A new poll from UC Berkeley and POLITICO found that voters in California believe Hollywood stars and professionals have far too much political influence. 
The <a href="https://www.politico.com/f/?id=0000019c-e3f3-d6f4-a9ff-fff3abd70000">opinion poll</a> revealed that a plurality of the 1,220 voters surveyed, 48% total, said the entertainment industry has “too much influence on politics.” Almost half of the respondents also said that directors, actors, and other high-profile Hollywood figures should “be less vocal with their political beliefs.”
A plurality of voters – 39% – said Hollywood has a negative impact on American culture. Forty-seven percent of respondents admitted that the industry was “too liberal.”
These results come just days ahead of the 98th Academy Awards, which will be hosted again this year by former late-night host Conan O’Brien. Tensions are high as political turmoil abounds, and recent reports show that security will be tight at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
This includes a reported 1,000 private security guards, LAPD SWAT teams, bomb-sniffing dogs, and a fleet of surveillance drones circling overhead, as The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hollywood-elites-scramble-to-embrace-law-and-order-as-iran-threat-looms-over-oscars?author=Hank+Berrien&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Hollywood+Elites+Scramble+To+Embrace+Law+And+Order+As+Iran+Threat+Looms+Over+Oscars">reported</a>. 
O’Brien said he will discuss politics but claims he plans to tread carefully during the Oscars presentation. 
“My job is to always try and hit this very, very thin line between entertaining people and also acknowledging some of the realities,” the comedian said during a Wednesday news conference with the Oscars creative team, <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/awards/story/2026-03-11/oscars-2026-conan-obrien-politics-iran-war-reunions-bridesmaids-marvel">per</a> the LA Times.
“It’s a dance that goes on up until the show begins,” O’Brien said, adding that revisions to his monologue will be ongoing in the days leading up to the telecast to ensure everything is up-to-date with the news cycle.
“Between us, we will find the right tone,” he said, referencing the show’s executive producers.
Others in Hollywood show much less restraint. Several actors have become notorious for their leftist crusades and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/six-celebs-who-prove-trump-derangement-syndrome-has-no-cure">chronic TDS</a>, including insufferable activists such as George Clooney, Sean Penn, Robert De Niro, Alec Baldwin, Pedro Pascal, Larry David, Rosie O’Donnell, among so many others.
Besides these famous faces that keep popping up in the world of politics, there are dozens more celebrities who do their share of virtue signaling, including those who make frequent anti-ICE comments and who offer land acknowledgements despite living in mansions that are also situated on “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/billie-eilishs-stolen-land-rant-blows-up-as-tongva-tribe-says-her-mansion-sits-on-its-land">stolen land</a>.”

red carpet entrance

With Oscars Around The Corner, Even California Thinks Hollywood Is Off The Political Deep End

CA Voters Think Liberal Hollywood Has Too Much Influence On Politics: Poll

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Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom has yet to contact the family of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/congress-to-spotlight-illegal-immigrant-trucking-crashes-in-upcoming-hearing">Dalilah Coleman</a>, 7, who suffered life-altering injuries at the hands of an illegal immigrant truck driver who received his license from the Golden State, the young girl&#8217;s father, Marcus Coleman, told The Daily Wire.
Indian illegal immigrant Partap Singh allegedly caused the multi-car pileup while driving an 18-wheeler with a California commercial driver&#8217;s license in June 2024, causing significant injuries to Dalilah. The young girl, who was 5 years old at the time of the crash, suffered a traumatic brain injury, cerebral palsy, and developmental delay.
She currently cannot eat orally and is learning to walk again. She also has the &#8220;mentality of an 18 to 24 month old&#8221; as a result of her injuries, according to Marcus.
Dalilah&#8217;s father has repeatedly said that Newsom hasn&#8217;t contacted the family. He also said he&#8217;s lost hope and is &#8220;not holding&#8221; his &#8220;breath&#8221; anymore after making his own attempts to contact their office.
Marcus, who happens to be a truck driver himself, recently shared his frustrations with Newsom’s silence with The Daily Wire.
“How do you not see Dalilah? How do you allow politics to blind you from a five-year-old girl at the time whose life is forever changed, and your only answer is it’s the federal government,” Marcus said.
Newsom&#8217;s office told The Daily Wire on February 25 that they had &#8220;no record of outreach from the Coleman family,&#8221; adding &#8220;we would welcome the opportunity to connect them to available state resources.&#8221; With Marcus&#8217;s blessing, The Daily Wire shared his number with their office, which confirmed receipt and said it was &#8220;much appreciated.&#8221;
“What happened to Dalilah is heartbreaking, and we commend her family for turning their grief into advocacy,” Newsom spokesperson Diana Crofts-Pelayo said at the time.
Still, Marcus says he hasn&#8217;t heard anything as of publication.
President Donald Trump honored Dalilah and Marcus as guests to his State of the Union speech last month to highlight the surge in illegal immigrant trucking crashes.
“We will take care of this problem,” Trump said during the address. “We’re going to take care of this problem. We are not playing games. Dalilah — Dalilah Coleman was only 5 years old in June 2024 when an 18-wheel tractor-trailer plowed into her stopped car, traveling at 60 miles an hour or more. The driver was an illegal alien let in by Joe Biden and given a commercial driver’s license by open borders, politicians, and California. Doctors said Dalilah would never be able to walk or talk, have a good life.&#8221;
“She wouldn’t even be able to eat again. But against all odds, she is now in the first grade, learning to walk, and she is here this evening with her dad, Marcus, a fantastic man. Dalilah, please, you are a great inspiration. Please stand up. Thank you, Dalilah,” Trump said.
The Trump administration is currently withholding roughly $160 million in federal funds from Newsom’s California “for failing to cancel over 17,000 illegally issued” commercial driver’s licenses “by the agreed-upon deadline of January 5, 2026.”
Newsom has blamed the federal government for handing illegal immigrants the work permits used to obtain the trucking licenses.
Republican Indiana Senator Jim Banks recently introduced &#8220;The Dalilah Law&#8221; to ensure illegal immigrants lose their commercial driver’s licenses and that the issuance of new licenses has stricter requirements.

