Community ultra-marathon will bridge Altadena to Pacific Palisades, raise funds for wildfire relief

• May 5, 2025

$50k and 50 kilometers: In short, that’s the goal behind a community event on Saturday, May 10 that challenges participants to take part in a run that stretches from Altadena to Pacific Palisades to raise money for the two communities hit the hardest during January’s fires.

Dubbed “Altadena to the Palisades: An Ultra-Marathon Relay,” the run is spearheaded by members of Silverlake Track Club, aa Los Angeles-based community running club, and will kick off at 7 a.m. at Good Neighbor Bar in Altadena.

The event – which organizers stressed is not a race, but rather an unofficial community run – can be completed in three ways: Runners can participate as a relay team of up to five people, run the full 50k as an individual or run whatever segment of the course suits them.

It’s about bringing L.A. together, Silverlake Track Club founder Howie Goldklang said, and he wants participants there in whatever capacity they feel comfortable with.

Goldklang said his run club is known for its informal events – “weird runs that bring people together,” as he put it – and members had been toying with the idea of an event that challenged runners to conquer all of the region’s major boulevards.

“Then, unfortunately, the fires happened,” Goldklang said. “And one of those runners just took the idea and suggested that we do it now as a fundraiser.”

That runner, Kevin van ‘t Klooster, along with fellow club-member Ellen Evangelides, got to work on a route and were pleased to discover that the two communities were roughly 50 kilometers apart – a popular distance for an ultra-marathon.

“The idea behind this run is that we want to show folks in LA that you can connect Altadena and the Palisades in a day of running,” van ‘t Klooster said. “And that, actually, these two parts of town are more connected than folks may think.”

All event proceeds will go to Altadena Mountain Rescue, Altadena Public Library, Santa Monica Mountain Fund and Palisades Fire Domestic Workers Fund. So far, the event has roughly 500 sign-ups and has raised around $25,000, according to Goldklang.

The run will kick off on May 10 at 7 a.m. at Altadena’s Good Neighbor Bar, before heading southwest toward Eagle Rock. It’ll then weave through the city until it ends at Pacific Palisades’ Will Rogers Beach for a finish-line celebration.

Race checkpoints/ legs:

• Start: Good Neighbor Bar (Altadena), 7 a.m.
• 10K: Found Coffee LA (Eagle Rock)
• 20K: Makisupa (Silverlake)
• 30K: Superba (Hollywood)
• 40K: Tuscan Son (Santa Monica)
• 50K: Will Rogers Beach (Pacific Palisades)

Van ‘t Klooster said he envisions more run events for fire relief in the future after Saturday’s event, perhaps some that collaborate across the area’s various run clubs.

“It’s really important that we all stay committed,” he said. “Just like a marathon, right? You hit the 20-mile mark and your legs feel tired, and that’s when you need to keep pushing on. So, we don’t expect this to be a one-off.”

Event admission is $50 per runner. Non-runners can still donate, or volunteer and cheer at an aid station. You can sign up for the race and donate at http://bit.ly/3Z52RvR, or find more information about the event on the run club’s Instagram, @silverlaketrackclub.

​ Orange County Register 

Mission Viejo hits pause on the Los Osos project

• May 5, 2025

Mission Viejo is hitting pause temporarily on its Los Osos Core Area Project — a move city leaders say will give them more time for further “due diligence” about the space’s future.

The next step in the effort to develop a new shopping and entertainment area at the Village Center off of Marguerite Parkway and La Paz Road would be awarding a construction contract for the first phase of the project. But the city is halting awarding that contract, Elaine Lister, the city manager, told the City Council at a recent meeting.

“This will allow some time for further due diligence and to consider all our options, including the bids,” Lister said, “and also possibly a public-private partnership.”

Mission Viejo received two bids for the first construction phase, according to the city. A public-private partnership is still in the early stages of exploration.

The pause follows the closure of several large stores — Michael’s, Party City and Big Lots, Lister noted in the City Council meeting — and a delay with Santa Margarita Water District’s redesigning of its site plan. The city is incurring no additional costs because of the delay, Lister said.

But there is no timeline for when the awarding of a bid will be taken off pause, according to the city.

“The city remains fully committed to our downtown vision as well as our fiscal prudence,” said Lister. “This temporary pause gives us some time to evaluate the situation, let the vacancies play out and help us ensure we end up with the best possible project for the community.”

The Los Osos project will take over the 22,736-square-foot shopping center and connect to the greater project on Oso Creek.

