Free Republic

The rape conviction of movie producer Harvey Weinstein has been overturned by New York's highest court.The New York Court of Appeals, in a scathing 4-3 opinion, overturned Weinstein's conviction on sex crimes against three women, finding the trial judge "erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes."The court said that testimony "served no material non-propensity purpose" and "portrayed defendant in a highly prejudicial light."Weinstein spokesperson Juda Engelmayer told ABC News, "We are happily surprised and we are studying the ruling."The Weinstein team, which was eagerly awaiting a ruling, was...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) admitted Thursday that the state still faces the risk of blackouts in heat waves despite investing in battery capacity to store electricity for use in times of peak demand. The Los Angeles Times reported: Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday that California continued to rapidly add the battery storage that is crucial to the transition to cleaner energy, but admitted it was still not enough to avoid blackouts during heat waves. … Asked by reporters if California now had enough battery storage so that residents no longer had to worry about blackouts during times of high...

Hello to the city, goodbye to your luggage. That was Senatorial candidate Adam Schiff’s rude introduction to San Francisco’s vexing reputation for car burglaries Thursday when thieves swiped the bags from his car while it sat in a downtown parking garage. The heist meant the Democratic congressman got stuck at a fancy dinner party in his shirt sleeves and a hiking vest while everyone else sat in suits. Not quite the look the man from Burbank was aiming for as he rose to thank powerhouse attorney Joe Cotchett for his support in his bid to replace the late Dianne Feinstein...

The University of Southern California will be canceling their main commencement ceremony amid pro-Hamas shenanigans by leftist students that’s turned many a campus across America into riot zones. Students are protesting the war in Gaza, though many times it’s devolved into calls for murdering Jewish people and the destruction of Israel. At Yale, one Jewish student was stabbed in the eye. USC’s administration apparently found that this year’s ceremony, which typically attracts tens of thousands, was just too big a risk with the mayhem on campus. They also tried to placate both sides, which failed miserably (via LA Times): 🚨#BREAKING:...

The University of Southern California (USC) has canceled its main graduation ceremony due to apparent security concerns after anti-Israel protesters tried to encamp and were removed by Los Angeles Police Department this week. As Breitbart News reported, anti-Israel protesters had tried to occupy the campus, as demonstrators have done at other universities in an apparently well-coordinated and well-funded campaign. In addition, USC canceled the speech of its valedictorian after she was found to have supported the annihilation of the State of Israel in online posts.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) daughter criticized Democrat judges for giving out harsh sentences to January 6 defendants. Alexandra Pelosi was caught slamming the “liberal” judges who are “out for blood” as they hand out lengthy prison sentences while other J6 protestors get hit with just a fine or probation. “I think I learned in kindergarten that justice is supposed to be fair. A judge is supposed to be the same, and they’re not supposed to be political,” Alexandra said. “And now it’s like one judge you get really makes a difference because some judges are giving probation and...

In the most blatant move of hatred of the United States Constitution to date, U.S. Representatives Adam Schiff (D-Calif.)Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Jamie Raskin (MD-08), Melanie Stansbury (NM-01), and Senator Richard Blumenthal (CT) have filed legislation which will create an Office of the Inspector General to ensure accountability of justices in the Supreme Court of the United States.The U.S. Constitution establishes three separate but equal branches of government: the legislative branch (makes the law), the executive branch (enforces the law), and the judicial branch (interprets the law). This bold move by house Democrats basically erases the separation of powers in United...

San Bernardino County deputies arrested multiple people for trying to steal from a freight train at the Cajon Pass in what resembled a scene from an old western movie. *snip* A San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department spokesperson said the unnamed suspects forcibly stopped the trains just before 5 p.m. to steal merchandise.

S&P Global Ratings announced yesterday that it was changing its outlook on San Francisco's debt from stable to negative.The outlook on the city-county’s outstanding general obligation and appropriation debt was cut to negative from stable this week by the ratings company. The weakness in the city’s commercial real estate market and tourism activity were factors that drove the move, S&P said. Adding to the city’s burdens, San Francisco’s budget expenditures outpaced revenue growth in fiscal 2023.To be clear, the ratings agency hasn't downgraded the city's credit rating, which is still at "AAA," the highest possible. A downgrade in the credit...

A man from Ojai has pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter for the 2019 slaying of his friend and roommate. Authorities say 28-year-old Cameron Scott Lykins killed Houston Auer on May 12, 2019, at Auer’s grandmother’s home on the 1100 block of Meyer Road in Ojai. Lykins and Auer got into an altercation in a bedroom of the home, which led to Lykins using a sledgehammer to bludgeon Auer to death. Following the killing, Lykins dragged Auer’s body out of a window and dumped the victim’s remains in the Angeles National Forest. Lykins then went to his mother’s home in Lone...

