Tag: california

While Fire Victims Struggle to Rebuild, Gavin Newsom Sends Resources to Puerto Rico

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced Thursday that he is sending emergency resources and personnel to Puerto Rico, over 3,000 miles away, ahead of a tropical storm — even though tens of thousands of Californians are still displaced by fires.

Newsom has claimed, in his defense, that he did, in fact, pre-deploy resources to the fire-stricken areas of the state in January — but that is not entirely true. Although he deployed some resources ahead of the extreme wind event in Southern California, both state and local authorities failed to pre-deploy firefighting resources in the Pacific Palisades, including on state land where there had been a fire just a few days before.

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Newsom says California to draw congressional maps to ‘END TRUMP PRESIDENCY’

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said California will move forward with drawing new congressional maps that he said “WILL END THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY” and allow Democrats to take control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

“DONALD ‘TACO’ TRUMP, AS MANY CALL HIM, ‘MISSED’ THE DEADLINE!!! CALIFORNIA WILL NOW DRAW NEW, MORE ‘BEAUTIFUL MAPS,’ THEY WILL BE HISTORIC AS THEY WILL END THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY (DEMS TAKE BACK THE HOUSE!),” Newsom wrote Tuesday night, in a post written in the style of President Donald Trump’s occasionally all-caps social media posts.

The announcement comes amid Texas Republicans’ efforts to redraw congressional maps in their party’s favor. The redistricting showdown in Texas has led blue states to threaten to retaliate — with Newsom proposing to cut five GOP-held seats in California.

The redistricting battle in Texas — and potentially other states — has national implications, with control of the U.S. House potentially at stake. The Texas GOP’s proposed congressional map could net Republicans between three and five seats in next year’s midterm elections — seats that could make a difference as Republicans work to maintain their small majority in the U.S. House.

A spokesperson for California State Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas confirmed to ABC News that the state legislature is aiming to release draft maps on Friday.

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California City Approves $100,000 Fund to Help Migrants Pay Rent

The Santa Ana city council approved a new $100,000 fund of taxpayer dollars to pay the rent of illegal migrants who are “affected by immigration enforcement.”

Not only did the city approve the program, they also gave it an official title in Spanish, not English. The council passed what it is calling the “Santa Ana Ayuda Sin Frontera” program (“Help Without Borders”).

The program will allow migrants to apply for funds for overdue rent, utility bills, and other household expenses, according to a press release on the city website.

“Our community stands strongest when we support one another, especially in times of uncertainty,” Mayor Valerie Amezcua said in the release. “This assistance program reflects the Santa Ana City Council’s commitment to protecting the dignity and stability of each resident impacted by the recent, unjust immigration enforcement actions.”

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Chinese Immigrants Create 21 Children Via Surrogate Before Allegedly Abusing Them

In a troubling case unfolding in California, police have removed 21 children from a couple with connections to China. This complicated situation highlights profound ethical, moral, and legal dilemmas that demand our attention.

The couple at the center of this case is Silvia Zhang, 38, and Guojun Xuan, 65. Originally from China, they became naturalized U.S. citizens and now reside in a sprawling multimillion-dollar mansion in a suburb of Los Angeles. Zhang has a daughter from a previous marriage. She and Xuan have been having children through surrogacy since 2021.

Zhang operated a surrogacy agency called Mark Surrogacy from their mansion. The agency purportedly marketed itself as an institution assisting American and international couples struggling to conceive through surrogacy. However, investigations revealed a startling truth: The only couple the agency served was Zhang and Xuan themselves. They are the biological parents of 21 children born through surrogacy. Of these children, fifteen lived with them in the mansion under the care of a few nannies, while friends and family supposedly looked after the other six in different locations.

Mark Surrogacy’s sham operation would have continued if not for one of the children, a two-month-old infant, who had to be rushed to the hospital in May. After hospital staff determined the infant exhibited signs of child abuse, they contacted social services and the police. Police searched Zhang and Xuan’s mansion and found 15 children, none of whom is more than three years old. The police also uncovered home surveillance videos showing that some children were “subjected to physical and emotional abuse” by their nannies. Therefore, the police removed all children and put them under foster care.

