Free Republic

During his first month in office, Mayor Daniel Lurie achieved something remarkable: He received near-unanimous approval from San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors to make himself more powerful. The board voted to broaden Lurie’s power to dole out contracts related to homelessness, mental health and drug abuse, and to reduce its own control over the process. In interviews with over a dozen people who work in city politics, most agreed that the new administration is a sea change from former Mayor London Breed’s way of doing things, which was marked by interdepartmental animosity, bad blood with supervisors, and corruption. “There’s a...

As mail-in ballots began arriving for California's redistricting plan, voters in some counties have found a strange feature in their ballot envelopes: A hole that shows if they voted "no." Check it out: VIDEO AT LINK............. And lest anyone think this is just a bunch of conspiracy theorists overreacting, the Los Angeles Times addressed the issue with a statement from the California Secretary of State. California Secretary of State Shirley Weber on Monday pushed back against a torrent of misinformation on social media claiming that mail-in ballots for the state's Nov. 4 special election are purposefully designed to disclose how...

The decision, which hinges on an exception to the Gun-Free School Zones Act, does not say whether that law is consistent with the Second Amendment. A couple of years ago, Gabriel Metcalf was charged with a federal felony because he stepped onto the sidewalk in front of his house in Billings, Montana, while holding a shotgun. Metcalf, who had armed himself because of a dispute with a neighbor who was subject to a restraining order, was not violating state law. But because Metcalf lives across the street from an elementary school, prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District...

Halfway into a recent weeklong backpacking trip through California’s Sierra Nevada, nine members of a scout troop and their scoutmaster came across a man standing alone in a meadow deep in the Emigrant Wilderness. He appeared disoriented and didn’t have any hiking or camping gear. The California Highway Patrol confirmed the man was Douglas Montgomery. The group soon learned the 78-year-old was an experienced outdoorsman and former scoutmaster himself. The group also learned that he was stranded after veering 15 miles off his intended route, had lost his backpack, and had been battling hypothermia for two days. “We started very...

On July 1, 2025, United States District Court Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo granted summary judgment to Firearms Policy Coalition members to obtain California Concealed Carry Permits. Judge Bencivengo ordered the Plaintiffs and Defendant to submit proposed orders within 30 days. From the order: For the above reasons, the Court grants Plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment as to their facial challenge pursuant to the Second/Fourteenth Amendment and denies the request for relief pursuant to the Privileges and Immunities Clause. The parties are ORDERED to meet and confer and submit a proposed order for an injunction consistent with this order within 30...

Homicide detectives and a tactical squad of California sheriff deputies captured and jailed on Friday the parents of a baby boy they claimed was kidnapped, which authorities now allege was a lie. Jake and Rebecca Haro were arrested on murder charges at their Cabazon home after Rebecca Haro, the mother of seven-month-old Emmanuel Haro, had claimed her son was abducted outside a sporting goods store a week ago in Yucaipa, about 70 miles west of Los Angeles. San Bernardino Sheriff’s homicide detectives now say the kidnapping never happened and believe the child is dead.

A man was shot to death and another man was wounded when the two attempted to foil the attempt of men trying to steal their parked vehicle in an alley in the South Los Angeles area, authorities said Sunday. The shooting was reported at 9:20 p.m. Saturday in the 8000 block of South Hooper Avenue, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The victims were alerted to an alarm sound from their vehicle, which was parked in an alley, and saw three suspects attempting to steal it. “When they confronted the suspects, a fourth suspect, standing near the south...

Top O' the Briefing Happy Friday, dear Kruiser Morning Briefing friends. The Sine Qua Non Sequitur is participating in an Ayahuasca cheese-rolling "Weekend of Discovery" somewhere in Great Britain. In yesterday's Briefing we took a broad look at the current moribund state of the once-formidable Democratic Party. The contributing factors that have brought the Democrats to this point are many, but one really stands out — the mind-numbing mediocrity of its major players. We've often discussed the fact that the Democrats are out of ideas and have nothing to offer the disaffected voters who they've been pushing away for over...

Spanish explorer Gabriel Moraga discovered and named the Sacramento Valley and the Sacramento River in either 1799 or 1808; accounts vary. Moraga wrote, “Canopies of oaks and cottonwoods, many festooned with grapevines, overhung both sides of the blue current. Birds chattered in the trees and big fish darted through the pellucid depths. The air was like champagne, and (the Spaniards) drank deep of it, drank in the beauty around them. ‘Escomo el sagrado sacramento!’” (It’s like the Holy Sacrament.)

