INTERNACIONAL
California mom rips Newsom-backed ‘diversion program’ that appears to benefit her son’s killer
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Compounding layers of leniency in California laws are allowing drivers charged with vehicular manslaughter to walk away with clean criminal and driving records, prompting calls for reform from victims’ families.
Allison Lyman, who is looking for accountability for the crash that killed her son last year, believes soft-on-crime laws passed under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s tenure have weakened accountability for road deaths, amounting to what she described as «negligence.»
«You know, our hunch is this was all happening during ‘soft on crime,’ ‘let’s clear the jails,’» Lyman said of California’s laws.
«And the consequence now is us — with these drivers right back on our roads.»
BLUE CITY ERUPTS AS 91-TIME FELON TRIES TO DODGE PRISON, WEASEL INTO REHAB AFTER CRASH
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, left, pictured alongside Connor Lopez, right, the son of Allison Lyman who was killed in a car accident on April 23, 2025. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune via Getty Images; Allison Lyman)
Lyman’s son, Connor Lopez, was killed in a collision on April 23, 2025, when Harkit Kaur, a 50-year-old woman, turned into a clear view of incoming traffic and blocked the path of Lopez’s motorcycle, according to eyewitnesses to the accident.
Kaur did not show signs of intoxication after taking a standardized field sobriety test, police reports indicate. Fox News Digital reached out to Kaur’s legal representation.
After the accident, Lyman was shocked to hear the death was considered a «misdemeanor» under California laws dealing with non-violent crimes — something amounting to less than a shoplifting crime. But her shock only grew when she was told Kaur could soon have the accident wiped entirely from her record through a law Newsom approved in 2020.
«I won’t ever forget the day I sat in front of the DA. He said something about a ‘diversion program.’ And then we learned: Governor Newsom signed AB 3234 into law,» Layman explained.
CALIFORNIA’S SOROS-BACKED PROGRESSIVE EXPERIMENT COLLAPSES AFTER A DECADE
California Gov. Gavin Newsom takes questions from the media after announcing the state is suing the White House to restore SNAP funding before the cutoff during a news conference in Sacramento, Calif. (REUTERS/Fred Greaves)
That law expanded judges’ authority to grant pretrial dismissal in some misdemeanor cases, allowing charges to be completely dismissed if defendants complete court-ordered programs and «would deem the arrest upon which diversion was imposed to have never occurred.»
The law can apply to more than just traffic violations.
«And then the charge is dismissed. It is erased,» Lyman said. «The driver that killed Connor has never lost her license. I’ve seen her driving,» Lyman said.
Lyman noted that Kaur hasn’t yet officially received a diversion ruling and will receive a final sentencing ruling next week.
Coupled with other Newsom-approved laws, Lyman said courts are specifically told to consider diversion ahead of possible jail sentences.
«I zoomed in for a woman whose husband was killed in Sacramento. It’s a misdemeanor. She has the same judge as Connor. And the judge was talking about making his decision and cited this code that I had never heard of — 17.2. And it was another law passed in 2023 that essentially tells judges to consider everything, including diversion, before jail,» Lyman said.
Newsom approved 17.2 through AB 2167 — a law that requires «a court to consider alternatives to incarceration including collaborative justice court programs, diversion, restorative justice and probation.»
In the wake of her son’s death, now one year ago, Lyman is working with state lawmakers to advocate for SB 953 — a law that would require all vehicular manslaughter to be reported to the California Department of Motor Vehicles.
THIS IS HOW WE’LL KNOW IF CALIFORNIA GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM’S EPIPHANY ON ‘LIBERAL GOVERNANCE’ IS REAL
The California state capitol building in Sacramento on National Urban League California Legislative Advocacy Day on March 13, 2024. (Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for National Urban League)
Sen. Roger Niello, R-Calif., the bill’s sponsor, explained his legislation would put two points on the defendant’s driving record, regardless of diversion.
«Under current laws, a speeding ticket can now have a greater reflection on a driver’s record than killing somebody with a car. A diversion does not change the fact that a fatality occurred,» Niello said at a press event earlier this week.
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«The DMV cannot do its job of determining who poses a risk and who does not.»
SB 953 advanced unanimously out of committee on Tuesday.