The first phase creates the North Pasea pedestrian and bikeway recreational corridor, connecting the Civic Center and Library through the parking lot to the front of the shopping center. Last year, city officials estimated the first phase would cost Mission Viejo $6.2 million.

​ Orange County Register 

Wall Street loses ground and oil prices tumble after OPEC+ says it will step up production

• May 5, 2025

By DAMIAN J. TROISE, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks fell in morning trading on Wall Street Monday and oil prices fell to a four-year low as the OPEC+ group announced plans to increase output.

The S&P 500 fell 0.3%. The benchmark index is coming off of its ninth straight gain.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 52 points, or 0.1%, as of 10:59 a.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq composite fell 0.5%.

There were more gainers than losers within the S&P 500 index, but the market was weighed down by losses in technology stocks and other big companies. Apple slumped 3.1%, while chipmaker Nvidia fell 0.8%. Tesla fell 3.7%.

Berkshire Hathaway fell 4.8%. Legendary investor Warren Buffett announced over the weekend that he would step down as CEO by the end of the year after six decades at the helm. Buffett will still be chairman of the board of directors.

The OPEC+ group of eight oil producing nations announced over the weekend that it will raise its output by 411,000 barrels per day as of June 1. U.S. benchmark crude oil fell as much as 4% overnight before moderating.

U.S. crude oil prices fell 2.6% to $56.75 per barrel. Many producers can no longer turn a profit once oil falls below $60. Prices are down sharply for the year over worries about an economic slowdown. Energy companies fell. Exxon Mobil lost 2.6%.

Markets are coming off another winning week as they absorb the shock of tariffs and a growing trade war. President Donald Trump has imposed tariffs on a wide range of imports, sparking global retaliation. Many of the more severe tariffs that were supposed to go into effect in April were delayed by three months, with the notable exception of tariffs against China.

The delays have provided some relief to Wall Street, though uncertainty about the impact from current and future tariffs continues to hang over markets and the economy. That uncertainty will overshadow the Federal Reserve’s meeting this week.

The Fed is expected to hold its benchmark interest rate steady on Wednesday. It cut the rate three times in 2024 before taking a more cautious stance. The central bank was concerned that inflation, while easing, was still stubbornly hovering just above its target rate of 2%. Concerns about inflation reigniting have only grown amid the global trade war sparked by Trump’s tariff policy.

The economy has shown some signs that it is feeling the impact from tariffs and the uncertainty over Trump’s policy. The U.S. economy shrank 0.3% in the first quarter, marking the first drop in three years.

There is still some resiliency in the broader economy. Consumers have grown more cautious, but still continue to spend. Economic activity in the services sector continued expanding in April, according to a survey from the Institute for Supply Management.

The services sector survey and the latest consumer confidence updates also reflect growing concerns over the economy’s direction. Trump’s rapidly shifting policies on trade have kept the Fed and markets on edge.

Tariffs have been imposed, only to be pulled or delayed, sometimes on a daily basis. The on-again-off-again approach has left businesses, households and economists at a loss in trying to forecast where the economy might be headed and planning accordingly.

The latest salvo in the trade war from Trump came Sunday night in a post on his Truth Social platform. He said he has authorized a 100% tariff on movies that are produced outside of the U.S. The impact is unclear, as it is common for films to include production at multiple locations around the world.

Netflix slumped 1.8% and Warner Bros. Discovery fell 1.1%.

Treasury yields rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.35% from 4.31% late Friday.

AP business writers Jiang Junzhe and Matt Ott contributed to this story.

​ Orange County Register 

CSUF’s mental health fair highlights the help available

• May 5, 2025

By Larry Urish, contributing writer

Life as a student isn’t easy, especially in this day and age. Managing a challenging academic load alone is stressful. Then add personal and family obligations, Orange County’s ever-rising cost of living

, future uncertainty and greater loneliness inherent with social media and it’s no wonder that depression and anxiety are but a few of the issues common among today’s students.

Cal State Fullerton’s fourth-annual Mental Health Resource Fair, which took place on April 22 in the campus’ Central Quad, helped address this topic by providing access to an assortment of helpful resources in a fun, welcoming environment.

The event, which drew more than 750 student attendees (a significant uptick from the 500 last year), was co-hosted by CSUF’s Counseling and Psychological Services and Connect-OC, a program for teens and young adults that serves to increase mental health awareness and provides access to related resources throughout the region.

