Free Republic

Today, California was notified that the Biden-Harris Administration is awarding $6 billion to the state to build high-speed rail, investing in the whole system – San Francisco, Los Angeles and the Central Valley, creating connectivity north, south and with our neighbors to the east. California High-Speed Rail Authority will receive nearly $3.1 billion for construction in the Central Valley, supporting the overall end goal of connecting San Francisco to Los Angeles. Another important rail project, Brightline, will receive $3 billion to connect Los Angeles to Las Vegas with 80% of the project’s construction in California benefiting the state’s economy and...

The California High-Speed Rail has received its biggest boost from the federal government yet, being awarded more than $3 billion in grant funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The announcement was made Tuesday and was confirmed by California Sen. Alex Padilla and Rep. Nancy Pelosi.

A new law due to come into effect in California next month will see stores issued with fines if they fail to comply with radical gender ideology. The law, which comes into effect on January 1, 2024, mandates stores that sell children’s items to have a gender-neutral section. Details of the “woke” new law are confirmed on a state government website. The law applies to any company that sells “childcare items” or toys and employs a minimum of 500 employees across store locations. It requires that they offer a section where “a reasonable selection of the items and toys for...

Shelby Kretz, a teacher who runs an organization that helps teach K-6 children about social justice issues, has called parental rights laws “dangerous.” In a recent TikTok video shared online, Kretz said “parents rights in education can put LGBTQ+ youth in danger.” “Do you know if there are any bills or school board candidates in your area that are focused on parents’ rights in education? If so there’s a good chance they might be putting trans in LGBTQ plus youth in danger,” she says in the video.

Let's dump the curriculum and teach Palestinian propaganda instead, said a group of Oakland (CA) teachers. They proposed an all-day "teach in." Um, no, said district officials. One early-elementary lesson proposed for the "teach in" encourages children to identify what they "will chant at a Palestine protest," reports Jill Tucker in the San Francisco Chronicle. In an alphabet book titled P is for Palestine, the letter "I" represented “intifada,” which refers to armed uprisings by Palestinians against Israeli control of disputed land. (The book says the word means"rising up for what is right!") .... Only one third of students met...

Last December, according to a report at Ministry Watch, “Bethel members Tenessa Audette, 45, a first-time candidate, and Jack Munns, 64, who first ran two years ago, will now join Bethel elder Julie Winter on the 5-member council” in Redding, California, home of Bethel Church. Bethel Church in Redding, California, is pastored and co-pastored by Bill Johnson and Kris Vallotton, respectively, who believe themselves to be prophets and Apostles of God. Bethel is well-known for its debunked “manifestations” of the Holy Spirit, including its infamous spectacle known as “glory clouds.” The “glory cloud” spectacle has been thoroughly debunked and its...

Gavin Newsom's Republican father-in-law has branded Ron DeSantis a 'lying slimeball' for claiming he and his wife fled California for a better life in Florida. Siebel said he an his wife had moved to Florida from Montana as he had left California in the mid 2010s. Florida governor DeSantis dramatically told viewers: 'So, I was talking to a fella who had made the move from California to Florida, and he was telling me that Florida is much better governed, safer, better budget, lower taxes, all this stuff and he's really happy with the quality of life. 'Saying we moved from...

The hot brine in a vast underground reserve under the Salton Sea in California probably contains enough lithium to build 375 million batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), according to “Characterizing the Geothermal Lithium Resource at the Salton Sea,” a new report by the US Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The researchers attempted to thoroughly quantify the amount of lithium that the deep subsurface geothermal reservoir of the lake could contain. Researchers estimate 18 million metric tons of lithium in the Salton Sea's geothermal reservoir, with at least 4 million tons already confirmed through drilling. The challenge now lies...

OAKLAND, Calif. - Oakland Unified School District's superintendent on Monday issued a firm warning to teachers planning to hold a pro-Palestinian "teach in," calling the event unsanctioned not aligned with district educational protocol. Supt. Kyla Johnson-Trammell did not specifically lay out what would happen to teachers if they go forward on Wednesday with the Palestine lessons, which ask elementary school-age children to draw what they think a Zionist leader looks like and what the definition of a massacre is.

The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating after a homeowner shot and killed a home invasion suspect. Officers were first called to a home in the 11400 block of Swinton Avenue in Granada Hills around 5 a.m. Saturday morning on calls of a “hot prowl,” or a burglary in progress when the homeowner is present, law enforcement officials said. “The officers’ preliminary investigation determined that approximately three to four armed males in their 20s entered the home with the intent to burglarize the location,” LAPD said on X, formerly Twitter, just after 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon. “A suspect pointed a...

