Free Republic

President Donald Trump claimed that California and Minnesota are both rife with fraud, slamming the two states and their respective governors as "Crooked." "There is more FRAUD in California than there is in Minnesota, if that is even possible. When you add in Election Fraud, then they are tied for first. Two Crooked Governors, two Crooked States!" the president asserted in the post on Wednesday, referring to California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Trump also slammed Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., in a Truth Social post on Wednesday. "Much of the Minnesota Fraud, up to 90%, is caused...

California’s Democrat government has finally dropped its lawsuit against the Trump administration for more funding of its high-speed rail project. Unfortunately, at least $14 billion — if not $18 billion — of taxpayer money is down the tubes with nothing to show for it, and the Democrats are still hoping to put the project on life support. Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.) posted in mixed triumph and exasperation on X Friday, “Newsom just conceded defeat over High-Speed Rail [HSR]. He's withdrawn the lawsuit he filed after we cut off federal funding earlier this year. Now the $4 billion can go to...

As families come together to light the kinara, Jen and I wish all those celebrating a joyful Kwanzaa. May the seven principles of Kwanzaa, in particular community, purpose, and unity, guide our way toward a better future. Happy Kwanzaa, California!

New reports allege up to $76.5 BILLION OR MORE in fraudulent spending in California This makes Minnesota look like CHILD'S PLAY...and more is going to come out Rep. Kiley is confirming Slithering Gavin Newsom's California is the "fraud capital of America" "This latest report was issued by the state auditor - and that's a nonpartisan position - that state auditor now puts 8 state agencies on the high-risk list of agencies to watch out for for things like fraud and mismanagement as well as waste." "Here's a look at that 92 page report newly added to the high-risk list as...

Federal prosecutors have charged a longtime California welfare worker with carrying out a multi-year fraud scheme involving food assistance benefits and dead people. The U.S. Department of Justice announced the arrest of former Madera County benefits eligibility worker Leticia Mariscal, 55, of Madera. Prosecutors alleged that Mariscal stole tens of thousands of dollars in CalFresh benefits by exploiting her access to county databases. CalFresh is California’s version of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. According to the Justice Department, the alleged scheme took place between December 2020 and April 2025. Mariscal is accused of improperly accessing identifying information for elderly and...

Metro Long Island Politics World News Search Type to Search Search US News San Francisco power outage left 130,000 in the dark as self-driving cars stalled in middle of streets By Nicholas McEntyre Published Dec. 20, 2025, 11:30 p.m. ET Today's Video Headlines 00:22 / 00:49 San Francisco plunged into darkness when nearly 30 percent of the city was struck by a power outage, which brought vital transportation, such as self-driving cars, to a grinding halt on Saturday night. Over 130,000 houses and businesses were left in the dark, largely in the northwest part of San Francisco, including the Richmond,...

A massive outage has knocked out power to 130,000 homes and businesses across San Francisco, leaving at least one-third of the city in darkness. The power failure left a large swath of the northern part of the city in the dark on Saturday, beginning with the Richmond and Presidio neighborhoods and areas around Golden Gate Park. Social media posts and local media reported mass closures of restaurants and shops and darkened street lights and Christmas decorations. The San Francisco Department of Emergency Management said on X there were 'significant transit disruptions' happening citywide and urged residents to avoid nonessential travel...

California's expected decision to restore contested licenses sets stage for constitutional showdown over CDL authority California is expected to begin reissuing approximately 17,000 non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses that the state had planned to revoke following federal enforcement pressure. The decision comes despite ongoing corrective action requirements from FMCSA [Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration] and raises fundamental questions about federal enforcement authority when a state openly defies compliance directives. State transportation officials confirmed to sources that the Department of Motor Vehicles will begin restoring the contested licenses to immigrant drivers who received 60-day cancellation notices on November 6. The state has...

Supply and demand. If there’s little supply and demand remains constant, things cost more. If there’s plenty of supply and demand remains constant or declines, they cost less. Unfortunately for Californians, the basic law of supply and demand doesn’t well fit with Democrat ideology. Democrats don’t bother to live in the real world. They create their own to conform to their self-imagined intellectual and moral superiority. Their imaginary utopia can’t compete with reality, which inevitably comes crashing down on their heads. In this case, reality is gas prices, which are credibly predicted to reach $10 a gallon while elsewhere in...

Lawmakers in California at both the state and federal levels are warning that refinery closures could push prices higher while leaving the state more dependent on foreign oil. At the center of the warning is the planned shutdown of two major refineries: Valero’s Benicia facility and Phillips 66’s Los Angeles plant. Together, the closures would eliminate nearly 20% of California’s in-state refining capacity, according to Reps. Vince Fong and Stan Ellis, both Republicans from Bakersfield. Valero, which has operated its 170,000-barrel-per-day Benicia refinery for roughly 25 years, announced it will close the site in 2026 because of high operating costs...

