Newsom's state 'caught red-handed' illegally issuing thousands of commercial driver’s licenses to foreign truckers: DOT



California illegally issued thousands of commercial driver's licenses, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

A Wednesday morning press release from the department claimed that the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles “has admitted to illegally issuing 17,000 non-domiciled Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDLs) to dangerous foreign drivers.”

'This is just the tip of the iceberg.'

Those who were issued the allegedly illegal licenses have been notified that those licenses no longer meet federal requirements and will expire in 60 days.

The DOT credited the findings to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s ongoing nationwide audit of non-domiciled CDLs. The review revealed “systemic policy, procedural, and programming errors in California’s non-domiciled CDL program,” the department reported.

“The audit also found that more than one in four of the non-domiciled CDL records sampled in California failed to comply with federal regulations. This includes issuing licenses that extended well beyond a foreigner’s work permit,” the DOT wrote.

RELATED: Exclusive: DOT withholds $40M from blue state for flouting English requirements for truckers

Sean Duffy. Photographer: Francis Chung/Politico/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The department threatened in August to withhold funding from California if it refused to comply with English language proficiency requirements for truck drivers.

The California Highway Patrol indicated in July that it had no plans to place commercial drivers out of service for failing to meet ELP standards.

In October, the DOT announced that it was withholding $40 million from the blue state.

RELATED: The fraud crippling American trucking: 'Ghost' carriers and 'NO NAME GIVEN' driver's licenses issued to foreigners

Photographer: Shelby Tauber/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The DOT stated that it will continue to pressure California to revoke illegally issued non-domiciled CDLs, noting that it is prepared to withhold $160 million in funding for noncompliance.

“After weeks of claiming they did nothing wrong, Gavin Newsom and California have been caught red-handed. Now that we’ve exposed their lies, 17,000 illegally issued trucking licenses are being revoked,” Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said. “This is just the tip of the iceberg. My team will continue to force California to prove they have removed every illegal immigrant from behind the wheel of semitrucks and school buses.”

Newsom’s office and the California DMV did not respond to Blaze News' request for comment.

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'Just crazy': Thug throws frozen water balloon through car windshield, hits driver in face while he travels down highway



A motorist was seriously injured after someone threw a frozen water balloon through his windshield, hitting him in the face Thursday night while he was traveling down a highway in Northern California.

The incident occurred on Highway 20 near Hallwood Boulevard in Marysville in Yuba County, KCRA-TV reported. Marysville is about an hour north of Sacramento.

'Somebody went through all of that for just a random act of violence.'

"It came through the window and hit me in the face," the victim, Alex Plant, told the station. "Forced a lot of this glass into my face, in my eyes."

Plant told KCRA he was driving home from work around 9:30 p.m. and traveling about 45 miles per hour when he said something from a car traveling in the opposite direction was thrown out its window.

"I barely saw it for a quarter of a second before it just came straight through," Plant told KCRA.

The victim added to the station that while he was able to pull off the two-lane highway, he had to ask Siri to call 911, as he had no idea what hit him after it crashed through his windshield.

"My eyes were already starting to close up, so I couldn't even look at the phone if I wanted to," Plant noted to KCRA.

Turns out that a piece of white balloon was stuck in the shattered glass as first responders arrived, the station said.

Plant told KCRA he was taken to a hospital where medical staff spent hours removing shards of glass from his face and eyes.

RELATED: Husband of Woman Severely Injured by Rock Thrown From Highway Overpass Commits Suicide

"I wasn't even sure I'd be able to see my family, to be honest with you," he added to the station. "It was really stressful."

Plant's eyes were open as he spoke to KCRA, but small cuts were visible on his face — and he told the station his vision has been compromised.

"Out of this right eye, if I were to close the left one right now, you know, everything's a little bit blurry. It's hard to focus a little bit. And like I said, just the sensitivity to light," Plant explained to the station.

In the end, the victim has been left wondering why someone would do such a dangerous and destructive thing to anyone.