Fox News Digital reached out to Newsom’s office.
gavin newsom, safety, in court, law, california
INTERNACIONAL
Iranian dissidents seize on Trump remarks about armed resistance, fueling revival of Reagan doctrine
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After President Donald Trump suggested this week that Iranians «would fight back» if they had weapons, Iranian dissidents, military analysts and some Republican lawmakers are openly reviving a once-taboo question: should the West move beyond «maximum pressure» on Tehran and actively support armed resistance inside Iran?
«They have to have guns. And I think they’re getting some guns. As soon as they have guns, they’ll fight like, as good as anybody there is,» Trump said in an interview with «The Hugh Hewitt Show,» while discussing anti-regime unrest and the Iranian government’s crackdown on protesters.
The comments come as the Iranian regime emerges weakened from weeks of war, while frustration continues to simmer among many Iranians after years of failed protests and violent crackdowns by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
LINDSEY GRAHAM URGES US, ISRAEL TO ARM IRANIAN CIVILIANS IN ‘SECOND AMENDMENT SOLUTION’ TO TOPPLE REGIME
Protesters rally in Washington, D.C., on March 7, 2026, supporting regime change in Iran following U.S. and Israeli strikes that killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
Supporters of a more aggressive approach argue sanctions, diplomacy and unarmed demonstrations have failed to produce meaningful change inside Iran and say the current moment may represent the best opportunity in decades to challenge the regime from within. Critics warn that openly discussing armed resistance could endanger protesters, deepen divisions inside the opposition and risk pushing Iran toward civil war.
The idea of armed resistance echoes aspects of the Reagan Doctrine, the Cold War-era strategy in which the U.S. backed anti-Soviet resistance movements around the world, from Afghanistan to Nicaragua.
«We need to give Iranians the tools now, and they’ll finish the job themselves,» Brett Velicovich, founder of Powerus and a former U.S. military and intelligence specialist focused on drone warfare, told Fox News Digital.
«It’s their time to do something. There has never been a better chance.»
AS AIRSTRIKES RAIN DOWN ON THE IRANIAN REGIME, CAN A FRACTURED OPPOSITION UNITE TO LEAD IF IT FALLS?
Smoke and flames rise at an oil depot in Tehran after airstrikes on March 7, 2026. The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Feb. 28, leading to Iranian missile retaliation and increased concerns about global energy and transport disruption. (Sasan/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
Velicovich described the strategy as «Reagan Doctrine 2.0,» updated for the age of drones and decentralized warfare.
«Cheap FPV drones, loitering munitions, and small arms let motivated fighters turn Iran’s streets and mountains into a nightmare for the IRGC,» he said. «This isn’t fantasy; it’s asymmetric warfare that works.»
He argued that modern drone technology has fundamentally changed the balance between governments and insurgent or resistance movements.
«Drones democratize power,» Velicovich said. «The regime’s monopoly on violence ends the day the people get eyes in the sky and precision strike capability.»
IRANIAN KURDISH FIGHTERS SAY THEY’RE READY TO STRIKE TEHRAN, WAITING FOR OPENING
Iran is building a decentralized FPV drone capability in basement factories using Chinese parts, defense expert Cameron Chell warns, citing a potential threat to the U.S. homeland. (Getty)
Still, even some critics of the Iranian regime caution that the comparison to Cold War proxy movements has limits.
Unlike Soviet-controlled Eastern Europe or Afghanistan in the 1980s, Iran is a highly nationalistic country with a fragmented opposition and deep fears of foreign intervention following decades of conflict across the Middle East.
Still, calls for more direct support for anti-regime forces are increasingly moving into mainstream Republican foreign policy discussions.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., recently called for what he described as a «Second Amendment solution» inside Iran.
«If I were President Trump and I were Israel, I would load the Iranian people up with weapons so they could go to the streets armed and turn the tide of battle inside Iran,» Graham said on «Hannity.»
The question of who would actually receive support, however, remains deeply controversial.
Exiled Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi speaks at the Women’s Forum hosted by Vital Voices in Washington, D.C., on March 29, 2023. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images)
Some opposition supporters continue to rally around exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, whose name has surfaced during anti-regime protests inside Iran and who has urged the international community not to give Tehran «another lifeline.»
Another group that has acted in various operations against the regime is the controversial People’s Mujahedin Organization of Iran, or MEK, which has long positioned itself as an organized opposition force against the Islamic Republic. The MEK recently posted videos showing its members targeting «regime centers and symbols of crime and repression,» in response to the execution of two of its members last month — Hamed Validi and Mohammad (Nima) Massoum-Shahi.
