The Brief

If there were more fitness instructors in the world like Creeper, getting in shape would be a lot more fun.

The satirical character, played by Frankie Quiñones, leads inspirational workout routines such as a CholoSpin class where scenarios like running out of beer at a barbecue push you to peddle harder because “we don’t want fools to start fighting each other."

Creeper has a spiritual side, too, with motivational wellness messages like “How to get rid of all your dumb energy … because sometimes life can get weird, homie.”

Quiñones has been creating content as Creeper for 15 years now, and he’s still finding new ways to keep the character fresh.

In Hulu comedy special Damn, That’s Crazy, which came out in October, Quiñones explained that he started developing characters when he was a kid as a form of personal escapism and based them on those around him. Quiñones' father was a big inspiration for Creeper’s sense of style.

“My dad was an old school cholo. Dickies creased, Chuck Taylors, white tee or the Pendleton,” Quiñones says in the special. “Always had the palm comb with the three flowers. Always had a lowrider.”

Quiñones added that he was around “the positive side of the culture” growing up in Los Angeles and that his dad is “one of the most positive men” he knows.

Quiñones’ childhood influences still are at play in his latest web series, Creeper’s Crib.

Growing up, Quiñones watched Pee-wee’s Playhouse, the whimsical 1980s children’s program that was populated with puppets and hosted by Paul Reubens’ performing alter-ego, Pee-wee Herman. Quiñones loved the show and grew to identify with Reubens as his own career advanced.

“When Creeper went viral, a lot of people were like, 'You should just do that.' … I was like, maybe that's going to be my career. I'm just gonna be this character. Am I okay with that or do I want to go another direction,” Quiñones said.

In releasing a new comedy special and launching Creeper’s Crib in the same year, Quiñones is saying he doesn’t have to choose.

Puppet sidekicks Rudy and Pantufla in Episode 6 of "Creeper’s Crib."

Pantufla the puppet

Creeper’s Crib follows the Pee-wee format in that there are vignettes, colorful characters and, of course, puppets! But let’s be clear: It’s not a kid’s show. Creeper still is the host, and his humor is good-natured but definitely adult-themed. Like featuring the dating exploits of the puppets.

A partially animated, talking hot water heater named Rudy is a frequent character. But Pantufla, the soft-spoken slipper, often steals the show. Even he is looking for love on websites like IfTheShoeFits.com.  

While Rudy is louder and quicker to react, Pantufla is the tranquil sidekick, commenting from his perch atop Creeper’s couch.

“He's like this spiritual guide, like, a chill-a** dude,” Quiñones said. “[Pantufla is] how you say slipper in Spanish, but it's such a funny word to me. That came because I have a bunch of sets of pantuflas for Creeper, like the Deebo slippers. And they wear out and they start opening up. … And it just came to life.”

Creativity took hold, and a torn-open slipper became a talking character.

“It's funny because people love Pantufla,” Quiñones said. “I got messages from this middle-aged white lady in Wisconsin. She's like, 'Oh, honey, I love Pantufla and the sound of his voice.'”

Creeper’s Crib features a special guest every episode with new installments on YouTube every other Monday.

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Gov. Gavin Newsom accused the White House of blocking a magazine interview at the official U.S. venue at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, a day after Newsom criticized European leaders for not pushing back harder against President Donald Trump.

The incident marks another escalation in the governor’s long-running feud with Trump and his administration. Newsom and the president have not spoken since Trump deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles last summer. During a visit to Washington in the winter to renew his request for wildfire recovery aid, Newsom complained that the administration refused to grant a meeting.

Newsom was scheduled to be interviewed in Davos on Wednesday evening by Fortune magazine at the USA House, a privately funded venue outside the forum that serves as a base for U.S. executives and officials. Venue backers include Microsoft and McKinsey, according to the Financial Times.

The U.S. State Department is an official partner of the venue, and multiple Trump administration officials have spoken there during the conference, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who on Wednesday slammed Newsom and his scheduled appearance, calling the governor “economically illiterate” and saying “he’s not speaking” at the venue.

A spokesperson for the governor said USA House organizers told Newsom’s office Wednesday afternoon that they were canceling the interview and barring Newsom from speaking with the press there. Newsom was instead invited to attend a reception later that night without the press, according to his office. He is still scheduled to speak with the news outlet Semafor at the official economic forum Thursday morning.

On social media, Newsom accused the organizers of bowing to “pressure from the White House and State Department.”

“How weak and pathetic do you have to be to be this scared of a fireside chat?” he wrote.

Asked for comment, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly wrote in an email that “no one in Davos knows” who Newsom is, calling him a “third-rate governor” who was “frolicking around Switzerland instead of fixing the many problems he created in California.”

Fortune Media spokesperson Patrick Reilly confirmed the magazine’s staff invited Newsom to its event at the USA House and did not make the decision to cancel his appearance. Reilly said the magazine schedules its speaking events independently, but “logistical, security and other access considerations” often affect the lineup during prominent international events.

“USA House determined it would not be able to accommodate the governor’s participation and communicated that decision to Fortune,” Reilly wrote in an email.