“The fair was amazing,” said Jacquelyn Gerali, Counseling and Psychological Services’ prevention education coordinator and faculty counselor who helped organize the event. “It was such a delight to see so many students enjoy mental health in an approachable and inviting manner. Many expressed appreciation for the variety of our activities.”

Those activities included dog therapy, music and food, a photo booth, a colorful assortment of arts activities, and raffles for prizes.

“It’s important to shed light on the different resources available for students to take care of their mental health proactively,” Gerali said. “Students should know that it’s OK if you’re not doing OK. This event helps make addressing mental health very approachable and fun. It gives space to experience joy as we take care of our mental health.”

About 35 no- and low-cost mental health resources — including the Arise Wellness Center, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Mindpath College Health and OC’s chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness — were available to share how they can help CSUF students, faculty and staff. A variety of university resources were also on hand: CSUF Basic Needs Services, Counseling and Psychological Services, TitanWELL and TitanTHRIVE, among others.

“At many colleges, the faculty and staff who see students in the counseling center don’t have the time to make the connections with the mental health programs out in the community,” said Crystal Bleicher, program director of Connect-OC, a Partners4Wellness project funded through the Orange County Health Care Agency. “That’s where we come in. … Even today, there may be a stigma around visiting the counseling center. This is part of the reason we’re doing this out in the open Quad, where so many students pass through.”

Along with addressing this stigma, “A big part of this resource fair is to shed light on the importance of taking care of our mental health in a preventative fashion before it can become an issue of concern,” Gerali said.

This year’s Mental Health Resource Fair furnished more arts-related activities, thanks to student feedback from the three previous events. This included creating affirmation signs and friendship bracelets, as well as hope-stone painting.

“With hope stones, students paint an inspiring message on one side of a stone, like ‘You are enough,’ and on the other side is information about the National Crisis Hotline,” Bleicher said. “They can take the stone home or place it out in the community for someone else to find.”

“Making mental health a priority as part of a student’s to-do list can be very useful for their academic success,” Gerali said. “It’s part of their ability to manage the academic load that they have every semester. As a student years ago, l would’ve really appreciated knowing that taking care of my mental health is just as important as taking care of my physical health. We want students to understand that health is health, and mental is a part of that.”

The university and Connect-OC have worked together for years. “Cal State Fullerton has been one of the best relationships we’ve built,” Bleicher said. “They’ve been great to work with, and we’ve been able to grow this fair every single year. The management team there is fantastic and passionate about everything they do.

“And this year’s event was wonderful,” Bleicher added. “We received great feedback from students and staff, as well as the various mental health vendors, and we were joined by CSUF President Ronald Rochon, who walked the entire event and greeted all the attendees and resource organizations. It’s always great to have the support of leadership at these events and have them show recognition for the importance of access to mental health services for college students.”

Students can connect with CSUF’s Counseling and Psychological Services by calling 657-278-3040 or visiting fullerton.edu/caps. To learn more about Connect-OC, visit connect-oc.org.

​ Orange County Register 

Sacramento Snapshot: A look at the effort to increase California seniors’ access to Medigap

• May 5, 2025

Friday was a key deadline for bills in the statehouse, and one that legislators want to continue to work on is an effort to expand access to Medigap, the supplemental health insurance available to Medicare recipients.

From Sen. Catherine Blakespear, a Democrat who represents communities in southern Orange County, the bill would create an annual open enrollment period for Medigap and allow insurers to set premiums based on someone’s age when they enrolled in a Medigap plan.

The idea is to open up access and expand protections for seniors with pre-existing conditions who wish to buy the supplemental insurance.

According to Blakespear’s office, California does not open up additional Medigap enrollment periods for those who did not purchase the supplemental insurance within the initial six-month eligibility window. That means insurers can later outright deny Medigap coverage or charge higher premiums, according to a bill fact sheet.

SB 242 passed out of the Senate Health Committee last week, 9-2, along party lines.

Sens. Bob Archuleta, D-Pico Rivera, and Tom Umberg, D-Santa Ana, are co-authors.

“Seniors should not be shut out of Medigap for pre-existing medical conditions, something that is not allowed in the rest of the health insurance marketplace,” Blakespear said. “It’s imperative that seniors have access to affordable health care, and SB 242 ensures they get it.”

Additionally, the bill would end the exclusion of patients under 65 years old with end-stage renal disease from purchasing a Medigap plan.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, California Health Advocates, ALS Association and Scripps Health support the bill.

