Free Republic

NEW YORK — In choosing Zohran Mamdani as their candidate for mayor, Democrats in America’s most Jewish city have nominated an outspoken critic of Israel, alarming some in New York’s Jewish community and signaling a sea change in the priorities of one of the party’s most loyal voting groups. The 33-year-old democratic socialist’s surprisingly strong performance against former Gov. Andrew Cuomo makes clear that taking a stance against Israel is no longer disqualifying in a Democratic primary. The state Assembly member has declined to support the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state, refused to denounce the term...

A home in Los Angeles was an Iranian human smuggling hub, according to Customs and Border Patrol after two individuals were arrested Friday afternoon in a Los Angeles County neighborhood. The home had previously been the site of the arrest of seven Iranian nationals earlier this week, some of whom were reportedly flagged on the FBI’s Terrorist Watchlist. Federal agents with US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) were seen executing a warrant at a residence in North Hills around 3 pm on Friday, marking the second law enforcement action at the property this week. CBP said that the arrests were...

The Green Party of California announced this week its endorsement of Dr. Butch Ware, a history professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, in his bid for state governor next year. Ware previously ran as the Green Party’s 2024 vice presidential nominee. Earlier this month, party delegates from across California convened online for the organization’s bi-annual General Assembly, where they voted to endorse Ware’s candidacy. The endorsement came at the recommendation of the party’s Candidates Committee, which described the campaign in its proposal as “unprecedented” and praised its early fundraising and social media efforts. In a statement shared Wednesday,...

California’s fight to rein in President Trump’s deployment of troops to Los Angeles hinges on a 19th century law with a a blood-soaked origin and a name that seems pulled from a Spaghetti Western. In a pivotal ruling this week, Senior U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer ordered the federal government to hand over evidence to state authorities seeking to prove that the actions of troops in Southern California violate the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, which forbids soldiers from enforcing civilian laws. “How President Trump has used and is using the federalized National Guard and the Marines since deploying...

The homeless man accused of a shooting spree in Santa Monica has been charged with three counts of attempted murder amid a wave of violence from transients that has Los Angeles residents on edge. David John Hairston II, 31, allegedly ambushed and shot a police officer at a pedestrian mall in the seaside enclave on Wednesday, just days after allegedly shooting two teens who were riding a self-driving taxi, according to prosecutors. Hairston was arrested after a citywide manhunt; he faces various weapons charges on top of the attempted murders, with a maximum sentence of 104 years to life in...

A pregnant woman is making a heartfelt plea to bring her husband home before the birth of their baby. Gennadiy Glushchuk, a Christian pastor in Los Angeles, was detained two weeks ago by ICE agents in downtown during a routine immigration check-in. Gennadiy was born in the former Soviet Union and is not a US Citizen. He moved to the US in 1995 at the age of 10 and grew up in the Hollywood area with his mom. Gennadiy is a local pastor, husband, and father of two, with a third on the way. But he has a past… he...

SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco Pride kicks off this weekend and there are several events happening across San Francisco open to all.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris’ prospective gubernatorial bid is not striking up much excitement among Democratic fundraisers in California, Politico reported Friday. The outlet spoke to multiple Democratic Party donors in California to see how they felt about Harris possibly running for governor. So far, her interest in exploring a gubernatorial run in the state following her 2024 presidential election loss hasn’t enthused many. “She still would probably lead, but honestly, no one is incredibly pumped,” one Southern California fundraiser told Politico. Harris, who lost November’s election to President Donald Trump, is seriously considering a 2026 bid to succeed term-limited...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has accused Fox News of defamation in a $787 million lawsuit, he announced Thursday. The lawsuit centers on claims made by Fox News host Jesse Watters, who said Newsom lied about his phone calls with President Donald Trump during Los Angeles immigration protests earlier this month, Politico first reported. The lawsuit accuses Watters’ program of selectively editing a video of Trump to support a false narrative that Newsom lied about the date of their phone call regarding the deployment of troops to LA. “If Fox News wants to lie to the American people on Donald Trump’s...

California lawmakers passed a bill Wednesday allowing the authorities to take control of cryptocurrency from exchanges after three years of inactivity under the Unclaimed Property Law. What happened: The bill, which proposes to regulate digital asset financial activities, states that "intangible property" held in a cryptocurrency account will become state property if the holder fails to complete an “act of ownership interest” within three years. These acts include making a transaction, i.e., buying, selling, depositing or withdrawing, and accessing the account electronically, among others. The draft legislation passed the Assembly and will now proceed to the California Senate. The development...