"I was a random victim, but somebody didn't randomly do this act, right?" Plant noted to KCRA. "Somebody went through all that trouble to, like, freeze it, tie it off, you know what I mean? And then throw it through the windshield before it defrosted. That's just crazy. Somebody went through all of that for just a random act of violence."

The station said California Highway Patrol is investigating the incident, but officials have limited information and no witnesses. Officers are working to identify the suspect and the suspect vehicle, KCRA reported.

In addition, Plant and his family are asking anyone with information that could assist in the investigation to contact the California Highway Patrol, the station said.

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Duffy threatens funding freeze for 3 states flouting English requirements for truck drivers



The Department of Transportation is taking action to further clamp down on non-English-speakers with commercial driver's licenses, following President Donald Trump's executive action.

The Obama administration's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued a memorandum in 2016 that removed a requirement to place drivers out of service due to a lack of English proficiency.

'States don't get to pick and choose which federal safety rules to follow.'

Trump reversed that action in April, calling for the enforcement of the law to protect American roads following an increase in fatal accidents involving semi-trucks.

DOT Secretary Sean Duffy announced on Tuesday that the agency would pull federal funding for states that fail to comply with English language proficiency requirements.

He accused California, Washington, and New Mexico of failing to place drivers out of service for ELP violations. Duffy warned the three states that they have 30 days to comply or the DOT will withhold all funding from the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program.

California receives $30 million, Washington receives $10 million, and New Mexico receives $7 million through that program, Duffy stated during a Tuesday press conference.

RELATED: Florida teams up with ICE to crack down on illegal alien truckers after deadly crash

Photographer: Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The California Highway Patrol told Overdrive in July that it does not plan to place drivers out of service for ELP violations despite the Trump administration's new guidance.

The CHP "has not implemented any enforcement changes in response to recent federal guidance requiring commercial drivers to speak English, as it is not part of California law," a spokesperson told the outlet.

"States don't get to pick and choose which federal safety rules to follow," Duffy stated. "As we saw with the horrific Florida crash that killed three, when states fail to enforce the law, they put the driving public in danger. Under President Trump's leadership, we are taking aggressive action to close these safety gaps, hold states accountable, and make sure every commercial driver on the road is qualified to operate a 40-ton vehicle."

A spokesperson for California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) appeared to blame the Trump administration for the recent fatal crash in Florida involving Harjinder Singh, an Indian national who received his commercial driver's license in California. Earlier this month, Singh's truck crushed a minivan, killing all three passengers, after he allegedly performed an illegal U-turn.

"This is rich. The Trump administration approved the federal work permit for the man who killed 3 people — and now they're scrambling to shift blame after getting caught," Diana Crofts-Pelayo, a Newsom spokesperson, told NBC News. "Sean's nonsense announcement is as big a joke as the Trump administration itself. SAD!"

RELATED: American trucking at a crossroads: Deadly crash involving illegal alien exposes true cost of Biden’s border invasion

California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin denied those claims.

"False. Harjinder Singh is in the United States illegally and his work authorization was rejected under the Trump Administration on September 14, 2020. It was later approved under the Biden Administration June 9, 2021," McLaughlin wrote in a post on X. "The state of California issues Commercial Drivers Licenses. There is no national CDL."

"Thank you for confirming that the federal government issued him a work permit and you FAILED to revoke it!" Newsom's office responded.

The Washington and New Mexico governors' offices did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News.

— (@)

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Good Samaritans subdue brute caught beating on highway patrol officer: 'Not very often that you see something like that'



A hulking brute gained the upper hand in a brawl with a California Highway Patrol officer Friday evening. Once trapped in a headlock, the motorcycle officer appeared short on time and air. He was not, however, short on friends.

Three Good Samaritans rushed into action, sparing the officer from possible doom and making good on the officer's earlier warning.

