Sikh Truck Drivers Have A Second Chance In California

Here are the morning’s top stories on Wednesday, December 17, 2025…

• The Newsom administration confirmed it’s backtracking on a plan to indefinitely revoke thousands of commercial drivers licenses held by immigrants. That’s welcome news to the drivers and their families.
• As Jewish communities around the globe struggle to comprehend the deadly mass shooting at Australia’s Bondi Beach, in Kern County, the losses are hitting especially close to home. 

CA Cancels Plan To Revoke Thousands Of Commercial Drivers Licenses 

The Newsom administration is backtracking on a plan to indefinitely revoke 17,000 commercial drivers licenses held by immigrants.

The original plan came after harsh criticism from the Trump administration about California and other states granting licenses to people in the country illegally. The issue was thrust into the public’s consciousness in August, when a tractor-trailer driver not authorized to be in the U.S. made an illegal U-turn and caused a crash in Florida that killed three people.

Amarjit Singh lives in the Bay Area in Livermore. Three years ago, he borrowed money from relatives and invested all his savings for a $30,000 down payment on a $160,000 truck. It’s his ticket to the American Dream. “Yeah it’s like a home, you know it’s an office. Business is on the road,” he said.

Estimates are that roughly 150,000 Sikh men drive trucks nationwide. Trucking is a major source of employment for this community with roots in Punjab, India. But last month, Singh and thousands of other drivers got a message from the California Department of Motor Vehicles. The agency planned to revoke their commercial drivers licenses, and most would have had no recourse. But now the DMV officials say they will start reissuing those licenses. This comes as a big relief for Singh, but only after weeks of sleepless nights. He worried that he wouldn’t be able to support his wife and two kids, or make the $4,000 monthly payments on his truck.

Heavy Hearts In Kern County Following Australia Mass Shooting

An accused gunman in Sydney’s Bondi Beach massacre was charged with 59 offenses including 15 charges of murder on Wednesday, as hundreds of mourners gathered in Sydney to begin funerals for the victims.

Two shooters slaughtered 15 people on Sunday in an antisemitic mass shooting targeting Jews celebrating Hanukkah at Bondi Beach, and more than 20 other people are still being treated in hospitals. All of those killed by the gunmen who have been identified so far were Jewish.

In Kern County, the losses are hitting particularly loud. “We’re just devastated. We’re broken. We’re just broken to pieces,” said Esther Schlanger. She’s the co-director of the Chabad of Bakersfield. Her brother-in-law,  Rabbi Eli Schlanger, was killed in the attack.

Schlanger said because of the attack, her Chabad has taken safety precautions. But Hanukkah will go on. “We’re heartbroken, but we still are going to light the menorah, which I just did with my children, and we’re going to eat the latkes and cry at the same time,” she said.