Free Republic

Los Angeles Democratic Mayor Karen Bass has faced a number of criticisms over her leadership amid the wildfires destroying large portions of the city. ** The move came after more than $17 million in cuts the previous year. If Bass did not want to spend money on fighting fires in a state which lives under a constant threat of such disasters, then the question of what the city funded instead must be raised. The budget resolution for the 2024-2025 fiscal year, which said on the front cover that the document was submitted by Bass herself before being modified and adopted...

University of Southern California (USC) President Carol Folt announced that she would resign, effective July 1, 2025, making her the latest academic leader to depart following more than a year of antisemitic protests on campus.The Daily Trojan noted that Folt did not provide a specific reason for her resignation. However, the Jewish News Syndicate noted that Folt had been criticized for the way USC handled — or mishandled — the protests: "In June, the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights opened an investigation into USC for potential violations of Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. In...

As the USC Trojans football team battles it out game after game, the famous cardinal and gold pom-poms and white sweaters stand out on the sidelines. The formerly-named USC Song Girls have spent the better part of 50 years cheering on the Trojans and lifting spectator spirits. Formed in 1967 after USC voted to allow women to join spirit groups, their new name, Song Leaders, reflects a desire to be more inclusive. There was no announcement or official statement, but USC Song’s website was recently updated to reflect the change. Not everyone was happy about it. Former Fox News reporter...

I am a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) expert. Will Trump seize the apparent assassination attempt against him as an opportunity to meaningfully address the epidemic of gun violence in America? Will he deem unacceptable the dangers to which citizens are exposed as they go to schools, places of religious worship, concerts, movie theaters, supermarkets, shopping malls, sporting events, and now, presidential campaign rallies? It’s possible, but unlikely. Butler is less than an hour north of Pittsburgh. It isn’t an urban center. But many big cities in which large numbers of Black Americans reside have long been plagued with inexcusably...

Forbes has deleted an article musing about whether or not former President Donald Trump will use surviving an assassination attempt to help him win over more black voters. The article was titled “Will Surviving Gunfire Be Donald Trump’s Next Appeal To Black Voters?” and was written by contributor Shaun Harper, a tenured professor described by Forbes as a “DEI expert.” The link to the article now reads, “We can’t find the page that you are looking for,” across the top. Unfortunately for Forbes, the internet is forever, and the article was archived many times before it was removed. The article...

A USC student whom police accused of fatally stabbing a man who had broken into a car on Greek Row will not be charged in the killing, prosecutors announced Thursday. Ivan Gallegos, 19, was being held on bail of $2 million after Los Angeles police say he and two others confronted Xavier Cerf, 27, as he was breaking into a car, and Gallegos pulled out a knife and fatally stabbed him. "After careful consideration and a thorough review of all available evidence, we have decided not to pursue charges against ... Gallegos. We believe that Mr. Gallegos’s actions were driven...

A pro-Palestinian encampment in the middle of USC's main campus was cleared Sunday morning by officers with the Los Angeles Police Department and USC's Department of Public Safety, ending a high-profile demonstration that began in April. No arrests or major confrontations were reported. The encampment clean-up began round 4:30 a.m. although USC Annenberg Media reported at 3:51 a.m. that university police officers told student reporters they planned to come in around 4 a.m. and had set up a staging area for the media, which they alleged was too far away to witness any arrests.

More than 1,300 people have been arrested at pro-Palestinian protests on at least 40 college campuses across the U.S. over the last two weeks. Why it matters: University administrations have cracked down on student demonstrators in unprecedented ways as protests grow in size and intensity. The majority of arrests have occurred at encampments and sit-ins. Dozens of smaller-scale college protests haven't seen altercations between demonstrators and police. More than 100 universities have had encampments or sit-ins.

The University of Southern California will be canceling their main commencement ceremony amid pro-Hamas shenanigans by leftist students that’s turned many a campus across America into riot zones. Students are protesting the war in Gaza, though many times it’s devolved into calls for murdering Jewish people and the destruction of Israel. At Yale, one Jewish student was stabbed in the eye. USC’s administration apparently found that this year’s ceremony, which typically attracts tens of thousands, was just too big a risk with the mayhem on campus. They also tried to placate both sides, which failed miserably (via LA Times): 🚨#BREAKING:...

The University of Southern California (USC) has canceled its main graduation ceremony due to apparent security concerns after anti-Israel protesters tried to encamp and were removed by Los Angeles Police Department this week. As Breitbart News reported, anti-Israel protesters had tried to occupy the campus, as demonstrators have done at other universities in an apparently well-coordinated and well-funded campaign. In addition, USC canceled the speech of its valedictorian after she was found to have supported the annihilation of the State of Israel in online posts.