Untitled design – 2026-03-12T091426.162

Illegal Immigrant Trucker Wrecked A Little Girl’s Life. Newsom Won’t Even Take Her Father’s Calls.

Newsom Has Yet To Contact Family Of Young Girl Injured By Illegal Immigrant Trucker In California, F

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Charges were filed this week against the woman accused of firing multiple shots at Rihanna&#8217;s Los Angeles home on Sunday while the singer was on the property. 
Ivana Lisette Ortiz, 35, was charged with 14 counts, including attempted murder, use of a firearm, assault with a semiautomatic firearm, and shooting into an inhabited dwelling, along with sentence enhancement, <a href="https://abc7.com/post/shooting-rihannas-house-ivana-lisette-ortiz-woman-accused-opening-fire-singers-la-home-expected-court/18699807/">according to</a> ABC7. If convicted on all charges, Ortiz could face life in prison.
Ortiz’s public defender, Jamarcus Bradford, initially entered a not guilty plea on her behalf before withdrawing it to delay the arraignment until March 25. Her bail was initially set at $10 million but was later reduced to $1.875 million, the outlet noted.
Authorities allege Ortiz used an AR-style firearm and fired multiple rounds into the residence where Rihanna’s three children, her mother, and several staff members were inside. The singer and her partner, A$AP Rocky, were also on the property but in a separate building at the time of the shooting, NPR <a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/03/11/g-s1-113252/prosecutor-says-rihanna-family-were-home-when-woman-charged-with-attempted-murder-fired">reported</a>. Bullets penetrated exterior walls but did not breach interior walls.
According to LAPD, Ortiz allegedly drove to Rihanna’s residence from her home in Florida. Investigators are examining whether that travel indicates premeditation. 
&#8220;My understanding is the person drove here from Florida. How long they&#8217;ve been in the area &#8230; I don&#8217;t have that information,&#8221; LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said. &#8220;They&#8217;re working on that. That would be part of the whole motive, why the person came out here. We haven&#8217;t established a motive, we do know, and are aware of, social media posts that had been made that they&#8217;re looking into further.&#8221;
In a January social media video reviewed by authorities, Ortiz allegedly said, &#8220;Listen Rihanna, when you die God is taking me to my future.. yeah, she wants to kill me. Shut the [expletive] up.&#8221; A Facebook profile believed to belong to Ortiz also included posts directed at the singer. 
This isn’t the first security incident involving Rihanna. In 2018, a man broke into her Hollywood Hills home and remained inside for several hours. Eduardo A. Leon later pleaded no contest to felony stalking and vandalism charges and a misdemeanor count of resisting arrest. He was sentenced to probation.