New legislation being proposed in California would ban the expedited security screening company Clear from operating in the state’s airports, as proponents say the service raises equity issues given it effectively lets wealthier people skip ahead of passengers waiting in line to be screened by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents. The bill, SB-1372, the first of its kind in the U.S., would require third-party vendors like Clear to get their own dedicated security lane or lose the ability to operate in California airports. Clear charges members $189 per year to verify passengers' identities at airports, allowing them to bypass TSA...

A college in California became the site of chaos Monday evening when a group of students took over a university building as pro-Palestine protests continue to sweep across the nation's campuses. Protesters set up a shanty town within the California Polytechnic University's Siemens Hall equipped with beds and tents, reports KIEM-TV. The school is located in Arcata in rural northern California, close to the border with Oregon. As the protests gain attention worldwide, billionaire investor Bill Ackman, an outspoken supporter of Israel, tweeted took aim at college leadership.

Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi claimed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is an “obstacle” in a two-state solution between Israel and Gaza and said he should resign. In an interview with RTÉ’s Six One News during a visit to Ireland, Pelosi spoke about the aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel and Netanyahu’s deadly counteroffensive that has left more than 34,000 Palestinians dead, according to local health officials. “We recognize Israel’s right to protect itself. We reject the policy and the practice of Netanyahu,” she said. “Terrible. What could be worse than what he has done in response?” “He should...

The Biden administration could allow California to implement a rule designed to push green locomotives, but a growing list of stakeholders are warning that the regulation would severely impact the state’s economy and the national rail industry. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could soon determine whether it will allow the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to move forward with a state regulation that would ban the use of locomotives that are more than 23 years past their manufacturing date unless they run using zero-emissions technology, according to Progressive Railroading. The rule could disrupt supply chains and saddle the state’s railway...

n a couple of weeks, California's Public Utilities Commission will vote on whether or not to adopt a new fixed charge for electricity, one that will likely be based on income.When I first wrote about this proposal a year ago, the utilities were suggesting that fee could be as high as $85 a month for some households. That's not including whatever the utilities charge for actual usage of electricity. The new fixed fee as proposed was essentially an income tax being paid via your electric bill. Since then, the proposal has been scaled back quite a bit but some version...

Apparently there is an emergency that not enough babies are being killed in California. Never mind that California allows abortions up to birth and funds abortions at taxpayer expense. Now, Governor Gavin Newsom is proposing “emergency” legislation to allow Arizona abortionists to come to California to kill more babies in abortions. The move comes after the Arizona Supreme Court upheld an abortion ban that protects babies from abortions but allows an abortion if needed to save a woman’s life in an emergency. Hence, there is no emergency – because all emergency care is allowed in Arizona for pregnant women, including...

Watchdogs have slammed California local government for spending billions in overtime pay – with police officers, firefighters, linemen and utility workers earning up to $792,000 in a single year. Short staffing, poor planning, generous union deals and expensive hiring costs all contribute to civil servants relying heavily on overtime, experts told DailyMail.com. It has given frontline workers a golden opportunity to earn several million dollars since 2019. But tax watchdogs say it is a raw deal for the taxpayer. Senior Los Angeles fire captain Jason Getchius had a salary of $169,764 in 2022, the latest figures provided by the city....

Recent headlines about UCLA School of Medicine suggest that the institution has lost its focus. Instead of brushing up on organic chemistry, its students were subjected to lessons on “Indigenous womxn” and “two-spirits.” Future doctors had to take a class on “structural racism” and were led in a “Free Palestine” chant by a Hamas-praising guest speaker. The school made plans to segregate students by race for courses on left-wing ideology, and two of its psychiatry residents championed “revolutionary suicide.” Why has the school charted this course? One reason is its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion ideology. UCLA has a...

After months of delays, the battle between landlords and tenants in one Bay Area city has come to an end. A rent control ordinance in the city of Concord went into effect Friday after its opponents failed to get enough signatures to place the issue on the November ballot. “We are thrilled that the people of Concord have spoken again in favor of people over corporate greed,” Rhea Elina Laughlin, executive director of advocacy group Rising Juntos, said in a statement. The ordinance reduces the annual percentage by which landlords can raise rent in Concord and bolsters certain eviction protections....

Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom released an ad on Sunday showing Alabama police forcing young women to undergo pregnancy tests. “Alabama’s abortion ban has no exceptions for rape or incest. Now, Republicans are trying to criminalize young women’s travel to receive abortion care. We cannot let them get away with this,” Newsom said on X as he shared the video. The video features two young, 20-something women driving an SUV toward the Alabama state line. We’re almost there. We’re gonna make it,” one woman says to the driver after looking back to see if they are being followed. Just then,...