Free Republic

Do you remember that high-speed rail project in California that was supposed to connect Los Angeles to San Francisco and be completed in 2020? Well, it's finally ready to begin laying track on a much shorter section on a ludicrously bigger budget. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) proudly announced that the high-speed rail has entered the track-laying phase. In his words, “We are now in the process of starting to lay track.” (Emphasis added). This is not for the full Los Angeles-San Francisco line that was supposed to be done six years ago, but for a 119-mile stretch from Madera County...

Let’s get this out of the way: He is embarrassingly handsome, his hair seasoned with silver, at ease with his own eminence as he delivers his final State of the State address. “In Washington, the president believes that might makes right,” pronounces California governor Gavin Newsom. “Secret police, businesses raided, windows smashed, citizens detained, citizens shot, masked men snatching people in broad daylight….” His tone is temperate, but the words echo through the State Capitol’s Assembly chamber, the august backdrop for his speech. “Lining the pockets of the rich; crony capitalism at an unimaginable scale,” he goes on. “Rolling back...

A former Atlanta Housing Authority executive pleaded guilty Monday in a federal court to collecting more than $300,000 in federal housing and pandemic funds. Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Ashli Lincoln was in the courtroom as former senior vice president Tracy Jones pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit theft of government funds, wire fraud and credit application fraud.

In a startling development, a Minnesota building that was originally a linen factory is allegedly now housing around 400 Medicaid billing businesses. In a social media clip, Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), revealed that these businesses billed approximately $380 million (£278 million) to Medicaid. ‘Behind me is the Griggs Midway building. It looks like a factory because it was a factory. Roughly 400 Medicaid businesses were started in the building behind me over the last several years,’ Oz said while standing alongside acting CDC Director Jim O’Neill outside the building in St. Paul....

BALTIMORE (WBFF) — A nonprofit tied to Mayor Brandon Scott’s wife stopped operations after receiving roughly $100,000 in taxpayer money, leaving unanswered questions about whether those funds will be returned. ...

The wife of a homeless charity boss who allegedly cheated California taxpayers out of $23 million dollars was spotted dashing out of her $7 million dollar mansion Sunday — as neighbor’s dished on the couple’s lavish lifestyle. Alexander Soofer and Ashley Afraimian allegedly blew $40,000 just on landscaping at their Westwood estate, which the feds claim was bought with fraudulently obtained funds meant to help Los Angeles’ homeless community. “The neighborhood is buzzing,” one local resident said. “Taking money marked for the homeless. Its horrible, horrible” said another outraged neighbor. Afraimian, dressed in a grey sweater adorned with blue stars,...

Federal prosecutors announced Friday that the head of a South Los Angeles charity was arrested on wire-fraud charges, accused of stealing more than $23 million meant to help people experiencing homelessness — and spending some of it on luxury travel, including stays at a Maui resort featured in HBO’s “The White Lotus.” Authorities say Alexander Soofer, 42, ran Abundant Blessings, a Hyde Park-based nonprofit that received more than $23 million in homelessness funding between 2018 and 2025. Prosecutors allege he pocketed at least $10 million for a $7 million Westwood home, private jet trips, designer shopping and a vacation property...

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) joins MS NOW's Lawrence O'Donnell to discuss the escalation in aggressive ICE tactics in Minnesota after Renee Good's fatal shooting.

San Francisco's beloved mall will finally shut its doors after years of harrowing decline and fears of crime and homelessness. San Francisco Centre, formerly known as the Westfield Mall, will permanently close on January 26, an employee for the disgraced shopping center's lone remaining store told the San Francisco Chronicle. The iconic mall began spiraling downward with the rest of the Democrat run city after the COVID-19 pandemic. Rumors of the closure have circulated for months as sprawling homeless encampments deterred tourists and locals alike. As downtown foot traffic decreased, the mall saw fewer and fewer customers. Its flagship Nordstrom...

Federal investigators are sounding the alarm over so-called “ghost students”. Fake college enrollments used to steal millions in financial aid. As Minnesota faces mounting scrutiny, questions are growing about oversight failures, organized fraud rings, and whether political leaders ignored warning signs for years.