Democrat lawmakers in California thought they could get away with a reckless bill that would allow for the trafficking of children, but they thought wrong! On Tuesday, thousands of people rallied against it at the state’s Capitol and online, as RLN Founder and Calvary Chapel Chino Hills Senior Pastor Jack Hibbs encouraged all those opposed to keep fighting for children. While the advancement of AB 495 is delayed, RLN’s Daniel Cohen exposes the danger and why it’s imperative to stay vigilant until it’s officially put on ice. Video is 4 minutes long

California Pastor Jack Hibbs called on his congregation at Calvary Chapel Chino Hills to voice opposition to an “unthinkable” new bill that would have disastrous repercussions for children in the state. “For years, we have been telling you about bad bills that they have been doing—this takes the cake,” Hibbs underscored during the Wednesday night study at his church. Those who introduced the bill have branded AB 495 as a response to family separations faced by illegal immigrants detained and deported by ICE agents. AB 495, titled the “Family Preparedness Plan Act of 2025″ by its authors, streamlines the process...

Hilton Edges Out Democrat Katie Porter by 1% in Early Polling as 2026 Race Begins to Take ShapeConservative political commentator and former Fox News host Steve Hilton is now leading the race for California governor, according to newly released early polling. Hilton holds a narrow 1-point lead over Democrat Katie Porter, capturing 19% of support compared to Porter’s 18%.The early-stage poll also shows former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco each pulling in 6% of likely voters. While the election is still over a year away, the poll is the first major indicator of voter...

Remember Gavin Newsom’s first visit to the sites of devastating fires last January in Los Angeles, when he vowed to streamline California’s paralytic regulations so people could quickly rebuild their homes? In that interview, while undulating his shoulders in a weird shimmy that will undoubtedly come back to haunt him as he ramps up his presidential campaigning, Newsom also promised to “prevent opportunistic investors from exploiting vulnerable residents by offering below-market prices.” It’s hard to say which promise has been more thoroughly violated. As celebrity author Adam Carolla posted on 7/14, there is virtually no work going on along the...

In this powerful and timely discussion, Pastor Jack Hibbs sits down with Steve Hilton—former Fox News host and political commentator—to talk about Steve's run for California governor. With deep concern for the state’s future, the two dive into pressing issues affecting everyday Californians. Steve shares his vision for addressing California’s energy crisis, biological boys competing in girls’ sports, abortion, and housing. Whether you're a seasoned or first-time voter, a parent, an elderly individual, or a young person just starting adulthood, this is a must-hear conversation filled with clarity, conviction, and hope for real change. Video is 43 minutes long.

Two nationals of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) made their initial appearances in federal court in Portland, Oregon, and Houston, Texas, yesterday to face charges issued out of the Northern District of California for acting as agents of the Government of the PRC without prior notification to the Attorney General. The defendants, Yuance Chen, 38, a PRC national and legal permanent resident who resides in Happy Valley, Oregon, and Liren “Ryan” Lai, 39, a PRC national who traveled from the PRC to Houston, Texas, on a tourist visa in April 2025, were arrested Friday on a criminal complaint charging...

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...

On Friday’s broadcast of HBO’s “Real Time,” CNN Political Contributor and Democratic strategist Paul Begala said that while he disagrees with bans on gender transitions for children, it’s “crazy” for states like California to keep schools from telling parents about their children transitioning. Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX) said, “[T]his is one of the reasons why the Democrats are losing on an issue like this, because, again, if you can’t definitively tell — I have a six, a four, and a 2-year-old. My six and four-year-old, they think that they’re Anna and Elsa and my little boy thinks he’s Lightning McQueen....

Dorothy Day founded an ongoing series of weekly talks at the Worker, dedicated to “the clarification of thought”. These talks continue to the present. Now, however, some Catholic Workers complain, most of the talks are immersed in the hard left and the thinking expressed is actually “The Calcification of Thought”, one wag has quipped mournfully. Today, attendees of these weekly lectures have encountered the following ideas: - Anti Israel, Anti-“Zionist”, Anti “Usury”, Anti “NEOCON” and pro-Iranian, pro-Assad, pro-PLO propaganda. - Support for violent riots in American cities - The return of antiquated Marxist terminology, like castigating peoples' opinions as "bourgeois"....

$100M Brinks Heist Duo to Appear in Court Tuesday Two Southern California residents are expected to appear in court Tuesday on federal charges alleging they broke into a Brinks truck and stole nearly $100 million worth of gold, diamonds, rubies, emeralds and luxury watches in what officials consider the largest jewelry heist in U.S. history. The indictment, returned in Los Angeles federal court last week, charges seven defendants with two counts of conspiracy to commit theft from interstate and foreign shipment and theft from interstate and foreign shipment, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Due for their initial court appearances...

In the midst of the riots that have raged across Los Angeles in response to the Trump administration’s raid to apprehend criminals, Mexican flags have emerged as a prominent emblem of the rioters’ lawless defiance.While the New York Times gushed that the rioters’ usage of the flag represented “pride in their heritage,” most Americans saw it for what it was: a symbol of conquest. But many leftists are now making that very argument, that it represents a reclamation by Mexico of land supposedly “stolen” by the United States.This week, Gerardo Fernández Noroña, the president of the Mexican Senate, adopted that...