Opposition, meanwhile, includes the California Association of Health Plans, the Association of California Life and Health Insurance Companies and the National Association of Insurers and Financial Advisors.

The National Association of Insurers and Financial Advisors and California Agents and Health Insurance Professionals, in the bill’s analysis, said other states with similar enrollment requirements saw a decrease in competition. The opposing groups argued that the bill could ultimately increase premium costs for seniors.

Friday, May 2, was the final day for policy committees to hear and refer bills that have a fiscal impact.

In other news

• No, it’s not déjà vu. Assembly Democrats, Republicans and the governor were all at odds last week about a trafficking bill  — reminiscent of a very public fight in 2023 over a bill that made child trafficking a felony.

This time it was a bill from Assemblymember Maggy Krell, D-Sacramento, that wanted to expand a law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom last year that allowed those who bought and solicited sex from minors 15 years old and younger to be charged with a felony. Krell, an attorney who has worked to combat sex trafficking in her career, wanted to include 16- and 17-year-olds in the law, increasing penalties for those who seek to harm older minors.

The effort divided Democrats, with those opposed worried about unintended consequences. Parents could weaponize the bill, they said, against relationships they may disapprove of, including interracial or LGBTQ+ couplings. And there are other laws, they said, that could levy a felony charge on someone who engages in sex with a minor.

But it drew strong support from Republicans and prominent Democrats, including Newsom, first partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis and Christine Pelosi, the daughter of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Despite that support — and efforts from Republicans on the Assembly floor — legislative Democrats ultimately rejected the bill. Instead, they agreed to an amendment that said they plan to “adopt the strongest laws to protect 16- and 17-year-old victims.”

As for Orange County’s legislators, every Democrat voted for the amended bill — with Krell’s name stripped off of it — while no Republican did.

“What form of society and civil society is that acceptable to solicit sex with a minor and spend three days in jail,” Assemblymember Diane Dixon, R-Newport Beach, said from the floor.

• A bill that would require drug and alcohol programs to provide additional reports and information when there is a resident death saw unanimous support in the Assembly Health Committee last week.

From Dixon, AB 1356 acknowledges that these facilities are already required to provide the Department of Health Care Services with initial information of a resident’s death. But Dixon said many facilities “are not providing full details on their report of incidents.”

But the bill takes those responsibilities a bit further, requiring them to submit additional information not originally reported within 60 days of the incident. And facilities would also have to report how they are implementing new actions if deficiencies are identified after a death.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

​ Orange County Register 

Answering all your Southern California radio questions

• May 5, 2025

We get email …

“Hello and thank you for you excellent column on all things radio. I really enjoy it! Question: I am big fan of sports talk in LA and love KLAC (570 AM). I see them on the list you shared, but do not see competing station KSPN (710 AM). I checked online and did not see them in the full Nielsen list either. Am I missing something or do they not rank for some reason?” — John Horn

You’re not missing anything … you might notice KABC (790 AM) is not on the list either, and perhaps a few others I don’t know about. This is due to the fact that neither KSPN nor KABC subscribe to Nielsen’s ratings service, so they don’t show in the results.

In the old days, when ratings were taken via diaries, a station’s ratings could still be determined by the written mentions, but Arbitron (at the time) would just leave them off the final results. Now ratings are taken electronically by small devices that listen for special signals sent in a station’s audio. If I understand correctly, when a station doesn’t subscribe, the encoding is turned off, and it just doesn’t show at all in the ratings calculations … and there is no longer any way to backtrack.

This hit the Meruelo Media stations at the end of 2023 when they were negotiating with Nielsen; there are no ratings at all for KLOS (95.5 FM), Power 106, or KALI 93.9 , or KDAY (93.5 FM) during that holiday ratings period.

Certainly not a perfect system, but understandable when the reason Nielsen exists is to make money. If they calculated ratings for non-subscribers, they would cease to exist.

“I regularly read and enjoy your column in the Pasadena Star News. Do you know if there is an archive of playlists for stations over the years? I would love to be able to look back and see the exact songs being played, for example, on KROQ (106.7 FM) in 1985. Appreciate your thoughts,” — Jeff

While I have seen sites online featuring playlists for top-40 stations like KHJ (930 AM), KTNQ (1020 AM) and KFI (640 AM), I haven’t seen any for KROQ, which would definitely be a fun look back. There are sites that collect lists of the top 500 songs from individual years during the 1980s. (One reader recalls a stretch in the 1980s when Siouxsie and the Banshees’ “Cities in Dust” played every two hours like clockwork.) Has someone posted the actual playlists? Let’s put it out to the universe and see if someone has the answer!

