Free Republic

The Hard Rock Casino Tejon, a partnership between the Tejon Indian Tribe and Florida-based Hard Rock international, is set to swing its doors open for the first time on Nov. 13, more than a month ahead of its original expected opening date.

Oct 3 (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Joe Biden exceeded his authority by withdrawing large areas along U.S. coastlines from future offshore oil and gas development, a federal judge in Louisiana ruled on Thursday.U.S. District Judge James Cain in Lake Charles, Louisiana, sided with Republican states and oil and gas industry groups that sued to block Biden's move to protect all federal waters off the East and West coasts, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and portions of the northern Bering Sea in Alaska.Biden, on one of his final days in office, used his authority under the 70-year-old Outer Continental Shelf...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday his state will hold a Nov. 4 special election to seek voter approval of a new congressional map drawn to try to win Democrats five more U.S. House seats in 2026.

FBI Director Kash Patel abruptly tossed out an agent in training on Wednesday for previously showing off a gay pride flag on his desk, according to a report. The trainee had displayed the emblem while serving in a field office in California last year during President Joe Biden's administration. Patel sent the trainee a signed letter dated October 1, claiming he had presented an improper 'political' message in the workplace while assigned in Golden State. The termination letter cited Donald Trump's constitutional power to fire bureaucrats serving in the executive branch. 'After reviewing the facts and circumstances and considering your...

SACRAMENTO, California — Gavin Newsom just undid one of the most contentious policies Kamala Harris championed during her time as San Francisco district attorney. The California governor today signed a bill ending a policy punishing parents for their children’s chronic truancy — a measure that became a flashpoint in Harris’ 2020 presidential primary campaign.

The blast took place just outside of the bustling LAX airport and was seen for miles across Los Angeles after it ignited at the Chevron refinery in El Segundo, police said. Firefighters arrived to the scene at around 9:35pm local time, several minutes after people in surrounding areas reported hearing a loud blast.

Gov. Gavin Newsom is threatening to withhold billions in state funds from any California college that signs onto an agreement crafted by President Donald Trump's administration requiring schools to agree to support the President's education agenda in order to have access to federal dollars.

LOS ANGELES - A massive fire erupted Thursday night at a refinery in Southern California. Firefighters were dispatched around 9:35 p.m. to the Chevron refinery in El Segundo after receiving calls of smoke in the area. Images from SkyFOX show large flames shooting through the refinery. Several people said they heard a loud bang, saying it felt like an earthquake or sounded like a plane crash since the refinery is near LAX. ***snip***The history behind Chevron's refinery Dig deeper: The refinery spans two-square-miles, supplying more than 40% of jet fuel and more than 20% of motor vehicle fuel across all...

Esperanza High School in Anaheim, California, is a magnet high school with about 1,406 students, fairly small by California standards, and the school prides itself on a teacher to student ratio of 20-1. Sadly, Anaheim is one of the bluer portions of Orange County, so the woke has overtaken certain members of the school board and the administration. In 2013, then-Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law AB1266, which allows anyone to use the bathroom that they feel connects to their gender identity. In terms of public schools, this is a clear violation of Title IX, yet the Esperanza administrators have...

A Times investigation found plaintiffs in a sex abuse settlement who claim they received cash to sue L.A. County. The lawsuits led to a record $4-billion settlement for the victims. Downtown LA Law Group, which represents some plaintiffs who said they were paid to sue, said the firm “categorically does not engage in, nor has it ever condoned, the exchange of money for client retention.” Every day, some of L.A.’s poorest residents line up outside the county benefits office in South Central, weaving their way through a swarm of salesmen hawking deals that feel too good to be true.Would...

Pete Hegseth! Remember that guy? Former Fox News weirdo? Famous for drinking on the job? Accused of sexual assault before paying a settlement to make that lawsuit go away? Tapped to head the Department of Defense and then accidentally texted his war plans to the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic? Oh yes, I think you’re quite familiar with Hegseth. He’s a real asshole! And an embarrassing one, too!

Supervisors move to dismantle the infamous Yee Haw commune tucked in the hills east of TrinidadAfter 25 years of warnings, fines and broken promises, Humboldt County supervisors finally voted last week to crack down on the infamous Yee Haw commune. Their unanimous decision set in motion plans to clear the 10-acre property of unpermitted structures and hazards, a move that would displace the approximate 10 residents who currently call it home and strip longtime owner Charles Garth of control. Officials say the site is riddled with environmental dangers and dotted with ramshackle dwellings that fail to meet even the most...

