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Magali Sanchez-Hall, a Wilmington resident for over two decades, has struggled with asthma her entire life. She says the health issue stems from her proximity to oil and gas drilling.
Emma Newburger | CNBC

LOS ANGELES, CALIF. — Stepping out of a coffee shop near Interstate 110 in the Wilmington neighborhood of Los Angeles, you’re immediately hit by a foul odor.

Magali Sanchez-Hall, 51, who’s lived here for more than two decades, is used to the smell of rotting eggs wafting from the hundreds of oil wells operating in the neighborhood. She’s used to her neighbors describing chronic coughs, skin rashes and cancer diagnoses, and to the asthma that affects her own family, who live only 1,500 feet from a refinery.

“When people are getting sick with cancer or having asthma, they might think it’s normal or blame genetics,” she said. “We don’t often look at the environment we’re in and think — the chemicals we’re breathing are the cause.”

Wilmington, a predominantly working-class and Latino immigrant community of more than 50,000 people, has some of the highest rates of asthma and cancer in the state, according to a report by the non-profit Communities for a Better Environment. It’s surrounded by six oil refineries and wedged in by several freeways and the ports of L.A. and Long Beach.

California, the seventh-largest oil-producing state in the U.S., has no rule or standard for the distance that active oil wells need to be from communities. For many Californians, especially Black and brown residents, acrid smells, noise and dirt from oil production is part of the neighborhood.

Walking around Wilmington, pumpjacks are visible in public parks, next to schoolyards where children play and outside of people’s windows at home. At night, the sky is lit orange from refinery flares.

The discovery of oil in the 1920s led to significant population growth in the area. People built and bought houses next to the oil fields and refineries, which employ thousands of residents in the area. In L.A. County, the industry employs about 37,000 people, according to a report by Capitol Matrix Consulting.

Oil tanks wedged between homes in the Wilmington neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Emma Newburger | CNBC

More than 2 million California residents live within 2,500 feet of an operational oil and gas well and another 5 million — 14% of the state’s population — are within 1 mile, according to an analysis by the non-profit FracTracker Alliance.

Residents are especially vulnerable in L.A. County, which is home to the Inglewood Oil Field. The 1,000-acre site is one of the largest urban oil fields in the country and is owned and operated by Sentinel Peak Resources. More than half a million people live within a quarter mile of active wells that release hazardous air pollutants like benzene, hydrogen sulfide, particulate matter and formaldehyde.

Sentinel Peak did not respond to requests for comment.

Sanchez-Hall didn’t understand the link between the nearby refineries and the health issues in her community until she left. She graduated college and pursued a masters degree at UCLA, where she took environmental law classes, and now advocates for clean air and energy in her neighborhood.

“Wilmington is ground zero for pollution,” Sanchez-Hall said. “Now I understood why people were dying of cancer around me. We’re not disposable people. There is a huge disadvantage because many of us don’t know what’s happening.”

No buffer zone between drilling and people

Research shows that people who live near oil and gas drilling sites are exposed to harmful pollution and are at greater risk of preterm births, asthma, respiratory disease and cancer.

Residing near oil wells is linked to reduced lung function and wheezing, and in some cases the respiratory damage rivals that of daily exposure to secondhand smoke or living beside a freeway, according to a recent study published in the journal Environmental Research.

Another study, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, analyzed nearly 3 million births in California of women living within 6.2 miles of at least one oil or gas well. The authors concluded that living near those wells during pregnancy increased the risk of low-birthweight babies.

Environmental advocacy groups have urged California Gov. Gavin Newsom to instate a 2,500-foot buffer zone, or setback, between fossil fuel operations and homes and schools. This year, a bill to ban fracking and instate a buffer zone failed in a state committee vote.

Other oil-producing states including Colorado, Pennsylvania, and Texas have already implemented some form of buffer zone between properties and wells.

In 2019, Newsom ordered his regulators to study such a health-and-safety rule, but they didn’t meet the December 2020 deadline for action. State oil regulators also missed a more recent deadline in the spring to release new regulations that would help protect the health and safety of people living near drilling sites. The California Geologic Energy Management Division, which oversees the state’s fossil fuel industries, hasn’t yet set a new timeline for regulations.

