BART alerted riders on the social media platform X around 4 p.m. that the Red line was cancelled due to the delay. The Green and Blue lines were diverted to MacArthur Station. The delay was caused by earlier equipment problems on a train.

According to BART’s media line, around 5:27 p.m., the disabled train was taken out of service and the transit agency was working on restoring regular service to the Red, Green and Blue lines. Around 5:30 p.m., BART posted on X that Green and Blue line service was restored.

Around the same time, BART reported that trains were not stopping at 24th St. Mission due to police activity. Minutes later, service was restored to 24th St. and Mission.

BOSTON (AP) — More than a thousand flights were canceled or delayed across the Northeast and Great Lakes regions due to snow as thousands took to roads and airports during the busy travel period between Christmas and New Year’s.

New York City received about 4 inches (10.2 centimeters) of snow Friday night into early Saturday — slightly under what some forecasts had predicted. At least 1,500 flights were canceled from Friday night, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware. But by the morning, both the roads and the skies were clearing.

“The storm is definitely winding down, a little bit of flurries across the Northeast this morning,” said Bob Oravec, a Maryland-based forecaster at the National Weather Service.

Oravec said the storm was moving from the northwest toward the Southeast, with the largest snowfall in the New York City area reaching over 6 inches (15 centimeters) in central eastern Long Island. Farther north in the Catskills, communities saw as much as 10 inches (25 centimeters).

Newark Liberty International, John F. Kennedy International and LaGuardia airports posted snow warnings on the social media platform X on Friday cautioning that weather conditions could cause flight disruptions.

The National Weather Service warned of hazardous travel conditions from the Great Lakes through the northern mid-Atlantic and southern New England, with the potential for tree damage and power outages.

In Times Square, workers in red jumpsuits worked to clear the sludge- and powder-coated streets and sidewalks using shovels and snowblowers.

Jennifer Yokley, who was there on a holiday trip from North Carolina, said she was excited to see snow accumulating as it dusted buildings, trees and signs throughout the city.

“I think it was absolutely beautiful,” she said.

Payton Baker and Kolby Gray, who were visiting from West Virginia, said the snow was a Christmas surprise for their third anniversary trip.

“Well, it’s very cold, and it was very unexpected,” Baker said, her breath visible in the winter air. “The city is working pretty well to get all the roads salted and everything, so it’s all right.”

Ahead of the storm, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency for more than half of the state. Acting New Jersey Gov. Tahesha Way also declared a state of emergency for that state.

“This storm will cause dangerous road conditions and impact holiday travel,” Way said in a statement. “We are urging travelers to avoid travel during the storm and allow crews to tend to the roads. Drivers should plan their travel accordingly, monitor conditions and road closures, and follow all safety protocols.”

___

Walker reported from New York.

The mechanical issue, which was caused by a string of powerful storms that slammed into the Bay Area this week, shut down bores 1 and 3 of the Caldecott Tunnel on Wednesday evening, causing delays on Highway 24, a key connector between Alameda and Contra Costa counties.

As a result, Bore 2 was being used for eastbound traffic Friday, while Bore 4 was open to westbound motorists. Traffic was heavily backed up in both directions Friday afternoon.

Caltrans plans to share updates about the situation on its X page. Motorists may also call 800-427-7623 for more information.

Staff writer Jason Green contributed to this report. Check back for updates.

California lawmakers made major changes to the state’s car-buying rules this year, including a controversial rewrite of the state law that allows buyers to get their money back if they are sold a defective vehicle and a right to return a used vehicle within three days.

After an intense lobbying push this year from automobile companies, dealers and consumer groups, more legislative battles over California vehicle purchases could follow in 2026. Sky-high car prices show no signs of falling, and a Republican-led Congress and the Trump administration have sought to thwart Newsom’s goal of having 100% of new cars sold in California be zero-emission by 2035.

RELATED: When do older adults need to go to DMV to renew their licenses?

Sen. Ben Allen, a Democrat representing the El Segundo area, said he expects California’s Democratic-controlled Legislature will likely push back against national Republicans’ attack on California’s vehicle policies in some form next year, though he said it wasn’t yet clear how.

“We’re very committed to this path, so stay tuned, but clean air is a priority for our state,” said Allen, who chairs the Senate’s Select Committee on Transitioning to a Zero-Emission Energy Future.

In the meantime, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Allen’s Senate Bill 766, creating a first-in-the-nation policy that allows a buyer to return a used vehicle for a full refund within three days if the purchase price was less than $50,000. Dealers can charge a restocking fee.