Ammaad Akhtar, 33, is accused of trying to give money, guns and ammunition to someone he thought was part of the terror group, and of making antisemitic threats. Menachem Wecker, Izzy Salant ... The LinkedIn profile of Ammaad Akhtar identifies him as a resident of Stockton, Calif., and a “mechanical engineering graduate” who is “outgoing and friendly,” a “great team player” and a “great leader.” A very different picture emerges about Akhtar, who remains listed as a hazardous substances engineer at the California Environmental Protection Agency, in the criminal complaint accusing him of trying to give money, guns and ammunition...

The Democrats have stopped bothering to conduct politics; they prefer to engage in max-cringe performance art, and it’s unclear who their audience is. Maybe it’s each other, since this festival of onanism is designed for them to shamefully pleasure themselves while accomplishing nothing. It sure can’t be for the benefit of normal people. For one thing, normal people aren’t on X looking at senators’ social media feeds. For another thing, normal people have better things to do than listen to the tantrums of tedious government functionaries shilling for the dismal side of those proverbial 80/20 issues. It’s hard to get...

A federal district court issued a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration’s attempt to block further disbursement of $5 billion set aside by Congress in 2021 for taxpayer-funded electric vehicle charging stations. The majority of the plaintiffs — 16 states plus the District of Columbia — had still not completed a single charger funded by the program over the past four years. The order excluded National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure charger funding for Minnesota, Vermont and the District of Columbia from the order, finding they had not submitted required documentation. The ruling says that because the funding is allocated according to...

WASHINGTON — An undocumented man from Guatemala who has leukemia postponed chemotherapy because he was afraid to go to the hospital. A Mexican grandmother packed most of her belongings into boxes, in case she is deported. A Pentecostal church in East Los Angeles has lost nearly half of its in-person membership. Across California and the U.S., immigrants are responding to the Trump administration’s unrelenting enforcement raids by going into lockdown. Activities that were once a regular or even mundane part of life — taking kids to school, buying groceries, driving — have become daunting as immigrants who lack legal authorization...

Once again federal courts have blasted holes in attempts to restrict the Second Amendment “right to keep and bear arms.” On June 20, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in its own summary, “held that California’s ‘one-gun-a-month’ law… facially violates the Second Amendment.” That’s “because the plain text … protects against meaningful constraints on the acquisition of firearms through purchase.” “This is a huge victory,” Sam Paredes told us; he’s the executive director of Gun Owners of California, which filed an amicus brief for the plaintiff in the case, Nguyen v. Bonta; Rob...

Without warning — even to local police — masked federal agents have been captured on video descending on Southern California businesses, getting out of unmarked or lightly marked vehicles and, swiftly, detaining who they suspect are immigrants without legal status. The videos show officers, also wearing T-shirts, jeans and hats with the only indication at times of their law enforcement status an olive green vest with “Police” or “Border Patrol” written in small yellow letters on the back. In Torrance on Sunday, June 22, more than a dozen agents, mostly in plainclothes, arrived at the Bubble Bath Car Wash on...

The U.S. Department of Justice has sued Orange County Registrar of Voters Bob Page for allegedly not providing records related to non-citizens’ removal from voter registration lists. The Justice Department alleged that Page refused to provide full, unredacted records related to the removal of non-citizens from the county’s voter registration lists and did not maintain an accurate voter list in violation of the Help America Vote Act, a 2002 law that made sweeping reforms to the country’s voting process. It said the records Page provided redacted certain personal information, including social security and state ID numbers. The lawsuit alleged that...

Los Angeles and California never cease to amaze. I can say that with absolute certainty.Just when you think things are simmering down, those folks out there come up some off-the-wall freakin' crap that just so mind glowingly unreal, you have to check twice to make sure you read it right.And then it's still unbelievable.That daffy, worthless, Communista LA mayor is still doing her posing and not much else regarding the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity that hasn't paused while LA's coddled illegals go through the motions, acting out during their tantrums in the streets.STOP THIS LAW STUFF RIGHT NOW“Mayors...

An accused co-conspirator in last month’s terror attack at a Palm Springs, California, fertility clinic has died in federal custody, authorities confirmed. Daniel Park, 32, had been facing conspiracy charges for allegedly shipping explosive materials to Guy Edward Bartkus, who detonated a car bomb at the American Reproductive Centers clinic in the SoCal desert oasis. “Daniel Park was found unresponsive at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Los Angeles, California. Responding employees initiated life-saving measures. … Mr. Park was transported by EMS to a local hospital and subsequently pronounced deceased,” the Federal Bureau of Prisons said in a statement. The...

A hospitality union submitted two new citywide initiative proposals aimed at addressing "excessive CEO-to-worker pay ratios."