Free Republic

KitKat, a nine-year-old feline, was well-known across San Francisco as the pet who 'patrolled' the Randa's Market corner store on 16th Street. The driverless vehicle had apparently stopped near the corner store before running the tabby cat over. Sheau-Wha Mou, a bartender at nearby Delirium, said: 'If it wasn't a Waymo - if it was a person driving a car - they could have stopped and helped.' San Francisco resident Jeff Klein was driving behind the Waymo, which he claimed was driving out of control. He told the Standard by email: 'Some folks on the sidewalk started yelling and grabbed...

California Governor Gavin Newsom is giving Planned Parenthood another $140 million in taxpayer money, to show support for the abortion corporation and keep its doors open. But even this amount of money may not guarantee that. Key Takeaways: * Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he will funnel another $140 million in taxpayer funding to Planned Parenthood. * The promise of further financial support is in response to the Congressional defunding of abortion providers that qualify as "prohibited entities" of federal Medicaid dollars for one year. * Planned Parenthood is asking supporters for more donations as it announces more facility closures; however,...

Democratic politicians throughout California — those already in office and those who want in — assume that voters will rearrange the state’s 52 congressional districts next month and create new career opportunities. The assumption is well grounded. A recent CBS News poll found 62% of the state’s likely voters, driven by disdain for President Donald Trump, will enact Proposition 50, a plan to shift five more congressional seats to Democrats even though they already have 43. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s gerrymander would offset pro-Republican redistricting schemes in Texas and other states that Trump seeks to retain, or perhaps expand, the GOP’s...

KRON) — A suspected killer remains at-large after he was mistakenly released from jail in California, the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office said. The man’s whereabouts are unknown.Deputies mistakenly released inmate Isaiah Jamon Andrews, 20, of Kent, Washington, from Martinez Detention Facility on Oct. 22. “After Sheriff’s Office staff realized Andrews had been released, we launched a search of the immediate area and confirmed that Andrews was no longer in the area,” the sheriff’s office wrote.

A so-called 'male Karen' who went on a rampage in a California hair salon - hurling shampoo bottles and screaming profanities - has pleaded guilty to assault and could spend the next six years behind bars. August Marriott, 28, was captured on cell phone footage raging inside of Great Clips salon in Santee earlier this year before he was arrested for numerous charges, including assault. Marriott will be sentenced on November 18 after he pleaded guilty to assault and admitted to a prior strike conviction as part of his plea, according to the San Diego district attorney's office. Marriott had...

“The U.S. has no obligation to host foreigners, like Sami Hamdi, who support terrorism and actively undermine the safety of Americans,” the U.S. Department of Homeland Security wrote. Jessica Russak-Hoffman. (Oct. 28, 2025 / JNS) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained British commentator Sami Hamdi at San Francisco International Airport on Sunday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security stated. Hamdi, who also serves as managing director of International Interest, a London-based political advisory group, was attempting to fly to Tampa to speak at the annual gala of the Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

When I found Darshan Smaaladen earlier this month, she had joined several hundred of her neighbors at a “No Kings” demonstration in Orange County, California. Not that she was there to protest. “Rallies are great,” Smaaladen told me, “but they don’t get people out to vote.”A year ago, Smaaladen had helped lead a successful campaign to recall two ultraconservative members of Orange County’s school board. Now the 52-year-old mother of three was using the “No Kings” protest as a campaigning ground for Proposition 50, the ballot measure orchestrated by Governor Gavin Newsom that would redraw California’s district map to add...

For years, Gov. Gavin Newsom has staunchly opposed increasing taxes on wealthy Californians even when the issue repeatedly reared its head during recent tough budget years. But faced with deep federal cuts to social services programs, labor and health care groups are asking voters to circumvent the governor – to tax a very small number of people. Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West and St. John’s Community Health in Los Angeles want voters statewide to approve a “billionaires tax” to help prop up the state’s health care and education systems. The proposed ballot initiative would levy a one-time, 5%...

A tech tycoon who was abducted, stabbed and shot dead in central California had bullied and humiliated his employees ahead of his grisly murder, a court heard. Tushar Atre, 50, was dragged out of bed at his Santa Cruz beach house around 3am on October 1, 2019, by a group of men who broke into his plush $5.4 million residence. The men - two of whom were his employees - stabbed and kidnapped the millionaire, before shooting him and leaving him for dead 14 miles away in a rural mountain area, investigators alleged. They also stole thousands of dollars in...

There's stupid, and then there's Democrat stupid. Now I don't mean stupid as in low IQ—although there are plenty of low IQ Democrats, the same applies to people from all walks of life. Instead, I mean "stupid" in the sense that one has priorities that don't align with any sane goals, but rather are driven by emotions and desires that bear no relationship to achieving them. There are lots of high-IQ stupid people in this sense. Democrats own a particular brand of stupid these days: emotional incontinence, which is expressed most commonly as Trump Derangement Syndrome. If Donald Trump is...

