Free Republic

Disturbing details about Cesar Chavez’s creepy California lair are emerging where the disgraced union titan allegedly raped girls and women while living like a king. Chavez has been accused of sexually abusing multiple young girls and women, according to a shocking investigation from the New York Times. Multiple women, two of whom said they were children, detailed accounts of when Chavez allegedly began sexually abusing them. The allegations have surfaced more than thirty years since the co-founder of the United Farm Workers labor union died in 1993. Ana Murguia claimed the abuse started when she was just 13, while Debra...

This morning, federal and local law enforcement arrested 10 defendants—eight in Los Angeles County and two foreign nationals—charged in a 15-count indictment with stealing the identities of elderly victims, using that information to obtain title reports for residential properties, then soliciting millions of dollars in hard-money loans from private lenders by falsely representing the loans as secured by the victims’ properties. These arrests are the tip of the iceberg in terms of the fraud permeating California. Under the leadership of @AGPamBondi, we will target rampant fraud committed against the government and private citizens alike. The defendants arrested in L.A. County...

California Democratic leaders have released statements attempting to distance themselves from pro-labor union activist Cesar Chavez in the wake of "heartbreaking" allegations against him. On Wednesday, the New York Times published a bombshell report revealing accusations that Chavez sexually abused several women, including fellow labor activist Dolores Huerta, prior to his death in 1993. In response to the article, several California elected officials have released statements condemning the actions and expressing support for the victims. "These are heartbreaking, horrific accounts of abuse. I stand with the survivors, commend them for their bravery in sharing their stories, and condemn the abhorrent...

A Los Angeles high school’s “secrecy policy” kept a California couple in the dark about their only child’s gender identity, helped “sever” the family’s relationship — and ultimately drove the teen to suicide, his parents alleged. Dylan Parke was already struggling to fit in as a sophomore at Palisades Charter High School in Los Angeles in 2019-2020 when he told school staffers he would use she/her pronouns and go by the name “Aria,” as he transitioned into a woman. Parke had been diagnosed with depression, was in mental health treatment and “appeared easily influenced and preoccupied with how others perceived...

A hotel near Venice Beach that the city bought to transform into homeless housing remains empty after years of drawn-out delays and a ballooning budget. The former Ramada Inn on Washington Avenue has sat mostly vacant since 2020 as officials have scrambled to secure permits, subsidies and construction financing. Now the price tag for the stalled project is approaching $20 million, after the city plunked down a relatively paltry $8 million for the property in 2020.

In a desperate bid to stop Tinseltown from trekking to cheaper pastures, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is taking a chainsaw to the red tape and high costs of filming at some of the city’s most famous landmarks. Bass announced last week that the city will slash filming fees at the iconic Griffith Observatory by 70% — dropping the daily price tag from $100,000 to a more manageable $30,000. The move effectively rolls back costs to 2008 levels, signaling a massive retreat from the 2022 fee hikes that may have helped drive production out of state.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and President Donald Trump have finally broken their silence. Months after a tense public clash over rebuilding the Pacific Palisades following the devastating 2025 wildfires, the progressive mayor and the Republican president spoke directly by phone, a conversation Bass revealed in an interview Friday with KNX Los Angeles City Hall reporter Craig Fiegener that was obtained by The Post. Bass said she called the White House early in the week and Trump returned her call on Thursday. The call marks the first known conversation between the two since the early days of the wildfire crisis,...

The majority approved language that would replace the elected Controller’s role with an appointed CFO, potentially stripping away independent oversightIn a move that has ignited fierce backlash, the Los Angeles Charter Reform Commission voted 9-2 on Thursday to advance a proposal that would effectively eliminate the independent City Controller’s office, shifting its core functions—including audits, accounting, payments, revenue forecasting, and fraud investigations—to a new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) appointed by Mayor Karen Bass and accountable to the City Council. This reform, framed by supporters as a consolidation of financial operations to address the city’s ongoing budget crisis, comes just weeks...

Fire victims in Pacific Palisades say they are frustrated and confused after receiving brush clearance bills from the City of Los Angeles for properties where their homes once stood. What we know: Nearly 14 months after last year’s deadly fire destroyed thousands of homes across the community, some residents say they were mailed $31 notices citing alleged noncompliance with brush clearance rules — even though their lots remain empty and covered mostly in dirt. "This is one final blow. After everything that happened, they’re still trying to take money," said resident Christine Martinez, whose home was destroyed in the fire....

One of the hallmarks of narcissism is that when things go wrong, it’s always someone else’s fault. Being a narcissist means never having to say you’re sorry. Nothing more perfectly illustrates this truism than an essay from yesterday’s Los Angeles Times blaming Republicans for California’s myriad woes. While the author is correct that, when Republicans had the chance, they didn’t make smart decisions, the reality is that it’s the Democrats who have led California to the desperate place it’s in now. Steve Lopez’s essay doesn’t make the mistake of blaming Republicans for all the state’s problems. He concedes that Democrats...

