Free Republic

Brighton, N.Y. (WHAM) — Gov. Kathy Hochul said she has taken steps to address the ongoing road salt shortage in New York state, including suspending the hours of service requirements for all truck drivers to increase deliveries. Hochul was in the Rochester area Friday and answered questions 13WHAM had about the rock salt shortage that has caused concern across the state and locally. More than 150 trucks lined up and down Lakeside Drive in Ontario to purchase rock salt earlier in the week. Several municipalities are also dealing with shortages and delivery delays from American Rock Salt.

Donald Trump traveled to Los Angeles on Friday to view firsthand the massive damage of the wildfires. But unlike other presidents who might have played nice with local politicians dealing with an unprecedented disaster, Trump let Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass have it with both barrels. ... We are going to do everything we can, slashing regulations, expediting everything so that people can begin the process right away," Bass said during the meeting. That's not true, as Trump pointed out. "We know the one thing is they are saying they will not be allowed to start for 18 months," Trump...

Democrats have their panties in a wad over the work that Elon Musk and DOGE are doing to control government spending. But despite all the hoopla, what’s actually going on is straightforward stuff that most people probably — but wrongly — assumed the government was doing all along. ... Musk wrote on X Saturday that DOGE and the Treasury Department have agreed to take the following steps: All outgoing payments must have a categorization code in order to be paid. That’s supposed to already happen, but Musk has found the code is often left blank, making audits nearly impossible. All...

A Russian intelligence-gathering vessel caught fire and temporarily lost control off the Syrian coast on Janaury 23, according to Associated Press (AP). The Kildin, a Russian spy ship equipped with surveillance technology, was seen emitting black smoke and flames as it drifted, prompting an urgent maritime radio warning to nearby vessels. The Associated Press obtained audio of the broadcast, as well as video and photographs of the incident. “Warship on your course,” the Russian Captain said. “I am drifting. I’m not under command.” The videos, taken by three NATO military officials, were collected by a nearby NATO vessel. These officials...

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has hinted at the possibility of the U.S. government offering substantial rewards for information leading to the capture of top Taliban leaders. This statement comes amid reports that the Taliban might be holding more American hostages than previously known.Rubio mentioned on the social media platform X that if these reports are verified, the U.S. might introduce bounties potentially larger than those once offered for Osama bin Laden. “Just hearing the Taliban is holding more American hostages than has been reported,” Rubio stated. “If this is true, we will have to immediately place a VERY BIG...

True to his Party's belief that crises are opportunities to advance the interests of Democrats, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif) has used the state's wildfire disaster to launch a campaign website. "So far there has been a lot of finger pointing about who's to blame for the magnitude of the fire damage being done in our state," Newsom complained. "What is needed is an honest assessment of the facts. We're calling on folks to help out by donating funds to ensure that those of us who have been diligently governing the state do not suffer undeserved blame." The Governor insisted that...

“All these things are connected. This is a challenging time. But we’re up to this challenge.” That was California Gov. Gavin Newsom back in 2020 when he was busy blaming “climate change” for the wildfires that erupted that year. “I quite literally have no patience for climate change deniers,” he said. Four years later, Newsom is again blaming “climate change” for the fires ravaging LosAngeles. But wait. If climate change really is to blame, why was California so obviously, so woefully, so inexcusably unprepared? Someone needs to ask Newsom why the state didn’t spend the last four years aggressively clearing...

A shocking video shows the leader of diversity, equity and inclusion at the Los Angeles Fire Department appear to blame helpless fire victims as massive blazes continue to tear through the City of Angels. In the public relations video that re-emerged from 2019, Deputy Chief Kristine Larson - who heads the Equity and Human Rights Bureau - defended the fire department's use of DEI hiring practices. She then addressed concerns that female firefighters may not be strong enough to carry a man out of a burning building, to which she simply responded: 'He got himself in the wrong place if...

This article was featured in the One Story to Read Today newsletter. Sign up for it here. In an ember storm, every opening in a house is a portal to hell. A vent without a screen, a crack in the siding, a missing roof tile—each is an opportunity for a spark to smolder. A gutter full of dry leaves is a cradle for an inferno. Think of a rosebush against a bedroom window: fire food. The roses burn first, melting the vinyl seal around the window. The glass pane falls. A shoal of embers enter the house like a school...

A Los Angeles fire chief has blasted the city's mayor Karen Bass for 'failing' fire crews and communities devastated by the ongoing wildfires. Fire Chief Kirstin Crowley took aim at the city's leadership during an interview with KTTV on Friday, admitting it had failed those affected by the fires and prevented the LA Fire Department from effectively doing its job. 'We are screaming to be properly funded to make sure that our firefighters can do their jobs so that we can serve the community,' Crowley said, adding that there were 'huge gaps' in firefighters' ability to tackle the blazes on...