The revelations surrounding Mark Surrogacy have left many of the surrogate mothers in a state of disbelief and anger. “It was kind of like they preyed on my vulnerability, being a first-time surrogate,” Kayla Elliott told CBS News. “We were lied to about so much, that I mean it’s disgusting.”

Compounding this injustice is the fact that two surrogate mothers are currently pregnant with the couple’s children, unsure if their babies will be placed into the foster care system. Some of these mothers are contemplating legal action against Zhang and Xuan. Additionally, the couple is entangled in two lawsuits from former employees of their real estate business, raising further questions about their integrity.

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California Moves Forward With Special Redistricting Election To Counter Texas’s Plan

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Friday that the state will move forward with a ballot measure in November to redraw its congressional map in response to a Republican-backed redistricting plan in Texas.

Speaking alongside state Democratic leaders, Newsom said they would call for a special election in the first week of November to vote on redrawing the congressional map, a move that could potentially add five more U.S. House seats to the Democratic tally.

“We are talking about emergency measures to respond to what’s happening in Texas, and we will nullify what happens in Texas,” the Democratic governor told reporters.

“We will pick up five seats with the consent of the people, and that’s the difference between the approach we’re taking and the approach they’re taking. We’re doing it [on a] temporary basis,” he added.

Newsom also reaffirmed that the state will remain committed to its independent redistricting process. The Democrats said they expected to have a newly agreed-upon map, based on previous plans reviewed by the state’s independent redistricting commission, ready for public scrutiny next week, three months before it would go to voters.

Former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who attended the conference, backed Newsom’s decision and praised Texas Democratic lawmakers for their efforts to block the GOP’s redistricting plan.

“It’s not wrong in what we’re doing. This is self-defense for our democracy,” Pelosi said. “I thank again our Texans for their leadership, for their courage, and most of all, for their patriotism.”

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Nancy Pelosi Sputters, Appears Confused In Bizarre Rant About ‘Trans Kids’

All it took to totally baffle Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was a simple question about the recent push by California health providers to limit gender-affirming care for minors.

Asked whether she agrees with Kaiser’s decision to restrict the use of chemical and surgical procedures for minors in California, the former U.S. House speaker spoke in non-sequiturs that ended with her bragging about hoisting a trans flag above the door of her congressional office.

“Well, that is something I’m– I’m working for at the national level,” Pelosi said, sidestepping the thorny debate roiling California’s Democratic legislature about how to respond to the state’s largest healthcare provider.

“And we have, um – how can I say it – are hoping that we can… have gender-affirming care, uh, for our… our trans kids,” she stuttered.

“I’m not totally, um — I don’t know what, um,” she tried to explain. “I don’t know what effect we can have nationally with what we have going on in the White House and in the Congress.”

But fear not, Pelosi seemed to say next: She keeps a trans flag flying outside her office.

“Outside our door, we have a trans flag. Outside of our door in the, um, Capitol, um, in the- in… the office, as do some of our colleagues.”

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Newsom Says California Will Hold Special Redistricting Election to Counter Texas’s Plan

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Friday that the state will move forward with a ballot measure in November to redraw its congressional map in response to a Republican-backed redistricting plan in Texas.

Speaking alongside state Democratic leaders, Newsom said they would call for a special election in the first week of November to vote on redrawing the congressional map, a move that could potentially add five more U.S. House seats to the Democratic tally.

“We are talking about emergency measures to respond to what’s happening in Texas, and we will nullify what happens in Texas,” the Democratic governor told reporters.

“We will pick up five seats with the consent of the people, and that’s the difference between the approach we’re taking and the approach they’re taking. We’re doing it [on a] temporary basis,” he added.

Newsom also reaffirmed that the state will remain committed to its independent redistricting process. The Democrats said they expected to have a newly agreed-upon map, based on previous plans reviewed by the state’s independent redistricting commission, ready for public scrutiny next week, three months before it would go to voters.

Former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who attended the conference, backed Newsom’s decision and praised Texas Democratic lawmakers for their efforts to block the GOP’s redistricting plan.

