Free Republic

Some artificial intelligence (AI) data centers are vacant in California because the local utility cannot provide the electricity required to operate them, according to Bloomberg. Although developers in Santa Clara, California, have completed shells of data center projects, the facilities remain empty and unpowered because the city-owned utility Silicon Valley Power (SVP) cannot supply enough electricity to meet their energy demands, Bloomberg reported. California imports the second-largest amount of electricity of any state, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), and has been phasing out reliable power sources like coal as it pursues a rapid green energy transition. Big Tech...

Six years ago, when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld highly partisan state election maps in North Carolina and Maryland — ruling that federal courts cannot block states from drawing up maps that favor one party over the other — one of the court’s liberal justices issued a warning.“If left unchecked, gerrymanders like the ones here may irreparably damage our system of government,” Associate Justice Elena Kagan wrote in a dissent.Kagan argued that Republicans in North Carolina and Democrats in Maryland — the two examples before the court — had rigged elections in a way that “deprived citizens of the most...

'You can't just destroy small communities along the way'An impassioned and oftentimes angry cohort from a small California city turned up ready for a fight this week in opposition to the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s proposal to bisect the town. On Monday, residents of Shafter, a rural town of 22,000 just about 20 miles northwest of Bakersfield, showed up en masse to provide almost two hours of unanimous testimony opposing the plan to their city council. Individual pleas from community members often began calmly and then crescendoed into yelling (or even escalated to holding back tears) following a presentation by...

Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has become one of President Trump's most high-profile adversaries, told "CBS News Sunday Morning" in an exclusive interview that he will consider whether to run for president after the 2026 midterm elections. In an interview taped Thursday in San Jose, Newsom was asked whether he would give "serious thought" to a White House bid once next year's midterm elections are over. "Yeah, I'd be lying otherwise," Newsom replied. "I'd just be lying. And I'm not — I can't do that." Newsom, whose term ends in January 2027 and is prevented from running again due...

At a time when Indian-origin truck drivers are dominating headlines in the US for horrific accidents, a major cargo theft ring has been busted in California, with 12 men charged, including 11 'Singhs'. Referred to as 'Singh Organization' by the cops, the group acquired or fraudulently used real trucking companies to bid on shipping contracts. When they won these bids, they used to take possession of the cargo that was to be shipped, but instead of delivering it to the right destination, they diverted it and stole it. They sold the cargo thorugh black market channels and earned millions of...

California will pour $80 million into food banks and send members of the National Guard and California Volunteers corps to pass out food as public benefits dry up due to the ongoing federal shutdown, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday. Newsom said he was expediting $80 million in food aid and dispatching volunteers on a “humanitarian mission” two days after announcing that residents who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known in-state as CalFresh, would likely not receive any benefits in November if the federal government remained shut after Thursday. Around 5.5 million Californians receive CalFresh benefits, which average out...

Politicians promised regulatory reform after the blazes but delivered administrative purgatory. In the aftermath of January’s devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, which killed 31 people and destroyed more than 16,000 homes and buildings, leaders vowed that they wouldn’t allow the labyrinth of local bureaucracies, so entrenched in California, to slow down recovery efforts.Nine months later, they’re falling woefully short of delivering on their promises.The city of Los Angeles has issued just 782 rebuilding permits, out of 1,843 applications. The county’s numbers are even worse: 568 of 2,200. In both jurisdictions, the process to greenlight rebuilds — even for homes that...

Imagine going to pick up your child from school and being told that he’d already been picked up earlier in the day. The school doesn’t know who the person was that took your child with him, but he filled out the state-required paperwork, and so the school was required to release your child into his custody. The police can’t help because it was all legal. This situation is now entirely plausible in California, where Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 495 into law on October 12. This bill has sparked outrage among conservatives, parental rights advocates, and religious leaders, as...

On Friday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed Assembly Bill 1127, aka, “Glock Ban” legislation, into law. The National Shooting Sports Foundation noted that the “Glock Ban” will take effect July 1, 2026, “[banning] the sale of new Glock-brand pistols and Glock-style clones.” The “Glock Ban” is Democrat-sponsored legislation, fashioned as a response to the use of “Glock Switches,” which are already illegal. “Glock switches” are federally prohibited plastic pieces that can be affixed to the rear of a Glock slide to make the pistol shoot full auto. “Glock switches” are wildly popular with gangs and street criminals, therefore California...