Or if you’re interested in KHJ …

“I just got a chance to read your article on local radio in the Daily News, and I enjoyed it so much. As a kid of the ‘60s, I grew up listening to KHJ, KFWB, and KRLA. I actually have all of the “Boss 30” charts from KHJ from 1965-1977. I spent so much time listening to the radio; when I got out of college, I became a studio session singer, and all of that knowledge of the lyrics and harmonies to those songs came in very handy. I’m just completing my 48th year as a member of SAG/AFTRA. Anyway, it’s nice to make contact with someone who seems to love radio as much as I do.” —  Steve Lively

I appreciate the kind words, and congratulations on your success! Now we need to get you to scan all your music charts and post them online. Actually, I need to do that myself; due to my own collecting as well as donations from generous readers of this column, I have quite a few as well. I will post them someday on my own website.

“Wanted to tell you how much I enjoy your column in the Orange County Register. I worked at KYMS (106.3 FM) in Santa Ana from 1972 to 1974 during its album-oriented/free-form days. An interesting cast of characters came and went during my time there. I am toying with the idea of a book or screenplay. I even started documenting memories of ‘this and that’ for source material. Though I moved into subsequent careers, I never entirely abandoned ‘the business!’  Have done some voice work; had an agent for a while. As you know, it gets into your blood.” — Dave Wolf

Ah, KYMS — one of the early FMs before FM was big. That is definitely a station that would be interesting to know more about. I hope you follow through! And you are definitely right about it getting into your blood – even as a fan!

“I wanted to tell you how much I enjoy your column in the Daily Bulletin. When I first noticed it, I thought, ‘A guy that writes about the radio’, who would read that? I was pleasantly surprised and glad that I started to read your column and look forward to them. Thanks and keep up the good work! Question: On a few occasions, I was listening to 95.5 KLOS at night and heard two songs playing at the same time. One song you could hear as normal but the other seemed to be playing softly in the background. Have you ever experienced this?” — Rannknee

Truth be told, my own mother didn’t read my column, so I truly appreciate your support! It is kind of funny sometimes running into people who do read it and don’t know it is me. Anyway, to answer your question, that can happen when there is a glitch in the music scheduling program used by a station. Everything is computerized these days, so when it happens it needs a reset. It is rare when actual albums or CDs are played.

Richard Wagoner is a San Pedro freelance columnist covering radio in Southern California. Email [email protected]

​ Orange County Register 

Buffett will remain chairman at Berkshire Hathaway when Abel takes over as CEO in 2026

• May 5, 2025

By BERNARD CONDON AND JOSH FUNK, AP Business Writers

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Billionaire Warren Buffett will remain with Berkshire Hathaway as chairman of the board when vice chairman Greg Abel takes over as CEO to begin 2026.

The board of directors at the cash-rich conglomerate voted Sunday to keep the legendary 94-year-old investor as head of the board, a decision likely to relieve investors worried about Berkshire’s remarkable winning streak as the U.S. and global economies are beset by tariff shocks, financial turmoil and a growing risk of recession.

The board in the same meeting also approved Buffett’s chosen successor as CEO, veteran Berkshire executive Greg Abel, 62. In a surprise announcement Saturday, Buffett said he would step down from that top spot at the end of the year.

Berkshire Class B shares fell more than 5% Monday after hitting an all-time high on Friday.

Macrae Sykes, portfolio manager at Gabelli Funds, praised the transparent way Buffett announced the transition at the meeting and believes investors can have confidence that he isn’t going anywhere.

“Retaining the position of Chairman means he can continue to mentor Greg and the Berkshire leaders, while also providing additional intellectual capacity when the inevitable time for more major capital allocation occurs,” Sykes said.

In six decades at the helm, Buffett turned a Massachusetts textile company into a sprawling but nimble conglomerate that owns everything from Daily Queen and See’s Candies to BNSF Railway and giant insurers. As the company grew, Warren’s reputation grew with it as shares of Berkshire Hathaway climbed steadily, exceeding major indexes by wide margins and returning an average 19.9% each year versus 10.4% for the Standard & Poor’s 500.

The decision to continue with the Oracle of Omaha, as Buffet is known, as head of the board differs from the succession plan laid out for after Buffett’s death. The billionaire has long said that Howard Buffett, the second-born of the investor’s three children, should become chairman when he is gone to protect Berkshire’s culture.