A Democratic Socialists of America member vying to be Los Angeles’ own Zohran Mamdani went off the rails on live radio — lashing out at a reporter while bungling basic questions, including getting her own age wrong. The tense clash erupted during a sit-down with KNX News when mayoral hopeful Rae Huang tangled with veteran City Hall reporter Craig Fiegener — growing increasingly frustrated as he pressed her on key issues such as taxes and policing, according to audio of the exchange obtained by The Post. The fireworks started almost immediately, as Huang hyped the “Overpaid CEO Tax” — a...

The Trump administration has justified its ongoing immigration crackdown in Minnesota by citing a need to curb fraud and pointing to a widening scandal involving members of the Somali American community. Yet prosecutors say the mastermind of the state's biggest fraud scheme to date was not Somali but a White woman — 45-year-old Aimee Bock. In an exclusive interview from her jail cell, Bock defended her conduct, admitted regrets and argued that state officials who she worked with should bear some of the blame. It was the first time Bock spoke publicly since she was arrested for her role in...

An outbreak of deadly bacteria at a Bay Area homeless encampment has sparked urgent calls for action in Los Angeles, with officials warning the disease may already be circulating in the city. The bacterial disease leptospirosis was found in rats at encampments in the hippie college town of Berkeley, leading health officials there to issue an urgent warning to the homeless to clear out. Officials told them to relocate at least a third of a mile from the “red zone” encompassing several square blocks as soon as possible. The warning comes as authorities attempted remove the encampment last year but...

MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) - For five months, Fox 9 has been investigating what appears to be rampant fraud in a massive state program. This fraud is suspected of costing Minnesota taxpayers as much as $100 million a year. The Fox 9 Investigators reporting is based on public records and nearly a dozen government sources who have direct knowledge of what is happening. These sources have a deep fear, and there is evidence to support their concerns, that some of that public money is ending up in the hands of terrorists. SUITCASES FILLED WITH MONEY This story begins at Minneapolis-St. Paul International...

Oh, Look! Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz welcomed high school students to the State Capitol building for a "walk out" in protest of ICE operations in the state - quickly devolves into an all-out brawl!

Only 34% of students in the Saint Paul School District are meeting grade-level reading standards. Maybe they should focus on teaching kids to read instead of teaching them how to protest for leftist causes

A daycare worker murdered a baby boy and tried to strangle another infant to death at the Rocking Horse Ranch daycare facility in Savage, Minnesota. 11-month-old Harvey Muklebust was suffocated to death by Theah Russell in September 2025. According to reports, a worker at the Rocking Horse Ranch child care facility dialed 911 on September 22, 2025 to report that a baby, later identified as Muklebust, was not breathing. The baby boy was transported to a hospital where he died.

The Somali-dominated Democratic political machine in Minnesota successfully silenced hundreds of government experts who tracked the huge flow of taxpayer funds through Somali-run businesses, a top Minnesota Republican told a House hearing on Wednesday. Up to 1,000 government auditors, accountants, and program managers were silenced by Democratic threats, Minnesota House Rep. Marion Rarick told a House hearing: The most severe ones was that they would be fired with cause so they couldn’t have unemployment insurance, that they would be blacklisted from all state agencies… [including] Hennepin County, Ramsey County. As you know, those are Democrat-run. Many government experts, non-government professionals,...

A third of Washington State Ferries are offline—and this crisis didn’t just happen. Years of Democrats chasing battery-powered ferry press releases while neglecting basic maintenance left commuters stranded and routes unreliable. This is what misplaced priorities look like. And those in charge waltz off into the sunset with a government pension.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has authorized the state’s National Guard to help support local law enforcement as tensions have risen in Minneapolis following the fatal shooting of Renee Good.The National Guard will help protect critical infrastructure and maintain public safety, a news release from Walzs’ office said.“Yesterday, I directed the National Guard to be ready should they be needed,” Walz said in a statement. “They remain ready in the event they are needed to help keep the peace, ensure public safety, and allow for peaceful demonstrations.”He also thanked Minnesotans as they have “met this moment,” adding “we have every reason...