The most politically damaging video to emerge from the massive wildfires burning Los Angeles could have been of Mayor Karen Bass staring blankly into a camera like a deer in headlights as reporters asked her if she had anything to say to the thousands of people whose homes were incinerated. However, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) did one worse than Bass by telling CNN’s Anderson Cooper, “The local folks are going to have to figure that out,” after Cooper asked why so many fire hydrants in the city had no water to douse the flames threatening homes. Newsom shouldn’t have been...

Los Angeles' water boss who makes $750,000 a year couldn't quite explain why fire hydrants have run dry during the disastrous wildfires in a bumbling video. During a press conference Wednesday, Janisse Quiñones, the newly appointed chief executive officer and chief engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, said all water storage tanks in the Pacific Palisades area 'went dry' as flames continue to rage on. At least seven people have been killed and almost 180,000 forced to leave their homes amid the most destructive blaze in the county's history. Quiñones, who previously worked for PG&E prior...

The Young Turks’ Ana Kasparian shredded California Democrats over their handling of the wildfires ravaging the Los Angeles area this week, declaring that if “you want to radicalize people against the modern Democratic Party” you should “send them to LA.” Responding to a tweet from a progressive nonprofit blaming the water shortage in the Golden State on a “billionaire couple,” Kasparian wrote that “CA, and especially LA, is controlled by Democrats. THEY are responsible. No more passing the buck.” “Our Mayor, who was in Ghana as fires exploded in our city, cut the fire budget by $17 million. Endless amounts...

If I had the opportunity to go back in time, knowing what I know now, I would reconsider the decision regarding the "special operation" in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during his annual press conference, APA's Moscow correspondent reports. that this was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin during his annual press conference. He emphasized that preparation was needed before launching the "special operation": "But we began the operations without any special preparation.

Robin McElroy, a Morgan Park resident, has cherished her Chicago home since purchasing it in 2012. But now, she’s facing panic and frustration over a mix-up involving unpaid property taxes. Despite proof of consistent payments since 2012, McElory recently received a letter from the Cook County Circuit Court stating her home was sold for delinquent taxes, and she may owe three years of back rent to the buyer. According to McElroy, she's never been late on her taxes. She even showed CBS News Chicago reporters proof of her tax payments. It’s been a long-standing issue for McElroy — one she...

Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma placed a hold on the promotion of Lt. Gen. Christopher Donahue that would have elevated him to lead U.S. Army forces in Europe.Donahue is currently a three-star general who was nominated to become a four-star general by President Joe Biden earlier this month. Donahue was one of the top military officials overseeing the disastrous withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan.Mullin, who was serving in the House of Representatives at the time of the withdrawal, tried to lead his own outside efforts to extract Americans from Afghanistan, but was repeatedly stymied by the State Department...

Terrifying body camera video showed the moment US Marshals arrested an innocent Arizona grandmother under the barrel of a gun after mistaking her for a completely different person. The two-minute video, obtained by ABC15 after six months of hounding the federal government, showed rifle-wielding officers shouting commands at 66-year-old Penny McCarthy. McCarthy was confused and frightened during the March 5 incident, not even aware at first that she was being pursued by US Marshals. 'We have an arrest warrant,' a federal agent is heard saying on the video. 'For me?' McCarthy responded. 'Yes. For you,' the officer said. 'Who am...

Talk about irony: The FBI, which was willing to use deadly force over Donald Trump allegedly mishandling classified documents, has been systematically mishandling similar information for years, according to bombshell findings released Thursday by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz. The DOJ-IG said it discovered the FBI’s mishandling of classified information while auditing a contract related to how the bureau destroys electronics containing “sensitive-but-unclassified” information, as well as classified national security information. According to Horowitz’s audit, the FBI labels computers that handle such information when it sends them to a facility to be destroyed. However, it does not label internal...

The cause of the CrowdStrike mess has been revealed by the company, together with the steps it has taken to ensure nothing similar can happen again. The company is facing a deluge of lawsuits over the estimated $5B worth of financial losses incurred by its clients, but the small print in its contract may protect it … A quick recap on the outageA huge mistake by cybersecurity company CrowdStrike last month caused a global IT outage on a massive scale, with airlines, banks, health services, and more affected – including some 911 centers. Airlines were forced to ground flights, broadcasters...

It’s time to put to bed the debate over whether it was intention or incompetence that forced Joe Biden’s convention speech into a slot well past prime time. All the evidence points to intent. Organizers scheduled too many speakers and knew what they were going to say because it was all loaded into TelePrompters. No matter their lame defenses Tuesday, they had to assume there would be time spent on applause and transitions, so Biden’s finishing well after midnight on the East Coast could not be a surprise to them. Then again, who can fault the organizers for wanting to...