The law, which takes effect in October, also contains other protections for buyers intended to prevent them from getting suckered.

The law also prohibits dealers from charging for add-ons that have no benefit to the buyer, such as free oil changes for electric vehicles — which don’t need oil changes.

“That is a huge deal,” said Rosemary Shahan of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, which championed the bill. “It’s historic. It’s going to make cars more affordable.”

Allen said he came up with the idea for the bill after shopping for a used car in 2024. He said he wanted to see what it was like trying to buy a used car in California and didn’t tell the various dealerships he visited that he was a state senator.

“I was kind of shocked by the hustle and the extent to which prices were quoted online and that ended up not really being truthful,” he said.

He ended up buying a 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E, an electric vehicle.

Newsom blocked document fee increase

Most bills take effect immediately the year after they are signed, but lawmakers delayed the implementation of Allen’s bill until October to give dealers time to change their paperwork, amend their contracts and change their signs to meet the new law’s requirements.

Brian Maas, president of the California New Car Dealers Association, said the law should make buying a used car more transparent and easier for consumers.

“The bill certainly is a net positive in terms of more transparency about the total price and advertising,” he said.

But he said the new law “clearly imposed more responsibility on dealers,” which is why Maas said his group was extremely frustrated Newsom vetoed its bill that would have allowed dealers to raise document-processing fees by $175.

Senate Bill 791 would have raised the fees dealers can charge to process Department of Motor Vehicles and other paperwork from the current cap of $85 to up to 1% of the purchase price, capped at $260.

Maas said dealers were frustrated by Newsom’s veto message which said the fee increase wasn’t necessary because the state had imposed “no new state requirements” on car dealers.

Maas said it was “especially frustrating that the veto message somewhat cavalierly said there are no new state requirements when the governor signed just such requirements a week earlier.”

Before the veto, SB 791 passed the Legislature overwhelmingly and with bipartisan support. The California New Car Dealers Association has donated at least $3 million to legislators since 2015, according to the Digital Democracy database.

Maas said there are so many forms car buyers must fill out, almost all of them stemming from a law the Legislature passed, they’re getting to be like click-through agreements on websites that everyone just agrees to without actually reading.

“You shove form after form after form in front of consumers,” he said. “Consumers just tune it out, turn it off, and say, ‘You know what? I just want to know what my monthly payment is, what’s the interest rate, what the total price of the car is. And then let’s go. Why do I have to sit in here for a half hour or an hour and fill out all these forms?’ ”

Consumers face a watered-down lemon law

Newsom also signed Senate Bill 26, a bill that allows car manufacturers to opt out of changes to the state’s lemon law that gives consumers a right to get their money back if they buy a defective vehicle — sometimes referred to as a “lemon.”

The result is that California car buyers have different legal protections under the state’s lemon law depending on which brand they buy.

The bill Newsom signed was in response to a law lawmakers hastily passed at the end of the 2024 legislative session, watering down the state’s 55-year-old landmark lemon law. Some

auto companies, namely GM and Ford, were being sued so often for allegedly selling so many lemons that state courts were clogged with lawsuits.

The companies and some attorney groups persuaded lawmakers and Newsom to pass legislation in 2024 that shrank the length of time a car buyer could sue under the lemon law to just six years instead of the entire life of a vehicle’s warranty

Last year’s legislation also puts more onus on car owners to initiate claims, not auto companies.

But other companies that don’t get sued as often for selling defective vehicles, such as Toyota and Honda, opposed the rule change. Those companies said the new law didn’t give them time to prepare their best defense

Newsom ended up reluctantly signing the 2024 bill, but he urged the Legislature to come back with a new bill in 2025 that would allow companies to opt out of the changes. SB 26 passed overwhelmingly and Newsom signed it.

Meanwhile, several car companies, including Ford and GM and dozens of RV and motorcycle manufacturers, opted in to the 2024 law this year.

Toyota and Honda, as expected, did not.

California has withdrawn a lawsuit against the Trump administration that sought to recover roughly $4 billion in federal funds pulled from the state’s long-delayed high-speed rail project, after concluding it can no longer rely on the federal government to help deliver the system.

The suit was filed after the Federal Railroad Administration began canceling federal grants for the project totaling about $4 billion, arguing the California High-Speed Rail Authority had failed to deliver on commitments amid years of delays and cost overruns.

