State regulators approve plan to ban sale of all diesel trucks

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2 years ago

May 1, 2023

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California Policy Center Senior Fellow Edward Ring argues storage and distribution of wind and solar energy must be improved before making a fully renewable transition.

California air regulators approved regulation Friday to ban the sale of traditional combustion trucks – that run of diesel – by 2036 in the state.

The rule must now be approved or denied by President Biden's U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. California's vehicle emissions standards are regularly followed by other states.

Known as Advanced Clean Fleets, this action puts the Golden State on the path toward fully transitioning medium and heavy-duty trucks there to zero-emissions technology by 2045.

Major fleet operators also have an option to begin that process next year.

Big rigs, local delivery and government fleets must transition by 2035, garbage trucks and local buses must be zero-emission by 2039 and all other vehicles covered by the rules must be zero-emission by 2042, according to the office of Gov. Gavin Newsom.

BIDEN ADMIN SAYS CALIFORNIA CAN REQUIRE HALF OF HEAVY TRUCKS SOLD TO BE ELECTRIC BY 2035

FILE – A truck departs from a Port of Oakland shipping terminal on Nov. 10, 2021, in Oakland, Calif. On Friday, April 28, 2023, California regulators voted to end the sale of new diesel-powered big rigs and buses in the state by 2036. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File / AP Newsroom)

Companies would be required to disclose their use of big rigs by 2024.

This adds to California's Advanced Clean Trucks rule, which was approved by the Biden administration in March. That rule requires manufacturers to accelerate sales of new zero-emissions heavy-duty trucks by 2035.

The California Air Resources Board also OKed a first-in-the-country rule to limit train pollution.

That regulation aims to accelerate cleaner locomotive technologies, limit idling and require newly built passenger and freight trains to be zero-emissions by 2030 and 2035, respectively.

"The two regulations work in tandem to drastically cut air pollution – especially in disadvantaged communities – and achieve Governor Newsom’s bold vision for [zero emissions vehicles] in California," the governor's office said in a release, noting that vulnerable communities located near trucking corridors and warehouse locations have some of the worst air nationwide.

Of the top 10 most ozone-polluted cities in the U.S., six are in California, according to an American Lung Association's State of the Air report.

FILE – Trucks line up to enter a Port of Oakland shipping terminal on Nov. 10, 2021, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File / AP Newsroom)

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The trucks rule is expected to generate $26.6 billion in health savings, and fleet owners will save an estimated $48 billion from the transition to cleaner vehicles.

The reduced nitrogen oxide and diesel pollution from trains will reportedly bring an estimated $32 billion in health savings by preventing 3,200 premature deaths and 1,500 emergency room visits and hospitalizations.

"The future happens here first, and California is once again showing the world what real climate action looks like," Newsom said. "Last year, our state approved one of the world’s first regulations requiring all new car sales to be zero emissions. Now, with these actions requiring all new heavy-duty truck sales to be zero emission and tackling train pollution in our state, we’re one step closer to achieving healthier neighborhoods and cleaner air for all Californians."

FILE – A semi-truck turns into an Amazon Fulfillment center in Eastvale, California, on Nov. 12, 2020. (Watchara Phomicinda/The Orange County Register via AP, File / AP Newsroom)

California approved one of the world's first regulations last year requiring all of new car sales to be zero emissions vehicles by 2035, including plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. The Biden administration hopes to have half of all new vehicle sales be electric by 2030.

The state – poised to become the world's fourth-largest economy – is investing $9 billion toward the transition, through the California Climate Commitment.

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Some in the truck industry are concerned that the rule will increase prices for good that are trucked and the American Trucking Associations called the rule "unrealistic."

"As it becomes clear that California’s rhetoric is not being matched by technology, we hope the board will reverse course and allow trucking companies the freedom to choose the clean technologies that work best for their operations," the group said in a statement.

It noted that emissions from trucks have already gone down drastically in recent decades.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Sports

NASCAR seeks new mediator in antitrust lawsuit

Published

3 hours ago

October 7, 2025

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NASCAR seeks new mediator in antitrust lawsuit

Associated Press

Oct 7, 2025, 10:13 AM ET

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR has asked a federal court for a judicial settlement conference so that an independent judge can mediate the antitrust suit filed by Michael Jordan-owned 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports.

The two teams pushed back in their own late Monday night filing that it wants to continue working with mediator Jeffrey Mishkin, the former executive vice president and chief legal officer of the NBA who has been negotiating between the two sides this year.

“Mr. Mishkin has invested a great deal of time learning this case and meeting with the parties,” 23XI and Front Row said in the filing. “Plaintiffs have thus requested that NASCAR continue to engage with them via Mr. Mishkin or to make a settlement offer directly to Plaintiffs’ counsel, but NASCAR has not responded to those requests and instead filed this motion.

“It seems NASCAR is not happy with the diagnosis and wants to seek a second opinion.”

The teams argued Mishkin “has significant expertise in complex, sports-related antitrust disputes and has served as an arbitrator or mediator for the international Court of Arbitration for Sport, the America’s Cup, FIFA, and the NFL, among others.”

The teams also argue that “starting over” with a new mediator is “less likely, not more likely, to lead to resolution.”

The dueling motions come as NASCAR seeks a summary judgement to dismiss the case before the scheduled Dec. 1 start of trial. A hearing on that motion is scheduled for Oct. 21.

At issue is the protection of the charter system that is at the heart of NASCAR’s business model and the focal point of the court fight. The charter system is NASCAR’s version of a franchise model. A charter guarantees owners spots in the field, a base amount of revenue each year, and according to NASCAR, has created more than $1.5 billion in equity value for its teams since 2016.

