Free Republic

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has signed an ordinance prohibiting new oil and gas drilling throughout the city and establishing a 20-year timetable to phase out existing wells. Under the new ordinance, current drilling sites are designated as "nonconforming uses" and must cease operations within two decades, unless an earlier deadline applies. The ordinance restricts the expansion and redevelopment of existing operations while establishing limited exceptions for work strictly necessary to address public health, safety or environmental threats. Bass, who is running for reelection on Tuesday against Los Angeles City Council member and fellow Democrat Nithya Raman, framed the legislation...

Democrats wanted to focus on Trump and high heating bills, but then came the October surpriseMary Peltola at the Alaska Federation of Natives conference in Anchorage. ANCHORAGE—As winter set in and Election Day neared in Alaska, high prices for diesel and home heating oil drove voter anger at President Trump and incumbent Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, making the Senate race in this red state one of the most competitive in the country.Now, with just days to go, allegations that Democrat Mary Peltola’s campaign secretly worked to recruit a spoiler candidate to help her party win the pivotal Alaska seat—and...

The CEO of California’s high-speed rail authority resigned late Wednesday, saying he needs to focus on “important personal and family priorities,” according to a copy of the emailed resignation obtained by CalMatters. “This has not been an easy decision, as leading the Authority has been one of the most meaningful and rewarding chapters of my professional life,” wrote Chief Executive Ian Choudri. He will be replaced by Joe Stephenshaw, who has led the state Department of Finance since July 2022 after working as a policy analyst in the state Legislature for more than a decade, the board announced Thursday morning...

Hundreds of ballots were found piled in an open hallway at a Skid Row homeless shelter where more than 1,100 voters are registered, a California Post investigation found. The ballots were spotted at The Midnight Mission, a downtown LA homeless shelter offering meals and mail services, where 1,160 voters are registered. The Post authenticated a photo of the ballots and independently confirmed the scene during a visit to the shelter on October 13. The discovery comes four months after the California Post exposed 7,600 voter registrations linked to homeless shelters and service providers across Los Angeles, including facilities that don’t...

LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Mallory McMorrow, the Democratic state senator who dropped out of the Michigan U.S. Senate race ahead of the August primary, says a fake poll helped sink her campaign after it admitted it fabricated its data. Wedgewood Polls, a self-described polling firm with an X account created in June 2026, released the survey on June 29. It showed progressive Abdul El-Sayed at 46%, moderate Haley Stevens and McMorrow at 9%. It also had McMorrow trailing Republican Mike Rogers, who was unopposed for the nomination. In a statement Tuesday, Wedgewood said it fabricated the results as a “social...

Pennywise lives — in the sewers of Maryland. A mysterious man living in Baltimore’s sewers has allegedly been taunting and chasing kids down the street, according to an irate mother. Unique Wiggins initially didn’t believe her children when they told her a creep lurking in the sewers was bothering and harrasing them, WJZ reported. But after repeated complaints, the mom decided to investigate the subterranean nuisance. “It was a Friday, and my daughter, who is 21, called and she was panicking. And I asked, ‘What’s wrong?’ And she said, ‘Mom, I’m scared. The man told me I can’t walk right...

Watch to learn why the project is years late and billions over budget California’s high-speed rail project promised to connect Los Angeles and San Francisco with trains traveling up to 220 mph. Eighteen years after voters approved Proposition 1A, the ambitious transportation project lacks any finished track and faces an uncertain future. Costs are now projected to reach $126 billion with land acquisition and regulatory hurdles still putting America’s largest active infrastructure endeavor in jeopardy. In this video, WSJ travels to construction sites, analyzes satellite images and reviews legal filings to explain what comes next for the multibillion-dollar project.

Garbed in purple and holding signs that read “Fair contracts now!” and “Here to serve, not to starve,” thousands of state workers rallied at government buildings across California Wednesday to protest what they describe as unfair labor practices by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration. SEIU Local 1000’s first strike in its 44-year history unfolded in several cities including Sacramento, San Francisco and Los Angeles. The union — which represents about 100,000 workers, nearly half the state workforce — has been in contentious labor talks with the Newsom administration since its latest contract expired in late June. Its members want a better...

EXTREMELY IMPORTANT 🚨 Federal Lawsuit against California shows that 28.8% of noncitizens in California HAVE A VOTING HISTORY California elections are not legitimate, noncitizens are voting at an extremely large scale - Los Angeles County elections officials took a sample batch of 200 ballots - The 200 ballots were taken from a sample of 20,000 that the Trump Admin says are noncitizens - Of the 200 ballots that were taken, 71.2% of the 200 have no voting history This means 28.8% of the noncitizens ballots DID have a voting history Nearly 30% of noncitizens are voting in California elections based...

Early voting is available in most states ahead of the midterm elections, and more than 14 million Americans have already cast their ballots, according to new data. More states are opening early voting this week, with Michigan and New York set to offer it Saturday. About 14.3 million voters have cast ballots in the 2026 general election, according to the University of Florida’s Election Lab. That includes about 9.1 million mail-in ballots and 5.2 million in-person early votes. Early in-person voting began Tuesday in Hawaii, Louisiana, Missouri, Utah and Wisconsin. At an early voting site in Wisconsin, some voters said...

