Free Republic

Newly released body camera footage captures the violent moment a Pasadena police officer was shot during a raging gun battle with an armed suspect accused of terrorizing the area after a shooting and alleged sexual assault near a Metro station. The chaos unfolded around 7:30 p.m. on March 2, after police were called to the Sierra Madre Villa Metro station, where the gunman shot a victim in the shoulder before taking off on foot. Moments later, Officer Bryan Vasquez spotted the suspect several blocks away and gave chase through the neighborhood. The newly released footage shows the encounter spiraling into...

New Vegas betting odds heavily favor former Biden Cabinet official Xavier Becerra in California’s crowded governor’s race — and it’s not even close. Prediction market Polymarket currently gives Becerra a commanding 52% chance of winning the 2026 gubernatorial contest, far outpacing his nearest rival, billionaire Democrat Tom Steyer, who trails at around 32%. The sharp divide underscores just how dramatically Becerra has surged from early uncertainty to become the race’s dominant frontrunner.

A deceptive PAC is playing dirty tricks to promote “MAGA” Republican Steve Hilton for California governor. The people behind this PAC are either Democrats or the Hilton campaign. Let me explain. California has a “top two” electoral system. Every candidate, from every party, runs in a “free for all” June primary; the “top two” face off in the November general election. About 45% of California voters are registered as Democratic vs. 25% Republican, 23% Independent, and 7% some third party. This means the “top two” candidates in November are often both Democrats. But this year so many Democrats are running...

Undeterred by the shocking, last-minute cancellation of the city’s annual Pride Festival, Long Beach’s Pride Parade roared forward Sunday.

A transgender athlete in California so dominated the state finals that it brought protest and outrage from fans and parents in attendance. It also brought a very unusual move from event officials. AB Hernandez, 17, a senior at Juniper Valley High School, took first place in the girls’ long jump, high jump, and triple jump during this weekend’s California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section finals. The ill feelings toward Hernandez were obvious, not just from protesters and parents but also from female competitors who seemed to avoid the trans athlete after the win. Having evidently anticipated the backlash and, potentially, the...

Voters passed the last November as a Democratic countermeasure to Republican-led redistricting efforts in Texas, Florida and other states. California’s controversial Proposition 50 – passed by voters last November as a Democratic countermeasure to Republican-led redistricting efforts in Texas, Florida and other states – is now on a collision course with the Supreme Court. The measure empowered California’s Democratic-controlled legislature to sideline the state’s independent Citizens Redistricting Commission and redraw congressional districts mid-decade. That commission, created by voters in 2008, was intended to curb partisan manipulation by placing map making in the hands of an independent 14-member panel focused on...

One of the largest Pride festivals in the country has been canceled hours before it was set to begin and organizers are slamming the city for the decision, saying it sends the “wrong message” at a critical time for the LGBTQ community. The 42nd annual Long Beach Pride Festival was set to kick off on Friday night, with several day-long events planned on Saturday through Sunday with DJ’s, music, and live performances, drag show, and a ball, per the website. Typically the 3-day-long festival draws up to 80,000 attendees. In a statement on Friday from the city, officials said that...

Tommi Jo Mejer, 50, a mother facing felony charges after her son allegedly fatally injured an 81-year-old Vietnam veteran while illegally riding an e-motorcycle in Lake Forest made her first appearance in criminal court on Tuesday, May 12. ... “Tommi Mejer is anguished over the terrible accident,” the defense attorneys said in the statement. “She sends her deepest condolences and sorrow over this tragedy. This has been tragic for everyone.” ... Prosecutors allege that Mejer’s son crashed into Ashman while riding in the roadway at Toledo Way and Ridge Route Drive on April 16. Ashman was walking home from El...

More Iranian militia types are in the news, sad to say. Even worse, they're not doing their thing on their home turf - they're in the export business. Breaking News: An Iran-backed militia commander was arrested and charged with plotting to attack Jewish sites in the U.S., including one in New York. Prosecutors say he is a leader of Kataib Hezbollah, an Iraqi militia with ties to Iran. https://t.co/5FyiNgseXk— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 15, 2026Iran-backed Iraqi terrorists Kata’ib Hezbollah are reportedly seeking negotiations with the Iraqi government for the release of kidnapped American journalist Shelly Kittleson.The group is...

On Tuesday, I stood before the Fresno County Board of Supervisors and spoke my truth as a trans woman, a taxpayer, a daughter, a sister, a wife and a member of this community. I watched as three supervisors voted to erase the celebration and visibility of people like me. In a 3-2 decision, Supervisors Garry Bredefeld, Nathan Magsig and Buddy Mendes voted to bar the Fresno County Public Library from participating in the Fresno Rainbow Pride Parade and Festival, as well as from celebrating Pride Month entirely.