A Culver City ice cream vendor who was detained by federal immigration agents earlier this year has returned home and resumed work after being granted permanent residency in the United States. Enrique Lozano, who has lived in Los Angeles for nearly 20 years, was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in June while selling ice cream along Culver Boulevard. His arrest, which left his cart abandoned in the street, prompted concern among residents who had known him for years. “It was a long, stressful time for sure,” said his niece, Kimberly Noriega, who helped organize efforts to...

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed that a British journalist, who is suspected of being a member of the Islamic extremist group the Muslim Brotherhood, is in ICE custody and faces deportation from the United States. In a post on X, DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin thanked Secretary of State Marco Rubio, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, and “the men and women of law enforcement” for their work. McLaughlin added that the visa of Sami Hamdi has been revoked. “Thanks to the work of @Sec_Noem and @SecRubio and the men and women of law enforcement, this individual’s visa was revoked and...

Demonstrations unfolded across the Bay Area on Thursday as activists mobilized against President Donald Trump’s threats of a federal immigration “surge.” Although Trump called off the surge in San Francisco after talking to local tech and political leaders, the rest of the Bay Area was left on edge, and many took to the streets to peacefully voice their dissent. At 5 p.m., about 300 people marched from Oakland’s Fruitvale district toward the intersection of Dennison Street and Embarcadero at Coast Guard Island, where federal agents from Customs and Border Protection were reportedly stationed for an “operation.” At the intersection, protesters...

Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has become one of President Trump's most high-profile adversaries, told "CBS News Sunday Morning" in an exclusive interview that he will consider whether to run for president after the 2026 midterm elections. In an interview taped Thursday in San Jose, Newsom was asked whether he would give "serious thought" to a White House bid once next year's midterm elections are over. "Yeah, I'd be lying otherwise," Newsom replied. "I'd just be lying. And I'm not — I can't do that." Newsom, whose term ends in January 2027 and is prevented from running again due...

New polling, conducted after videos of former Rep. Katie Porter‘s interactions with a journalist and a staffer went viral, shows the former congresswoman and Republican Steve Hilton at the front of the pack of contenders in the 2026 race for California governor. But it also shows many likely voters are still undecided. Hilton, a former Fox News host who got his start in politics in the United Kingdom, led the new Emerson College poll with 16%. Porter, who served three terms in Congress representing an Orange County district before mounting an unsuccessful bid for U.S. Senate last year, was nearly...

Hard as it is to believe, could change really be in the works for California?It may be, according to this Emerson poll, as reported by Newsweek:Republican candidate Steve Hilton is very narrowly ahead in the latest poll from Emerson College on California's gubernatorial race, pulling into the lead over former U.S. Representative Katie Porter, the Democratic front-runner.According to the details:The latest Emerson poll, conducted on October 20 and October 21, shows Hilton with a slim lead in the crowded field to replace outgoing Governor Gavin Newsom in California next year. The Republican has the support of 16 percent of California's...

Vice President JD Vance has maintained a narrow lead over Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom in the latest hypothetical poll for the 2028 presidential race, according to a survey from Emerson College. The poll shows Vance with 46% support, while Newsom trails closely with 45%, leaving 10% of participants undecided. While neither figure has formally announced a presidential bid, both are widely considered the likely frontrunners for their respective parties in the next election. A Tightening Contest The results are the latest in a series of head-to-head match-ups conducted by Emerson College, which indicate a tightening race. Vance’s current one-point...

Department of Justice Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on Thursday warned top California Democrats to “stand down or face prosecution” after Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) threatened to have federal law enforcement agents operating in her district arrested. Pelosi stated in a press release Wednesday that San Francisco police may arrest federal agents if they are found violating state law during U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids. Blanche stated on Friday that any officer who lays a hand on federal law enforcement will be committing a crime. The former speaker issued the press release in reaction to “reports of a...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom violated federal law by upgrading the driver’s license of the illegal migrant trucker accused of causing a horrific, drug-fueled pile-up that killed three people and wounded several others, a bombshell new report claims. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy blamed Newsom for Tuesday’s deadly crash, alleging state officials unlawfully upgraded Jashanpreet Singh’s commercial license weeks after a new federal rule went into effect barring illegal immigrants from holding such privileges, according to a DOT report released Friday. The restrictions, which require states to verify an applicant’s legal status, took effect on Sept. 26 — while the 21-year-old Indian...

The EV revolution is getting stripped for parts. California’s green dream is dying by a thousand copper cuts. You can’t plug in progress when the streets are unplugging the city. VIDEOS OF CRIMES AT LINK.................... BRIEFING ... Every now and then, a story drops that’s so dripping in irony it feels like satire. Los Angeles, the city that prides itself on being the crown jewel of “green innovation,” has officially short-circuited its own electric dream. The city’s extravagant vision of “zero emissions” is being shorted out by something painfully fitting: the homeless are ripping the copper wiring straight out of...