Rihanna’s House

Woman Accused Of Shooting At Rihanna’s L.A. Home Charged With Attempted Murder

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Last week, the Supreme Court of the United States issued an important ruling in Mirabelli v. Bonta, a case addressing whether schools can implement policies that deliberately exclude parents from critical decisions about their children’s well-being. The Court answered that question with a clear and resounding no.
In its order, the Court reinstated a prior injunction, barring California schools from enforcing policies that conceal students’ gender transitions from parents or require teachers to use names or pronouns inconsistent with biological sex. Under these rules, this information was withheld from parents unless the child consented. Naturally, many parents and teachers challenged these policies, arguing that they violated constitutional rights.
The Court agreed that the parents raising religious objections are likely to win their claims under the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause. The justices also found that the policies are likely to interfere with parents’ long-recognized constitutional right to direct the upbringing and care of their children under the Fourteenth Amendment.
In reaching that conclusion, the Court relied on decades of precedent that affirm the role of parents in guiding their children’s development, including Wisconsin v. Yoder and Troxel v. Granville. The message is straightforward: when it comes to consequential decisions affecting a child’s identity, mental health, and moral development, the government cannot simply push parents aside.
This ruling arrives amid a broader national debate over how schools respond to students experiencing gender dysphoria. In many districts, policies have emerged that treat transgender identity as a matter between the student and the school, <a href="https://www.americafirstpolicy.com/issues/protecting-children-from-social-transition-act">rather than between the child and their family</a>. Supporters argue that such policies protect vulnerable students. But the Court’s decision highlights a critical problem: removing parents from the conversation can undermine the very support systems children need most.
Parents are typically the first line of care when a child is struggling emotionally or psychologically. The Court recognized this reality, noting that <a href="https://www.americafirstpolicy.com/issues/gender-dysphoria-and-the-social-transition-intervention">gender dysphoria</a> is a condition with significant <a href="https://www.americafirstpolicy.com/issues/gender-dysphoria-and-the-social-transition-intervention">mental health implications</a>. When schools conceal information about a child’s confusion with their biological sex from parents, they risk shutting out those most responsible for providing guidance, counseling, and medical care.
The Court’s reasoning also exposes an uncomfortable truth that has been too often ignored in public policy debates: decisions about “gender” identity during adolescence can have profound and lasting consequences.
That reality becomes particularly important as more individuals speak openly about the experience of detransition — discontinuing gender transition procedures after coming to regret them. While research on detransition remains limited, emerging evidence suggests that some young people who went through so-called “gender affirming care” did so because of social pressure. Others say the real reason for their psychological distress was not addressed, and the transition process only further complicated their existing pain.
This is why parental involvement matters. Adolescence is a time of rapid emotional and cognitive development. Decisions made during that process should not occur in isolation from parents who are legally and morally responsible for their children’s welfare.
This week, advocates and researchers will observe Detransition Awareness Day on March 12. The day highlights the experiences of individuals who have reversed or questioned their earlier identification as transgender and seeks to promote better research and support for those navigating a similar path.
Their stories underscore an important point: the debate surrounding our biological sex is not simply theoretical. It involves real people whose lives are shaped by the policies adopted by schools, medical institutions, and governments.
Acknowledging detransition means recognizing the complexity of adolescent identity and the need for careful, responsible approaches that prioritize long-term well-being.
The Supreme Court’s decision in Mirabelli does not resolve every problem that surrounds the gender topic, but the ruling establishes a vital principle: parents cannot be treated as obstacles in their children’s lives. In fact, they are the opposite – parents are the people primarily responsible for guiding their children through the most difficult and formative stages of adolescence. To exclude them from decisions that carry permanent, harmful, and lasting consequences is contrary to the very concept of what it means to raise a child.
As the nation reflects on detransition and the broader questions surrounding the gender issue, policymakers would do well to remember what the Court reaffirmed this week — families matter, and parents deserve a seat at the table.
* * *
Dr. Jennifer Bauwens is America First Policy Institute’s Director of American Values.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Mother hold hand schoolboy walking to bus. Energetic pupils running crossway.

The Parent Trap: The Detransition Reality Schools Tried To Hide From Moms And Dads