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California Hospital Concealed Evidence Linking ‘Catastrophic Surge’ in Stillbirths to COVID Vaccine, Lawsuit Alleges

A California hospital concealed data linking a “catastrophic surge” in stillbirths among women who received COVID-19 vaccines, according to a lawsuit filed last week in the Superior Court of California, Fresno County.

Michelle Spencer, a nurse at Community Medical Centers’ (CMC) Community Regional Medical Center, said the hospital “deliberately and selectively” concealed from staff, patients and regulators a spike in unborn baby deaths that began in spring 2021, and retaliated against her when she publicized the information.

The lawsuit also says the hospital concealed medical data related to the fetal deaths that showed a link to COVID-19 vaccination of pregnant mothers.

The data include hospital-wide medical records documenting the number of stillbirths and the vaccination histories of those babies’ mothers. One managing nurse at the hospital told a staff member that nearly all of the stillbirths occurred among vaccinated mothers.

According to the complaint, Spencer “witnessed firsthand the exponential increase in unborn baby deaths directly correlating with pregnant women who received a Covid vaccine and then would deliver a dead baby a close number of days or weeks following their injection.”

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Judge Strikes Down California Deepfake Censorship Law

California’s attempt to regulate political speech on major social media platforms has been blocked in federal court, with a judge ruling the state’s latest “deepfake” law clashes with protections already established by Congress.

Assembly Bill 2655 attempted to compel certain large platforms to track down and delete “materially deceptive content” about candidates, election officials, and officeholders.

Supporters described it as a safeguard against manipulated media. The companies targeted, including X and Rumble, argued it was an attempt to turn them into agents of government censorship.

Senior US District Judge John Mendez sided with the platforms and did not even need to reach the argument of constitutional free speech questions to strike down the measure.

He found the federal Communications Decency Act [CDA] already shields online services from punishment over third-party content.

“No parts of this statute are severable because the whole statute is preempted,” Mendez said in court. “No parts of A.B. 2655 can be salvaged.”

The ruling applies to the companies in the lawsuit, and his earlier order freezing enforcement of the law remains in effect statewide until he issues a formal opinion.

For Mendez, the law punished companies for doing something they are “clearly protected by [the CDA] from doing.”

The court also cast doubt on another state law, Assembly Bill 2839, which prohibits false or misleading digital communications aimed at election workers, officials, voting equipment, or candidates in the months leading up to an election. That measure is also on hold, and Mendez signaled he doubts it will survive judicial review.

“Anybody can sue,” he said. “I can sue. If I see the video, under this law, I can sue.” He warned that such a rule chills protected speech and noted the state had not shown it was using the least speech-restrictive approach possible.

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FBI: Southern California Man Arrested with Homemade Bomb After Sending Money to ISIS

Federal authorities arrested a Southern California man Friday for allegedly sending a dozen payments to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, commonly known as the foreign terrorist group ISIS.

The feds charged Mark Lorenzo Villanueva, 28, of Long Beach with “attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, a felony offense that carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison,” according to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.

The statement reported that Villanueva is a lawful permanent resident from the Philippines.

“Supporting a terrorist group, whether at home or abroad, is a serious risk to our national security,” said Acting United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “We will aggressively hunt down and prosecute anyone who provides support or comfort to our enemies.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office account added:

According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, Villanueva communicated via social media with two individuals who self-identified as ISIS fighters. During these communications, Villanueva discussed his desire to support ISIS, and offered to send money to the ISIS fighters to support their terrorist activities.

Villanueva told one of the self-identified ISIS fighters that Villanueva wanted to fight for ISIS himself, stating, “It’s an honor to fight and die for our faith. It’s the best way to go to heaven.” Villanueva also stated, “Someday soon, I’ll be joining.”

The man also allegedly told one of the ISIS fighters that he had a bomb and knives. The FBI recovered what appeared to be a bomb from Villanueva’s bedroom during his arrest, prosecutors said.

Villanueva then allegedly sent 12 payments totaling $1,615 during a five-month period to two intermediaries who accessed the money overseas, the office reported, citing Western Union records.

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