A city councilman from Danville, Virginia, was doused in gasoline and set on fire in a horrific attack on Wednesday, multiple reports have confirmed.
Danville City Councilman Lee Vogler, 38, was allegedly attacked by Shotsie Michael Buck Hayes, 29 — who has since been placed under arrest — in the offices of Showcase Magazine. Hayes, according to the outlet&#8217;s publisher and local law enforcement, dumped a five-gallon bucket of gasoline over Vogler — and when Vogler ran out of the building, Hayes followed and set him on fire.
Vogler was able to identify his attacker at the scene and was airlifted to a hospital for emergency treatment. &#8220;Lee is awake and talking, and is en route to the burns center in Lynchburg,&#8221; Andrew Brooks, publisher of Showcase Magazine, said in a statement.
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&#8220;Our hearts and prayers are with him. We don’t really know what to say,&#8221; Brooks added.
According to multiple reports, Vogler and the suspect knew each other prior to the attack, and the motive is not believed to be political.
&#8220;Please join me in praying for Councilman Lee Vogler and for his family. We stand with Danville and support a full investigation into this attack. Violence is never the answer and must be condemned,&#8221; Lt. Governor Winsome Sears responded to the attack with a call for prayer — and an investigation.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Please join me in praying for Councilman Lee Vogler and for his family. We stand with Danville and support a full investigation into this attack.
Violence is never the answer and must be condemned.
— Lt. Governor of Virginia &#8211; Winsome Earle-Sears (@WinsomeSears) <a href="https://twitter.com/WinsomeSears/status/1950629561580048601?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
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John Reid, who is running to be Virginia&#8217;s next Lt. Governor, added, &#8220;What happened in Danville is horrifying. A deranged individual broke into the offices of Showcase Magazine and set City Councilman J. Lee Vogler on fire. Let me say this as clearly as I can: Violence has no place in our Commonwealth. No disagreement ever justifies hatred, threats, or brutality.&#8221;
&#8220;Today, we stand with J. Lee Vogler. We are praying for his full recovery, for strength in the days ahead, and for peace for his loved ones and the entire Danville community. This is about humanity. It’s about drawing a line and saying, &#8216;Enough.&#8217; We can disagree without dehumanizing. We can debate without descending into chaos. Virginia is better than this. And we all have a role to play in keeping it that way,&#8221; he continued.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
What happened in Danville is horrifying. A deranged individual broke into the offices of Showcase Magazine and set City Councilman J. Lee Vogler on fire.
Let me say this as clearly as I can: Violence has no place in our Commonwealth. No disagreement ever justifies hatred,…
— John Reid (@JohnReid4VA) <a href="https://twitter.com/JohnReid4VA/status/1950612773249208617?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Lee Vogler

Virginia City Councilman Doused In Gasoline, Set Aflame In Horrific Attack

attack

Fire

Politics

Virginia

A 19-year-old man was arrested on arson charges for the massive fire that burned thousands of acres in New Jersey earlier this week, law enforcement announced Thursday.
The Ocean County Prosecutor&#8217;s Office charged Joseph Kling on Wednesday with aggravated arson with the purpose of destroying the forest and arson over the blaze that has burned around 15,000 acres in Ocean County. The fire prompted thousands of evacuations and led to a state of emergency being declared.
Kling was determined by law enforcement to be the &#8220;individual responsible for setting wooden pallets on fire &#8211; and then leaving the area without the fire being fully extinguished,&#8221; Ocean County prosecutors said. Kling, from Watertown, is currently behind bars at the Ocean County Jail. The county has <a href="https://coroms.co.ocean.nj.us:8087/IML" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a> no information about when Kling will appear in court. 
Investigators determined that the fire was incendiary, likely from an improperly extinguished bonfire, and used GPS to determine its origin. 
The fire prompted around 5,000 people to evacuate from the area, though the New Jersey Forest Fire Service said Thursday that the evacuation orders for Lacey and Ocean Townships had been lifted. The forest service also announced that the blaze had been 50% contained. 
On Wednesday, Lacey Township Mayor Peter Curatolo <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/nj-wildfire-ocean-county-barnegat-lacey/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that the fire may &#8220;very well end up being the largest wildfire in New Jersey in 20 years.&#8221;
There have been no reported deaths or loss of homes from the fire, though at least one commercial building was destroyed alongside multiple vehicles and outbuildings.
The investigation involved Ocean County&#8217;s Major Crime Unit-Arson Squad, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service, the Ocean County Fire Marshal’s Office, and the New Jersey State Fire Marshal’s Office.
&#8220;Thanks to the incredible, heroic work of the good men and women of our New Jersey Forest Fire Service, folks&#8217; homes and lives have been saved, and we&#8217;ve truly averted a major disaster,&#8221; New Jersey Forest Fire Service Commissioner Shawn LaTourette<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/nj-wildfire-ocean-county-barnegat-lacey/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> </a>said Wednesday. &#8220;This wildfire is not under full and complete control, we still have a lot of work to do to achieve complete containment of the wildfire. But there were 1,300 homes that were threatened during the course of fighting this fire.&#8221;