A year ago, 13 of the 15 teams re-signed when they believed two-plus years of negotiations would not lead to a better deal. 23XI, co-owned by Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, and Front Row Motorsports, owned by entrepreneur Bob Jenkins, went to court instead.

For months, the other 13 teams have privately complained that the lawsuit is creating uncertainty over the future of NASCAR. Mishkin has made no progress toward a settlement and NASCAR now wants a federal judge other than U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell, who is presiding over the case, to hear both sides and advise on a resolution.

Most of the top teams in NASCAR last week submitted declarations calling for a settlement and protection of the charter system, which NASCAR noted in its Monday night filing to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina.

“The parties’ readiness to resolve this matter, along with the interests of others in the sport and the Court to see this case resolved, suggest a judicial settlement conference would be a meaningful way to facilitate a settlement,” NASCAR wrote.

Both sides have shown a willingness to talk, but no progress has been made.

Through a judicial settlement conference, NASCAR hopes to bring in a judge who can help direct the talks and offer insight into how a jury might interpret the complex NASCAR antitrust case.

The court must approve NASCAR’s request.

All sides have said they are open to settlement, including Jordan, who also added after an August hearing he was willing to take it to trial if necessary.

“I look forward to going down with the fire. If I have to fight this to the end, for the betterment of the sport, I will,” he said outside federal court. “We’ve always been open to a settlement. Always have been. We’ve never taken that off the table.”

Technology

Inside Rivian’s design factory and the story behind those distinct headlights

Published

3 hours ago

October 7, 2025

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Inside Rivian's design factory and the story behind those distinct headlights

Rivian made a name for itself when it unveiled one of the first electric pickup trucks, the R1T, in 2018. It followed that up with an SUV built off the same platform, the R1S, and has since built a passionate fan base around a brand that celebrates adventure and the outdoors.

Now it’s preparing for its next chapter with the R2, a smaller spin on the R1S SUV, and the R3, a rally-inspired hatchback.

“A lot of people were surprised on R3” Rivian Chief Design Officer Jeff Hammoud told CNBC. “It’s not something that I think a lot of people would have guessed that Rivian would have done … and that was the key thing we were trying to show, we’re not pigeonholed to one form factor.”

The new vehicles, which were unveiled in March of last year, are part of Rivian’s strategy to reach a broader market for its electric vehicles, which currently start upwards of $70,000.

The R2, which the company says will start around $45,000, is expected to go into production by the end of this year at the company’s Normal, Illinois, manufacturing facility.

“While R1 was designed through addition, we had to look at R2 through subtraction,” Hammoud said. “What are the things we can remove or take away, but still keep the ethos of the product and the brand?”

The R2 and R3 are coming on the heels of a tough time for the automaker.

Weak demand, higher costs and the U.S. cancelling the EV credit could spell trouble for Rivian. But that hasn’t stopped the company from breaking ground on a new $5 billion factory in Georgia, where the next generation vehicles will be built.

“We’re first launching R2 at our facility in Illinois, but this is really the site where we’ll scale global production. We’re building this into a 400,000 unit plant,” Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe told CNBC’s Phil LeBeau at the plant’s construction site in September.

CNBC got rare access inside Rivian’s design lab in Irvine, California, to see how the company shapes its distinctive vehicles. We see how the EV maker approaches design for its adventure-driven EV lineup, which includes the backstory on how it conceived its iconic headlights, a choice that provoked mixed reactions when first unveiled.

“They were controversial,” recalls John Voelcker, contributing editor at Car and Driver. “It took a while for people to get over it. I think it was smart in that it’s harder to make your truck distinctive. So a front end that immediately is like no one else is probably a good thing.”

Watch the video to learn about Rivian’s approach to design and its plans to expand its brand of adventure-themed EVs.

UK

Woman filmed cutting commemorative yellow ribbons for Israeli hostages

Published

3 hours ago

October 7, 2025

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Woman filmed cutting commemorative yellow ribbons for Israeli hostages

A woman has been filmed cutting yellow ribbons tied to a gate in London, put up in commemoration of Israeli hostages.

When confronted by two bystanders near the gate in Muswell Hill, north London, the woman said: “I’m not committing a crime.

“If I am, then call the police and you let them know that you have an issue with this.”

In the video, a man branded the woman “a disgusting little human being,” to which she replied: “I think condoning genocide is disgusting.”

The bystander asked her: “So we’re condoning genocide?”

The woman then appeared to point at the ribbons and said: “That’s what this is.”

October 7 anniversary latest: Families demand answers

The yellow ribbon has been used as a symbol of the plight of those taken captive since the 1979 US-Iranian hostage crisis, and has become synonymous with the hostages held in Gaza since 7 October 2023.

The ribbons are used as part of the ‘Bring Them Home’ campaign, which was introduced to raise awareness of the hostages’ plight and help amplify calls for the unconditional release of those still held by Hamas.

The Metropolitan Police told Sky News: “Officers have stepped up reassurance patrols in the Muswell Hill area, following reports that yellow ribbons were removed from fence poles.”

A spokesperson said the force was made aware of a video circulating online which “appears to show a woman removing the ribbons in Muswell Hill” at 4.25pm on Monday.

“Officers attended the location and are reviewing the footage to determine whether any offences, including hate crime or criminal damage, have been committed. Enquiries remain ongoing,” the spokesperson added.

Officers are asking anyone with information to contact the force.

The incident happened just a day before the second anniversary of the October 7 attack, when Hamas killed 1,200 people and took 251 back to Gaza as hostages.

Israel says 48 hostages remain in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to be alive.

Gaza’s health ministry says Israel’s offensive has killed more than 67,000 people in the region since 7 October 2023. It does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its figures, but says more than half of those killed are women and children.