Free Republic

Los Angeles public libraries are being overwhelmed by violence, drug use and homelessness with frightened families and librarians saying once-safe community spaces are often no-go zones. Even enforcement measures designed to control disruptive behavior are now buckling under the strain. Temporary Suspension Letters — which ban unruly patrons from all library branches — have surged nearly 90% from 369 in 2023 to 700 suspensions in 2025. A California Post review of 911 logs obtained through a public records request found the emergency call outs were for assaults, criminal threats, drug use, theft, mental health crises and trespassing. And reported incidents...

Walgreens has announced that it is closing a store in the Chatham neighborhood of Chicago. They claim that the store is losing upwards of a million dollars a year to theft, so the reason for the closure is no mystery. They say that this particular store loses more in theft than any other store. And yet… The political leaders in Chicago, who allow thieves to run wild, are angry at Walgreens. They caused this, with their soft on crime policies, yet they are mad at Walgreens for closing the location. FOX 32 in Chicago reported: Walgreens to close Chatham store...

California Democratic gubernatorial front-runner Xavier Becerra went viral yesterday for saying to a local Los Angeles television (KTLA) reporter, after she asked a hard question, “By the way, this is a profile piece, this is not a gotcha piece, right?” Reporter Annie Rose Ramos responded, appropriately, “These questions are fair. It’s in order to learn about you as a candidate.” Progressives responded by criticizing Becerra’s messaging. A progressive Pod Save America co-host and former Obama spokesman, posted on X, “Politicians and candidates…let your staff have these whiny conversations! Or at least don’t do it on camera!” Former Obama strategist David...

Remarkable footage captured some of the recent gang battles that unleashed 182 bullets in the middle of Brooklyn streets — with one brazen thug firing minutes after a court-ordered meeting, officials said Monday. “It’s unnerving,” admitted borough District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, who picked up a gun used in one of the crimes to show reporters at the briefing but said he wouldn’t handle another — because it still had blood on it. The chilling videos “give you a sense of the brutal war that is being waged on some of our streets,” he said. The horrific caught-on-camera gun violence included...

The founder of an organic baby formula company has branded Gavin Newsom’s plan to offer free diapers to all new babies born in the state as “grifting nonsense.” Newsom announced the Golden State Start initiative on Friday, a partnership with nonprofit Baby2Baby that will give every newborn delivered in participating hospitals 400 diapers for free.

As fraud concerns ramp up across the country, particularly involving Medicaid, North Carolina State Auditor Dave Boliek told Fox News Digital the problem is very real in his state, especially when it comes to autism therapy, an area that has been highly scrutinized in Minnesota. Boliek is sounding the alarm on potential waste, fraud and abuse within the state’s Medicaid program, specifically noting in an interview with Fox News Digital a 47,000% explosion in autism therapy billings he has flagged since taking office last year. "Those are vital services to folks and individuals that need that therapy," Boliek said. "But...

New York City Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani and New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) Commissioner Mike Flynn today unveiled design concepts to put the ‘park’ back in Park Avenue... The proposed redesign would expand the avenue’s median, add pedestrian enhancements, seating and landscaping, and explore potential bike lanes and innovative streetscape amenities. The project area sits directly above the Grand Central Terminal train shed, which is undergoing a major capital rehabilitation by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)’s Metro-North Railroad. As the MTA replaces and waterproofs the structure below, the City is advancing a parallel effort to transform the...

Gavin Newsom has announced that the state of California will be paying out $20 million to the company Baby2Baby in order to provide families free diapers. However, the one issue that critics have pointed out is that the co-CEO of the company, Norah Weinstein, sits on the board of Newsom's wife's California Partners Project. Newsom made the announcement for the diapers ahead of Mother's Day, this upcoming Sunday. "California is taking on the cost of raising a family head-on — delivering free school meals, making preschool free for every four-year-old, expanding after-school programs, and now making sure parents leave the...

Former Vice President Kamala Harris announced her endorsement of Karen Bass in her re-election campaign for Mayor of Los Angeles in a statement released on Monday. “Mayor Karen Bass is the leader Los Angeles needs right now,” Harris said. “She has done what so many said couldn’t be done — the first ever two-year decline in homelessness, reducing crime to levels this city hasn’t seen since the 1960s, and refusing to back down when the federal government came after our neighbors. She has my full support for re-election.”

Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom did his best to insult several Southern states in a social media post Thursday. “Confederate states are rushing through rigged maps to erase Black districts off the map,” Newsom wrote above a map demonstrating the possible effects of redistricting in Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina. It is strange we should have “black districts” in the first place. Newsom makes no acknowledgement of this. “If this doesn’t make you angry, it should,” Newsom continued. (An aside: Why wouldn’t a dispassionate analysis suffice? I find the constant encouragement to anger, or joy,...

A California county discovered nearly 600 uncounted and sealed mail-in ballots Monday that had been cast in the November special election regarding the state’s redistricting. Staff at the Humboldt County Office of Elections discovered the ballots inside a locked ballot drop box nearly five months after the election was certified, according to a statement from the department released Wednesday. Immediately following the discovery, staff determined that the locked box had not been tampered with and worked with the California Secretary of State to ensure proper protocol was followed, the statement said. Although both departments said the 596 ballots will not...

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) presents itself as an innocuous Muslim civil rights group—a reputation it reinforces with litigation and claims of anti-Muslim bigotry. But the group finds itself under increasing scrutiny for alleged connections to the Muslim Brotherhood and its offshoot, Hamas. Last November, Texas Governor Greg Abbott designated CAIR a terrorist organization. The following month, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis followed suit, citing CAIR’s being listed as an unindicted co-conspirator in a major terrorism financing case. But as other states move to sideline CAIR, California is embracing this alleged terror front. CAIR-CA, the organization’s largest statewide affiliate, is...

FRESNO, Calif. (FOX26) — Californians are facing growing uncertainty at the pump after the state’s last major oil shipment from the Strait of Hormuz arrived in Long Beach on Monday, as leaders warn the state has roughly four to six weeks of fuel supply left under normal conditions.The shipment was the last to leave the Strait of Hormuz since Iran closed it in February, forcing state officials and refinery operators to find new sources of crude while also trying to keep up with converting it into gasoline to meet consumer demand.

As the race for Los Angeles mayor heats up, one progressive voter has seen enough of Democrat failure and is switching teams for at least this election. Being trapped by zombies can do that to you. She tells the all too familiar modern story of the dangers of walking the streets in the City of Angels — you might just find yourself staring straight at some scary-looking street dwellers, and there’s nobody around to help. Now, if you happen to be heavily pregnant and looking after your toddler daughter, it’s even more frightening. Her name is Kyrstin Munson, and she’s...

Airlines for America President Chris Sununu said the collapse of Spirit Airlines underscores the consequences of the Biden administration’s decision to block a proposed merger with JetBlue, calling the failed deal a missed opportunity to stabilize the struggling carrier.

California health officials are scrambling after tuberculosis exposures were confirmed at multiple schools as cases of the world’s deadliest infectious disease continue climbing across the state. Fresno County officials confirmed a cluster at Justin Garza High School, where one active infection was found, though authorities did not specify whether the case involved a student or staff, according to ABC30. Officials emphasized no one on campus is currently contagious, but 22 out of 169 people exposed have tested positive for the infection, though they show no symptoms yet. Health officials are teaming up with the school for contact tracing and testing,...

McDonnell told the council the LAPD is facing a massive funding problem for the 2028 Olympic Games. He warns that without specific city funding, the department will be stretched past its limits to protect both visitors and locals. “The $1 billion budget is for all agencies involved in the Olympics, not just the LAPD, and will be restricted primarily to police officer overtime,” McDonnell said. “LA28 confirmed that they have zero police or public safety budget. And while they do have a security budget, it doesn’t cover law enforcement.” LA28 told KTLA it’s grateful for the $1 billion from Congress,...

California’s soaring cost for its dragged-out high-speed rail construction was inflated by another recent political embarrassment for the state: labor icon Cesar Chavez.

Calls are growing for California’s high-speed rail to be abandoned completely after revelations the estimated cost of completing Gavin Newsom’s fantasy train project has ballooned to a staggering $231 billion. The latest cost revisions for the project — revealed during a Senate Transportation Committee meeting — left lawmakers fuming after the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office flagged numerous concerns. State Sen. Tony Strickland, vice chair of the STC, said the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s plan continues to obscure true costs — and now he’s calling for the entire project to be scrapped.

California’s High-Speed Rail boondoggle is now estimated to cost taxpayers $231 billion, up from its original $33.5 billion price tag in 2008 when voters passed Proposition 1A. “Our country has never seen a fiscal disaster of this magnitude,” California Rep. Kevin Kiley said on X Monday. Voters were deceived by the original ballot summary and language in Proposition 1A from 2008, but the state’s lawmakers seem to find that fact inconvenient. And, the entire project is lacking in private, public and debt funding to complete even the most minor operating segment – nearly 20 years later. “If it is built,...