Free Republic

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced his plans to sue the Trump administration for “illegally act[ing] to federalize the National Guard” to contain the Los Angeles anti-deportation riots, accusing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of being “in over his head.” When asked by left-wing YouTuber Brian Taylor Cohen if he has any “confidence” that Hegseth will be as “principled” as former Defense Secretary Mark Esper was on Monday, Newsom coldly responded, “Pete Hegseth is a joke. He’s a joke. Everybody knows it, so in over his head. What an embarrassment.” “That guy’s just weakness masquerading as strength. I don’t even know...

In one of the nation’s first wrongful-death claims seeking to hold the fossil fuel industry accountable for its role in the changing climate, a Washington state woman is suing seven oil and gas companies, saying they contributed to an extraordinarily hot day that led to her mother’s fatal hyperthermia.

Hazleton Mayor Jeff Cusat announced on Tuesday that the Department of Justice (DOJ) dismissed its voting rights lawsuit against the city. The DOJ filed the suit in January of this year, alleging that the city’s “at-large” method of electing city council members resulted in Hispanic citizens having less opportunity than others to participate in electing candidates of choice. The city filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, which had been pending at the time the case was withdrawn. …

A New York father and NAACP leader is demanding his school district ditch its new "Spartans" mascot, alleging the warriors from ancient Greece symbolize enslavement and white supremacy. William King Moss III, a father of two second-graders in the Brentwood Union Free School District on Long Island, filed a lawsuit last month claiming the Spartans moniker represents a symbol of "white supremacy" that violates state civil rights and constitutional protections. "I look at a white soldier that has conquered people and enslaved them as white supremacy," Moss told Newsweek early Tuesday. "That's how I look at it. I think that's...

political action committee has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission against Donald Trump over his recent two-hour live interview with Elon Musk. End Citizens United, a Democrat-aligned PAC, claims that the interview "amounted to a virtual campaign event" for Trump financed by X, formerly Twitter, which would be in violation of federal law. The complaint names Trump, his campaign treasurer Bradley T. Crate and X as the respondents. "Such a brazen corporate contribution undermines the anti-corruption aims of the Act, and the Commission should immediately investigate these violations and take appropriate remedial action," the complaint said, referring to...

... In one example, a mural was displayed in the factory from 2005 to 2021 as a memorial for Confederate leaders using General Mills mascots, like the Cocoa Puffs cuckoo bird portraying the president of the confederacy, Jefferson Davis, and the Honey Nut Cheerios bee depicting General Stonewall Jackson, the lawsuit said. ...

Former President Trump said he will miss the E. Jean Carroll trial on Thursday so that he can attend his mother-in-law’s funeral, blasting the judge presiding over the case as "nasty" for not delaying court proceedings for the day. ... "So, it happened very terribly as we asked to just delay the trial for one day so I could go to the funeral tomorrow and then we could start Friday or Monday or any time they want," Trump explained. "And he said, absolutely not, the trial will go on just as it is." Trump said the judge said, "You can...

A group of San Francisco police officers has been accused of "racial bias" in connection with the August 2022 arrest of a mentally ill man who pulled out a realistic prop gun and fired off multiple blanks, resulting in a 53-minute standoff that ended without anyone being hurt. Bodycam shows police repeatedly shouted at Corvera to drop the weapon and warned passersby to stay back. "Drop that gun on the floor or you will be shot," one officer shouts. "Put it on the floor!" Corvera fired blanks over the course of the standoff, and at least 17 officers responded to...

A transgender woman is suing a Manhattan yoga studio for $5 million because she was forced to use the men’s locker room. It’s the third gender-identity discrimination lawsuit Ali Miles, who also goes by the name Dylan Miles, has filed in the city in 13 months — and could be part of a coming tsunami of trans-rights lawsuits targeting small businesses. Miles claims to be in “the process of transitioning into [a] woman,” wearing women’s clothing and undergoing hormone therapies, according to court papers. The Arizona native turned up at Hot Yoga Chelsea on West 27th Street on May 4...

An Albany mother claims she was left “angry” and “betrayed” when the apple pie she thought she was buying from a local ShopRite turned out to be a cherry pie, leading her daughter to get sick when she ate a piece of it, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Albany County Supreme Court. The supermarket allegedly “misbranded and mislabeled” the pastry as an apple pie that she bought during a trip to the store on April 20, according to legal papers. For that alleged switcheroo, plaintiff Tiffany Brady wants $35,000 in damages. Brady, a mother of five, and her...

