California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom's communications team fired off a nasty response to a reporter who requested documentation of the governor's supposed dyslexia diagnosis.
RealClearPolitics political correspondent Susan Crabtree reached out to Newsom's taxpayer-funded communications team after Fox News' Sean Hannity criticized the governor for mentioning his low SAT score as a way to connect with voters in a majority-black city.
'I’m going to continue to ask tough questions despite this vitriolic attempt to intimidate me.'
Newsom "Thinks a 960 SAT Makes Him 'Like' Black Americans. Let That Sink In," Hannity wrote in a post on X. Newsom replied to Hannity by noting his "lifelong struggle with dyslexia."
Crabtree asked Newsom's office for documentation verifying the governor's dyslexia diagnosis, highlighting apparent contradictions in Newsom's account of when he learned of his diagnosis. She noted that Newsom has previously claimed that he discovered the paperwork from his childhood about his dyslexia diagnosis after his father passed away in 2018.
"Newsom also has said he was diagnosed with dyslexia in 1972 — that would be when he was five or six," Crabtree wrote. "Is there anything the governor can point to as proof of this?"
Izzy Gardon, the director of communications for Newsom's office, replied to Crabtree, writing, "Hey, Susan — thanks for reaching out. Respectfully, f**k off."
Newsom has stated that he struggled with dyslexia as a child and still finds it difficult to read.
"There's certain things I can't do, and I'm in the wrong business to not be able to do them. Meaning, I can't read very well, and when you have to give speeches all the time ... it's hard because you can't read a script," Newsom said in a 2017 video interview.
He called it "horribly difficult" to read a script from a teleprompter.
RELATED: 'I’m like you': Newsom insults audience in a failed attempt to relate to voters in majority-black cityGavin Newsom. Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
In the 2017 video, Newsom stated that he found out he had been previously diagnosed with dyslexia "in fifth or sixth, seventh grade."
Newsom appeared to contradict himself during an April interview, in which he said he had recently read a 350-page book in less than two hours. To finish the 11-hour audiobook in two hours, one would need to play it at 5.5 times the normal speed.
"I went through it in a quick hour and a half, almost two hours. And trust me, I don't read very fast, but it reads at an unbelievable pace," Newsom stated.
Gavin Newsom. Photo by Peter Zay/Anadolu via Getty Images
Newsom “obviously doesn’t like all the California corruption we exposed in our book, 'Fool’s Gold,' but I’m going to continue to ask tough questions despite this vitriolic attempt to intimidate me,” Crabtree told Blaze News.
When asked whether Gardon has ever expressed similar hostility toward her previously, Crabtree said, “A few weeks ago he called me ‘delusional’ when I was asking about Newsom’s inflated claims about his ‘college baseball career’ that only amounted to — at the very most — several months on the JV team without playing in any official games.”
Blaze News contacted Gardon to ask if he would like to provide further context about Crabtree's request or any documentation confirming Newsom's diagnosis.
"Conspiracy MAGA blogger pivots from Bigfoot to medical record fishing. We'll pass!" Gardon replied.
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Trump-endorsed Rep. Byron Donalds is dominating in the race to become the GOP candidate for governor of the Sunshine State, according to a new poll.
The post Poll: Trump-Backed Byron Donalds Dominates in Florida Gubernatorial Primary Race appeared first on Breitbart.
Genocidal communist dictator Xi Jinping was among the first to congratulate his North Korean counterpart, Kim Jong-un, on Monday after the latter was "elected" this weekend to continue leading the ruling Workers' Party of Korea.
The post Xi Jinping Seeks to Write ‘New Chapter’ with Kim Jong-un After North Korea Drifts to Russia appeared first on Breitbart.
Activist Cornel West criticized Gavin Newsom's mindset after his comments to black voters, saying he should not "play with us like that."
The post ‘Don’t Play with Us’: Cornel West Scolds Gavin Newsom for Comments to Black Voters appeared first on Breitbart.
A snowball-throwing mob was caught on video pelting New York City Police Department officers Monday afternoon in Manhattan's Washington Square Park, and multiple officers were injured as a result, WABC-TV reported.
Police told the station that officers responded to the park around 4 p.m. for a report of a number of people atop a roof.
'This is the environment that NYC police officers are up against.'
Police added to WABC that the officers were then hit with snowballs, and multiple officers were taken to a hospital with facial cuts.
RELATED: DA Bragg offers plea deals to illegal aliens charged in vicious mob attack on NYPD cops
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch on Monday night wrote on X that she's aware of the videos and that "the behavior depicted is disgraceful, and it is criminal."
RELATED: Teen Tren de Aragua-linked mob ambushes NYPD in another brazen Times Square assault: Report
Tisch added that detectives are investigating.
The Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York called the incident "unacceptable and outrageous," WABC added.
"This is the environment that NYC police officers are up against. Our police officers are being treated for their injuries, but the case CANNOT end there," the PBA said in a statement on social media, according to the station. "The individuals involved must be identified, arrested, and charged with assault on a police officer. And all of our city leaders must speak up to condemn this despicable attack."
Scott Munro, president of the NYPD Detectives' Endowment Association, called on Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to ensure that those responsible are prosecuted, WABC reported.