Imperial County, a sprawling desert region three hours southeast of Los Angeles that straddles the U.S.-Mexico border, may not be what you would typically associate with Southern California. Home to ramshackle landmarks like Salvation Mountain, the Salton Sea and Bombay Beach, it’s the least populated county in the region with just 180,000 residents. But U.S. politicians are suddenly interested in this rural area for other reasons — namely, the wealth of lithium deep beneath its surface. The rare mineral used in batteries, now in particularly high demand with the rise of electric vehicles, could be enough to produce 375 million...

The LEGO store in the San Francisco Centre mall has officially closed, right in the middle of the Christmas retail season, joining a retail exodus from the city that is driven by crime, homelessness, drugs, and the nation’s slowest post-pandemic recovery. As Breitbart News has noted, Westfield stopped making mortgage payments on the San Francisco Centre mall in June, after losing Nordstrom, which was its anchor tenant. Many other retail businesses, small and large, boutique and chain, have left.

Los Angeles Police officers were called to reports of a burglary at an address in the Granada Hills neighborhood on Saturday morning Four suspects had entered a home and had allegedly threatened the homeowner with a gun But the homeowner then shot one of the suspects, who died at the scene The other three suspects fled the scene and have not yet been identified, but police said a 'trail of blood' suggested one of them had been injured. 'It is believed that an additional suspect was injured during the incident due to a trail of blood located during the investigation,'...

A man has been arrested in connection with the murders of three homeless men, and authorities believe he is also linked to another homicide in San Dimas. At a press conference on Saturday afternoon, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore identified the suspect as Jerrid Joseph Powell, 33, of Los Angeles. Powell is alleged to be the gunman behind the murders of three homeless men across Los Angeles from Nov. 26 to Nov. 29. It was confirmed on Saturday that he is also the prime suspect in the follow-home murder of Nicholas Simbolon of San Dimas on Tuesday night....

The Republican presidential primary calendar won’t officially kick off until the Jan. 15, 2024, Iowa caucuses, but former President Trump’s dominant position in the polls has already sparked chatter about who could join him on a general election ticket. Trump is leading his primary rivals by an average of 60 percent at the national level and more than 20 percent in state surveys, creating a sense that the nomination is his to lose. Some have started to look beyond the primary calendar and toward a rematch between Trump and President Biden, with former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and others weighing...

Vice President Kamala Harris spoke of a post-conflict Gaza built around a revitalized Palestinian Authority (PA) with its own security forces “strengthened” as she entered a round of diplomatic talks with Arab leaders on Saturday. Speaking at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai, she also cautioned Israel to do more to protect Palestinian civilians from the “devastating” bombardment.

The man sitting in the back of the vehicle is wearing a light-colored shirt, a patterned tie and an air of authority. He's headed to a conference in Anaheim to give a speech and, as trees, hedges and apartment buildings flash by, he rattles off a list of accomplishments — his book, his expert witness testimony. "This has been a dream of mine," he says in the online video, referring to his speaking invitation. "You know how many people have said, 'You can't do it'?" There was every reason to doubt Rene "Boxer" Enriquez could. Enriquez, 52, is serving a...

A former FBI informant stabbed Derek Chauvin, the ex-police officer who was convicted for murdering George Floyd, according to court documents filed on Dec. 1. John Turscak, 52, stabbed Mr. Chauvin 22 times with an "improvised knife" in federal prison in Arizona, according to the documents. Mr. Turscak was subdued by responding corrections officers. Mr. Turscak later told officers he would have killed Mr. Chauvin if the officers had not responded so quickly, federal prosecutors said in the documents. The stabbing took place on Nov. 24 at about 12:30 p.m. Mr. Turscak waived his Miranda rights and told FBI agents...

Trump didn’t incite anyone to do anything illegal or violent. He told people who where going to the rally at the capitol to stay peaceful. The crowd had been infiltrated by people who were not the normal Republicans that he got at his rallies. There was never any violence at his rallies and no reason to expect any. When was the last Republican rally that turned into a riot. The best excuse the capitol police and DC police for their botched crowd control was they didn’t expect Republicans to riot either. The only evidence of someone inciting a riot was...

A new video captured the moment a boat full of suspected illegal migrants landed on the beach in Malibu, close to many of Hollywood star’s homes. The video, obtained by Fox News’ Bill Melugin, shows a boat pulling up to a beach at around 1 a.m. on Thursday, and then 25 people can be seen leaping out of the vessel and running towards the land. The plush alibu is home to liberal celebrities, including Leonardo Di Caprio, Cher, and Barbra Streisand. Melugin said such a landing, which is a common tactic used by illegal immigrants descending on European countries, is...