California sues over $1B in canceled high-speed rail money

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California sues over $1B in canceled high-speed rail money

2019-05-22 04:09 Last Updated At：04:40

California sued Tuesday to block the Trump administration from cancelling nearly $1 billion for the state's high-speed rail project, escalating the state's feud with the federal government.

The Federal Railroad Administration announced last week it would not give California the money awarded by Congress nearly a decade ago, arguing that the state has not made enough progress on the project.

The state must complete construction on a segment of track in the Central Valley agricultural heartland by 2022 to keep the money, and the administration has argued the state cannot meet that deadline and has failed to show adequate progress. That line of track would be the first built on what the state hopes will eventually become a 520-mile (837-kilometer) line.

But Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom says the move is retribution for California's criticism of President Donald Trump's immigration policies.

"The decision was precipitated by President Trump's overt hostility to California, its challenge to his border wall initiatives, and what he called the "green disaster" high-speed rail project," the state said in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit further faulted the Trump administration for halting cooperation with the state on granting environmental clearances for the project. It said terminating the funding would "wreak significant economic damage on the Central Valley and the state."

Newsom told reporters the administration is "after us in every way, shape or form." But he expressed confidence the state will win in court.

"Principles and values tend to win out over short-term tweets," Newsom said.

The lawsuit highlighted a series of tweets Trump sent about the project, including one that said California's rail project would be far more expensive than Trump's proposed border wall.

That tweet came a day after California led 15 states in suing over Trump's plans to fund the border wall, and hours before the administration first threatened to revoke the rail funding.

The Federal Railroad Administration did not immediately respond to an email message seeking comment about California's lawsuit.

California has worked for more than a decade on the project to bring high-speed rail service between Los Angeles and San Francisco, but the project has been plagued by delays and cost overruns. It's now projected to cost around $77 billion and be finished by 2033.

The $929 million the Trump administration wants to cancel is a key source of funding for a Central Valley track segment expected to cost about $12 billion.

California was not expected to tap that funding until 2021. If the lawsuit is not resolved before then, the election could put Democrats in the White House and Congress who may be friendlier to the project.

The state has already spent $2.5 billion in federal funding, and the Trump administration is exploring whether it can try to get that money back.

The lawsuit also asks the court to block the administration from awarding the money to any other project.

The lawsuit was filed in the Northern District of California.

Doncic scores 29 points as Mavericks top Thunder 119-110 to tie series at 1-1

2024-05-10 13:27 Last Updated At：13:31

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Luka Doncic limped around the court, often grimacing as he played through a sprained right knee and a bloodied left knee.

His shooting stroke was unaffected. He had 29 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists to help the Dallas Mavericks beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 119-110 on Thursday night and even the Western Conference semifinals at one win apiece.

“I think that was one of the hardest games I’ve had to play,” Doncic said. “I’m battling out there trying to do my best to help the team win.”

The Thunder held Doncic to 19 points on 6-for-19 shooting in Game 1. He made 11 of 21 field goals in Game 2. Throughout, he had frequent conversations with the officials — enough to draw the ire of Thunder fans, who booed him and directed chants his way.

“That’s great for me," he said. “I love it.”

P.J. Washington added 29 points and 11 rebounds and made 7 of 11 3-pointers for the Mavericks. He averaged 12.9 points in the regular season.

“I thought P.J. set the tone," Dallas coach Jason Kidd said. "We played through him a little bit in the post and I think that sparked him. He was big for us tonight.”

Kyrie Irving added nine points and 11 assists for the No. 5-seeded Mavericks, who host Game 3 on Saturday after taking home-court advantage from the top-seeded Thunder.

Doncic expects the Thunder to be prepared.

“They have great players," Doncic said. "They have great chemistry, great team. And it’s going to be tough. It’s going to be a fight till the end. So, just much respect to Oklahoma (City), but it’s big time we won this game.”

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 33 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, and Jalen Williams added 20 points for the Thunder, who lost for the first time in the postseason and allowed more than 100 points for the first time in their six playoff games.

The Mavericks played with desperation, just like they did in the first round when they beat the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 2 and took home court from them.

“I feel like it was a must-win game for us,” Washington said. “And those games, I feel like are where we play our best.”

Doncic made his first three shots and scored eight points in the first three minutes to help Dallas take a 13-2 lead. He scored 16 points on 6-for-8 shooting in the first quarter, but the Thunder had the play of the quarter. Oklahoma City inbounded from under the Dallas goal with 1.4 seconds left. Jaylin Williams threw it long for Chet Holmgren, who caught the ball while defended by two Mavericks in traffic, turned around and hit a long 2-point jumper to cut Dallas' lead to 36-32.

Dallas led 68-62 at halftime. Both teams made 25 of 47 shots before the break, but Dallas made 12 3s to Oklahoma City's six.

Oklahoma City tied it at 70 on a baseline jumper by Gilgeous-Alexander two minutes into the second half. Aaron Wiggins, who started the second half in place of Josh Giddey, scored from in close to give the Thunder a 72-71 lead, their first advantage of the game.

Dallas rallied, largely with Doncic resting. After he returned, his lob for a dunk by Derrick Jones Jr. put the Mavericks up 99-85 late in the third quarter, and they took a 99-89 lead into the fourth.

A powerful two-handed putback dunk by Williams cut Dallas' lead to 99-95, but the Mavericks responded. Doncic took advantage of a screen by Dereck Lively II and hit a 3-pointer to put Dallas up 104-95 with nine minutes remaining. The Thunder never got closer than five points the rest of the way.

“We’ve got a really good opponent that played really well tonight," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "We tried to scrap back into it. I thought our effort was really good tonight. I thought we tried to gear it up a couple different times. I thought where we left something to be desired was execution.”

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