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The FBI recently warned California authorities that Iran was potentially plotting &#8220;a surprise attack using unmanned aerial vehicles&#8221; targeting the West Coast in retaliation for a U.S. strike on the Iranian regime, The Daily Wire confirmed on Wednesday.
The alert, which was communicated to California law enforcement, said the FBI first became aware of the potential Iranian threat in early February.
The FBI alert reviewed by The Daily Wire stated, “We recently acquired information that as of early February 2026, Iran allegedly aspired to conduct a surprise attack using unmanned aerial vehicles from an unidentified vessel off the coast of the United States Homeland, specifically against unspecified targets in California, in the event that the US conducted strikes against Iran. We have no additional information on the timing, method, target, or perpetrators of this alleged attack.”
The FBI declined to comment when asked about the alert. The Daily Wire also reached out to the White House and the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
California Governor Gavin Newsom&#8217;s office told The Daily Wire, &#8220;This bulletin is one of numerous security updates the state receives from federal partners daily and disseminates to local law enforcement and emergency responders.&#8221;
Newsom <a href="https://x.com/eytanwallace/status/2031806877848518756?s=46">said</a> in a video message that he was &#8220;aware&#8221; of the alert from the FBI, adding, &#8220;Drone issues have always been top of mind. We’ve assembled work groups specifically around those concerns. That’s all I will share at the moment.&#8221;
After President Donald Trump authorized &#8220;Operation Epic Fury&#8221; on February 28, Iran retaliated with missile strikes targeting U.S. bases throughout the Middle East. At least seven U.S. troops have been killed in the Iranian strikes, and around 140 more were wounded. The Trump administration has also been on high alert for domestic terror attacks in the United States as the war in Iran continues.
When asked by The Daily Wire earlier this month about potential terror threats, War Secretary Pete Hegseth said, &#8220;We’re ready for that. We’ve seen these types of folks before. And the American people can rest assured that we’re vigilant on that.&#8221;
Three people were killed and over a dozen more were wounded when a man <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/austin-shooters-iran-linked-attire-becomes-central-focus-in-terror-probe">wearing</a> a shirt depicting an Iranian flag opened fire at a bar in Austin, Texas, just hours after Trump announced that the United States was conducting strikes in Iran. The shooting has not been linked to Iranian-backed terrorism as authorities continue to investigate. The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fbi-probes-potential-nexus-to-terrorism-in-deadly-austin-shooting-spree">shooter</a>, Ndiaga Diagne — a Senegalese immigrant — also wore a sweatshirt that was emblazoned with the phrase, &#8220;Property of Allah.&#8221;

Launch of missile from Iran. 3D rendered illustration.

FBI Alert Warns Iran May Eye Drone Attack On American Soil

FBI Warned Of Iranian Plot To Launch Drone Attack On California

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Donald Trump

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A California voter ID proposal could land on the November ballot as debate over federal election policies intensifies.
Roughly 1.3 million petition signatures were submitted for verification — well above the 875,000 threshold required for a constitutional amendment pitch to go before voters, according to <a href="https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/03/california-voter-id-initiative/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CalMatters</a>.
“This is a true, grassroots, broad-based, bipartisan movement. It’s about good government,” Assemblyman Carl DeMaio (R-CA) said in a recent video regarding the effort.
“In November, we will strike a blow for democracy. We will improve public trust and confidence in our elections, and the fact that that frightens the establishment politicians who have failed us, we need to keep this bipartisan movement going,” DeMaio added.
Specifically, the initiative would require photo identification for those who choose to vote in person, or “the last four digits of a government-issued identification number when voting by mail.” Secondly, it would require proof of citizenship in order to be registered to vote.
It would also require the Golden State to “provide voter identification cards on request” and for election administrators to provide an annual update on the “percentage of each county’s voters whose citizenship they have verified.”
The amendment, if passed, would have “tens of millions” in “one-time” expenses, as well as “tens of millions of dollars to the low hundreds of millions of dollars to fulfill new requirements related to elections administration,” according to the Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance <a href="https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-measures/initiative-and-referendum-status/initiatives-referenda-cleared-circulation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">estimate</a>.
Some of the key ideas in the proposal are similar to those outlined in the SAVE America Act, which President Donald Trump has been urging the Senate to pass.
“It must be done immediately. It supersedes everything else,” Trump posted to Truth Social on Sunday.
“MUST GO TO THE FRONT OF THE LINE. I, as President, will not sign other Bills until this is passed, AND NOT THE WATERED DOWN VERSION &#8211; GO FOR THE GOLD: MUST SHOW VOTER I.D. &amp; PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP: NO MAIL-IN BALLOTS EXCEPT FOR MILITARY &#8211; ILLNESS, DISABILITY, TRAVEL: NO MEN IN WOMEN’S SPORTS: NO TRANSGENDER MUTILIZATION FOR CHILDREN! DO NOT FAIL!!!” he wrote.
Opposition to the California-based initiative remains, including from liberal groups such as the League of Women Voters of California and the American Civil Liberties Union.
“This voter ID measure is not about protecting voters; it is about importing the current federal administration’s election lies and intimidation tactics into California,” Jenny Farrell, Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of California, said in a March 2 statement. “It would expose voters’ sensitive personal information, create new ways to reject eligible ballots, and wrongly target voters through error-prone citizenship checks.”