California's gas prices have reached crisis levels—and drivers across the Golden State are demanding answers. This video exposes the complex web of factors keeping California's fuel costs the highest in the nation. Discover how the state's strict refinery requirements, low-carbon fuel standards, and environmental regulations create a perfect storm for sky-high prices at the pump. Learn why California's unique fuel blend can only be produced by a handful of refineries, how the Cap-and-Trade program adds hidden costs to every gallon, and why even minor supply disruptions send prices skyrocketing. We'll explore the refinery shutdowns threatening California's fuel supply, the oligopoly...

Valero's $1.1 billion Benicia refinery exit by April 2026, driven by Newsom's regulations, threatens 8.6% of California's gasoline supply, job losses, and $1.21-per-gallon hikes. Economists warn of shortages and $8 spikes amid Phillips 66's parallel closure. California’s energy sector is reeling from Valero Energy Corp.’s decision to shutter its Benicia refinery by April 2026, a move that underscores the mounting toll of stringent state regulations on the industry’s viability. The Texas-based refiner announced it would absorb a staggering $1.1 billion write-down rather than navigate Governor Gavin Newsom’s escalating mandates, citing prohibitive costs and regulatory pressures. This closure eliminates 8.6% of...

Newsom’s flip on trans kids is just more of Gavin attempting to reinvent Gavin History will not be kind to Gavin Newsom. But it will be accurate. This week, Gavin flipped on the trans kids position he took in his first podcast with Charlie Kirk. On his podcast last March with Kirk, Newsom agreed that he thinks that it was “deeply unfair” to have trans athletes competing against women in sports. But after the podcast, Newsom did nothing about biological males who identify as female competing against female athletes. Now – he’s all-in on trans everything. Because as he said...

The recent federal indictment of Dana Williamson — California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s former chief of staff — should come as no surprise: It’s the latest example of a thoroughly corrupt Sacramento political culture that afflicts both parties. But as bad as you may think the corruption is, I can tell you first-hand that it is much worse. For Democrats, supermajority status has resulted in a “might makes right” attitude of abusing their power to impose their will — and to help themselves. Worse, because Democrats control almost all the levers of state and local law enforcement (including the state attorney...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) highlighted how he wanted “to see” transgender children, and that there is “no governor that’s done more pro-trans legislation” than he has. During an interview on an episode of The Ezra Klein Show, with New York Times columnist Ezra Klein, Newsom described President Donald Trump as being “One of the most destructive presidents and human beings” in Newsom’s lifetime. […] “We didn’t get into trans sports. That’s an issue no one wants to hear about because 80 percent of the people listening disagree with my position on this,” Newsom shared. “But it comes from my...

Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom credited the late Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk Wednesday with helping him to have a deeper understanding of Christianity. Newsom said on “The Ezra Klein Show” that Kirk helped him realize that Christianity creates a “sense of belonging” and “community” to millions of Americans that need meaning in their lives. He said that these aspects of Christianity are desperately needed in the U.S. today. “That was also telling, you know, I lazily said, you know, ‘Jesus,’ and [Kirk] got offended. And then I said it again, and I realized, ‘boy, you really are offended....

A podcast clip from earlier this year featuring Tim Walz and Gavin Newsom is going viral again, and for good reason: it’s pure comedy gold. The two Democratic governors sat down for an episode of This Is Gavin Newsom back in March, and during their 50-minute conversation, they briefly shared their thoughts on masculinity. Yes, masculinity. The irony already writes itself. Because real men sit and talk about masculinity all the time. In the now-viral clip, Walz claimed that the critics who come after him aren’t upset about policy differences or leadership failures. No, Walz said it’s because they “feel...

Gov. Newsom ludicrously claims he’s solving California’s homeless epidemic Remember when California Governor Gavin Newsom, who has presided over the exponential growth of hundreds of thousands of homeless drug addicts living on California streets, magically cleaned up San Francisco ahead of the arrival of Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, together with San Francisco Mayor London Breed? The streets were suddenly shiny clean, devoid of the usual tents and encampments, piles of trash and filth, human excrement, and drug addled zombies. The sidewalks and the many businesses which have been rotting under the burden of...

As an immigrant, I’m disgusted by the behavior being revealed in Tim Walz’s Minnesota… But whatever is going on there, the corruption in Gavin Newsom’s California is a thousand times worse. Our Employment Development Department paid out at least $20 billion in fraudulent unemployment benefits during the pandemic — over a billion alone in the names of state and local prisoners, even inmates on death row. The corrupt “homeless industrial complex” grabbed $24 billion in state spending, as crony nonprofits and developers pocketed taxpayer cash while homelessness increased. Working families who pay into the system cannot afford groceries, rent or...

During her address at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit on Wednesday, Berry took aim at the Democratic Governor's recent decision to veto Assembly Bill 432, which would have extended insurance coverage for menopause-related care and treatment in California. “In my great state of California, my very own governor, Gavin Newsom, has vetoed our menopause bill not one, but two years, in a row,” the 59-year-old actor and women’s health advocate said, “but that’s OK because he’s not going to be governor forever,” she told the audience. She then added: “With the way he’s overlooked women—half the population—by devaluing us...