..US Navy having problems...lack of dry dock space...repair...USS Boxer... University of Southern California cancelling outside speakers and honorees at its main graduation... A Ukrainian drone attack killing two... In the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific the vote count... North Korea claiming new weapons tests... Tonight an Israeli air strike on an Iraqi base... trial involving President Donald Trump four alternate jurors are now selected...outside the court a man set himself on fire... US is withdrawing troops in the African nation of Niger.. commander of the air force in the African nation of Chad demanding the shutdown of a US...

A Muslim University of Southern California (USC) valedictorian has been barred from giving a speech at the school's graduation ceremony following a series of social media posts she allegedly made about Israel. A spokesperson for the college directed Fox News Digital to information posted on the provost office website, which announced that Asna Tabassum will not deliver her speech at the ceremony that draws 65,000 people to the University Park Campus. "While this is disappointing, tradition must give way to safety. This decision is not only necessary to maintain the safety of our campus and students but is consistent with...

There are a lot of woolly, fabulous tales out there about Howard Hughes, the famously reclusive, eccentric billionaire. And the Wikipedia version of his life is not the only one that "needs additional citations for verification." The Martin Scorsese movie "The Aviator" recently advanced the images and legends of Hughes and his obsessive compulsions. Hughes officially died in April 1976, an emaciated, drug-addicted, long-haired, tragic, lonely old man who proved to some people money couldn't buy happiness. But not really, according to a new book, "Boxes: The Secret Life of Howard Hughes," by Douglas Wellman, assistant dean of the School...

He’s not dead yet. Fans and well-wishers of University of Southern California football coach Lincoln Riley took to social media this week to offer faux condolences after President Biden accidentally mentioned his name during his State of the Union address on Thursday. During his remarks Biden intended to offer his sympathies to Laken Riley — a Georgia women killed by an illegal migrant — but instead flubbed the slain woman’s name. “Lincoln — Lincoln Riley, an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal.” And while Laken Riley’s family expressed outrage over the snafu, fans of Coach Riley went...

As reported earlier by Cullen Linebarger – The most annoying NBA player of all time decided to take a dump on America this week.Los Angeles Lakers forward Lebron James pulled his latest despicable stunt while attending USC’s basketball game versus Long Beach State on Sunday. His son Bronny made his debut for the Trojans after collapsing on the court back in July during practice.James entered the Galen Center while the National Anthem was playing. In the video below, most of the arena is singing and standing.But instead of showing some basic patriotism, James decided to plop his rear on the...

The October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel exposed the shocking level of anti-Semitism that still exists in the United States and other parts of the civilized world. You would think that the Holocaust and all of the stuff that's happened to Israel since then would have helped to eradicate hatred for this particular group of people, especially since so many cultures and societies claim to be "progressive" and focused on getting rid of racism and discrimination. Turns out that's not true at all. There are plenty of examples to illustrate this reality, but the latest comes from the University...

Until recently, USC professor John Strauss was known mostly for his research on the economics of developing countries, with decades of fieldwork in Indonesia and China. That changed Nov. 9, when Strauss stopped before students staging a walkout and protest calling for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and holding a memorial to thousands of Palestinian civilians killed in the Israel-Hamas war. The economics professor’s interactions with students that day ended with the 72-year-old Strauss, who is Jewish, declaring: “Hamas are murderers. That’s all they are. Every one should be killed, and I hope they all are killed.” Students captured...

The Caleb Williams saga is going to be one that we're going to get tired of quickly. It's a unique situation. As long as Williams stays healthy and doesn't completely shit the bed, he will go number one in next year's draft. He's already got a Heisman Trophy, and now it seems like he's making demands. About a month back, it was reported that Williams would consider staying in college if the Cardinals ended up with the number one overall pick. I think that's such an insane thing to entertain. It was like the first week of the season, why...

[H/T Grey_Whiskers]Phillip Buckhaults, a cancer genomics expert, and professor at the University of South Carolina has testified before a South Carolina Senate Medical Affairs Ad-Hoc Committee saying that Pfizer’s mRNA vaccine is contaminated with billions of tiny DNA fragments.Buckhaults, who has a PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology, said “there is a very real hazard” that these fragments of foreign DNA can insert themselves into a person’s own genome and become a “permanent fixture of the cell.”He said it’s a plausible mechanism for what might be “causing some of the rare but serious side effects like death from cardiac arrest”...

After 36 years as a full-time faculty member, I retired as a tenured professor from the University of Southern California on May 15, 2022. Retiring faculty members typically retain as an honorary title their last academic rank, for example “professor emeritus.” The designation is not automatic but pro forma in most circumstances. I watched as the members of my retirement cohort announced their new emeritus or emerita status to the rest of us in turn. At USC, the emeritus designation “indicates honorable retirement from assigned duties, recognizes faithful service worthy of high commendation, and expresses an anticipation of continued membership...