A driver armed with a flamethrower has rammed a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power substation in a possible “terrorism-related event.” The rented silver Nissan Sentra crashed through a secured gate at the site in Boulder City, Nevada, before a gun went off on Thursday. A man, who was wearing “soft body armor” and had two shotguns and an assault rifle-style pistol, was found dead in the car suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill said on Friday they were investigating the attack. A police statement said: “Officers discovered a deceased adult...

Steven Spielberg, phone home! The legendary “E.T.” director and California resident has moved to Manhattan amid a billionaire exodus from the Golden State — as voters eye a controversial wealth tax. But the move, first reported by the LA Times, allegedly had nothing to do with the 2026 Billionaire Tax Act. “Steven’s move to the East Coast is both long-planned and driven purely by his and Kate Capshaw’s desire to be closer to their New York-based children and grandchildren,” spokeswoman Terry Press said. Press did not answer queries about Spielberg’s stance on the proposed tax, which would slap a one-time...

The city of Malibu slapped Los Angeles and the state of California with a lawsuit over the devastating Palisades fire — saying officials didn’t do enough to stop the deadly blaze that “hollowed out” the oceanside community. Malibu said the city’s “entire character changed” when the wildfire swept through and that it is “still reeling from the destruction it left in its wake,” according to the suit. The 66-page complaint seeks to “recover significant financial losses” resulting from the devastating fire. “This decision was not made lightly,” Malibu Mayor Bruce Silverstein said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. “The City...

Their revolution could soon be coming to an end. January 3, 2026. Caracas. 2:47 AM. The helicopters had come in low over the Caribbean, running dark. The Delta Force operators on board were well-rehearsed. By 3:29 AM, it was over. Thirty-two Cuban bodyguards lay dead in the compound. Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were in flex cuffs, hustled onto a transport aircraft bound for New York. At Mar-a-Lago, President Trump watched the operation unfold in real time with his national security team. It was January 3—exactly 36 years to the day since American forces had extracted military dictator Manuel...

The full extent of the Palisades Fire report cover-up has been revealed. The California Post has obtained the first draft of the Palisades After-Action Fire Report — before it was quietly altered and released to the public. Newly uncovered edits show sweeping changes to the 92-page document that was meant to deliver a warts-and-all account of the disaster, putting more pressure on Mayor Karen Bass to explain whether her office played a role in softening the language to blunt criticism of the city’s response to a fire that killed at least 31 people and destroyed more than 16,000 structures. Mayor...

Democratic Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman, an avowed socialist, announced Saturday she will challenge her longtime ally, Democratic Mayor Karen Bass, who seeks reelection in June. Raman, an Indian immigrant, has served on the City Council since 2020 after — with backing from the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) — she defeated an incumbent councilmember in the Democratic primary. Bass, a former congresswoman, has served as Los Angeles’s mayor since 2022. She recently came under scrutiny for her response to both the riots against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in mid-2025 and the devastating wildfire which engulfed the city’s...

Embattled Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass secretly altered the official Palisades Fire response report to downplay the failures made by the city and fire department when the deadly blaze erupted, a new report said. Bass, after seeing an early draft of the after-action report, wanted key findings of the Los Angeles Fire Department’s shortcomings scrubbed or watered down — and even warned then-interim Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva the unedited conclusions could expose the city to legal liability, sources close to the Democrat’s staff told the Los Angeles Times. Bass was cautioned that the self-serving tweaks in with the report was...

Things are getting tense in downtown Los Angeles Friday evening as anti-ICE protesters are at it again, attacking law enforcement, blowing whistles, and throwing water bottles. Video journalist Anthony Cabassa is on the scene:BREAKING 🚨: Chaos is unfolding as the protests turn violent. Water bottles and rocks being thrown at federal agents retreating, protestors pepper sprayed as agents attempt to keep control.Agents are vastly outnumbered, no local police presence after over an hour of turmoil. pic.twitter.com/oCli2wCuoI— Anthony (@anthonycabassa) January 31, 2026The Los Angeles Police Department declared a tactical alert after protesters refused to disperse.⚠️Community Advisory⚠️Due to violent agitators on Alameda...

Democratic Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson admitted Wednesday he was “in regular communication” with other mayors leading so-called “sanctuary cities” in efforts to impede enforcement of federal immigration laws. President Donald Trump called for an end to “sanctuary cities” in a post on Truth Social Monday, following a series of shootings, two of them fatal, that took place in Minneapolis involving Department of Homeland Security personnel engaged in immigration enforcement operations. Johnson said during a press conference at the National Press Club he’d been talking with Democratic Mayors Jacob Frey of Minneapolis and Michelle Wu of Boston about how to combat...

"I got more water coming outta my eyes than DWP had in both of our reservoirs" -@spencerpratt Television personality Spencer Pratt, who lost his home in the Palisades Fire and has been a vocal critic in the months since of the city's and state's preparation for and response to the conflagration, announced Wednesday that he is running for mayor of Los Angeles. Speaking at a "They Let Us Burn" rally held by the Palisades Fire Residents Coalition to mark the one-year anniversary of the fire's start, the 42-year-old Pratt again repeated his complaints about authorities' handling of the blaze, then...