Residents Cast Ballots For US Presidential Election During Early Voting Period In California

Voter ID Could Land On Blue State Ballot As Debate Intensifies

Voter ID Proposal To Likely Land On Blue State Ballot Amid Federal Elections Fight

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Pop star Britney Spears was arrested overnight in Ventura County, California, on suspicion of driving under the influence, according to multiple media reports.
The 44-year-old recording artist was stopped by the California Highway Patrol around 9:30 p.m. and booked shortly after 3 a.m. Thursday, per <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/05/entertainment/britney-spears-arrest">CNN</a>. Authorities reportedly listed the incident as a &#8220;cite and release,&#8221; meaning Spears was let go without bail pending a court appearance. Additional details were not immediately available. 
Spears&#8217; manager described the situation as &#8220;an unfortunate incident&#8221; that was &#8220;completely inexcusable.&#8221;
&#8220;Britney is going to take the right steps and comply with the law,&#8221; Spears&#8217; manager said in a statement. &#8220;Hopefully this can be the first step in long overdue change that needs to occur in Britney&#8217;s life. Hopefully, she can get the help and support she needs during this difficult time.&#8221;
The statement added that Spears&#8217; family is working on a plan “to set her up for success for well-being.&#8221;
The pop star shares two sons, Sean Preston, 20, and Jayden James, 19, with ex-husband Kevin Federline.
Spears was previously charged with a misdemeanor hit-and-run in 2007, which was later dismissed. She was hospitalized for a psychiatric evaluation the following year and was subsequently placed under a conservatorship overseen primarily by her father. That arrangement lasted 13 years before a judge terminated it in November 2021 following the fan-led &#8220;Free Britney&#8221; movement. 
Since the conservatorship ended, the “Toxic” singer has remained active on social media, where some posts have drawn concern from fans, such as posting videos of herself dancing, often scantily clad and sometimes <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/video-of-britney-spears-dancing-with-butcher-knives-sparks-concern-among-fans">with knives</a>. 
In recent months, Spears has been taking aim at her family in recent Instagram posts, claiming they’ve treated her poorly. As of Thursday, her account appeared to have been deactivated.
She had posted that she was “incredibly lucky to even be alive with how my family treated me once in my life and now I’m scared of them.&#8221;
Spears has a scheduled court appearance on May 4 in connection with the DUI allegation.

Britney Spears

Britney Spears Arrested – Manager Calls Incident ‘Inexcusable’

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<a href="https://anniebosko.com/">Annie Bosko</a> is a California-native country singer whose latest hit is a plea to save her home state.
The song is called &#8220;<a href="https://anniebosko.com/">Goodbye California</a>,&#8221; which she describes as the most &#8220;beautiful state in the world.&#8221; And while its title sounds like the closing of a chapter, she hopes her song brings about a welcome change to a place she says has rapidly declined since the pandemic.
Bosko hails from Thousand Oaks, California, and has fond memories growing up on a farm, surrounded by her four siblings. Fresh air, hard work, and endless miles of beauty are what she remembers most about where she was born and raised.
Living in Nashville, the country music capital, she still associates the real cowboys of the world with the West, especially California, known for cattle farms and growing a large portion of the country&#8217;s produce. Unfortunately, her home state is now associated with tremendous negativity, and she is addressing that through her lyrics.
&#8220;Now you&#8217;re just a wasteland of dust and broken dreams,&#8221; Bosko says in the song.
Her lyrics address the billions of dollars California spent trying to combat the homeless crisis. Instead, according to the <a href="https://www.ppic.org/blog/californians-concern-about-homelessness-has-softened/">Public Policy Institute of California</a>, the homeless population grew by more than 20% between 2019 and 2024.
Bosko also laments the devastating Palisades wildfires in her song, including how California fire hydrants ran dry. The song&#8217;s bridge highlights California&#8217;s critical issues during the fires that destroyed 23,000 acres.
&#8220;When working hard hardly works, can&#8217;t keep up with the dollar. Even when it&#8217;s free, you can&#8217;t afford the water,&#8221; she sings.
Bosko wants the Golden State to return to its desirable roots. She wants affordability, safety, and an economy that attracts businesses, not one that forces them to relocate.
&#8220;When you lose the things about a place that made it special, it&#8217;s a really sad thing to watch,&#8221; Bosko told The Daily Wire. &#8220;When you lose the history, the culture of a city, and you lose its landmark and what made it so special &#8230; it&#8217;s just hard to come back from that.
In &#8220;Goodbye California,&#8221; she sings about longing for the better days, not just for her, who has finally left it behind, but for those who can&#8217;t leave and are stuck in the current climate.
&#8220;They don&#8217;t feel safe, they can&#8217;t afford a yard,&#8221; Bosko said.
While her goal is to bring change to the state, the song also doubles as a love ballad, with California representing an old flame.
&#8220;Goodbye, California, you still got my heart. This view of you in my rearview is tearing me apart,&#8221; Bosko sings.
Bosko said it was actually Kid Rock who had the idea to make the song have a double meaning.
&#8220;Whichever side you&#8217;re on, you can&#8217;t refute he’s a great artist,&#8221; Bosko said.
While California dreaming has turned into a nightmare for many, Bosko hopes to one day return home, and said she is hopeful California is close to making a comeback. She is honored to release &#8220;Goodbye California&#8221; to the world to help with that.
&#8220;I&#8217;m an artist, so I think our jobs are to look around at what we see, what we observe&#8230; and write about it,&#8221; Bosko said. &#8220;If it can just make a difference in saving California &#8230; because it needs to be saved.&#8221;

