Free Republic

Facing a public backlash, officials in Southern California's Orange County rescinded their plan Tuesday for emergency homeless shelters in three cities. The homeless shelters in Irvine, Huntington Beach and Laguna Niguel were to house up to 400 people, the Orange County Register reported. Laguna Niguel ranks seventh among the nation’s wealthiest cities, according to a 2016 Register report. "They're just dumping these poor people in our neighborhoods and communities where there are like six schools and, you know, little children walking to school," Irvine resident Radhika Athlaye told ABC7. "Just a general area where it's not right for either the...

Recently, the House passed, by an overwhelming margin, a resolution to condemn the Russian Federation for actions considered hostile and aggressive within its sphere of influence, specifically with regard to the politically torn country of Ukraine. Ten Members voted “nay,” myself among them. I wish to explain why I took this unpopular position. Above all, while Vladimir Putin’s government may well have engaged in questionable behavior toward neighboring countries, Resolution 758 was nothing more than gratuitous, needlessly provocative and shortsighted. Moreover, reasonable observers the world over can see it as tantamount to a declaration that Russia is America’s enemy. The...

Two Southern California offices were named Tuesday in an Internal Revenue Services scandal where offices singled out Tea Party organizations during the 2012 election. Offices in El Monte and Laguna Niguel came under fire after allegedly targeting conservative social welfare groups with the words “tea party” or “patriot” in their names in the national scandal. IRS officials sent questionnaires to the groups, probing about their donor lists and requesting other information after the groups filed for tax exempt status.

Higgens was paid by dozens of foreign students -- mostly from the Middle East -- who were paying him to sit in class, take exams and write papers for them so their student visas would remain valid. Investigators with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the demand was so great that he hired employees, including a blond woman who they believe posed as an Middle Eastern man to take a test. Agents are continuing to investigate the case and believe Higgins had several co-conspirators.

The biggest event of the year in Laguna Niguel, Calif., is coming up on Saturday, but Mayor Robert Ming has a message for those planning to attend: Keep your pants on. For 30 years, the town has played host to an affair dubbed "Moon Over Amtrak." Crowds line Camino Capistrano, a road that runs along the railroad tracks, and pass the day dropping their trousers every time a train rolls by...

LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif. — The Laguna Niguel City Council wants to eclipse the annual ritual of mooning Amtrak trains and encourage thousands of partiers to pull up their pants. The council voted Tuesday to ban consuming alcohol in public and urinating in public to crack down on the 30-year-old tradition. City officials said the vote does not ban mooning but is meant to discourage rowdy behavior. -- "Most of the people who come aren't locals. Because of the Internet, it's gone worldwide," city spokeswoman Meg Waters said. "It's not a local family event. It's just gotten bigger and bigger."