A Trump administration fraud task force has uncovered nearly $42 million in food stamp funds meant for needy families that were instead stolen to support criminal activities as well as the lavish lifestyle of a rapper with multiple arrests — including for repeatedly exposing himself to pee off his apartment balcony. Vice President JD Vance and members of the Departments of Justice and Agriculture held a press conference in Cincinnati Wednesday highlighting the cases involving more than 40 defendants operating schemes that bilked the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and related programs. “Two-hundred twenty thousand Americans could’ve eaten for the entire...

Vice President JD Vance took questions from reporters on Wednesday and was asked about Vivek Ramaswamy’s highly controversial attack ad against Democrat Amy Acton, which has roiled the already nasty Ohio governor’s race. “Vice President, Daniel Bush with the BBC. Thank you. You mentioned after this you’re going to a campaign event. Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign put out a controversial ad featuring his opponent’s mother. Republicans, some are backing away from that. Do you think that that ad was appropriate?” Vance was asked during an Ohio press conference. “Well, I’ll be honest with you, whether the ad was appropriate or not...

“PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — More human remains discovered during a cleanup at a homeless camp in Downtown Portland on Monday may be linked to remains found in the Old Town area less than a week ago. According to the Portland Police Bureau (PPPB), officers were called out to an area near W. Burnside Street and Interstate 405 just after 12:30 p.m. when a cleanup crew located the remains in a homeless encampment. Investigators did not say what remains were found or in what condition they were in. On Tuesday, Oct. 13, a crew with Rapid Response discovered human remains in...

The husband of the Rhode Island Democratic Party Chair Liz Beretta-Perik has been indicted in the alleged theft of $20 million from a now-closed community college through educational grants, according to Ohio state officials. The Ohio Auditor of State's Office announced that Michael Perik, along with two other people, is accused of participating in a coordinated criminal scheme that diverted Pell grants, other federal aid and state subsidies through fraudulent reimbursements and illegal incentive payments. Officials allege the scheme also contributed to the closure of Eastern Gateway Community College. Perik faces a dozen charges, including engaging in a pattern of...

The billionaires’ attack on the wealth tax initiative shows why it’s needed.As is the case with most election cycles, the claims and counterclaims about the ballot measures being voted on in California this time around are largely based on caricatures of the measures themselves. That’s especially true of the highest-profile measure, Proposition 40 — the California billionaire tax.What’s indisputable is that this is a “wealth tax.” It’s a one-time 5% levy on assets owned by Californians with more than $1 billion in net worth. That’s a departure from conventional state personal tax, which is levied on income such as wages...

Five of the 14 statewide ballot measures are related to taxes The one you’ve likely heard most about is Proposition 40, which, if passed, would make California the first state to introduce a wealth tax. Almost all of the tens of billions of dollars the tax is estimated to generate would be set aside for the state’s public health insurance programs Prop. 3 would make permanent a higher income tax rate for the state’s top earners that voters approved on a temporary basis twice in the past decade-plus. The tax — which expires in 2030 unless Prop. 3 passes —...

Bigger agencies, higher spending, and expanded workforces don't always make government more effective.My recent trip to Malibu from Los Angeles was my first post-wildfire drive through the Pacific Palisades and, my goodness, there's nothing like seeing something with one's own eyes to grasp the enormity of the devastation. The obliterated hulks along Pacific Coast Highway 21 months after the tragedy raise multiple issues, including ones related to the excruciatingly slow rebuilding process. This being California, the state has yet to grapple sufficiently with the reasons the wildfires started—and the failed response to them. But late is better than never, so...

New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez donated $1 million to Dr. Abdul El-Sayed who is running for U.S. Senate as a Democrat. Ocasio-Cortez has been campaigning for El-Sayed as the midterm elections are less than a month away. She has been on the road and has campaigned for El-Sayed and other Democratic candidates as her party is expected to have some midterm victories in tight races. El-Sayed is facing Republican challenger Mike Rogers.

FIRST ON FOX - The price tag for the beleaguered Obama Presidential Center is now projected to top $1 billion, nearly triple its original estimate, the foundation overseeing construction of the Chicago facility told Fox News Digital. Confirmation of the 10-figure cost marks another chapter in the troubled history of the much-delayed project, which opened five years behind schedule amid controversy over its use of public parkland and claims that subcontractors were stiffed out of millions of dollars. It comes as newly released financial records reviewed by Fox News Digital offer a fresh look at the finances of the Obama...

🚨 JUST IN: Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D)'s former aide LaMar Cook, already facing cocaine trafficking and gun charges, has been ARRESTED by federal prosecutors for SNAP FRAUD PARTY OF FRAUD. He's also accused of wrongly taking $30K in VACATION time, and must pay it back! Earlier this year, he was caught using his taxpayer-funded EBT card at supermarkets right outside Walt Disney World. Prosecutors say he claimed ZERO income and less than $100 in the bank to collect $500 a month in food stamps. Records reportedly showed he actually had thousands in the bank, plus about $12,000 in lottery...