A large Coca-Cola bottling plant in Southern California will shut down permanently this summer, ending a longstanding relationship between the company and the city. Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling made the announcement in a May 8 WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) notice – a legally required 60-day "heads-up" that employers must give to workers before a major layoff or office closure. "We regularly assess our locations, products, and services to ensure we can continue driving sustainable growth and innovation across our business," a spokesperson for Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling wrote to SFGATE. "As such, we have announced the closure of our Ventura...

A convicted child sex offender is now a fugitive after a California judge allowed him to remain free on $1 million bail following his conviction, a decision that prosecutors are now sharply criticizing after the man disappeared before sentencing.Carl Cacconie was convicted on July 17 at the South Lake Tahoe Courthouse of six felony sex crimes involving an 11-year-old girl. Despite the verdict, Judge Michael McLaughlin, a registered Democrat, permitted him to leave court pending sentencing, which was set for Aug. 25. He never returned. SNIP “To expect that a person on $1 million bond, who has now been convicted,...

In [2021-2023], thousands of children crossed the border alone and ended up working in some of the most dangerous jobs in the country. Migrant children as young as 13 suffered chemical burns on overnight factory shifts, had their limbs mangled by conveyor belts or fell to their deaths from roofs......[HHS Secretary] Xavier Becerra [who was in charge of finding homes for the kids] began urging staff members to move them more quickly through shelters... Employees told me they loosened protections that had been in place for years, including in screening sponsors... Most of [the kids Becerra placed with sponsors] were...

Los Angeles mayoral hopeful Nithya Raman wanted to ban backyard barbecues for residents during certain high fire danger days across the city. Raman introduced a motion Wednesday directing city officials to examine emergency restrictions on grilling during Red Flag Warning days, when high winds and dry conditions significantly increase wildfire danger across Los Angeles. The proposal specifically asks officials to consider possible limits on backyard barbecues, fire pits and other open flames in residential neighborhoods during those high-risk weather events.

SNIP The governor revealed the secret contingency plan to prevent two Republicans from advancing in the governor election — as polls show Trump-endorsed Steve Hilton near the top of the field in the packed race. Newsom alluded to “action efforts” behind the scenes to make sure Democrats aren’t locked out of the governor’s race, saying he “making my case” to “encourage that doesn’t happen.” Recent surveys show Democratic frontrunner Xavier Becerra and Hilton as favorites among registered voters, with billionaire Tom Steyer, Republican Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco and Democrat Katie Porter trailing a few points behind.

Jewish groups in the Bay Area of California are protesting a judge’s removal of a local Jewish district attorney from a case involving pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel protesters accused of vandalizing the office of Stanford University’s president. The district attorney, Jeff Rosen, was disqualified from retrying a felony case against five protesters after the judge ruled that Rosen had crossed a legal line when suggesting in a campaign message that the protest was antisemitic. “Rosen is allowed to take a strong stance against crime in the community, against antisemitism. But caution and care need to be taken when utilizing active litigation in...

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s former top aide Dana Williamson pled guilty to federal fraud and tax charges after reaching a deal with prosecutors. Williamson, who was Newsom’s chief of staff from 2022 and 2024 and a top Sacramento power broker, appeared at Robert T. Matsui U.S. Courthouse in Sacramento Thursday to enter her guilty plea to counts of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, subscribing to a false tax return and making false statements. “Dana Williamson and her co-conspirators weaponized public trust for personal gain,” said FBI Sacramento Special Agent in Charge Sid Patel in a statement. “They stole from...

The Alameda County board of supervisors will pay $36 million to surviving family members of a murdered couple in Dublin, the county counsel announced Tuesday night, after a suit alleged the deaths were preventable because the former sheriff's deputy who killed them failed a psychological test but was hired anyway.

Like Fang Fang, the Chinese spy who had former Rep. Eric Swalwell under her thumb, Arcadia's Democrat mayor, Eileen Wang was quite the social butterfly. She got around. She was an active member of the Arcadia Rotary Club, the Arcadia Chamber of Commerce, the Arcadia Lions Club, the Arcadia Association of Realtors and the Arcadia High School Chinese Parents Booster Club in addition to organizing the “U.S. Heroes Music and Art Festival” which sounds like a pretty busy calendar.AdvertisementAnd with all this socializing, she won a seat on the Arcadia city council in 2022, which in its rotating system, allowed...

Lake Tahoe doesn’t know where its power will come from after next ski season—and it’s a major problem for the 49,000 residents who call the region home. The Sierra Nevada tourist hub—home to ski resorts, lakeside casinos, and roughly 25 to 28 million annual visitors—is facing an energy crisis with a familiar culprit: the data centers powering the AI boom. NV Energy, the Nevada utility that has supplied the bulk of Lake Tahoe’s electricity for decades, told Liberty Utilities—the small California company that services the region—that it will stop providing power after May 2027. The reason? NV Energy needs the...