Tag: california

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Strikes Down California’s Ban on Open Carry – Trump Judge Issues Scathing Opinion

A US Appeals Court on Friday in a 2-1 decision struck down a California law banning people from openly carrying firearms.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals cited a 2022 Supreme Court ruling and said California’s ban on open carry is unconstitutional.

US Circuit Judge Lawrence VanDyke, a Trump appointee, wrote the majority opinion and blasted the state of California for banning open carry for 95% of its population.

California banned open carry on all counties with populations greater than 200,000 – which is 95% of the state.

In 2019, Mark Baid filed a lawsuit against the California Attorney General challenging the state’s ban on open carry.

Judge VanDyke, a known gun enthusiast, said California’ ban on open carry is unconstitutional.

“For most of American history, open carry has been the default manner of lawful carry for firearms. It remains the norm across the country—more than thirty states generally allow open carry to this day, including states with significant urban populations,” VanDyke wrote.

VanDyke said many states allow open carry and California has a history of open carry.

“Similarly, for the first 162 years of its history open carry was a largely unremarkable part of daily life in California. From 1850, when California first became a state, until the Mulford Act of 1967, public carry of firearms in California (open or concealed) was entirely unregulated. And when California first deviated (or considered deviating) from this practice, its reasons for doing so were less than morally exemplary,” VanDyke wrote.

“In our Nation’s history and tradition, open carry was widely recognized as being central to the Second Amendment right,” VanDyke added. “A ban on that which is at the core of the Second Amendment is not a ‘minimal burden’ on the Second Amendment right.”

Last year, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld California’s ban on large-capacity magazines.

The en banc panel of the Ninth Circuit Court (a decision from the court’s entire slate of judges) sided with California’s radical Marxist Attorney General Rob Bonta.

Judge Lawrence VanDyke, who grew up in Bozeman, Montana, angered a lefty judge on the court after he released a highly unusual video dissent demonstrating him handling several different firearms.

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Eric Swalwell Vows to Arrest ICE Agents, Revoke their Driver’s Licenses if Elected Governor of California – “You Have to Go on Offense”

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) said on Tuesday that he plans to “go on offense” against federal agents in California, charging them with crimes and preventing them from driving in the state. 

If elected governor in November, “what I’m going to do is make sure that they take off their masks and show their faces, that they show their identification, and if they commit crimes, that they’re going to be charged with crimes,” Swalwell said on MS NOW’s All In.

“I also think if the governor has the ability to issue driver’s licenses to people in California,” he continued, “if you’re going to wear a mask and not identify yourself, you’re not going to be eligible to drive a vehicle in California.” Yet, they’ll still allow illegal aliens to obtain driver’s licenses.

However, Swalwell may not even be eligible to run for Governor of California, given his lack of a California residence for the past five years.

As The Gateway Pundit reported, despite being an elected representative for the state of California, Swalwell does not have a home in California and has listed Washington, DC as his primary residence. Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte has submitted a criminal referral to the Department of Justice for mortgage fraud.

Still, Swalwell’s current plan is to fight off federal officials to protect illegal aliens and criminals, who he describes as “the most vulnerable in our community.”

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Major change to California highway speed limit law comes into effect

New Year, new laws.

California drivers are being warned to be on high alert as possible changes to highway speed limits come into effect from Thursday.

A new speed enforcement law, which will be enforced from Jan. 1, allows the Department of Transport to reduce the limit on highways by 5mph across the Golden State.

Currently, the speed limit on the state’s highways is set at 65mph unless otherwise posted.

It wasn’t clear which highways would be immediately effected but signage is expected to be updated on the roadways that will now see the reduced 60mph limit.

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INSANITY: Newsom’s California Delays Revoking 17,000 Commercial Driver’s Licenses Until March Following “Dangerous Foreign Drivers” Legal Challenge

California Governor Gavin Newsom has backed down on federal enforcement of commercial driver’s license revocations, announcing a delay in the cancellation of 17,000 commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) issued to immigrant drivers — now postponed until March 6, 2026.

The move comes only after immigrant advocacy groups filed a federal lawsuit and secured a temporary reprieve against the state’s efforts to comply with federal safety and immigration rules.

The Gateway Pundit reported in November that California’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) had confessed to illegally handing out 17,000 non-domiciled Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDLs) to dangerous foreign drivers who have no business operating massive semitrucks or school buses on American roads.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy blasted California for “illegally issuing 17,000 commercial driver’s licenses” to individuals whose credentials did not meet federal requirements, even threatening to withhold up to $160 million in federal highway funds if the state refused to act.

“After weeks of claiming they did nothing wrong, Gavin Newsom and California have been caught red-handed. Now that we’ve exposed their lies, 17,000 illegally issued trucking licenses are being revoked,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy. “This is just the tip of the iceberg. My team will continue to force California to prove they have removed every illegal immigrant from behind the wheel of semitrucks and school buses.”

