Free Republic

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...

Arsonist in Runyon Canyon gets detained by several presumptive fitness influencers before being arrested by law enforcement. A man was arrested Sunday after witnesses claimed he deliberately started a fire at Runyon Canyon, the popular hiking destination in the Hollywood Hills.

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. (AP) — A historic lodge on the Grand Canyon’s North Rim has been destroyed by a fast-moving wildfire, the park said Sunday. The Grand Canyon Lodge, the only lodging inside the park at the North Rim, was consumed by the flames, park Superintendent Ed Keeble told park residents, staff and others in a meeting Sunday morning. He said the visitor center, the gas station, a waste water treatment plant, an administrative building and some employee housing also were lost. Two wildfires are burning at or near the North Rim, known as the White Sage Fire...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced Tuesday that he had allocated $101 million in new spending on low-income housing in the areas devastated by the Palisades and Eaton Fires, confirming residents’ fears. Residents have long worried that state and local authorities would use the opportunity provided by the fires to build low-income housing — perhaps even for the homeless population, or for housing for illegal migrants. When Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass appointed Steve Soboroff as “chief recovery officer,” without any kind of public process, some residents suspected that Soboroff’s role would be to push for “affordable” housing. Many residents...

The Austin Firefighters Association claims Chief Joel Baker delayed sending firefighters to help with rescue efforts in Kerrville until it was too late. AUSTIN, Texas — Austin's firefighters’ union is calling for a vote of "no confidence" against Austin Fire Department Chief Joel Baker over his response to the deadly Central Texas flooding. The Austin Firefighters Association claims Baker delayed sending firefighters to help with rescue efforts in Kerrville until it was too late. The union says lives were likely lost because of his decision. Union President Bob Nicks will hold a press conference on Tuesday morning at 11 a.m....

A man was killed in Los Angeles after commercial-grade fireworks caused a massive fire at his home, investigators said. Officials also said a woman, believed to be the man's wife, is hospitalized and fighting for her life after the incident on Thursday night in the Pacoima neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley, FOX 11 LA reported. Crews discovered the man and woman trapped in a home as they were evacuating people in the area. The man was pronounced dead at the scene and the woman was transported to a hospital in critical condition. The fire was reported on Thursday at...

BNO News Live @BNODesk · 13h Explosion at fireworks warehouse in Yolo County, California captured on live TV VIDEO AT LINK....................

Live streaming now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHJeno25d0g

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's attempt to mock President Donald Trump's military parade honoring the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army backfired on social media as conservatives and other critics lambasted her for allegedly holding "utter contempt" for the U.S. military, while others slammed her for spending the weekend in the Hamptons attending her former longtime aide's wedding while criticizing Trump. "This witch was a few votes away from becoming commander in chief. This is what she thinks of our military. Man, @BuzzPatterson was right. Hillary hates the troops," conservative X commentator Benny Johnson posted in response to Clinton's...

Residents of are told to shelter in place after massive fire erupts at Marathon Oil refinery plant At this time, emergency crews are actively responding to a major fire at the Marathon Oil refinery plant in Texas City. Massive flames and thick plumes of toxic smoke can be seen billowing from the site, prompting officials to issue a shelter-in-place order for nearby residents due to health and safety concerns. The exact cause of the fire remains under investigation, and authorities have not yet determined how it started. Hazmat teams are also on standby as a precaution, given the potential for...

A huge blaze has erupted at an oil refinery in a Russian town that was hit by Ukrainian drones earlier this year. Footage shows a fire raging at the industrial site in Kstovo, around 500 miles from the front lines in eastern Ukraine. A thick column of black smoke poured from the plant, reportedly the Lukoil oil refinery in the Nizhny Novgorod region.

A former Fire Service chief and nine others have been convicted for their roles in managing a 2018 wildfire that killed more than 100 people outside Athens. Several former civil administrators on trial were acquitted at a hearing that was disrupted by protests from victims’ relatives. The fire, which broke out in the seaside area of Mati, east of Athens, spread rapidly due to strong winds. Many residents died trying to escape — either by car through a dense forest or fleeing into the sea. Advertisement According to Associated Press, senior officials from the Fire Service and civil protection agencies...