Everardo Navarro, 42, glimpsed the CHP officer on the receiving end of a beating off California's 5 freeway in Santa Ana, California.

"I just jumped," Navarro told the Los Angeles Times. "I don't think the officer was able to take control of that situation by himself, because the guy was very, very strong."

While the brute, who has been identified as 34-year-old Jaime Balderas Paniagua, may have appeared strong, Navarro's compulsion to act was stronger.

"I think about my kids at that moment," Navarro told KCAL-TV. "And at the same time, I did think the officer may have a family as well."

Navarro rushed across traffic to uphold the law and its highway enforcer. Two additional men swiftly joined Navarro in the effort.

KCAL indicated the officer had originally given the suspect a verbal warning for allegedly bending freeway signs and screaming at passersby. However, as the officer was preparing to ride away, Paniagua allegedly assailed him.

A video of the incident appears to show the suspect strike the officer, the officer respond, then both men grapple on the ground, with the suspect gaining the advantage on the road. At one stage, the suspect appears to get the officer into a headlock.

"When I actually get there, for a split second I didn't know what to do," said Navarro. "I just punched the guy in the ribs."

The Good Samaritan's flurry of punches to the suspect's solar plexus failed to free the officer, so he focused instead on breaking the choke hold.

In the footage of the incident, the other two Good Samaritans can be seen aiding the officer and ensuring the suspect couldn't grab the officer's sidearm.

Together, they successfully subdued the suspect and ensured the officer would live to ride again.

Anselmo Templado, a spokesman for the CHP, told KTLA, "Many of these situations, they end up becoming dangerous at a moment’s notice."

"I think it’s amazing that three Good Samaritans came in and stepped in and helped our officer out,” added Templado. "It’s not very often that you see something like that. Usually, it’s just people recording and standing by, but I just want to thank those three Good Samaritans for helping out our officer. It could’ve ended very badly, but luckily for them no one was seriously injured, and we got the subject under control."

Paniagua faces multiple charges including assault and battery on a peace officer and resisting arrest.

Video captures Good Samaritans rescuing CHP officer under attack in Orange County youtu.be

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Video: California suspect dies after jumping out of stolen police cruiser in the middle of high-speed car chase



A California man was seen on video jumping out of a police cruiser that he allegedly stole. The alleged thief later died from his injuries sustained during the high-speed car chase.

There was a car accident in the Santa Clarita area on Tuesday. A California Highway Patrol officer responded to the collision. During the investigation of the collision, a man allegedly stole the police officer's cruiser.

He fled north on Interstate 5. The stolen police cruiser, a Dodge Charger, reached speeds of nearly 100 MPH while traveling east on Highway 138 near the Antelope Valley.

KABC-TV reported, "At one point, officials say the suspect also brandished a shotgun and assault rifle. The suspect was reported to have mental health issues."

The Los Angeles Times reported, "The man did not gain access to weapons that were inside the cruiser, officials said."

During the police chase, the suspect opened the driver-side door of the cruiser. While driving 45 MPH, the man jumped out of the moving vehicle. Video of the car chase taken by a helicopter shows the suspect having his feet taken out from under him and the back of his head slamming hard on the pavement. The man skidded down the highway as the driverless police cruiser veered off the road and crashed into a power pole.

California Highway Patrol quickly dragged the man off the highway because the damaged power lines were swaying and were threatening to fall on the road.

CHP officers then apprehended the suspect, who was unresponsive. Officers performed lifesaving measures on the man before paramedics arrived at the scene. The man, with major injuries, was transported to Antelope Valley Medical Center, where he was later declared dead.

Officials described the investigation as “complex.”

CHP officer Alec Pereyda said during a Tuesday press conference that it was standard procedure for police cruisers to be left running during a traffic stop, but the doors of the vehicle are required to be locked.

The suspect's name was being withheld until next of kin could be notified of his death.

(WARNING: Graphic video)

Police chase: CHP in pursuit of stolen police cruiser www.youtube.com

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