Each of the 17,000 non-domiciled CDL holders has been issued notice that their license will expire within 60 days, as it no longer meets federal requirements.

FMCSA is now requiring the California DMV to hand over a full audit of all non-domiciled CDLs to verify that every unlawfully issued license is revoked and that the state corrects the systemic failures that allowed this fraud to occur.

Federal auditors found that over one in four foreign driver records sampled in California failed to comply with federal law, including CDLs that extended beyond the expiration of a foreign worker’s visa, a blatant violation of federal safety regulations.

Now, the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) confirmed that the previously scheduled cancellation, originally set to begin in early January, will now be deferred while legal challenges play out in court.

This stunning reversal follows a wave of legal filings by organizations such as the Asian Law Caucus and the Sikh Coalition, who rushed to court arguing that the state’s actions threatened the livelihoods of thousands of “hard-working” immigrant truck drivers and bus operators.

Their lawsuit claimed that the DMV’s enforcement actions were unlawful and violated due process, alleging that drivers were not financially or legally equipped to respond to abrupt cancellation notices.

Newsom’s announcement provides additional breathing room for the state, which had been under immense pressure from the Trump Administration — and the U.S. Department of Transportation — to clean up a disastrous licensing program that federal auditors found had issued CDLs beyond the lawful terms of the drivers’ immigration status.

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Newsom’s Massive Fraud Scandal No One Is Talking About

Everybody’s buzzing about that Minnesota Medicaid mess with Gov. Tim Walz. Some are even calling it the largest fraud scandal ever. If only.

Blue-state fraud is undoubtedly a problem, and Walz should be held accountable if he did indeed look the other way. But what happened in the land of 10,000 lakes is tiny compared to the fraud in California under Gavin Newsom.

Heck, it makes Minnesota look like pocket change.

A fresh 92-page bombshell from the California State Auditor lays it all out.

“This latest report was issued by the state auditor, and that’s a nonpartisan position; that state auditor now puts eight state agencies on the high-risk list of agencies to watch out for, for things like fraud and mismanagement as well as waste,” Newsmax correspondent Heather Myers revealed last week.

“Here’s a look at that 92-page report. Newly added to the high-risk list is California’s food stamp program. If the state doesn’t get the improper payments under control, it could cost an extra $2.5 billion. Also on there is the Department of Finance, which was tasked with giving out COVID relief funds. Critics say $32 billion of that was taken by fraudsters. Then there are infrastructure issues like California’s deteriorating dams, and also the high-speed train that’s already cost taxpayers 18 billion without a single section of track complete.”

But wait, there’s more!

“Other reports cite $24 billion spent on the homeless issue that critics claim the state lost track of. More recently, there’s a report that says California cell phone users paid a surcharge for years to upgrade the state’s 911 system,” she added.

Tallied all up, California taxpayers lost $70 billion to fraud.

But here’s where things get really interesting. While pressure is on in Minnesota to get to the bottom of the state’s fraud, California seems to be under the radar.

Now get this. Right in the middle of the fraud apocalypse, a new ballot initiative seeks to impose a one-time 10% wealth tax on billionaires’ assets.

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Gavin Newsom Now Vowing to Eradicate Homelessness in California for the 100th Time

Gavin Newsom has been vowing to end homelessness in California for years. It all began way back when he was the mayor of San Francisco. Now he is the governor of California and he is still doing it.

The only thing that has changed in California over the years is the number of homeless people, which just keeps going up.

And of course, the only reason he is doing this now is because he is planning to run for president in 2028, not because he actually cares about the people of California.

The folks at RedState are skeptical:

You know, if California voters had a dollar for every time Gavin Newsom had pledged to eradicate homelessness in his state over the nearly three decades he’s been in elected office, they’d be rich instead of struggling to make ends meet due to the high cost of living and anti-capitalist environment in the Democrat-run Golden State…

The rampant homeless problems there have been well-documented here at RedState and elsewhere, with even prominent Democrat figures in California at various points acknowledging in so many words that the issue exists primarily in big cities run by other Democrats, like Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Predictably, Newsom has in recent months worked to give off the (false) impression that he is the “do something” governor, partly to beef up his purported 2028 bona fides and also to try to combat President Trump’s legitimate criticisms of things like the state’s soft-on-crime policies, which has played a big part in the exodus of residents over the last several years to red states like Texas and Florida.

But homelessness is where Newsom continues to demonstrate that talk is cheap, with the people ending up paying the steep price that the cost of failed leadership brings.

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Former Madera County worker arrested in CalFresh benefits theft case

55-year-old Leticia Mariscal, a former benefits eligibility worker in Madera County, has been arrested on charges of stealing over $40,000 in CalFresh benefits.