Meanwhile, the governor since 2019 has approved roughly 9,014 oil and gas permits, according to an analysis of state data by Consumer Watchdog and FracTracker Alliance.

“Frontline communities have been waiting for very basic protections from dangerous oil and gas projects for too long,” said Hollin Kretzmann, an attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, which recently sued the state for approving thousands of drilling and fracking projects without the required environmental review.

“A safety buffer is the bare minimum,” Kretzmann said. “The fact that our state continues to delay is frustrating and completely unacceptable.”

Josiah Edwards, 21, grew up near the largest oil refinery on the West Coast. “Oil drilling and refineries were always an ever present background in my life,” he said.
Emma Newburger | CNBC

The Western States Petroleum Association and the State Building and Construction Trades Council have opposed a statewide mandate to establish buffer zones, arguing that doing so would harm workers and increase fuel costs.

“A one-size-fits-all approach for an entire state for an issue like this is rarely good public policy,” said WSPA spokesman Kevin Slagle. “Setback distances not based data specific to a region could lead to significant impacts on communities, jobs and the affordability and reliability of energy in the state.”

Environmentalists have also called on Newsom to place an immediate moratorium on all new oil and gas permits in those zones.

Earlier this year, the governor directed state agencies to halt new fracking permits by 2024 and to consider phasing out oil production by 2045. The announced marked a shift in position by Newsom, who’s previously said he doesn’t have executive authority to ban fracking, which accounts for just 2% of oil extraction in California, according to the state’s Department of Conservation.

Newsom’s office did not respond to requests for comment.

Newsom’s predecessor, Jerry Brown, who held office between 2011 and 2018, approved 21,397 new oil wells. More than three-quarters of new wells under Brown’s administration are in low-income communities and communities of color, according to state data analyzed by the Center for Biological Diversity.

‘I could have had a better life’

Josiah Edwards, 21, grew up in Carson, a city located in the south bay region of Los Angeles and near the West Coast’s largest oil refinery, owned by Marathon Petroleum Corp. Edwards and his family members suffered from asthma and were constantly concerned about breathing in emissions of the nearby refineries.

“Oil drilling and refineries were always an ever present background in my life,” said Edwards, who now volunteers for the Sunrise Movement, an environmental advocacy group, in Los Angeles.

Edwards recalled getting bloody noses as a child and coming to connect them with the pollution from refineries. He dove into research on how exposure to pollution may contribute to the development of asthma in childhood and wondered if his life would have been different growing up elsewhere.

“It makes me angry and upset. There’s a situation where I could have had a better life with improved health outcomes,” Edwards said. “Even though it still makes me feel angry, I find a lot of hope in what could be. There’s a potential for change.”

Marathon spokesman Jamal Kheiry said the company’s refinery in Carson has invested in air emissions control equipment and cut its criteria pollutant emissions by 35% in the past decade. It’s also invested $25 million to install air monitoring systems along the perimeter of its facilities, and is providing those results to the public.

Wilmington Athletic Complex is located beside oil tanks.
Emma Newburger | CNBC

Phasing out oil and gas locally

Some parts of the state have taken matters into their own hands.

Culver City in L.A. County passed an ordinance to phase out oil and gas extraction in its portion of the Inglewood Oil Field within five years, in one of the most ambitious moves by an oil-producing jurisdiction. The ordinance also requires that all the wells be plugged and abandoned in that time period.

Ventura County, located northwest of L.A., has adopted a 2,500 buffer zone between oil wells and schools and 1,500 feet between wells and homes.

And L.A. County supervisors voted unanimously earlier this month to phase out oil and gas drilling and ban new drill sites in the unincorporated areas. The county is set to determine the quickest way to shut down wells legally before providing a timeline on the phase out.

Jacob Roper, a spokesperson for the Department of Conservation, of which CalGEM is a sub-agency, said the department is “hard at work developing a science-based health and safety regulation to protect communities and workers from the impacts of oil extraction activities.”

“This is a complex set of rules with subject matter outside of our previous regulatory experience,” Roper said. “It involves close collaboration with other state agencies and an independent public health expert panel in an effort to ensure a thorough analysis of relevant science and engineering practices.”