Credit: Michael Hickey/Billboard via Getty Images

‘Sad Thing To Watch’: Country Singer Strives To Save California With Her New Song

Culture

Music

Nashville

News

California Democrats are warning their own candidates that a crowded gubernatorial primary could create an unexpected risk in the state&#8217;s top-two election system.
In a <a href="https://cadem.org/open-letter-to-the-democratic-candidates-for-governor/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> to the wide pool of Democrats seeking to replace term-limited Gov. Gavin Newsom, California Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks, a former union boss, urged candidates to assess whether they have a shot at advancing to the general election.
Under California&#8217;s &#8220;jungle primary&#8221; system in June, all candidates appear on the same ballot, and the top two vote-getters advance to the general election in November regardless of party. Some Democrats fear vote-splitting among their candidates could allow two Republicans to advance to the general election. There are more than a dozen Democrats in the race, including Rep. Eric Swalwell, former Rep. Katie Porter, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer. Newsom has not publicly endorsed anyone.
Meanwhile, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and former Fox News host Steve Hilton are considered the leading Republicans in the race. Some polls have shown Bianco and Hilton within striking distance of the top two, while others suggest both could advance if Democratic support fragments.
“Despite the ongoing chatter, the likelihood of two Republicans effectively ‘locking out’ California Democrats from the contest for Governor in the General Election is relatively low,” Hicks wrote. “However, while it is implausible, it is not impossible.”
Hicks called on the Democratic candidates to &#8220;honestly assess the viability of their candidacy,” suggesting those without a viable path of finishing in the top two consider dropping out &#8220;on or before April 15th.&#8221;
Hicks further added that if Republicans successfully lock out the Democrats, it could lead to “depressed Democratic turnout” and damage the party’s chances in other critical down-ballot races.
“The result would present a real risk to winning the congressional seats required and imperil Democrats’ chances to retake the House, cut Donald Trump’s term in half, and spare our Nation from the pain many have endured since January 2025. We simply can’t let that happen,” he wrote.
The primary is scheduled for June 2.
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrats-keep-jumping-into-california-gov-race-it-might-accidentally-boost-republicans">Democrats Keep Jumping Into California Gov Race. It Might Accidentally Boost Republicans.</a>

