Free Republic

California Gov. Gavin Newsom allowed local refineries to produce their “winter blend” of gasoline a month early in a bid to reduce gas prices, which have soared back to near-record levels even as prices in the rest of the country have slowly fallen from their peak. The move repeats a similar effort by Gov. Jerry Brown ten years ago, and is an admission that the state’s environmental regulations are partially to blame for the fact that California has higher prices than the rest of the country — more than $2.50 higher, as of today.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed a bill into law Thursday making the state a refuge for transgender kids and their families who travel there to receive the gender-affirming care they’re banned from accessing in their home states. The new law, which will go into effect on Jan. 1 next year, takes direct aim at Alabama and Texas for those two states’ efforts to criminalize parents who allow their transgender children to receive hormone therapy and other types of gender-affirming treatments.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill to restrict prosecutors from using rap lyrics as evidence against criminal defendants in California.

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was seen sporting a fresh haircut after he cancelled a visit to a brewery in Ottawa amid protests. Mr Trudeau was pictured visiting children at a day camp in Gatineau Park in Quebec with much shorter hair than usual earlier this week. Those used to his longer locks were somewhat surprised to see him sporting the trim, which he debuted to the world wearing a plain white shirt and jeans amid visits to the park and two Ottawa suburbs.

Actor Matthew McConaughey, who is weighing a gubernatorial bid in the state of Texas, is going to bat for universal mask wearing, expressing his belief that it does not take away an individual’s identity or freedom and asserting that no data exists showing the practice as harmful.

Matthew McConaughey may not be acting when he says he’s interested in a run for Texas governor. The Oscar-winning star of “Dallas Buyers Club” has been making calls to a club of elite politically-connected Texans to talk about getting into the 2022 gubernatorial race, Politico reported Sunday, citing sources. McConaughey has been talking to “deep-pocketed” moderate Republicans and business leaders in the Lone Star State to gauge their support, Politico said. The 51-year-old actor would have to get through Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who is planning to seek re-election next year and is already facing a likely primary challenge from...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Morgan Wallen has issued an apology after video has surfaced of him using a racial slur outside his Nashville home. Video obtained by TMZ taken Sunday night captured the 27-year-old Wallen returning home after a night out with friends and using the slur to describe someone.

Fabio Fognini has been kicked out of the US Open after verbally abusing a female umpire during his first round singles match. The Italian was due to play in the third round of the doubles but he has been withdrawn from that contest and provisionally suspended from competition. Fognini had already been handed a series of fines totalling £18,500 after he lost his temper during a loss to fellow countryman Stefano Travaglia. The 30-year-old was heard using insulting language towards Swedish official Louise Engzell and was handed three separate fines – the largest sanction coming to a whopping £11,581. And...

Maybelline has a new campaign face and for the first time ever it’s a guy! Named Manny Gutierrez, the 25-year-old is a so-called “beauty boy” that posts make-up tutorials to his millions of followers. “As a child, I would watch my mom get ready for work and just sit there for hours watching her transform,”

Liberal Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the nation’s House of Commons Tuesday that he has attended lavish fundraisers for his family’s foundation to “create economic growth for the middle class.” His defense of his participation in fundraisers thrown by the Pierre Trudeau Foundation – which he renounced his official position in upon becoming the leader of the Liberal Party – follows an admission that he allowed attendees to lobby him at these fundraisers, a clear violation of Liberal Party bylaws. The metastasizing cash-for-access scandal follows a calamitous month for Canada’s Liberals in which, partly triggered by Trudeau’s effusive praise...

All this poor guy meant by “real” is that the people at Obama’s town halls were true grassroots activists who went on their own initiative, not as fronts for the White House or some conservative astroturf operation. After three weeks of being smeared every which way as flakes and phonies by the guardians of tolerance, capped by Madam Speaker calling shouters un-American, who can blame him for stressing the point? Answer: Don Lemon, deciding that even the remote chance that viewers might take this as a challenge to the patriotism of ObamaCare supporters warranted an impromptu lecture on proper political...