A popular Orlando restaurant that regularly features drag shows filed a federal lawsuit against the state of Florida and Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday, less than a week after he signed a bill that targets drag performances. The lawsuit filed in Orlando federal court by the owner of Hamburger Mary’s Orlando claims the state is depriving the business of its First Amendment rights to free expression. The restaurant is asking the court to temporarily stop the law from taking effect while the case moves forwardDeSantis has made anti-LGBTQ+ legislation a large part of his agenda as he prepares to seek...

A federal judge on Thursday imposed nearly $1 million in sanctions on former President Donald Trump and his lawyer for filing a since-dismissed ‘frivolous’ lawsuit against Hillary Clinton and many others, which had claimed they tried to rig the 2016 presidential election in her favor by smearing Trump.“We are confronted with a lawsuit that should never have been filed, which was completely frivolous, both factually and legally, and which was brought in bad faith for an improper purpose,” wrote Judge John Middlebrooks in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in his order sanctioning Trump.The judge in his...

A Florida woman is suing the parent company of Velveeta’s microwavable Shells & Cheese cups after claiming it takes longer to prepare the meal than the 3 1/2 minutes the box label says. The suit alleges that the statement of "’ready in 3 1/2 minutes’ is false and misleading because the product takes longer than the 3-and-a-half minutes to prepare for consumption." It goes on to quote the four steps to prepare the meal that are printed on the box label before alleging that the 3 1/2-minute ready time is "just the length of time to complete one of several...

A librarian in Louisiana filed a lawsuit against two men and a conservative organization alleging they defamed her when they attacked her for supporting the teaching of books involving the LGBTQ community. Amanda Jones, a middle school librarian and the president of the Louisiana Association of School Librarians, alleged in the lawsuit that a “public campaign” against her started after she spoke out against removing certain books from the Livingston Parish Library system at a board meeting. The lawsuit states that Citizens for a New Louisiana posted on its Facebook on July 20, the day after the meeting, criticizing “anti-censorship...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Homosexual rights advocates sued Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday to block a new law that forbids classroom instruction on homosexual and transgender topics in kindergarten through third grade. The law states: “Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.” Parents would be able to sue districts over violations. The challenge filed in federal court in Tallahassee on behalf of Equality Florida and Family...

Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) has been served with a lawsuit filed by Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), days after attorneys for Swalwell said they were having trouble tracking down the Alabama Republican, Brooks and a Swalwell representative confirmed. The lawsuit accuses Brooks and other allies of former President Trump of provoking the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Brooks tweeted on Sunday that he had been served with the suit and claimed members of "Swalwell's team" broke into his home and served the lawsuit to his wife. Speaking to CNN, Philip Andonian, an attorney for Swalwell, shot back at Brooks's...

Dominion Voting Systems announced Friday it sued pro-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell, claiming she damaged the company’s reputation in her election lawsuits where she claimed votes in several swing-states were manipulated in favor of President-elect Joseph R. Biden. “Lies were told about government election officials, elections workers, and Dominion Voting Systems. Those lies have consequences. They have served to diminish the credibility of U.S. elections. They have subjected officials and Dominion employees to harassment and death threats. And they have severely damaged the reputation of our company,” said John Poulos, CEO of Dominion. “Today is the first step to restore our...

Voting equipment manufacturer Smartmatic on Monday sent legal notices to Fox News and other conservative media organizations threatening legal action if they do not retract stories that have promoted “false and defamatory” claims about the company and its products in the weeks following the presidential election. In the letters, which were also sent to One America News and Newsmax, an attorney for Smartmatic said Fox “engaged in a concerted disinformation campaign” as Fox hosts and guests have repeatedly pushed discredited conspiracy theories and other misinformation to claim, falsely, that the election was “stolen” from President Donald Trump. Misinformation about voting...

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. — Attorney Geoffrey Fieger said Thursday he has filed a $50 million lawsuit against the city of Southfield and four of its paramedics on behalf of a woman who was declared dead and left at a Detroit funeral home for hours before anyone realized she was still alive. Fieger said he filed the suit Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. The suit names the city and four city employees, Michael Storms, Scott Rickard, Phillip Mulligan and Jake Kroll. The woman, Timesha Beauchamp, 20, was in a body bag for at least two...

A property owner’s association is suing a retired Texas City couple for thousands of dollars over a dispute about flower beds that did not meet the HOA’s guidelines. Klaas and Dorothy Tadema moved into the Lago Mar neighborhood after their Dickinson home flooded during Hurricane Harvey. The Tademas said they installed flower beds on the property in November 2018. They said they were notified by the HOA in March 2019 that their home improvements did not meet the association’s guidelines, which the HOA calls “covenants.” The retired couple filed an application along with the $25 fee to get the improvements...