Others point to existing armed or semi-organized anti-regime groups, including Kurdish organizations, Baloch insurgent networks and underground resistance cells operating inside Iran.
Sardar Pashaei, director of the Hiwa Foundation and a former Iranian wrestling champion now living in the United States, warned that publicly discussing arming protesters could itself put lives at risk.
«I think we must be extremely cautious on this issue, especially publicly, because the regime can use it as a pretext to arrest protesters, fabricate cases and even justify executions,» Pashaei told Fox News Digital.
IRAN’S INTERNET BLACKOUT HIDING STRIKE DAMAGE AND SUPPRESSING DISSENT, ISRAELI OFFICIALS SAY
A woman walks across a nearly empty public square in Tehran, Iran, with a large billboard displaying the portrait of the late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the background on March 3, 2026. (Vahid Salemi/AP Photo)
«For decades, the Islamic Republic has used accusations of ties to the United States, Israel, or espionage to target dissidents and political prisoners.»
Pashaei argued the better approach is supporting Iranian civil society, restoring internet access and backing democratic opposition groups that reflect Iran’s ethnic and political diversity.
The issue became even more sensitive after Trump said during a phone interview with «Fox News Sunday» in early April that his administration had previously attempted to send firearms to Iranian protesters through Kurdish channels, though the effort failed.
IRAN REGIME FACES ‘BEGINNING OF THE END’ AS EXILED CROWN PRINCE SEES ‘GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY’
Men and women hold Kurdish scarves and roses during Nowruz festivities in Saqqez, Iran, on March 15, 2024. (Barbod Khorshidi/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
«We sent guns to the protesters, a lot of them. We sent them through the Kurds. And I think the Kurds took the guns,» Trump said.
Several Kurdish groups have denied receiving such shipments.
Pashaei warned that claims of foreign weapons support could deepen divisions inside the opposition while also exposing Kurdish groups to further retaliation from Tehran.
«During the so-called ceasefire period, Kurdish opposition groups were targeted more than 30 times with drone and missile attacks,» he said, adding that four young Kurdish Peshmerga fighters were killed, including 19-year-old Ghazal Mowlan.
Cars burn in a street during a protest over the collapse of the currency’s value in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 8, 2026. (Stringer/West Asia News Agency via Reuters)
One source familiar with discussions surrounding Iranian opposition strategy said supporters of a more aggressive approach increasingly believe the current moment presents a rare opportunity to identify, train and support local resistance networks capable of protecting protesters and challenging the regime from within.
The source argued that while Iran spent decades building and cultivating proxy networks across the Middle East, Western governments largely avoided investing in organized anti-regime infrastructure inside Iran itself.
Others warn that empowering armed factions could trigger ethnic fragmentation, civil war or a Syria-style conflict inside Iran.
According to the source, supporters of a more aggressive approach increasingly believe the current moment presents a rare opportunity to identify, train and support local resistance networks capable of protecting protesters and challenging the regime from within.
Whether Washington is willing to move beyond pressure campaigns and sanctions toward something closer to a modernized Reagan Doctrine remains unclear.
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Members of security forces watch over the crowd during a funeral procession for IRGC Navy Chief Alireza Tangsiri and other senior naval commanders killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes in Tehran, Iran, on April 1, 2026. (Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)
For now, Trump’s comments have pushed a once-theoretical conversation into the open, while some argue the current moment may represent the best opportunity in decades to challenge the regime.
war with iran, world protests, defense, drones, iran, sanctions
INTERNACIONAL
Trump recibió a Lula da Silva en la Casa Blanca para destrabar la crisis bilateral antes de las elecciones en EE.UU. y en Brasil
El presidente de Brasil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, llegó este jueves a la Casa Blanca para reunirse con el mandatario estadounidense, Donald Trump, en un encuentro atravesado por tensiones diplomáticas, disputas comerciales y diferencias geopolíticas entre ambos gobiernos.
La reunión comenzó poco después del mediodía en Washington y duró más de dos horas. Según trascendió desde fuentes brasileñas, Lula habría solicitado que el habitual ingreso de periodistas al Despacho Oval se realizara recién una vez terminado el encuentro.
