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California Governor Commutes 548 Death Sentences

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that he will commute the sentences of all 548 people on California's death row to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The move is the largest mass clemency in U.S. history. California has not executed anyone since 2006, and Newsom had a moratorium on executions in place since 2019. Some commutations, particularly for people with multiple felony convictions, still require California Supreme Court review.

Newsom said he believes state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with California's values and undermines the legal system. He cited moral concerns, the risk of executing innocent people, and the high cost of capital punishment. Reports note California has spent about $6 billion on the death penalty since 1978 while carrying out only 13 executions.

A Turkish court jailed former minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya in the fund-crisis investigation. She faces charges of violating capital-markets law and membership of an organization established to commit a crime.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he is commuting the sentences of all 548 people on California's death row to life without the possibility of parole. It is the largest mass clemency in U.S. history; many of the commutations still require California Supreme Court review.

Reuters reports that roughly $3.2 trillion has been wiped from AI-related stocks as concerns grow that Democrats could slow the data-center buildout. This is a correspondent's political commentary and prediction, not a single checkable factual claim.

Fact-check

VERIFIED TRUE

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he is commuting the sentences of all 548 people on California's death row to life without the possibility of parole. It is the largest mass clemency in U.S. history; many of the commutations still require California Supreme Court review.

"I believe that state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with California’s values." California Governor Gavin Newsom has announced that he will commute the sentences of all 548 people on death row in the state, the largest mass clemency in US history https://t.co/hYhGNnQjHB https

Original post · Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish)

[kqed.org](https://www.kqed.org/news/12108596/newsom-moves-to-empty-californias-death-row-by-commuting-548-sentences), [washingtonpost.com](https://www.washingt

VERIFIED TRUE

Reuters reports that roughly $3.2 trillion has been wiped from AI-related stocks as concerns grow that Democrats could slow the data-center buildout. This is a correspondent's political commentary and prediction, not a single checkable factual claim.

🔊 Wall Street has wiped around $3.2 trillion from AI-related stocks as fears grow that Democrats could slow the data-centre buildout. On the Reuters Morning Bid podcast today, we take a look at what’s behind the selloff https://t.co/QhHV1AlPAF https://t.co/P4gsXWKExP

Original post · @Reuters

Reuters Morning Bid podcast/post. NAMES: AI = artificial intelligence. POST 2118514644071624779: NOCLAIM Will Ripley/CNN post. NAMES: Doug Ford = Premier of Ont

Sources

What the hosts said

BGood morning, it's Friday, and the overnight story is huge: California's governor says the state's death row is done.
BAl Jazeera English posted the quote on X: "I believe that state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with California's values." Newsom is commuting every death sentence in the state.
BAll five hundred forty-eight of them, to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The largest mass clemency in American history.
BSome of those still need the state Supreme Court to sign off, especially the ones with multiple felony convictions. So it is not final until that review happens.
BCorrect. But no one in California has been executed since two thousand six, and Newsom has had a moratorium since twenty nineteen. He's making that permanent.
BAnd here's the number that should focus the fight: California has spent about six billion dollars on the death penalty since nineteen seventy-eight, and carried out thirteen executions.
BThat's my issue: it is not just moral, it is a failed system. But the other side is real—
BThe other side is victims' families, and they waited years for sentences already handed down. Anne Marie Schubert from the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation says they may challenge it legally.
BAnd they can. But Newsom was elected to make calls like this. If he thinks the risk of executing an innocent person is too high, this is what a governor's power is for.
BI get it, but doing all five hundred forty-eight at once? That's not one bad case. That's a blanket policy change by one man.
BIt's a big move, no question. But California voters have been moving this way for years. The old system was already frozen.
BI think the legal challenge might be the real story. This is not over today.
BFair enough. That's where the story goes next.
BDifferent world entirely: Turkey's state news agency says a court jailed former minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya in a fund-crisis investigation.
BReuters posted this on X. She's charged with violating capital-markets law and belonging to a group formed to commit a crime.
BThat's a big name—she was a cabinet minister when the fund scandal started. The case has been grinding through Turkish politics for a while.
BNo trial details yet, but the jailing itself signals how serious the investigation is.
BWorth watching, because Turkey's financial credibility took a beating in that fund crisis.
BAnd this is not a junior official. This is a former government minister now behind bars.
BMeanwhile, Wall Street has wiped about three point two trillion dollars from AI-related stocks.
BReuters says the fear is that Democrats could slow the data center buildout.
BRight, the whole AI boom depends on building massive data centers. If regulators put up roadblocks, the big valuations get questioned.
BThis is the same pattern we see with any hot trade—when the political winds shift, the money runs first, then the analysis catches up.
BKeep it in perspective: the sector has still had a huge run, so a three point two trillion dollar drop is big but not proof the whole theme is dead.
BIt may be a sign the market didn't price in any regulatory risk. That's the part investors could have missed.
BAnd for everyone else, it means your retirement fund probably felt that. Tech weakness hits the index hard.
BNo advice, just noticing: when AI stocks get volatile, the whole market gets jumpy.
BAnd in Yemen, the foreign minister is pushing Arab states in Berlin to do more to deter Houthi attacks.
BAl Jazeera reports Afrah al-Zouba made the call in a meeting with Arab ambassadors. We have not independently confirmed the statement.
BThe Houthis keep hitting shipping and drawing the region into a longer fight. That is the real pressure behind this.
BIt matters because Arab governments have been split on how hard to push back. If they coordinate, that changes things.
BBut statements from ministers are cheap. The question is whether any action follows.
BAgreed. We'll see what comes out of Berlin.

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