Rusty Hicks

California Dem Chair Warns Party Could Be Shut Out Of Governor’s Race

Elections

Eric Swalwell

Kamala Harris

The Supreme Court sided with a group of parents challenging a California policy that allowed schools to keep kids&#8217; so-called gender transitions a secret.
In a 6-3 decision on Monday, the justices said that California policies that block schools from notifying parents about their child’s desire to change their sex and be referred to by incorrect pronouns likely violate their religious liberty. The ruling comes after the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a lower court’s ruling siding with parents challenging California’s policies.
“We conclude that the parents who seek religious exemptions are likely to succeed on the merits of their Free Exercise Clause claim,” the Supreme Court majority <a href="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/63d954d4e4ad424df7819d46/69a61b347a7b680a9027a546_25A810.pdf">wrote</a>. “The parents who assert a free exercise claim have sincere religious beliefs about sex and gender, and they feel a religious obligation to raise their children in accordance with those beliefs. California’s policies violate those beliefs.”
The California Department of Education has argued that the challenge should be considered moot because they claim that a <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20240113000622/https://www.cde.ca.gov/re/di/eo/faqs.asp">frequently-asked-questions</a> page posted by the department has been edited to show that they do not mandate parental exclusion, and so there is no more cause for complaint. The FAQ page included a line that said, “with rare exceptions, schools are required to respect the limitations that a student places on the disclosure of their transgender status, including not sharing that information with the student’s parents.”
While that guidance was deleted, policies that kept parents in the dark about their children were still promoted in statewide teacher trainings, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/california-officials-lied-about-secret-gender-transitions-in-schools-documents-show">according</a> to documents uncovered by the Thomas More Society.
Policies prohibiting local school districts from passing measures requiring teachers to inform parents about a student’s identity were signed by Governor Gavin Newsom.
“Gender dysphoria is a condition that has an important bearing on a child’s mental health, but when a child exhibits symptoms of gender dysphoria at school, California’s policies conceal that information from parents and facilitate a degree of gender transitioning during school hours. These policies likely violate parents’ rights to direct the upbringing and education of their children,” the majority wrote.
They added that “the intrusion on parents’ free exercise rights here—unconsented facilitation of a child’s gender transition—is greater than the introduction of LGBTQ storybooks we considered sufficient to trigger strict scrutiny in Mahmoud.”
Mahmoud was a case from last year where the court ruled that a Maryland county violated the rights of parents who wanted to opt their kids out of instruction related to LGBT content.
Paul Jonna, special counsel at the Thomas More Society and partner at LiMandri and Jonna LLP, said the ruling was a major victory for parents.
“This is a watershed moment for parental rights in America,” she said. “The Supreme Court has told California and every state in the nation in no uncertain terms: you cannot secretly transition a child behind a parent’s back. The Court’s landmark reaffirmation of substantive due process, its vindication of religious liberty, and its approval of class-wide relief together set a historic precedent that will dismantle secret gender transition policies across the country.”
The court&#8217;s liberal justices — Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson — wanted to block the parents’ challenge.

MixCollage-02-Mar-2026-06-37-PM-4583

Supreme Court Slaps Down California Policy On Gender-Confused Kids

Courts

Religious Liberty

California is indeed a crazy place.
Which brings us to Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, who is constantly trying to swim in every pond simultaneously. Gavin Newsom has taken every position it is possible to take. Gavin Newsom may have more political positions than the Kama Sutra.
When I did a podcast with Gavin Newsom, he tried to play moderate on a wild variety of issues, but when he is in left-wing circles, all of a sudden, he is Left of Karl Marx.
On Thursday, Newsom said that California was born of genocide. This is so tiring. It&#8217;s so tiring, guys.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
California Governor Gavin Newsom smears California and the United States as being &#8220;born of genocide.&#8221;
NEWSOM: &#8220;I begin the book talking about&#8230;how we were born of genocide in California. I try to paint the picture that&#8230;it&#8217;s about America.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/vlYGSkVjBD">pic.twitter.com/vlYGSkVjBD</a>
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/2027054785879253246?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 26, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Source: @RNCResearch/X.com
Just be normal. On the Left, on the Right, can we all just be normal? Just a little bit? I know it&#8217;s a lot to ask in our crazy social media era, when the nuttiest people control the narratives.
“I begin the book, talking about looking out over the American River, where ‘Eureka! Eureka!’ was yelled,” Newsom said. “Yellow gold, and how you know, we were born of genocide in California. I try to paint a picture that is about California. It&#8217;s about America. It&#8217;s my family. It&#8217;s the journey. And so I do think there&#8217;s aspects of this that people can connect to in a very meaningful way, I hope.”
There was no genocide. Disease is not a genocide. What killed an enormous part of the population of Native Americans in the United States was not violent war. It was actual disease. And not disease purposefully spread like in a concentration camp. Again, it was not a genocide.
Two months ago, Newsom told me he didn’t know the definition of the word genocide when we discussed the ridiculous idea that Israel had committed genocide.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Has Trump FINALLY LOST His Base? With The Daily Wire&#039;s Ben Shapiro" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hrDpBwpSqSc?start=5009&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Source: This Is Gavin Newsom/YouTube.com
I asked, “What is your opinion of this?”
“My opinion is I understand the tendency for people to make that, to assert that on the basis of the images and the proportionality,” he answered.
“Ugly doesn’t mean genocide,” I said. “Proportionality doesn&#8217;t mean that if you kill my child and I then kill seven criminals, that I&#8217;ve been disproportionate.”
“I&#8217;m not disagreeing with you, but I understand that tendency on the basis of trying to reconcile the proportionate nature of how the war was ultimately conducted and the devastation,” Newsom argued.
“Why do you feel the need to create a permission structure for that sort of stuff?” I asked. “Meaning, it&#8217;s not true. Why not just say it&#8217;s not true?”
“I don&#8217;t know the definition or I don&#8217;t know the legal threshold,” Newsom admitted. “That&#8217;s not my opinion. So I don&#8217;t share what his opinion as relates to genocide. I do not agree with that notion.”
So he doesn&#8217;t know what a genocide is — but also, California is built on genocide or some such nonsense.
Why can&#8217;t people just be normal? Just be normal. Just tell the truth and be normal.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-2377-yes-we-re-making-a-movie-with-jonathan-majors?elementPosition=4&amp;row=6&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-974957" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp" alt="DailyWire+" width="1024" height="171" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-300x50.webp 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-768x128.webp 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1536x256.webp 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-2048x341.webp 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>