State officials challenged the action in court, saying that the administration was violating binding grant agreements. But California has now opted to drop the case and press ahead without backing from the federal government under President Donald Trump.

“This action reflects the State’s assessment that the federal government is not a reliable, constructive, or trustworthy partner in advancing high-speed rail in California,” a spokesperson for the California High-Speed Rail Authority said in an email.

The Federal Railroad Administration had warned that all work performed by the authority remained “at risk” of nonpayment, the spokesperson said, leading the state to conclude that the administration was unlikely to uphold its commitments.

The authority framed the move as an opportunity to streamline construction. “Federal requirements have, at times, hindered project delivery by adding cost and delays without adding value,” the spokesperson said.

The Federal Railroad Administration did not immediately respond on Wednesday to a request for comment.

The California High-Speed Rail Authority launched an effort to bring in private investors on Dec 19, issuing a request for qualifications to select a co-development partner to help deliver the project faster.

Approved by voters in 2008 with an initial $33 billion price tag, the project is now estimated to cost as much as $128 billion. An inspector general report earlier this year found the system is unlikely to begin passenger service on its first segment by 2033 and faces a multibillion-dollar funding gap even before the loss of federal aid.

–With assistance from Robert Burnson.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

©2025 Bloomberg L.P.

Around 5:10 a.m., the California Highway Patrol said two southbound lanes of Highway 87 north of Highway 85 were flooded, creating risky driving conditions.

Drivers were advised to seek alternate routes or use caution since the water on the roadway can be difficult to see and may cause vehicles to lose control.

Forecasters have warned of flash flooding across the Bay Area, especially on roads, low-lying areas, and near creeks, with rain falling at high rates into Thursday. A Flood Watch remains in effect across much of the region.

Copyright © 2025 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area.

CONTACT: CHP Officer Ross Lee (408) 655-2620 or rosslee@chp.ca.gov

As of 7 p.m. Wednesday, eastbound Bore 1 and westbound Bore 3 were closed. Caltrans said traffic was still flowing in both directions through westbound Bore 2 and eastbound Bore 4.

There was no estimated time for a full reopening, but crews were “actively working to resolve the issue as quickly and safely as possible,” Caltrans said. Motorists were advised to expect delays and allow extra time for their commute or use alternate routes.

The bore closures came amidst a series of powerful storms, which have knocked out power, flooded streets and felled trees throughout the region.

Caltrans planned to share updates about the closure on its X page. Motorists may also call 800-427-7623.

Check back for updates.

According to its fiscal year 2025 report, which ended in June, Caltrain averaged 760,386 riders per month. By the end of June, ridership for that month alone had rebounded to 65.2% of pre-pandemic levels, up from 36.1% at the start of the fiscal year.  Earlier this month, the American Public Transportation Association ranked it the fastest-growing U.S. transit agency among systems with 3 million to 15 million annual trips.

Caltrain connects San Francisco to the South Bay, with links to BART, San Francisco International Airport, and other Bay Area transit systems.

Despite a ridership rebound, Caltrain warns it could be forced to cut service without voter approval of a regional transit sales tax expected on the November 2026 ballot. The agency projects an average annual funding shortfall of $75 million from 2027 through 2035, even as officials believe ridership will continue to grow with more Silicon Valley workers expected to return to offices next year.

“Electrified service and other enhancements have shown that residents across the Bay Area value these improvements,” Caltrain Executive Director Michelle Bouchard said in a statement. “At the same time, we continue to evaluate how to cut costs and make the most of the resources we have while we work toward long-term, sustainable funding.”

In October, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 63, which authorized the placement of a regional transit sales tax measure on the November 2026 ballot. The measure would fund Caltrain, BART, Muni, AC Transit and other systems across Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.

The proposal would levy a half-cent sales tax in most counties and a full-cent tax in San Francisco. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the Bay Area’s regional transportation planning agency, estimates the measure could generate about $1 billion annually over a period of 14 years.

Caltrain officials say budget shortfalls threaten gains made since the launch of the system’s $2.4 billion electrification project launched in September 2024.

“Caltrain, like many other systems in the Bay Area, will need a new funding source in the near future in order to continue current operations,” spokesperson Dan Lieberman told this news organization.

If the measure fails and no alternative funding is secured, Caltrain has warned of sweeping service reductions. At a board meeting last month, the agency outlined potential impacts that include closing more than a third of stations, eliminating weekend service, reducing service to hourly frequencies, cutting staffing and ending service by 9 p.m., compared with the current midnight schedule.