L.A. could become one of the first major cities in the U.S. to nearly phase out fossil fuels from power supply without disruption to the economy, according to a recent study commissioned by the city. Technologies like solar farms, wind turbines, batteries and electric vehicles would make the transition possible, while mitigating harmful air pollution in the most vulnerable communities.

“There are local officials who are taking this issue seriously,” Kretzmann said. “But the fires, ongoing drought and heatwaves in California are stark reminders that we need much bolder action on fossil fuels.”

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Trump’s CFPB drops enforcement of buy now, pay later rule in latest rollback of consumer protections

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Trump's CFPB drops enforcement of buy now, pay later rule in latest rollback of consumer protections

The entrance to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) headquarters is seen during a protest on Feb. 10, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images

For the third time under President Donald Trump, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has pulled back from enforcing a key rule, this time targeting buy now, pay later services.

The CFPB said in a notice on Tuesday that it will not prioritize enforcement of a rule, established during Joe Biden’s presidency, that classified BNPL providers as credit card issuers subject to the Truth in Lending Act. Fintech lenders had been required to comply with more stringent consumer protections, including standardized disclosures, refund processing and formal dispute investigations.

Affirm and other BNPL firms had voiced opposition to the billing statement requirement, arguing that it would confuse users and add unnecessary friction.

Read more about tech and crypto from CNBC Pro

“Requiring BNPL providers to comply with rules designed for open-end credit cards creates compliance challenges and confusing outcomes for consumers,” Affirm wrote in a formal comment letter, urging the CFPB to adopt rules that reflect how consumers actually use BNPL products.

The CFPB is looking to go even further as it’s considering rescinding the rule entirely, citing a need to focus resources on “pressing threats to consumers,” especially service members, veterans, and small businesses.

In October, the Financial Technology Association, which represents major BNPL players, sued the CFPB, claiming the agency overstepped by imposing credit card-like restrictions through an interpretive rule rather than a formal one.

The CFPB notice comes as new consumer data shows mounting pressures in the market.

A Bankrate survey released Monday found that nearly half of BNPL users have faced financial problems tied to these services. As usage rises, particularly for essentials like groceries, missed payments are increasing as well.

Affirm is scheduled to report quarterly results on Thursday. Rival Klarna is on file to go public, but delayed its IPO last month after President Trump’s announcement of sweeping new tariffs roiled financial markets.

WATCH: Block shares plummet 20% as Q1 earnings miss rattles Wall Street

Block shares plummet 20% as Q1 earnings miss rattles Wall Street

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58 crypto wallets have made millions on Trump’s meme coin. 764,000 have lost money, data shows

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58 crypto wallets have made millions on Trump's meme coin. 764,000 have lost money, data shows

Jack Mallers looks to rival Strategy with new bitcoin company backed by Tether and SoftBank

About 764,000 wallets that purchased President Donald Trump‘s $TRUMP meme coin have lost money on the investment, according to fresh data shared with CNBC by blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.

Most of the wallets that lost money held smaller amounts of the token, according to the firm’s on-chain analysis. Crypto wallets are accounts that store the keys you need to access and use your cryptocurrency holdings.

Chainalysis said that while around 2 million wallets have bought into the token, 58 wallets made more than $10 million apiece, totaling roughly $1.1 billion in gains.

The $TRUMP token, which surged in popularity after being tied to the start of Trump’s second term, has seen sharp price swings and highly uneven returns for investors. Fight Fight Fight LLC. and CIC Digital LLC., control the bulk of the token’s supply.

CNBC has reached out to Fight Fight Fight LLC. for comment on the Chainalysis numbers.

Interest in the coin spiked more than 50% after the project’s website promised the top 220 holders a seat at a black-tie-optional dinner with the president.

The $TRUMP event, set for May 22 at the president’s Trump National Golf Club, Washington, D.C., includes a reception for the 25 wallets with the largest coin balance, along with a White House tour.

Read more about tech and crypto from CNBC Pro

The dinner-pegged rally pushed the token’s market cap to $2.7 billion at its peak, though it has since pulled back to around $2.17 billion.

