(The Center Square) – California’s $35 billion high speed rail project for its sparsely populated Central Valley requires at least a $7 billion bailout to be done by 2033.

The Trump administration is investigating federal funding of the project, and a bill in Congress could end further federal funding for the project entirely.

“There is a funding gap of roughly $7 billion for completing the Merced-to-Bakersfield segment,” wrote the state-funded Legislative Analyst’s Office. “Other factors could drive growth in the project’s funding gap, including: (1) potential loss of federal funds, such as those that have not yet been obligated; (2) inflation and other construction cost increases; (3) uncertainty related to assumed future [state Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund] revenues.”

The LAO also noted the California High Speed Rail Authority Office of the Inspector General said, “HSRA needs to secure funds to meet most of its identified funding gap before June 2026 to avoid negative impacts on the Merced-to-Bakersfield segment schedule.”

The Trump administration’s Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy cited the new shortfall in a X post highlighting the status of the state’s long-delayed Los Angeles to San Francisco train, which was approved by voters in 2008 at a cost of $33 billion.

Duffy said that of $15 billion spent on the project thus far, $2.5 billion was from federal funding and that $4 billion in “unspent federal money is under review.” He also said “zero high-speed track” has been laid and that the total cost for the LA-SF line “has soared to over $100B with no expected completion date.” 

He said he will “continue to investigate this project to determine how exactly federal dollars have been used and whether federal support should continue.”

Should a bill proposed by U.S. Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-California, pass, the project would not be eligible for future federal funding. 

“The CA High-Speed Rail disaster has somehow gotten even worse,” said Kiley. “I’ve introduced legislation to cut off all federal funding and end the project for good.”

On his nationally syndicated iHeartRadio podcast “This is Gavin Newsom,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom was challenged by a guest, New York Times columnist Ezra Klein, about the state’s delays and cost overruns building the project.

“At the end of the day, we’ve got these constraints that are well established and existing constraints,” responded Newsom, who hosts the podcast. “There’s not a high-speed rail system that doesn’t have some popularity and success. Most are wildly popular. It’s an experience no one has had in the United States of America. At least we’re out there daring.”

At the state level, Republican lawmakers have responded to the lack of a plan on how to fund the rest of the first leg of the project by proposing a bill to require HSRA to provide such a plan.

The bill, AB 377, unanimously passed the Assembly Transportation Committee with full bipartisan support and now heads to the Appropriations Committee.

“Without a clear financial roadmap, the project risks leaving Fresno with an incomplete, unusable infrastructure — a modern-day Stonehenge,” said bill author Assemblyman David Tangipa, R-Fresno, through whose district the train would run. “By statutorily requiring a funding plan, AB 377 forces accountability before more taxpayer money is wasted on government mismanagement.”

(The Center Square) – Lawmakers and experts agree that antisemitism is a problem on campuses across the country, but they remain divided on how to combat the growing problem.

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions held a hearing Thursday to address antisemitism on college campuses.

The hearing highlighted the complexities between combating antisemitism on campuses while balancing academic freedom and protecting students’ safety while questioning foreign influences in educational settings.

Senators and witness experts sparred at times over the attempt by President Donald Trump’s administration to combat antisemitism by investigating 60 universities with possible violations of Jewish students’ civil rights.

Some argue that efforts to eliminate antisemitism are leading to a different kind of violation of civil liberties, including free speech. 

The debate between lawmakers touched on the campus safety of Jewish students, who, since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack, have increasingly reported feeling threatened on college campuses across the country, and how the federal government can combat the rise of antisemitism.

In many cases, pro-Palestine protests involved outright calls for violence and support for Hamas, which is designated a terrorist group by the U.S. State Department.

Between 2023 and 2024, according to the Anti-Defamation League, antisemitic incidents were up by 500% on college campuses, totaling 1,200 reported.

One witness, Dr. Charles Asher Small, Executive Director of the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy, pointed to links between foreign funding, specifically billions from Qatar, and an increase in antisemitic activities.

Small argued that universities that take money from the Qatari regime have “300% more instances of antisemitism” compared to universities that don’t receive the funding. He went on to claim that foreign influences, like Qatar, are funding certain institutes and professors, as well as supporting organizations like Students for Justice in Palestine, arguing they spur antisemitism.

Small called for investigations by the Department of Education into foreign funding and its impact on higher education.

However, Small’s testimony faced pushback from Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kans. Marshall accused Small of displaying “prejudice” against the Qatari government and unfairly targeting the country, which Marshall described as a “great ally” of the United States.

He noted that other countries, such as China, have also contributed over $3 billion to universities.

Small further warned against a “red-green alliance,” which he argues is a collaboration between radical Islamists and left-wing, socialist organizations that benefit from Chinese funding.

One of the other witnesses, Kenneth Stern, Director at the Bard Center for the Study of Hate, warned against codifying the definition of antisemitism into law for fear that it could suppress free speech.

Carly Gammill, Director of the Legal Policy Stand With Us Center for Combating Antisemitism, believes that passing an antisemitism awareness act is key to addressing antisemitism on campus.

The hearing also led to a debate over the Trump administration’s plan to shutter the Department of Education and a need to increase funding for the Office of Civil Rights in an effort to investigate incidents of antisemitism, which some lawmakers argued are at odds with one another.

(The Center Square) – Experimentation with artificial intelligence for improved efficiency and public service has begun in a North Carolina executive office.

First-term Republican state Treasurer Brad Briner said Thursday the state is launching a 12-week pilot program with OpenAI that will look at ways to “safely and responsibly” use ChatGPT in government services.

“Innovation, particularly around data and technology, will allow our department to deliver better results for North Carolina,” Briner said. “I am grateful to our friends at OpenAI for partnering with us on this new endeavor, and I am excited to explore the possibilities ahead.”

Chan Park, who heads U.S. and Canada policy and partnerships for OpenAI, said using artificial intelligence is the best way for government to understand its potential.

“Artificial intelligence will transform how we live, work, interact, and most importantly, help us solve problems to improve our lives,” Park said in a statement.

The treasurer’s office will share what it learns with other agencies following the pilot program, Briner said.

Possible applications for ChatGPT include identifying businesses which have unclaimed property and analyzing local government public financial data, Briner said.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, artificial intelligence “has the potential to spur innovation and transform industry and government.”

Federal, state and local governments have begun to incorporate tools in delivering services, according to the organization.

“Federal and state leaders have jumped into action to understand current uses of AI and to measure its impacts,” the national conference said. “This activity has shown that leaders are carefully considering the risks, while exploring how new technology can transform government operations.”

On the federal level, the Office of Management and Budget encourages the use of artificial intelligence to “streamline operations, reduce costs and improve overall efficiency,” according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

For example, the Department of Veterans Affairs analyzes medical records to predict the rates of suicide. The Securities and Exchange Commission is using artificial intelligence to detect fraud, according to the legislative arm.

States across the country have also passed legislation establishing guidelines and privacy protections for the use of artificial intelligence.

“Delivering government programs and services with AI requires heightened sensitivity,” the National Conference of State Legislatures said. “As AI governance structures are built and allowable AI uses are determined, federal and state policymakers will continue to focus on government data and technology infrastructure, security, data privacy, bias and discrimination, and other potential misuse or unintended consequences by AI.”