Investigators said she used the identities of more than 15 individuals, including the elderly and deceased.

U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced her arrest, saying she allegedly accessed county databases from December 2020 to April 2025 to carry out the scheme.

She reportedly approved benefits for these individuals, printed EBT cards in their names, and used the funds herself.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Madera County District Attorney’s Office, conducted the investigation.

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The Zodiac killer and Black Dahlia murderer were the SAME man: Explosive investigation unmasks single suspect behind two of America’s darkest murders

Two sadistic crimes that were the stuff of nightmares.

Two reigns of terror over California.

Two of the most notorious cases in history left unsolved for more than half a century.

But now, after all this time, one suspected killer is unmasked.

In a world exclusive, the Daily Mail can reveal that a new investigation has concluded that the Zodiac killer and the murderer of the Black Dahlia were the same man.

The FBI and California police departments are reviewing the explosive theory – and a trove of damning evidence has been unearthed by independent investigators and is undergoing forensic analysis.

If the evidence passes scrutiny, it would mean that two of the world’s biggest murder mysteries will finally be solved.

Between 1968 and 1969, the Zodiac killer terrorized northern California, murdering at least five victims while claiming to have slaughtered dozens more. The phantom taunted the media and police with letters and ciphers, daring the public to unravel his identity.

Two decades earlier in 1947, another slaying cast a shadow of fear over the state.

Aspiring Hollywood actress Elizabeth Short, who became known as the Black Dahlia, was found dead near a lovers’ lane in Los Angeles. Her body had been mutilated – severed clean in half at the waist, with a grotesque smile carved into her cheeks.

Now, after more than a half-century of mystery, countless law enforcement and amateur investigations, unsuccessful attempts to harness DNA testing, and the world’s brightest codebreaking minds left defeated, investigative consultant Alex Baber believes he has finally solved both cases.

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DOJ Charges California Food Stamp Official for Sending Benefits to Dead People – Then Spending Them

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 deceased individuals.

Authorities said she secretly approved those individuals for CalFresh benefits.

Prosecutors alleged that she then printed EBT cards in their names. Benefits were then deposited onto the cards and allegedly spent by Mariscal herself.

Federal authorities say that more than 15 identities were used in the scheme, The New York Post reported.

The total amount allegedly stolen was at least $40,000.

The case reportedly came to light after the son of a 91-year-old woman living in a nursing home questioned why his mother was receiving food assistance.

Investigators later confronted Mariscal with security footage, according to the complaint.

She allegedly admitted to the conduct after being shown the footage.

Prosecutors said she attempted to shift blame to a former boyfriend she had described as a gang member.

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California Faces Fuel Disaster As Refineries And Gas Stations Shut Down

The Democrat crusade to divert blame for the stagflation crisis triggered during the Biden Administration led them down a path of economic lies.  The central theme of their narrative was that corporations were “price gouging” consumers and inflation was actually a product of “corporate greed.”  In reality, helicopter money and dollar devaluation during the pandemic triggered a massive consumer demand rush as well as shortages in a variety of goods and raw materials.

The profit margins in many of these industries were paper thin as their manufacturing and labor costs skyrocketed, yet Democrats tried to scapegoat them anyway.  The word “accountability” is not in the leftist vocabulary.

We are only now starting to witness the aftermath of the legislation and policies put in place by blue states as a means to control prices.  California under Governor Gavin Newsom may have staged its own economic demise (the final nail in the coffin) after laws were passed requiring even greater state interference into oil refineries and gas stations.

Gavin Newsom ‘s major refinery law, ABX2-1 (signed Oct 2024), gives the state power to mandate minimum fuel storage levels and control refinery maintenance to prevent price spikes, empowering the California Energy Commission (CEC) to stabilize supply. This builds on earlier efforts (like SB X1-2) creating an oil market watchdog (DPMO) to increase oversight, aiming to stop refiners from manipulating supply for profit, while also adding data reporting requirements for companies.

In response, companies are shutting down refinery operations in the state.

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.

Experts suggest prices could go as high as $10-$12 per gallon as a result of the supply squeeze, spreading outside of CA to Arizona and Nevada. Republican lawmakers say that the loss of in-state production threatens not only consumer prices at the pump but also the state’s military readiness; a matter of national security. 

The refineries make jet fuel and diesel and gasoline for military bases across California.  California is home to more than 30 military bases, many of which rely on fuel refined in-state.  Gavin Newsom has mostly dismissed concerns as exaggeration, asserting that foreign shipments of fuel will fill the supply gap.  He argued in a recent statement:

“The claim that California policies pose a national security risk isn’t grounded in fact. The state has proactively engaged defense fuel customers throughout this energy transition, and no credible concerns have been raised about future fuel supply for the military. California is leading this transition responsibly while ensuring families have access to a safe, reliable, and affordable supply of transportation fuels…” 

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