Since that rally, around 54,000 wallets have bought the coin. In total, 100,000 new wallets have purchased $TRUMP since April 15, Chainalysis said, extending the post-announcement surge despite ongoing volatility in the broader crypto market.

The Trump-branded meme token has drawn scrutiny from regulators and ethics watchdogs.

Lawmakers are now formally investigating whether the $TRUMP meme coin — and a related crypto venture called World Liberty Financial, which sends 75% of revenue to the Trump family — constitute a direct conflict of interest for the president.

The Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has launched a probe into the token’s ownership structure and revenue model, while House Democrats stormed out of a crypto hearing in protest.

At the center of the controversy is the dinner competition for top token holders, promotional posts from the president himself, and ties to foreign investors including a state-backed Emirati fund and crypto mogul Justin Sun.

Launched in January ahead of Trump’s second inauguration, the token’s value initially soared to $15 billion after a series of promotional posts from the president on Truth Social and X. It lost most of that value within days.

Only 20% of the token’s total supply is currently in circulation. The remaining 80% — reportedly controlled by the Trump Organization and affiliated entities — is locked under a three-year vesting schedule. Public disclosures say insiders have agreed not to sell their allocations for another few months.

Even with their tokens under vesting restrictions, insiders are earning substantial revenue.

Since January, more than $324 million in trading fees have been routed to wallets tied to the project’s creators, according to Chainalysis. The token’s code automatically directs a cut of each transaction to these addresses, allowing the team to profit from ongoing activity.

Trump signs executive order to establish U.S. strategic bitcoin reserve

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Lucid (LCID) plans to double EV production this year, even with tariffs

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Lucid (LCID) plans to double EV production this year, even with tariffs

Lucid Motors (LCID) reported first-quarter earnings on Tuesday, reaffirming its plans to more than double EV production in 2025. Despite the threat of new tariffs, the EV maker expects to continue building momentum after another record quarter.

Lucid stands by 20,000 EV production goal for 2025

In the first three months of 2025, Lucid delivered 3,109 vehicles, setting its fifth straight quarterly record. The company’s production is also picking up, with 2,213 vehicles built at its Casa Grande plant in Arizona. Another 600 were in transit to Saudi Arabia, where they will be assembled at Lucid’s new AMP-2 plant.

At this rate, Lucid is on track to deliver around 12,500 vehicles, easily topping the 10,200 vehicles it delivered in 2024.

With its first electric SUV, the Gravity, now rolling out, Lucid is poised to see even more demand throughout the year.

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Lucid reported first-quarter revenue of $235 million, up slightly from the $234.5 million in Q4 2024 and an increase of 35% from Q1 2024.

Despite higher sales, the EV maker cut its net loss to $366 million from over $680 million in the first quarter of 2024. Lucid also improved gross margins by 37 pts year-over-year (YOY) to -97%.

Lucid-EV-production-2025
Lucid Q1 2025 financial earnings results (Source: Lucid Group)

Even with the added tariffs, Lucid still expects to produce around 20,000 vehicles in 2025, more than double the roughly 9,000 cars it made last year.

Like most automakers, Lucid is preparing for a shakeup under the Trump administration, including possibly ending the $7,500 federal EV tax credit. Earlier today, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said there’s “a better chance we kill it than save it” during an interview.

Lucid-EV-production-2025
Lucid Gravity electric SUV at a Tesla Supercharger (Source: Lucid Motors)

The company said, “A thorough analysis of tariffs, supply chain, and related macroeconomic uncertainties is ongoing.”

Lucid ended the first quarter with around $5.76 billion in total liquidity, which the company said is enough to fund it into the second half of 2026, when it plans to launch its midsize platform.

Lucid-midsize-EV-SUV
Lucid midsize electric SUV teaser image (Source: Lucid)

Former CEO Peter Rawlinson said earlier this year that Lucid’s midsize platform is “finally when we compete directly with Tesla.” The first two vehicles are expected to be an electric SUV and sedan, starting at around $50,000, which could rival Tesla’s Model Y and Model 3.

But first, it will focus on its new electric SUV. The Lucid Gravity Grand Touring is available to order starting at $94,900 with up to 450 miles of range. Later this year, Lucid will launch the lower-priced Touring trim, starting at $79,900.

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