Free Republic

The parent company of Carl’s Jr. says it will be closing its Anaheim office and moving those operations to Franklin, Tenn., where the company is now based, effectively ending a California legacy that started when the chain was founded in 1941 in Los Angeles. CKE, which also owns the Hardee’s, Green Burrito and Red Burrito restaurant brands, moved its Carpenteria headquarters to Franklin last year, blaming high taxes and a stringent business climate, factors that have driven other companies out of the Golden State.

The Los Angeles district attorney declined to prosecute attorney Michael Avenatti on felony domestic abuse charges on Wednesday and referred allegations that he roughed up his girlfriend to the city attorney for a possible misdemeanor case. A spokeswoman for the district attorney would not say why prosecutors declined to take the case from Los Angeles police. Documents supporting the decision were not released because the case was referred to the city attorney and was still under investigation. The city attorney's office will review the case, a spokesman said.

Los Angeles, CA — A disturbing case of police rape has surfaced out of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department this week as a detective assigned to handle victims of child molestation cases was arrested for allegedly raping a 14-year-old girl. The girl was a victim in a case the officer was investigating and had already been raped by someone else. Detective Neil Kimball, 45, was assigned to the Special Victims Bureau, a unit tasked with investigation cases of sex crimes against children. Kimball was arrested on Friday on suspicion of rape by force and “preventing or dissuading a witness or...

Considering her record and documented history of poor ethical and moral fitness, it’s outrageous that Maxine Waters is up for chair of the ultra-powerful House Financial Services Committee, which has jurisdiction over the country’s banking system, economy, housing, and insurance. With Democrats taking control of the House of Representatives, come January the 14-term California congresswoman is expected to head the committee, which also has jurisdiction over monetary policy, international finance, and efforts to combat terrorist financing. Throughout her storied political career, Waters has been embroiled in numerous controversies, including abusing her power to enrich family members, getting a communist dictator...

If you need more evidence that big scoring equals big TV ratings for the NFL then look no further than this week's "Monday Night Football." The Los Angeles Rams 54 to 51 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs brought in a 11.3 overnight rating for ESPN. That's the best overnight rating for "Monday Night Football" since 2014. Monday night's ratings were up more than 57% from last year's week 11 match-up, which was between the Atlanta Falcons and the Seattle Seahawks. The Rams and Chiefs offered viewers one of the most impressive offensive displays in NFL history. The two teams,...

Nine people face felony charges in connection with a fraud scheme in which they offered cash or cigarettes to homeless people on skid row in downtown Los Angeles in exchange for hundreds of fake or forged signatures on ballot petitions and voter registration forms, prosecutors said. Los Angeles County prosecutors Tuesday announced the charges, which include circulating a petition with false names, voter fraud and registering a nonexistent person during election cycles in 2016 and this year. “They paid individuals to sign the names,” said Officer Deon Joseph, the senior lead officer on skid row, told The Times in September....

The actress Mareli Miniutti is seeking a restraining order against Michael Avenatti, the attorney who was arrested last week on suspicion of felony domestic violence. Miniutti filed a petition in Los Angeles County Superior Court seeking the restraining order. The legal action was first reported by The Blast. The outlet reported Miniutti also made the domestic violence report against Avenatti. Her involvement was previously unknown.

California Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters is certainly no stranger to controversy and scandal. In fact, she wallows in it. Waters strikes me as someone who believes she is above the law and can get away with whatever she wants. It’s one of the reasons she is seen as one of the most corrupt politicians in Congress. A new complaint has been filed against Waters and it and the new unfolding scandal surrounding the complaint has the potential to finish off her career. The complaint involves an obscure fundraising tactic that has raked in thousands of dollars from state politicians in...

The federal government has been grossly irresponsible in its neglect of mounting immigration problems, even as these problems place unbearable burdens on states like California. It is regrettable that states have reached a point where the only avenue they have for justice is the courts. It is even more regrettable that this Administration and this Congress stand by and allow the federal courts to decide the nation's immigration policies. Taxpayers simply cannot continue to sustain new populations the size of San Diego or the state of Nevada every year. California is sending up the red flag tat Washington should heed.Unprecedented...

Typhus is on the rise in Los Angeles, with its epicenter in downtown, where the city’s sanitation officials are struggling to respond to the nearly two thousand “cleanup requests” they get from locals every month. Like San Francisco, LA is struggling to clean up city streets of human waste—specifically feces—due to a lack of public restrooms and a growing homeless population. There was an average of 700 requests in the area in the spring of 2016, but officials now claim they receive about 1,900 cleanup calls per month thanks to the number of growing homeless camps. But the growing homelessness...