The governor has been using his trip to Davos to pitch California as a counterweight to Trump’s climate and economic policies. Earlier this week, Newsom announced the state has surpassed 2.5 million purchases of zero-emission electric vehicles, a market he has often said Trump is ceding to China by backing away from clean energy.

On Tuesday, he pressed European leaders to stand up to Trump as the president increasingly speaks of attempting to annex Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory. On Wednesday, during Trump’s own speech at the forum, the president mentioned Newsom by name. Newsom can be seen on video laughing and sighing as the president touted his aggressive immigration raids in blue states.

“If I were a Democratic governor or whatever,” Trump said, “I would call up Trump, I’d say, ‘Come on in, make us look good.’”

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

San Clemente’s City Council has approved a proposal to give federal immigration officials broad oversight of the city’s coastline, despite overwhelming public opposition.

Under the agreement, Customs and Border Patrol will be able to install cameras on a hilltop to keep an eye on the city’s waters for incoming panga boats. If people from the panga boats head into the city, federal agents can surveil them in residential neighborhoods. City officials will not have access to the surveillance system or how it’s being used.

The agreement — approved on a 3-1 vote, with one council member abstaining — comes even as city officials have acknowledged there hasn’t been a rise in panga boat landings within city limits.

As next steps, the city manager will enter into a lease with Customs and Border Patrol giving them access to the land to install the camera.

Details of the agreement 

City leaders directed the city manager to enter into a lease agreement with Customs and Border Patrol for a five-year term, with three five-year renewal options. Federal immigration agents will also pay a one-time fee of $10 to the city and cover electricity costs.

Public opposition

San Clemente residents mostly spoke out against entering into the lease, with many citing privacy concerns.

“ The federal government is demanding a black box operation on our soil. They're asking for a platform to monitor our coastline with zero local oversight,” resident Robin Seymour said at the council meeting.

Another resident, Chelsea Sanchez, said she’s concerned as the daughter of immigrant parents.

“Given that racial profiling is a common tactic of these agencies, how can you guarantee that someone who looks like me won't be swept up in something like this?” she said.

Mark Enmeier, the sole voice of dissent on the dais, also raised concerns with the agreement’s lack of oversight in how the surveillance data will be used.

In the city report, officials said CBP “has stated the system would be configured to avoid scanning residential areas that fall into the scan viewshed.” However, city officials said Tuesday night that the agency “can't commit contractually to not surveilling anything inside the city limits of San Clemente or inside the residential area.”

Other cities with agreements with federal immigration 

The city of Glendale ended a 20-year contract with Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement that allowed the agency to use its jails after coming under pressure when immigration enforcement ramped up in Southern California last summer.

Customs and Border Patrol also has an agreement with San Diego County that gives agents access to personal data in a San Diego Association of Governments database.

Verizon’s $20 billion acquisition of Frontier Communications is a done deal after the agreement closed Tuesday, kicking in a slew of digital equity requirements and infrastructure investments for California.

The California Public Utilities Commission’s recent approval included a slew of digital equity requirements, such as expanding affordable internet and new fiber optic projects.

The merger comes as the federal government pulled back $2.75 billion in funding by slashing the Digital Equity Act.

CPUC Commissioner John Reynolds said requirements from the deal will benefit Californians and align with the state’s mission to expand affordable connectivity.

“California isn’t just approving a merger, we’re securing real commitments that will connect communities, lower costs for families who need it most, and strengthen workforce and supplier diversity protections,” Reynolds said in a statement.

Verizon CEO Dan Schulman, in a statement, celebrated the approval.

“Our greatly expanded footprint will enable us to provide more value to more households and businesses in more regions, driving our growth and benefitting our customers and our shareholders,” Schulman said.

What is required of Verizon in this deal? 

The closed merger means Verizon must expand affordable voice and broadband plans. That includes providing free broadband service to qualifying low-income families for at least 10 years. And for at least the next five years, Verizon can’t raise rates on its affordable plans.

The state also reported that Verizon must invest in 75,000 new fiber locations and build 25 new wireless towers that will reach rural areas.

The decision also adopts multiple settlement agreements that include additional commitments related to affordability, service quality, labor protections, infrastructure deployment and $500 million in spending with small businesses.

Verizon must fulfill its commitments or face fines and other penalties from the California Public Utilities Commission, according to the agreement.

Are there concerns? 

Some concerns remain about what these mergers could mean for customers, according to Lindsey Skolnik, manager at the California Alliance for Digital Equity.

“Recognizing that declining competition in the marketplace ultimately leads to increased concentration of power over broadband pricing and service offerings, this potential outcome is deeply worrisome, especially in the midst of California's affordability crisis,” Skolnik said in a statement.

Much of California’s broadband prices are driven by the Big 5 providers that include Comcast, Charter, AT&T, Cox and Verizon-Frontier. They service around 97% of the state’s 10.7 million broadband subscribers, Skolnick said.

In the coming years, the Big 5 could shrink to the Big 4 if the merger between Charter Communications and Cox Communications closes. Charter announced in May 2025 that it had offered to acquire Cox for around $34.5 billion, consolidating two of the largest cable companies in the country.

No details yet on when the agreement may close.