest air quality in the nation.
Newsom has also approved drilling permits for more than 1,400 new oil and gas wells so far this year. According to a California Council on Science and Technology report, it would cost more than $9.2 billion to properly plug California's existing oil and gas wells, and operators have not set aside nearly enough money to pay for this legally required cleanup. On Thursday, 12 of those new drilling permits went to California Resources Corporation, even though multiple reports state that the company will soon be forced to file for bankruptcy.
"Approving these permits is especially dangerous now, after multiple studies have shown air pollution increases our vulnerability to coronavirus," Kretzmann said. "Each new well and fracking event is another step backwards for public health and climate change."
Studies have linked fracking and oil extraction to a variety of air pollution problems, including increased smog levels. Researchers have found increased rates of COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases in places with higher air pollution.
In June, the Center submitted one of more than 40,000 public comments calling for the state's oil and gas regulator to adopt a health and safety buffer that would require a minimum distance of 2,500 feet between oil and gas operations and sensitive receptors such as homes, schools, and hospitals. The Newsom administration has yet to release a set of proposed health and safety regulations.
At the Center for Biological Diversity, we believe that the welfare of human beings is deeply linked to nature — to the existence in our world of a vast diversity of wild animals and plants. Because diversity has intrinsic value, and because its loss impoverishes society, we work to secure a future for all species, great and small, hovering on the brink of extinction. We do so through science, law and creative media, with a focus on protecting the lands, waters and climate that species need to survive.
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'Authoritarian Escalation': Trump Deploys US Marines to Help Put Down LA Protests
"Every governor, red or blue, should reject this outrageous overreach," said California's Democratic governor, who sued over the president's takeover of the state's National Guard. "We will not let this stand."
Jun 09, 2025
As President Donald Trump deployed U.S. Marines to Los Angeles on Monday in response to protests against immigration raids and the violent arrest of a popular labor leader, California Attorney General Rob Bonta's office announced that he and Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom sued Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over their weekend takeover of the state's National Guard.
"President Trump's order calling federalized National Guard troops into Los Angeles—over the objections of the governor and local law enforcement—is unnecessary and counterproductive. It's also deeply unfair to the members of the National Guard who are hard at work every day protecting our state, preparing for and responding to emergencies, and training so that, if called, they can fight our nation's wars," Bonta said in a statement.
"Let me be clear: There is no invasion. There is no rebellion. The president is trying to manufacture chaos and crisis on the ground for his own political ends," he added. "Federalizing the California National Guard is an abuse of the president's authority under the law—and not one we take lightly. We're asking a court to put a stop to the unlawful, unprecedented order."
As of press time, the filing was not yet available, but it was set to be shared on Bonta's government website.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted raids in Los Angeles on Friday and Saturday, sparking intense protests. Trump's memorandum came on Saturday, prompting Newsom's Sunday letter formally requesting that the president reverse course. The governor also previewed the new lawsuit during a Sunday interview with MSNBC.
"Donald Trump is creating fear and terror by failing to adhere to the U.S. Constitution and overstepping his authority. This is a manufactured crisis to allow him to take over a state militia, damaging the very foundation of our republic," Newsom, who widely seen as a 2028 presidential contender, said Monday.
"Every governor, red or blue, should reject this outrageous overreach," he argued. "This is beyond incompetence—this is him intentionally causing chaos, terrorizing communities, and endangering the principles of our great democracy. It is an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism. We will not let this stand."
Trump's actions and remarks related to the protests against ICE in California have elicited fears of wider repression during his second term.
Criticism continued to mount on Monday, with Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of the progressive group Our Revolution, declaring that "this is not law and order—it's tyranny... When power is concentrated in the hands of a corrupt few, and dissent is met with armed repression, democracy itself is under siege. We must call this what it is: a threat to the republic."
Before the Marine deployment on Monday, Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Greg Casar (D-Texas) said in a statement that "Trump politicizing and weaponizing the National Guard makes us all less safe and less free. His threat to deploy the Marines into the streets of an American city is an illegal and authoritarian escalation."
Politicoreported Monday that the administration ordered about 700 Marines to Los Angeles, and while it is not yet clear what role they will play, "one of the defense officials said they will likely support the 2,000 National Guard troops sent to assist law enforcement."
Casar tied the recent events in Los Angeles to congressional Republicans' evolving budget reconciliation package, saying that "Trump's threats have nothing to do with keeping people safe—it's about political theater. He's scapegoating immigrants to distract from the GOP's real agenda: ripping healthcare away from millions to pay for tax cuts for the ultrarich."
"We will not be intimidated," he added. "Progressives are standing up to this administration, including by conducting lawful oversight at ICE detention centers in Los Angeles and across the country. We stand with Angelenos, and we stand with immigrant families everywhere. The president must return command of the National Guard to Gov. Newsom."
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6,000+ Health Professionals Warn Trump Attacks 'Will Cost Lives'
"We cannot fill the void that is being created by these reckless and deep cuts, which are tearing apart crucial systems for protecting and promoting Americans' health," states an open letter.
Jun 09, 2025
In a open letter released Monday, over 6,000 doctors, researchers, nurses, and other health professionals issued a rebuke of the Trump administration's cuts to agencies and programs that focus on medical care and public health, as well as efforts by congressional Republicans to cut the health insurance program Medicaid.
"As health professionals on the frontlines, we have dedicated our careers to protecting the health of our patients and improving health in our communities and states," the letter states. "However, we cannot fill the void that is being created by these reckless and deep cuts, which are tearing apart crucial systems for protecting and promoting Americans' health. We are certain this will cost lives."