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) said Wednesday that a congresswoman besides Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) should be the House Speaker. “There’s plenty of really competent females that we can replace her with,” Ryan told reporters, before listing people such as Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) as potential candidates, The New York Times reported Thursday. His comments come as the battle for Democratic leadership in the House intensifies. Pelosi, who held the Speaker position from 2007 to 2011, expressed confidence on Thursday that she had enough support to be voted into the role. But many lawmakers are insistent about the idea of having...

Rep. Marcia Fudge is in a serious bind as she faces mounting pressure to challenge Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for the Speaker’s gavel — a move that could divide the Ohio Democrat's allegiances between the insurgency she supports and the Black Caucus she once led. A group of anti-Pelosi insurgents has been ramping up efforts to recruit Fudge, a former chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), amid criticism that the majority-male cohort is trying to oust the top-ranking female Democrat in the “Year of the Woman.” Pelosi allies have been deriding the rebels as “five white guys,” a...

Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), made headlines when she revealed that she wouldn’t be able to afford Washington, D.C. rent until her government salary kicks in. The lack of affordable housing in Washington is no joke, but the predicament also speaks to the young lawmaker’s financial literacy — or lack thereof. The 29-year-old didn’t think to consider something as basic as the relocation expenses of a new job opportunity. If she doesn’t know how much an apartment costs, how much confidence should taxpayers have in her ability to effectively deliver trillions of dollars in campaign promises? Ocasio-Cortez has proposed free "Medicare...

The cost of constructing the Southern California section of the state bullet train could jump by as much as $11 billion over estimates released earlier this year, though rail authority officials caution that their new numbers assume a more expansive design than is likely to be built. The new estimates are contained in environmental reports prepared for Thursday’s meeting of the authority board, which will review planned routes throughout the Southland. The reports acknowledge that the new cost estimates could affect the $77-billion price tag of the Los Angeles-to-San Francisco system, though they also use a different methodology than previous...

"To have found himself in such high clover -- Friend of Bill Clinton, Keeper of the Secrets, Defender of the Middle Path -- is surely to feel a little giddy, a little wonderful. In 22 years of diplomatic reporting for Time magazine he had allowed himself only one Walter Mitty fantasy, and that was to be ambassador to Moscow. Now he is the number two man at State. Now there is not only Russia to deal with, but Bosnia and Haiti. Already he has learned to strike the note of cautious optimism ("We have faced up to Bosnia in a...

For more than a century, UC Berkeley's elite law school has been closely tied to the name of the building that houses it, Boalt Hall.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A California congresswoman whose husband was indicted on theft and conspiracy charges in Connecticut cited an “unexpected family matter” Thursday in withdrawing as a candidate for chair of the House Democratic Caucus. U.S. Rep. Linda Sanchez, now the caucus vice chair, is married to James Sullivan, one of five people indicted on theft and conspiracy charges this week in connection with a public electricity cooperative and $800,000 worth of trips to the Kentucky Derby and other locations. Sanchez, who represents the 38th District in the Los Angeles area, wrote in a letter to fellow Democrats, “Unfortunately,...

President Obama is sidestepping the Senate to directly fill the No. 2 position at the Justice Department and appoint four U.S. ambassadors whose nominations had been stalled or blocked by lawmakers for months. The White House on Wednesday said Mr. Obama is using a recess appointment to install James Cole as the deputy attorney general and ... Senators had blocked or refused to consider the confirmations of the nominees for various reasons, including questions about their qualifications. ... Recess appointments are made when the Senate is not in session and last only until the end of the next session...

Jason Blum Gets Booed and Removed from Stage After Speaking Out Against Trump at L.A.’s Israel Film Festival Blum was at the festival to accept the 2018 Achievement in Film & Television Award. Jason Blum spent the night of the midterm elections at the Israel Film Festival in Los Angeles, where he was on hand to receive the 2018 Achievement in Film & Television Award. Blum attempted to speak out against Donald Trump while making his acceptance speech, but his comments did not go over well with the crowd. Variety reports the mega-producer was booed and heckled by the crowd,...

Wow, so I was actually tuned in to KPCC - the local NPR branch affiliate for Los Angeles. And one analyst gave a thorough rundown about California voter registration and polling trends. Here are some points: * Voters registering Independent of either party is up 169% as opposed to 25% for Dem and down 9% for Republican. This is especially true for new, young voters. Independents are the 2nd largest voting constiuent. * Independent candidate for Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner is currently leading against his Democratic counterpart by 6 points. * Californians express fiscally conservative views with socially moderate policies....