Sophie Austin

Stay informed with Sophie Austin’s coverage and analysis.

  • FILE – The Cedar Viaduct, designed to take high-speed trains over Cedar and North avenues and State Route 99, is shown in an aerial view, Tuesday, April 15, 2025, in Fresno, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez, File)Politics

    California drops lawsuit to reinstate federal bullet train funding as high-speed rail authority seeks private investors

    By Sophie Austin and The Associated Press
  • Susan MonarezPolitics

    Gavin Newsom hires former CDC officials to work as public health consultants for state of California

    By Sophie Austin and The Associated Press
  • billionairesEconomy

    Billionaires’ tax to solve Medicaid funding cuts? Major California union floats one-time policy patch

    By Sophie Austin and The Associated Press
  • Wilfredo CruzEnergy

    ‘You feel kind of forgotten’: Meet a California pipe fitter who got to $118k earnings after a decade but doesn’t know what’s next after the refinery shuts down

    By Sophie Austin and The Associated Press
  • California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks at Belvedere Middle School before signing legislation aimed at improving kids' nutrition and health across California on October 8, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.Health

    Gavin Newsom flexes his own ‘MAHA’ plan as he moves to crack down on ultraprocessed foods in school lunch

    By Sophie Austin and The Associated Press
  • oilEnvironment

    California crowed that it ‘finally beat big oil’ 2 years ago. Regulators just halted the landmark penalty payments

    By Sophie Austin and The Associated Press
  • FILE – The Tied Arch Bridge construction site, which will take high-speed trains over State Route 43, April 15, 2025, in Fresno County, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez, File)Politics

    Trump administration revokes $4 billion in funding for California high-speed ‘train to nowhere’

    By Sophie Austin and The Associated Press
  • FILE – Electric vehicle chargers sit outside a Ford dealership, Jan. 21, 2024, in Broomfield, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)Politics

    Federal judge orders Trump administration to release billions in EV charger funding in 14 states

    By Sudhin Thanawala, Sophie Austin, and others
  • WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 09: U.S. President Donald Trump returns to the White House on June 09, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump returned from Camp David where he held a meeting with senior members of his administration. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)Politics

    Trump blocks California’s first-in-the-nation ban on sales of gas-powered cars amid clash with governor over LA protests

    By Sophie Austin, Seung Min Kim, and others
  • WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 11: U.S. President Donald Trump and White House Senior Advisor, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk deliver remarks next to a Tesla Model S on the South Lawn of the White House on March 11, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump spoke out against calls for a boycott of Elon Musk’s companies and said he would purchase a Tesla vehicle in what he calls a ‘show of confidence and support’ for Elon Musk. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)Politics

    Trump set to sign measure blocking California’s first-in-nation rule banning sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035

    By Michelle L. Price, Sophie Austin, and others
  • FILE – Electric vehicle chargers are seen in the parking lot of South El Monte High School in South El Monte, Calif., Aug. 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)Politics

    17 states are suing Trump administration for blocking billions in funds for EV chargers

    By Sophie Austin, Alexa St. John, and others
  • Vehicles for sale are parked in a lot at a CarMax dealershipFinance

    GOP-controlled House votes to block California from phasing out sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035

    By Sophie Austin and The Associated Press
  • The Tied Arch Bridge construction site, which will take high-speed trains over State Route 43, is shown in an aerial view Tuesday, April 15, 2025, in Fresno County, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)Finance

    17 years after California voters approved $10 billion for high speed rail, no tracks have been laid

    By Sophie Austin and The Associated Press
  • FILE – Retirees Ron Martin, left, and Willie Mae Hampton, right, join other supporters of the Service Employees International Union at a rally against proposed budget cuts to state provided social safety net programs, in Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, June 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)Success

    California health care workers get a pay bump to $18-$23 an hour under new minimum wage law

    By Sophie Austin and The Associated Press
  • California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs legislation at the state Capitol on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, aimed at preventing gas prices from spiking at the pump. (AP Photo/Sophie Austin)Personal Finance

    California Gov. Newsom signs law to prevent gas prices from spiking in state with country’s highest pump costs

    By Sophie Austin and The Associated Press