The U.S. Senate is currently reviewing a sweeping, House-passed reconciliation package that includes deep cuts to Medicaid, tax cuts tilted toward the wealthy, and other items.
"If Medicaid funding decreases, many Americans may go without care and most of the clinics and hospitals across the country will suffer financially. Some will have to close their doors, especially in rural areas," according to the letter.
The group also highlighted Trump administration efforts to carry out cuts at federal agencies tasked with ensuring the country's food, drugs, and environment are safe.
The Trump administration "is slashing funding for medical research and is slowing the approval of new drugs, jeopardizing our ability to provide the best care that science recommends," according to the letter. "Access to lifesaving treatments may be delayed."
The watchdog group Public Citizen published a statement on Monday which included a link to the letter, as well as a quote from Dr. Robert Steinbrook, the Health Research Group director at Public Citizen, who also signed the letter.
"We must continue to sound the alarm about the Trump administration's attacks and threats against our healthcare system," said Steinbrook.
The letter concludes with a plug for readers to challenge these actions by the Trump administration. The letter includes a way for readers to contact their federal lawmakers, and urges them to attend town halls, among other actions.
Also Monday, dozens of scientists, researchers, and other employees at the U.S. National Institutes of Health sent a separate letter addressed to NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya criticizing funding cuts.
"We dissent to administration policies that undermine the NIH mission, waste public resources, and harm the health of Americans and people across the globe," that letter states. It says that NIH has terminated 2,100 research grants tallying some $9.5 billion and $2.6 billion in contracts since January 20.
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At Least 14 More Palestinians Killed at Aid Points as Israel Detains Humanitarian Volunteers
"The almost daily massacres of starving Palestinian families desperately seeking food denied to them by the Israeli-imposed campaign of intentional starvation are crimes against humanity," said one advocate.
Jun 09, 2025
As activists who had been headed for Gaza with humanitarian aid remained in Israeli custody Monday, Palestinian rights advocates condemned reports that the death toll at aid distribution points set up by a private Israel-backed company continued to grow.
The Associated Pressreported that "Israeli forces and allied local gunmen" were behind gunfire that killed at least 14 Palestinians who were taken to local hospitals on Monday, and roughly 100 people were injured.
The people killed were the latest among a total of at least 127 Palestinians who have been killed as they've approached distribution points set up by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a private group staffed by U.S. defense contractors and supported by the Israeli and U.S. governments—but rejected by the United Nations and groups that have long provided aid in Gaza, who say the GHF is not a neutral party and is endangering Palestinians by forcing them to walk several miles through their war-torn enclave to retrieve food boxes weighing 44 pounds each.
At Al Jazeera, Hind Khoudary reported that as Palestinians have approached the aid points in recent days, "the Israeli army starts opening fire, Israeli quadcopters hover above their heads, and Israeli tanks proceed to bear down on the aid seekers."
Among the people killed at a distribution point in Rafah near al-Mawasi was "a woman named Hanan who was solely responsible for feeding her kids and family," reported Khoudary.
"These distribution sites are in the middle of nowhere, where Israeli bulldozers destroyed residential homes," Khoudary added. "It's totally chaotic. Israeli forces have been firing live ammunition as well as tear gas canisters to disperse starving Palestinians."
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have previously admitted to opening fire on Palestinians at GHF sites, but have claimed "shots were directed near individual suspects who advanced toward the troops."
The APreported that men from a local militia called the Popular Forces, led by Yasser Abu Shabab, opened fire at a distribution site in Khan Younis after the men tried to organize the crowd and people "pushed forward."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last week that his government has armed Abu Shabab's militia as part of an effort to undermine Hamas. Abu Shabab denied the claim. Aid workers have said the Popular Forces have long looted trucks carrying humanitarian relief—something Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of doing as it has entirely cut off aid to Gaza since March.
An eyewitness named Hussein Shamimi told the AP that his 14-year-old cousin was killed in the attack on Monday.
"There was an ambush," said Shamimi, "the Israelis from one side and Abu Shabab from another."
At least four people were shot in the neck, another witness told the outlet.
Nihad Awad, national executive director of the Council on American Islamic Relations in the U.S., called for an "immediate end" to the U.S. government's "complicity" in Israel's assault on Gaza, which has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians since October 2023, and in the attacks on people at GHF aid points.
"The almost daily massacres of starving Palestinian families desperately seeking food denied to them by the Israeli-imposed campaign of intentional starvation are crimes against humanity carried out with the complicity of our own government," said Awad. "Food and other humanitarian supplies must enter Gaza unimpeded, without Israel being allowed to use starvation as a weapon of war and a tool for ethnic cleansing."
Also in Khan Younis on Monday, a Palestinian child became the latest to die of malnutrition at the Children's and Maternity Hospital.
At least 58 children in Gaza have died of malnutrition since Israel began its total blockade of aid in early March.
Meanwhile, organizers with the Freedom Flotilla Coalition reported Monday they had been unable to contact 12 international activists and volunteers who were aboard the Madleen, bound for Gaza, for 19 hours.
The activists, including Swedish climate leader Greta Thunberg, had been sailing to Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid.
"These citizens were sailing peacefully under international law, in international waters, and Israel went and forcibly abducted them," Huwaida Arraf toldAl Jazeera. "This was done, as Israel puts it, to 'maintain a maritime closure of Gaza'—which it has no authority to do."
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