A current vice-chairman, Abel, will take over as CEO as big questions hover over the company, but he has already been managing all of Berkshire’s non-insurance businesses since 2018. Buffett himself has said President Donald Trump’s tariffs were a big mistake. There are also worries that Berkshire might not able to avoid the fate of most conglomerates—forced to break up to recapture focus.

Then there is Berkshire’s $348 billion in cash.

Buffett says he doesn’t see many bargains to invest that money in now, not even Berkshire’s own stock, but assured some of the estimated 40,000 attendees of the company’s celebratory weekend annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, that one day the company would be “bombarded with opportunities.”

Abel, a low-key Canadian with a love a hockey, has already shown he is a more hands-on manager than Buffett by asking managers tough questions and encouraging them to collaborate with other subsidiaries when it makes sense. He will now take on oversight of the insurance businesses and responsibility for investing the company’s cash. Vice Chairman Ajit Jain will stay on for now to help manage the insurance businesses that include Geico and massive reinsurers like General Re, but he is 73.

Abel told shareholders Saturday that he wouldn’t change the Berkshire’s approach to investing, which he learned from Buffett. Maintaining Berkshire’s fortress-like balance sheet will always be a priority, he said.

Buffett endorsed Abel by saying he would keep all of his shares that give him control of 30% of Berkshire Hathaway and praised Abel during the shareholder meeting..

“It’s way better with Greg than with me because I didn’t want to work as hard as he works and I can get away with it because we’ve got a basically good business — a very good business — and I wasn’t in danger of you firing me by virtue of the ownership and the fact that we could do pretty well,” Buffett said. “But the fact that you can do pretty well doesn’t mean you couldn’t do better, and Greg can do better at many things.”

The CEOs of Berkshire subsidiaries who report to Abel have always praised his management style that holds them accountable while allowing them autonomy. See’s Candy CEO Pat Egan, who worked with Abel at Berkshire’s utility unit for years before he took over the candymaker six years ago, said Abel makes sure he’s considered every contingency.

“He’s allowed me to make a lot of decisions that he may or may not have agreed with, but he’ll support us at the end of the day, no matter what as long as we’re operating with integrity and principles and the long game,” Egan said.

Buffett has always delegated the decisions about how to distribute his fortune, worth nearly $170 billion today, to others by giving shares annually to the Gates Foundation and four family foundations run by his children.

The Gates Foundation has received the biggest donations worth more than $40 billion since he started giving away his fortune in 2006.

He said last summer that his three children will decide how to distribute his remaining fortune after his death but that the Gates Foundation won’t get any more donations at that point.

Howard, 70, has his own foundation through which he has donated billions to humanitarian and food security causes, including helping coffee farms in El Salvador and war-torn Ukraine. Howard Buffett’s foundation expects to top $1 billion in gifts to Ukraine — more than most countries — later this year.

Tributes to Buffett came tumbling in over the weekend praising his investment savvy and folksy management style.

“There’s never been someone like Warren, and countless people, myself included, have been inspired by his wisdom,” Apple CEO Tim Cook posted on X. “It’s been one of the great privileges of my life to know him.”

JP Morgan’s CEO Jamie Dimon said Buffett represented “everything that is good about American capitalism and America itself,” and praised his “integrity, optimism and common sense.”

AP Business writer Bernard Condon is in New York City. AP Business Writer Michelle Chapman contributed to this report from New York City.

​ Orange County Register 

Trump administration says it’ll pay immigrants in the US illegally $1,000 to leave the country

• May 5, 2025

By REBECCA SANTANA

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration says it is going to pay immigrants in the United States illegally who’ve returned to their home country voluntarily $1,000 as it pushes forward with its mass deportation agenda.

The Department of Homeland Security said in a news release Monday that it’s also paying for travel assistance and that those people who use an app called CBP Home to tell the government that they plan to return home will be “deprioritized” for detention and removal by immigration enforcement.

“If you are here illegally, self-deportation is the best, safest and most cost-effective way to leave the United States to avoid arrest. DHS is now offering illegal aliens financial travel assistance and a stipend to return to their home country through the CBP Home App,” Secretary Kristi Noem said.

President Donald Trump has made immigration enforcement and the mass deportation of immigrants in the U.S. illegally a centerpiece of his campaign, but that is a costly, resource-intensive endeavor.

While the Republican administration is pushing Congress for a massive increase in resources for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement department responsible for removing people from the country, it’s also pushing people in the country illegally to “self-deport.”

​ Orange County Register