Race to replace Gavin Newsom continues to thin as longtime Calif. legislator exitsThe California governor’s race is continuing to slim down. Toni Atkins, the first openly gay president pro tempore of the California State Senate, and a longtime legislator, became the latest candidate to drop out of the race this week, citing polling data. “It’s with such a heavy heart that I’m stepping aside today as a candidate for governor. Despite the strong support we’ve received and all we’ve achieved, there is simply no viable path forward to victory,” Atkins said in a statement Monday. She continued, “With Donald Trump...

SAN FRANCISCO — Police in Northern California were understandably perplexed when they pulled over a Waymo taxi after it made an illegal U-turn, only to find no driver behind the wheel and therefore, no one to ticket. The San Bruno Police Department wrote in a now-viral weekend social media post that officers were conducting a DUI operation early Saturday when a self-driving Waymo made the illegal turn in front of them. Officers stopped the vehicle but declined to write a ticket as their "citation books don't have a box for 'robot'." "That's right … no driver, no hands, no clue,"...

Yom Kippur concludes at sundown Thursday, ending the 10-day period on the Jewish calendar known as Days of Teshuvah.The San Diego Police Department said its officers would be on heightened alert against any potential threats to the Jewish community starting Wednesday, when Yom Kippur begins at sundown. "As always, when it comes to Yom Kippur, or any other significant event, we will conduct extra patrols in the areas where there are places of worship," SDPD spokesman Lt. Travis Easter said Tuesday. The department cited tension in the Middle East amid the Israel-Hamas war and recent attacks on places of worship,...

The Senate Democrats’ campaign arm is planning a two-day getaway at a five-star resort in the heart of California’s wine country in early October — at the same time the country may be in the midst of a government shutdown — according to an invitation obtained by Politico’s “Playbook.” The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) is hosting its Napa Retreat from Oct. 13-14 at Hotel Yountville in Napa County, Politico reported Saturday. Democratic New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who has chaired the DSCC since January, circulated an invitation to the event which lists her, Democratic Maryland Sen. Angela Alsobrooks and...

A Christian baker believes she should not have to design a cake that celebrates an ideology that goes against her faith. In 2017, Cathy Miller was reportedly approached by a lesbian couple, Eileen and Mireya Rodriguez-Del Rio, at her business, the Tastries Bakery in Bakersfield, California. Miller explained that same-sex couples were not part of her belief system and that she did not wish to design their cake. Miller did, however, recommend another cake decorator in town. Later that year, California's Civil Rights Department sued Miller and said she violated the state's anti-discrimination laws. In 2023, a five-day trial ended...

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) and Sheriff Robert Luna on Tuesday, accusing it of "systematically" delaying concealed carry permits for law-abiding citizens in violation of the Second Amendment. The lawsuit, which the DOJ touts as its first-ever affirmative lawsuit in support of gun owners, alleges the LASD created a "pattern and practice" of obstruction by forcing law-abiding citizens to wait months and even years for a decision. The DOJ said in their complaint that, between January 2024 and March 2025, the sheriff’s office received 3,982 new applications for concealed carry permits...

Loreto Ricardo Hernandez is one of six farmworkers who was killed in the DUI crash on Pope Valley Road in Napa County earlier this month, as the group he was with traveled from Stockton. ABC7 News previously spoke with his family, who is still waiting for the first step towards justice. The driver of the crash survived, and at last check was still in the hospital. ABC7 News is not naming the driver as he has not yet appeared in court. Now, an ICE spokesperson has issued a statement referring to the driver suspected of DUI and, in turn, facing...

Last weekend in Berkeley, Calif., a group of neo-communist antifa — “anti-fascist” — thugs attacked peaceful protesters at a “No to Marxism in America” rally, wielding sticks and pepper spray, and beating people with homemade shields that read (I kid you not) “No Hate.” The Post reports how one peaceful protester “was attacked by five black-clad antifa members, each windmilling kicks and punches into a man desperately trying to protect himself.” Members of the Berkeley College Republicans were then stalked by antifa goons who followed them to a gas station and demanded they “get the [expletive] out” of their car,...