California Gov. Gavin Newsom Holds Events in South Carolina with state Democratic Party

Newsom: More Positions Than The Kama Sutra? 

Newsom: More Political Positions Than The Kamasutra? 

Ben Shapiro

Democrats

genocide

U.S. Politics

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested an illegal alien from Mexico on Thursday convicted of first-degree murder in California, the Department of Homeland Security told The Daily Wire.
The man, Luis Padilla-Tapia, was also convicted of threatening crime with intent to terrorize and corporal injury to spouse/cohabitant in Bakersfield. Padilla-Tapia was one of the “worst of the worst” illegal aliens picked up on Thursday that the Department of Homeland Security highlighted in a release to The Daily Wire.
“Yesterday, ICE arrested criminal illegal alien murderers, pedophiles and drug traffickers,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis. “These are the types of thugs our officers are arresting and removing from American neighborhoods. While sanctuary politicians demonize ICE law enforcement, our officers continue to risk their lives to arrest public safety threats. Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, we are putting the safety of American citizens FIRST.”
According to DHS, others arrested included:
<blockquote>-Benjamin Perez-Pena, an illegal alien from Mexico and registered sex offender convicted of lewd or lascivious acts with a child in Santa Ana, California.
-David Cac-Choc, an illegal alien from Guatemala convicted of indecent assault on a person less than 13 years old and endangering the welfare of children in Coatesville, Pennsylvania.
-Jhoshua Herbert Quichiz-Sagarvinaga, an illegal alien from Peru convicted of proposed sex act by communication systems with a victim under 15 years old and possession of child pornography in Leesburg, Virginia.
-Francisco Hernandez-Alonso, an illegal alien from Mexico convicted of attempted trafficking in opium or heroin in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.</blockquote>
<div id="attachment_1051065" style="width: 2570px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1051065" class="size-full wp-image-1051065" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/MixCollage-27-Feb-2026-02-36-PM-9209.jpg" alt="" width="2560" height="1440" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/MixCollage-27-Feb-2026-02-36-PM-9209.jpg 2560w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/MixCollage-27-Feb-2026-02-36-PM-9209-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/MixCollage-27-Feb-2026-02-36-PM-9209-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/MixCollage-27-Feb-2026-02-36-PM-9209-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/MixCollage-27-Feb-2026-02-36-PM-9209-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/MixCollage-27-Feb-2026-02-36-PM-9209-2048x1152.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" />Perez-Pena/Quichiz-Sagarvinaga: DHS.</div>
Anti-ICE protests have continued to rage across the country with leftist organizers <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mexican-restaurants-and-hotel-protests-heres-how-anti-ice-protesters-are-spending-their-week?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=4&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=%E2%80%98Eat+First.+Then+Smash+The+State.%E2%80%99+Inside+The+Anti-ICE+Weeklong+Plan">currently staging</a> a “week of action” in the Twin Cities in Minnesota. These protesters have called for amnesty for all illegal aliens and for the abolition of ICE and prisons.
Documents <a href="https://defendinged.org/investigations/a-minnesota-melt-the-ice-week-of-action-includes-a-scheduled-student-walkout-and-sit-in-school-patrols-and-a-training-session-on-sanctuary-schools-facilitated-by-rank-and-file-members/">reviewed</a> by The Daily Wire show the detailed coordination and planning that goes into a week of anti-law enforcement protests collectively called “Bring the Heat! Melt the ICE!” From February 25 to March 1, anti-ICE organizers are demonstrating at the state Capitol, at hotels where federal agents are staying, and hosting training sessions at local churches.

Ice Police Law Enforcement – Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Agents

Another Example Of Why ICE Remains On The Streets As Critics Demand It Be Dismantled

Department of Homeland Security

Illegal Immigration

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Mexico

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