Months before the vote, Caltrain highlighted other ways the public can help sustain its service.

“While it would be difficult to match the incredible growth we’ve seen since the launch of electric service, we’re still seeing strong year-over-year gains,” Lieberman said, noting ridership in October and November was about 42% higher than during the same months last year.

He encouraged riders who want to support the system “to buy a ticket and get on board one of them so you can travel the Peninsula the way it was meant to be traveled.”

The autonomous driving technology company, Waymo — formerly the Google self-driving car project — recently received approval by the California Department of Motor Vehicles to begin testing in seven Solano County cities. Approved locations are:

• Vallejo
• Vacaville
• Fairfield
• Benicia
• Dixon
• Suisun City
• Rio Vista

The news comes as part of a major wave of approval to expand testing in Northern California areas, including several cities in the Sacramento region and Yolo County.

RELATED: Waymo robotaxis blink out and block traffic in SF blackout. What happens in the next emergency?

Though the DMV’s approval progresses the deployment of vehicles, the company still requires a permit from the California Public Utilities Commission before it can start officially offering paid public rides in these new areas. The thought of Waymo vehicles soon navigating Solano County roads, however, brought mixed emotions from residents.

Vallejo City Councilmember Helen-Marie “Cookie” Gordon, a longtime advocate for equal access to transportation, looks to the opportunity with optimism.

“To be completely transparent, I’m excited about any entrepreneurial opportunity that can help strengthen our local economy, especially when it supports long-term prosperity for the cities being represented,” said Gordon, who also serves on the SolTrans Board of Directors as an appointee, advocating for service to South Vallejo.

“This conversation is particularly relevant given that transportation, especially reliable evening and weekend transportation, continues to be a challenge in Vallejo,” said Gordon. She says expanding opportunities through “innovative mobility solutions, including options like Waymo testing,” she said, “could be highly beneficial for Vallejo.”

The California DMV site shows that 2021 and 2024 Jaguar I-Pace models or 2022 and 2025 Zeekr RT models of Waymo vehicles are approved to “conduct driverless testing and deployment operations” in the approved cities.

In testing, the company aims to observe real-world situations and gather data on factors such as weather conditions, regional driving habits, road types, and infrastructural differences. Each vehicle comes fully equipped with a “sensor suite,” which uses LiDAR — laser pulses used to measure object distance and provide 3D mapping — cameras, and radar.

With its 360-degree view, the vehicles aim to observe and test reactions to situational conditions — pedestrians crossing, unique weather conditions, road hazards, construction, and how to react in the case of police sirens, etc.

Although partnerships with SolTrans and the Solano Transportation Authority (STA) have helped to bring improvements to SolTrans after-hours and weekend service, says Gordon, “neither currently provides around-the-clock transportation.” As a result, “access remains a challenge for many residents.”

In the case that these operations are thoughtfully implemented, Gordon was optimistic that the inclusion of driverless vehicles could “improve access, support residents, and further stimulate local economic activity.” On the other end of the spectrum, residents like community advocate David Marsteller Jr. are a bit more leery about the integration.

“How durable are their systems?” he asked, wondering how the vehicles might “handle Vallejo’s legendary potholes.”

Compared to Lyft and Uber — which utilize a driver and therefore provide a job — Marsteller questioned whether Waymo’s driverless vehicles could potentially contribute to limiting opportunities for app-based drivers.

“With Solano County losing a refinery and Budweiser plant, people will probably be looking to do more gig jobs,” he said. “So my thoughts are, it could take business from Uber and Lyft drivers. Solano County will have a shortage of jobs.”

And with the city’s “legendary” potholes, he added, “Will the Vallejo public be at risk of Waymo cars losing control when these driverless cars are hitting potholes? Couldn’t that mess up the sensory system?”

There is currently no public timeline set yet for the Solano County launch.

The coroner’s bureau was trying to confirm the man’s name Wednesday morning and contact his relatives. He is believed to be in his 50s.

The fatal collision happened about 9:45 p.m. Tuesday in the area of 66th Avenue and Coliseum Way. The man was apparently walking on the tracks when he was hit by an Amtrak passenger train, causing massive injuries, authorities said.

There were no immediate reports of anyone on the train being injured. The death is being investigated by the coroner’s bureau and Amtrak police.

The man is the second person to be killed by a train in the same area in just over a month. On Nov. 19 a 79-year-old man reportedly sitting on the tracks in the area of 60th Avenue and San Leandro Street was struck and killed by a freight train.