Daily Business Report: Monday, May 5, 2025
DOJ, Family of Jan. 6 Shooting Victim Ashli Babbitt Agree to Settle Lawsuit
By Janice Hisle | The Epoch Times
The U.S. government is settling a lawsuit filed over a Capitol police officer’s fatal shooting of Ashli Babbitt, a supporter of President Donald Trump, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021.
Judicial Watch, an advocacy group, filed the $30 million wrongful-death suit in 2024 on behalf of Babbitt’s estate and her husband, Aaron Babbitt.
On May 2, Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, said, “I can confirm … that a settlement has been agreed to in principle.“ Fitton, in a post on social media, added, ”The settlement should be finalized within a few weeks, and we will have more details for you soon. God bless America!”
Newsom Shows a Distant Fifth Place in 2028 Democratic Presidential Candidate Polling
By Evan Symon | California Globe
According to new aggregate polling results this week, based off a new spate of nationwide polling, former Vice President and former California Senator Kamala Harris is leading other candidates with 27.1% support, while California Governor Gavin Newsom trails in a distant fifth place with 7% support.
The new results, based off of around a dozen polls from the last two months, also have former Secretary of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg at second place with 16.1% support, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) with 12.9%, and Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) at 8.6%. Until recently, Governor Newsom was in second place and was widely seen as Harris’ main competitor in 2028. Early state polling amongst Democrats in California even pegged him winning the state with a strong 27% of support in the Golden State.
Harris has managed to keep her large lead amongst Democrats even with a possible run for Governor in 2026 currently being mulled over. While she has waned in the polls there in the past few months, she currently leads all other candidates in terms of support. Those close to Harris have acknowledged that she will run for one or the other, with her decision in running for Governor coming in the summer of this year being a huge announcement that will drastically alter both races.
Faltering California High-Speed Rail Pushes Private Funding To Fill Massive $7-$11 Billion Funding Gap
By Evan Symon | California Globe
California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO Ian Choudri announced Wednesday that he will be pushing the state to start accepting more private funding for the rail project, especially with a $7 billion funding gap set to come into play in mid-2026, and an additional $4 billion in federal funding currently on the line in Washington.
According to Choudri, the Rail Authority is currently talking with Governor Gavin Newsom and state legislators about how private funding is needed to help fill major funding gaps, with the only alternates being expensive federal loans and the issuing of new bonds. As there has been fatigue from giving more funding from both state and federal sources, with the Trump administration currently trying to halt as much funding for the rail system as possible, private funding has come forward as an increasing viable way to help pay for the system. Choudri, however, did warn that there would be significant interest to pay on the loans, as investors would want security guarantees and a significantly high rate to counter the high amount of risk involved, as well as the growing timescale of the project.
“We started this one, and we are not succeeding,” said Choudri on Wednesday. “That was the main reason for me to say, let’s go in, completely turn it around, and put it back to where it should have been. Fix all the issues, get the funding stabilized, and demonstrate to the rest of the world that when we decide that we want to do it, we actually will do it.
