Free Republic

Joe Biden wasted no time heading to one of his favorite destinations after Donald Trump's inauguration and it looks like he could be settling there for his retirement. Shortly after Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States in Washington, D.C., the former president and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, flew to warmer and more inviting surroundings. Departing from Joint Base Andrews, the couple set their sights on California's picturesque Santa Ynez Valley. Curious residents gathered at the Santa Barbara Airport on Monday hoping to catch a glimpse of the Bidens' arrival. A 'no-fly notice'...

Look at the contrast between how Secret Service treats people near Jill Biden versus how they treated a gunman wandering around a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Joe and Jill Biden took a taxpayer-funded weeklong vacation in Santa Ynez, California last week. Secret Service agents violently pushed peasants out of the way so Jill Biden could go on a shopping spree on Friday afternoon. Jill Biden made a ‘surprise visit’ in Los Olivos and bystanders with cameras were roughly cleared out. One woman was violently pushed away. “Out of the roadway! Move now! Go!” one member of Jill Biden’s security...

Gabriele Santi thought opening up a gun store in Santa Ynez was a long shot. Earlier this year, he was looking for spots in the Valley to start a gun dealership but wasn’t having much success with landlords. “The moment you mention firearms, they shut the door on you,” he said. “They’d rather have the building vacant.” Frustrated by the struggle to find rental space, Santi started knocking on doors in Santa Ynez and learned that other locals were receptive to the idea of a gun shop. “There are a lot of hunters, and people who shoot for recreation,” he...

ExxonMobil Corp. said Friday that its extended-reach drilling technology has boosted production capacity at its Santa Ynez unit offshore southern California by 5.8 million barrels of oil. The well drilled from Exxon's Heritage platform rig extends more than six miles horizontally and more than 7,000 feet underwater. The company said its Fast Drill technology allows engineers to access previously unreachable resources without installing an additional structure, and brings on new production at a lower cost.

11:22 a.m. update: Winds have remained relatively calm in the morning hours, much as fire officials had expected. Crews are attacking lines vigorously in anticipation of heavy winds this afternoon. "Today is supposed to be a carbon copy of yesterday," County Fire Chief Tom Franklin said, noting that wind gusts were measured yesterday at up to 70 mph. "There's nothing you can do at that point." He also dismissed any notion that there is a lack of urgency among firefighters or officials, pointing out that approximately 1,400 firefighters have been assigned to the blaze. "The bulk of these people are...