Se trata de la primera reunión que ambos líderes mantienen en la Casa Blanca desde el regreso de Trump al poder y de la segunda bilateral desde que coincidieron el año pasado en Malasia.
Al término de la reunión, Trump se mostró satisfecho. “Fue muy dinámico. Hablamos de muchos temas, entre ellos el comercio y, concretamente, los aranceles. La reunión transcurrió muy bien”, escribió en la red social Truth Social.
Por su parte, Lula da Silva declaró que quedó “muy, muy satisfecho” con esta conversación con Trump y dijo que sirvió para dar “un paso importante” en el vínculo entre ambos países.
“La buena relación entre Brasil y Estados Unidos es una demostración al mundo de que las dos mayores democracias del continente pueden servir de ejemplo para el mundo”, declaró en una rueda de prensa en la embajada brasileña en Washington.
Y añadió: “Yo salgo muy, muy satisfecho de la reunión. Fue una reunión importante para Brasil y para Estados Unidos. Siempre creo que una fotografía vale mucho, y ¿vieron que el presidente Trump riendo es mejor que de cara seria?”. El presidente brasileño, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, habló con periodistas en la embajada de Brasil en Washington D.C. tras su reunión con Donald Trump en la Casa Blanca el 7 de mayo de 2026. (Foto: Elizabeth Frantz/REUTERS)
La cita tuvo lugar en un año electoral determinante para ambos mandatarios: Lula buscará la reelección en octubre en Brasil y Trump enfrentará en noviembre las elecciones legislativas de medio término en Estados Unidos.
El vínculo entre Washington y Brasilia atraviesa uno de sus momentos más delicados de los últimos años. Desde el inicio del segundo mandato de Trump, la relación estuvo marcada por fricciones políticas y comerciales, especialmente después de que Estados Unidos impusiera aranceles a productos brasileños en respuesta al proceso judicial contra el expresidente Jair Bolsonaro, aliado político del republicano.
Bolsonaro fue condenado a 27 años de prisión por liderar un intento de golpe de Estado contra Lula, una causa que generó fuertes críticas dentro del entorno de Trump. Meses atrás, además, Brasil rechazó concederle una visa a un asesor cercano al mandatario estadounidense que pretendía visitar al exmandatario brasileño en prisión.
El expresidente Jair Bolsonaro fue condenado a 27 años de prisión por liderar un intento de golpe de Estado contra Lula. (Foto: Reuters)
En los últimos días, las tensiones volvieron a escalar tras la expulsión de un policía brasileño que trabajaba en Miami. Como respuesta, Brasil retiró las credenciales de un funcionario estadounidense destinado en Brasilia, profundizando el malestar diplomático.
La agenda de la reunión estuvo dominada por temas económicos y estratégicos. Uno de los puntos más sensibles es la investigación abierta por Estados Unidos sobre el sistema de pagos instantáneos PIX, desarrollado por el Banco Central de Brasil.
Washington considera que la plataforma perjudica a compañías estadounidenses como Visa y Mastercard, mientras que el gobierno brasileño la defiende como una herramienta clave para la modernización financiera.
Leé también: Donald Trump volvió a criticar el papa León XIV y advirtió: “Está poniendo en peligro a muchos católicos”
También se esperaba que ambos mandatarios discutieran la cooperación en materia de seguridad y crimen organizado. Estados Unidos analiza declarar como organizaciones terroristas a algunas bandas criminales brasileñas, una posibilidad rechazada por Brasilia por temor a que pueda abrir la puerta a eventuales intervenciones extranjeras. Imagen de archivo: Donald Trump junto a Lula da Silva al margen de la Cumbre de la ASEAN en Kuala Lumpur, Malasia, el 26 de octubre de 2025. (AP Foto/Mark Schiefelbein/Archivo)
Otro eje importante del encuentro gira en torno a los minerales críticos y las tierras raras. Brasil posee las segundas mayores reservas del mundo detrás de China, y Estados Unidos busca ampliar acuerdos estratégicos para reducir su dependencia del mercado chino en sectores tecnológicos y militares.
Las diferencias sobre política internacional también sobrevolaron la reunión. Lula cuestionó recientemente las presiones de Washington sobre Cuba, criticó el operativo internacional para capturar a Nicolás Maduro y expresó preocupación por la guerra en Medio Oriente.
Estados Unido, Brasil, Lula Da Silva, Donald Trump
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