Gov. Newsom signed SB 79 on Friday, allowing buildings up to nine stories near transit stops in eight California counties. The law overrides local zoning and takes effect July 2026. Mayor Bass and the City Council opposed it over local control concerns. Multiple exemptions make the bill complex, and cities await an official map to determine which properties are affected by the upzoning. On the campaign trail eight years ago, Gov. Newsom famously promised to support the construction of 3.5 million new homes in California by the end of this year. He’ll likely fall short by millions, but his latest...

SALINAS, Calif. — A convicted inmate murderer was sentenced for the murder of another inmate at Salinas Valley State Prison, per Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine M. Pacioni. John Lydon, 52, was found guilty of the murder of Son Kim Tran. He received life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Whether by design or by quiet submission to a rapidly-evolving digital landscape, the world’s largest social media companies have allowed their platforms to become factories of division, dehumanization and, increasingly, real-world violence. What began as tools for connection have become engines of rage. It’s no accident. It’s business. At the heart of this transformation lies the engagement algorithm: a seemingly neutral mechanism that curates what billions of people see, like, share and believe. Algorithms are not neutral. They are engineered with a single purpose — to keep us on the platform, clicking, commenting and scrolling. In the race to capture...

I just signed legislation allowing the 800,000 rideshare workers in California to unionize. California is determined to give working people a voice, to give them choice, give them dignity, and give them a say about their future.

The California FAIR Plan, the state’s home insurer of last resort, is seeking an average 35.8% rate hike, its largest in years, following billions of dollars of losses incurred in the January fire storms.The Los Angeles-based insurance pool, operated and backed by the state’s licensed home insurers, filed this week for the dwelling policy rate hike, which must be reviewed and could be reduced by the state insurance commissioner.“By statute, FAIR Plan rates must be sufficient to pay anticipated claims and expenses,” said FAIR Plan spokesperson Hilary McLean in a statement. “The FAIR Plan is working closely with the California...

This is not a war zone, a riot didn’t happen here, and no a bomb didn’t go off here This is Los Angeles, California in a location that used to be full of stores. Busy traffic still drives by and Gavin Newsom wants to be President… “You know I love exploring but even I got my limits when I’m by myself”

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday threatened to cut “billions” in state funding, including to USC, from any California campus that signs a Trump administration compact and agrees to sweeping and largely conservative campus policies in exchange for priority access to federal funding. “If any California University signs this radical agreement, they’ll lose billions in state funding — including Cal Grants — instantly,” Newsom said. “California will not bankroll schools that sell out their students, professors, researchers, and surrender academic freedom.” The bold statement came less than a day after the the White House asked the University of Southern California and...

Gov. Gavin Newsom is threatening to withhold billions in state funds from any California college that signs onto an agreement crafted by President Donald Trump's administration requiring schools to agree to support the President's education agenda in order to have access to federal dollars.

Gavin Newsom, California’s far-left Democrat governor, is known to have presidential aspirations. If he chooses that path, one of issues on which he will face a grilling will be economics. And a new study has revealed it won’t look good. It’s because since he imposed a $20-an-hour minimum wage for fast food workers in his state, California has lost close to 20,000 such jobs. “That’s nearly 25% of the country’s fast-food job losses during that same period, according to an analysis of quarterly data released this month from the Bureau of Labor Statistics,” charged a report in the Washington Examiner....

SAN DIEGO - ICE San Diego officers arrested four illegal aliens who are convicted child sex predators on Sept. 25. The aliens are citizens of Mexico, Vietnam, the Bahamas, and Cuba, who were taken into ICE custody following convictions for crimes against children, including sexual assault, molestation, and rape. Those arrested include: Eduardo Negrete, a citizen of Mexico, convicted of lewd acts with a child under 14, and a known gang member from Eastside San Diego. Hoang Nguyen, a citizen of Vietnam, convicted of molesting a child, lewd acts with a child, and failing to register as a sex offender....

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Following multiple brazen Bay Area jewelry store heists in the last month, ABC7 News heard from a security expert and a community advocate on the concerning trend and why we might be seeing an increase in these robberies.