Three teens have been arrested for trashing and setting fire to the beloved historic Sleepy Hollow lighthouse in a “heartbreaking” attack just a year after its multimillion-dollar renovation, according to officials. Baby-faced firebugs Elvin Ayavaca, 18, of White Plains and Richard Barrero, 19, of Harrison, along with an unidentified 17-year-old, caused at least $100,000 in damage to the charming 142-year-old landmark, the Westchester County Police said in a press release Friday. The trio was charged with arson, burglary and criminal mischief after getting caught on camera strolling over a bridge leading to the lighthouse Saturday, according to police. A fourth...

Thursday on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360,” left-wing political commentator Van Jones said President Donald Trump should “fire, investigate and prosecute” all of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) employees. Jones said, “Look, a couple of things. One is, you know, the power that Elon Musk still has is significant. Somebody said Trump has three and a half more years, Elon has 40. He’s a billionaire. He’s got a long-term play.” Cooper said, “I believe it was Elon Musk who said that.” Jones said, “Elon’s correct. You good at math? But the other piece of it is those DOGE employees are...

A cargo ship carrying 3,000 cars, including 800 electric vehicles, caught fire off the coast of Alaska and continues to burn. The Coast Guard says that all 22 crew members escaped the ship and were picked up by two nearby freighters. The ship, a Liberian-registered car-carrier named "Morning Midas," was on its way to Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexico, from Yantai, China.. ... the Coast Guard is going to let the ship burn, since trying to put out a lithium-ion fire is nearly futile. ... In 2022, the Felicity Ace, a car carrier slightly larger than Morning Midas, sank in the Atlantic...

The crew of a cargo ship carrying 3,000 vehicles to Mexico, including 800 electric vehicles, abandoned ship after they could not control a fire in waters off Alaska's Aleutian island chain. Smoke was initially seen coming from the deck loaded with electric vehicles Tuesday, according to a Wednesday statement from the ship’s management company, London-based Zodiac Maritime. There were no reported injuries among the 22 crew members of the Morning Midas.

LOS ANGELES — Mayor Karen Bass used Walter Lopes’ Pacific Palisades home as a prop to pat herself on the back for helping the neighborhood rebuild after the January wildfires. But The Post can reveal that Lopes’ house is the only structure standing for blocks and blocks in the charred, desolate neighborhood. And even he isn’t buying Bass’s narrative that rebuilding is going swiftly and smoothly. Lopes said he was only able to get started so quickly because he was rebuilding his house exactly as it was constructed just a few years ago — and he’s shelled out millions of...

LOS ANGELES — Mayor Karen Bass is catching heat for her claims that new homes are springing up across the Pacific Palisades just months after wildfires leveled the neighborhood. “Karen Bass is full of crap,” Pacific Palisades resident Sara Trepanier, a physician and single mom of four who lost her home to the devastating blaze in January, told The Post Tuesday. Trepanier’s candid words come just a day after Bass proclaimed on X that “homes are under construction throughout the Palisades,” lauding her efforts to “cut red tape” on building permits and “get families home.

LOS ANGELES — Mayor Karen Bass is catching heat for her claims that new homes are springing up across the Pacific Palisades just months after wildfires leveled the neighborhood. “Karen Bass is full of crap,” Pacific Palisades resident Sara Trepanier, a physician and single mom of four who lost her home to the devastating blaze in January, told The Post Tuesday. Trepanier’s candid words come just a day after Bass proclaimed on X that “homes are under construction throughout the Palisades,” lauding her efforts to “cut red tape” on building permits and “get families home.”

U.S. Fire that destroyed historic Clayborn Temple in Memphis was intentionally set, investigators say By Updated on: May 21, 2025 / 6:11 PM EDT / CBS/AP The fire that destroyed the Clayborn Temple, a historic Black church in downtown Memphis that was the organizing point for Martin Luther King Jr.'s final campaign in 1968, was intentionally set, investigators said Wednesday. The Memphis Fire Department said the fire on April 28 was started on the interior of the church, and authorities are searching for a person of interest. Memphis Fire Chief Gina Sweat last month described the inside of the church...