CNN anchor John Roberts failed to catch former Vice President Al Gore make a significant exaggeration about his criticism of the Bush administration in its early years during an interview on Friday’s American Morning. When asked about former Vice President Dick Cheney’s recent criticism of the Obama administration, Gore claimed that he had “waited two years after I left office to make statements that were critical, and then of the policy.” In reality, he made a significant policy speech denouncing the Bush administration’s pre-war policy towards Iraq in September 2002. CNN itself reported on the speech, which was made in...

ABC Radio news just announced Sen. John Edwards will admit to the affair with Rielle Hunter in an interview with the network, but insists the child is not his. We return you to your regularly-scheduled FReeping.

Prince Harry is taking Chelsy Davy on a romantic African holiday after persuading her to give their relationship another try. The couple will fly out this weekend after a series of heart-to-hearts about their future. They plan to spend the next few days soaking up some pre-Christmas sunshine. Chelsy, 22, is still intent on quitting her course at Leeds University and may return to Cape Town, where her parents have bought her an apartment. But the 23-year-old prince hopes to use their time away to talk the Zimbabwean-born student into staying in England. Said a friend: "It really is make-or-break...

Why are so many pundits enamored of the Republican candidates' manliness -- and so eager to equate "presidential" with "masculine"? How do you decide who gets your vote in the presidential elections? Is it determined by the candidates' physical appearance, by the charisma they radiate or by the emotional strings they manage to tug deep inside you, conjuring childhood yearnings for security and a night-light after dark? And if you do cast your vote on these grounds rather than on the candidates' policies, do you want political pundits to tell you what they think about the looks, smells, and aura...

Can JRE pull off a JFK, or an RFK? John Edwards plans to announce Monday that he’ll take a break from fund-raising and campaigning in early-voting states next week for a three-day, eight-state, 12-city “Road to One America” tour aimed at calling attention to poverty in the deep South, the Mississippi Delta, Appalachia and the Rust Belt. The campaign points out that none of the states he’ll visit has an early 2008 primary, and says Edwards won’t be doing rallies. Instead, TV viewers will see Edwards in coal country, Edwards in a factory, Edwards on a farm, Edwards in a...

This is about a week old now, but if you haven't seen it, watch until the very end when Edwards answers the question "right or privilege?" Here's the full transcript of the "Right or Privilege" portion: Question: A college education? Edwards: Right. Q: Health care? E: Right. Q: A livable wage? E: Right. Q: Owning a handgun? E: Privilege. Q: American citizenship for someone not born here but has worked here for one year? E: Working for one year? That's a hard one, because I think people have to earn citizenship. I think I would have a period be longer...

John Edwards fixing his hair before an interview. With appropriate music! LOL! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AE847UXu3Q&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ewtam%2Ecom%2Fpages%2Fbfrantz%2Ehtml

Shepard Smith just referred to the current situation in the Middle East as a set of dominoes. He also implied America can't respond because we are "spread out" all over the globe. He is about as frantic as any woman I've ever seen. He used the image of an "ink blotter" being knocked over by Iran...Look, I like FNC, and I watch them because their reporters are pretty good--but the fearmongering by SS is a bit over the top. Maybe I'm just gettin' too old to be fretting about it, and I certainly don't want to make light of the...

By DAVID BAUDER AP Television Writer NEW YORK Veteran CBS White House correspondent John Roberts, snubbed by his network during the long search for Dan Rather's successor, has jumped to CNN. As a senior national correspondent based in Washington, Roberts will report for various CNN newscasts throughout the day, said Jon Klein, president of CNN/U.S., on Wednesday. He starts on Feb. 20. Roberts, 49, has been CBS News' chief White House correspondent for six years, and anchored the Sunday edition of the "CBS Evening News" for more than 10 years. He was widely considered the top internal choice to succeed...