RELATED: 'Who would have thought?': Mamdani takes side of knife-wielding suspect — not the cops
"No free pass. No get out of jail free card. Make no mistake: Detectives will do what they always do. They will identify those involved, and they will apprehend them," Munro said in a statement, according to the station. "Our men and women in blue deserve to be safe. They deserve to be protected. And they deserve to be respected. They earn it every single day."
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Americans are paying more for new vehicles — and it's not because of greedy dealers or temporary supply disruptions.
The real problem? The modern automobile has become a government-regulated platform.
This regulatory floor helps explain why many entry-level vehicles have disappeared. Automakers did not abandon affordable cars because Americans suddenly rejected them.
What once functioned primarily as personal transportation is now layered with federal mandates, compliance systems, and policy-driven technology. The cost of that transformation is embedded into every vehicle sold.
The average transaction price for a new vehicle now hovers around $48,000 to $50,000, according to Cox Automotive — nearly double what many Americans paid a decade ago. That figure is not driven primarily by dealership markups or consumer excess. It reflects a system in which regulatory requirements steadily raise the baseline cost of every vehicle before it reaches a showroom.
Dealers sell what they are allowed to sell. Consumers pay for what regulators require to be built.
Regulations stackUnlike market innovation, federal mandates rarely replace older requirements. They stack. Safety rules, emissions standards, cybersecurity protocols, and connectivity requirements accumulate over time. Each new layer raises the minimum cost of building any vehicle, regardless of brand or segment.
Automakers no longer decide which technologies to include based solely on consumer demand. They build to regulatory specifications — and those specifications grow more complex every year.
Driver-assistance: No longer optionalAdvanced driver-assistance systems are a clear example. Lane-keeping assist, automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, cameras, radar units, and onboard processors were once optional upgrades. Today most are standard across model lines due to evolving federal safety expectations and liability pressures.
These systems require sensors, software calibration, processors, and constant updates. They also increase repair costs. A recent study by AAA shows that vehicles equipped with advanced driver-assistance features can cost 20% to 40% more to repair after collisions, in part because sensors must be recalibrated or replaced.
Whether buyers want every feature is beside the point. The technology is built in.
RELATED: Would you buy a car from Amazon?
Nicolò Campo/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Engineering complexityEmissions regulations add another layer. Even gasoline-powered vehicles now rely on increasingly sophisticated emissions control systems, specialized materials, and complex software calibration to meet tightening federal and state standards.
These systems improve measurable compliance outcomes, but they also increase engineering complexity and production cost. Manufacturers cannot legally offer simplified alternatives that fall outside regulatory thresholds.
Computers on wheelsModern vehicles are now rolling computer networks. Federal standards increasingly require data systems, cybersecurity protections, over-the-air update capability, and integrated monitoring infrastructure.
Hardware, antennas, processors, software validation, and compliance testing all add cost. None of it is optional at scale. Once these systems are embedded into vehicle architecture, they become permanent cost centers.
'Kill-switch' costsOne of the least discussed provisions of the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act requires the installation of advanced driver monitoring systems designed to detect impairment in future vehicles. Critics have labeled this a “kill-switch” mandate because the rule requires technology capable of preventing operation under certain conditions.
Regardless of terminology, implementing such systems requires additional hardware, sensors, software integration, validation, and certification. Even before activation or enforcement details are finalized, the design and compliance costs are already being built into pricing structures.
When every manufacturer must comply, there is no competitive pressure to eliminate the expense.
Tariffs and supply chainsTariffs compound the issue. Import duties on vehicles and automotive components affect not only foreign-built cars but also vehicles assembled in the United States that rely on global supply chains. Steel, aluminum, semiconductors, and specialized materials all move through international networks.
When tariffs raise component costs, those increases flow downstream. Automakers do not absorb them indefinitely. Dealers do not control them. Buyers ultimately pay.
Extinct entry-levelThis regulatory floor helps explain why many entry-level vehicles have disappeared. Automakers did not abandon affordable cars because Americans suddenly rejected them. They exited those segments because compliance costs made lower-margin models difficult to sustain profitably.
When the baseline cost of meeting regulatory requirements approaches what buyers can reasonably pay for a basic vehicle, the product becomes economically unviable.
Shrinking used-car marketThe used-car market offers limited relief. As new vehicles become more expensive, consumers hold onto existing cars longer. According to S&P Global Mobility, the average age of vehicles on American roads has climbed to nearly 13 years, an all-time high.
Fewer late-model trade-ins tighten supply. Prices rise. Regulatory-driven cost increases in the new-car market ripple outward and affect every segment.
EV expensesElectric vehicles illustrate the same dynamic. Federal incentives, emissions targets, battery sourcing rules, and manufacturing credits shape production decisions and model availability. While battery costs have declined over time, compliance requirements and policy alignment continue to influence pricing and product mix.
For many households, the upfront cost of EVs remains significantly higher than comparable gasoline models — even after incentives.
Fixed costsThe expectation that prices will fall once supply stabilizes misunderstands how regulatory-cost structures function. Supply constraints can ease. Compliance costs rarely do.
As long as vehicles are treated as platforms for policy implementation rather than purely consumer goods, the floor price will continue to rise.
High vehicle prices are not simply a market fluctuation. They are, to a significant degree, a policy outcome.
And until policymakers reckon with the cumulative cost of regulatory layering, the $50,000 vehicle will increasingly become the norm — not the exception.