MixCollage-24-Apr-2025-12-11-PM-7379

Police Arrest 19-Year-Old Over Massive New Jersey Fire, Reveal Cause Of Blaze

Arson

Crime

New Jersey

U.S.

wildfire

Wildfires

Los Angeles Democratic Mayor Karen Bass’ text messages from around the time the destructive Palisades Fire began were not saved, a report has found.
The Los Angeles Times <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/newsletter/2025-03-09/mayor-karen-bass-is-deleting-her-text-messages-raising-eyebrows-and-questions-essential-california" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sought</a> the text messages as part of its reporting, requesting “all text messages sent and received by the mayor as she was returning from Africa on Jan. 7 or Jan. 8 that specifically mentioned fire response or travel plans.”
David Michaelson, counsel to the mayor, responded to the request saying that Bass’ phone was set not to save text messages, the Times reported. Michaelson further claimed that there was “no requirement that a city official or employee” save their text messages. The Times, however, noted that the city’s own <a href="https://ens.lacity.org/clk/rmdroot/clkrmdroot108519379_05052004.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">document retention policies</a> say records must be kept for at least two years. Michaelson argued that such retention does not apply to text messages.
There is no setting on most smartphones that keeps them from automatically saving text messages. On iPhone and Android, users can set their phone to delete text messages after a certain amount of time, with the lowest usually being 30 days. The Times says it filed a records request within three days of the fires starting in Los Angeles. Michaelson did not respond to a Daily Wire inquiry.
Bass was out of the country, in Ghana, when the fires started despite previously telling constituents she would never leave the country in her capacity as mayor. She left Ghana that evening and was back in L.A. the next day, with access to her phone for the entire trip.
It took Bass’ office two months to respond to the Times’ request, saying there were “no responsive records.”
Bass was heavily criticized for slashing nearly $18 million from the fire department’s $837 million budget, with critics arguing that budget decrease left the city ill-prepared to fight the fires that raged through L.A. for nearly a month. The fires consumed nearly 60,000 acres, killed at least 29 people, and destroyed more than 16,000 structures, causing billions in property damage.
At the time, President-elect Donald Trump accused California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of failing to properly manage water in the state. He alleged that Newsom&#8217;s incompetence led to fire hydrants drying up when crews tried to put out the fires. So-called experts in urban water supply <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2025/01/10/la-fires-fire-hydrants-water-supply/">dismissed</a> Trump&#8217;s claims.
“Governor Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snow melt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way,” Trump published on <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/113793724958051185" target="_blank" rel="noopener">social media</a>.

Karen Bass

L.A. Mayor’s Phone Was Not Set To Save Text Messages, So None Exist Relating To Wildfire

California

General

Los Angeles

One of the hardest things to do, especially when you&#8217;ve got a million other things going on in your life, is to think about the political tactics of people you don&#8217;t agree with. If you&#8217;re a conservative with a full-time job for example, it&#8217;s hard enough to keep track of what Republican politicians are saying, and what policies they&#8217;re implementing. It&#8217;s even harder to track what&#8217;s going on with the other side — especially since, if we&#8217;re being honest, we usually don&#8217;t want to think about it.
But there&#8217;s a significant change in tactics that&#8217;s taken place recently on the Left in this country that, at this point, cannot be ignored. We&#8217;ve known for a while that the Left is now, once again, openly celebrating political violence. That&#8217;s been obvious since the BLM era. What&#8217;s changing, more recently, is that the Left is becoming far more targeted in its attacks. Instead of torching random car lots in Kenosha and shooting security guards in St. Louis to demonstrate their solidarity with George Floyd, Leftists are now becoming more specific, if not necessarily discerning. Like all terrorists, they&#8217;re carefully choosing their victims, to maximize political impact. They tried to assassinate Trump twice, as we all remember. And now that Trump, as president, has the full protection of the Secret Service, they&#8217;re unleashing targeted violent attacks on people they perceive to be supporters of Trump, or enemies of their ideology. That started with the murder of the UnitedHealthCare CEO, but as we predicted, it&#8217;s not stopping there. We&#8217;re entering a potentially long-lasting phase of deliberate, targeted Left-wing terrorism in this country — like the Weather Underground, on steroids.
This is a change that is not happening by accident. In some cases, it&#8217;s coordinated and deliberate — and it&#8217;s very well-funded. But I want to start by highlighting exactly what&#8217;s happening, because for the most part, the national news media isn&#8217;t doing so. All across the country, Kamala Harris voters have made the conscious decision to attack anyone who owns a Tesla, or who works at Tesla. I&#8217;m not talking about one or two people here. I&#8217;m talking about mobs of Democrats who are assaulting other people, in public, because of their perceived political views.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/mws-ep-1553-member-exclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Matt Walsh Show</a></h3>
You may have seen the footage of shootings, firebombings and riots that have taken place at Tesla stores all over the country. And I&#8217;ll get to that in a second. But some of the most remarkable footage in this respect comes from New Orleans, this past Mardi Gras weekend. As part of the &#8220;Orpheus&#8221; parade, five Tesla Cybertrucks were carrying passengers through Uptown New Orleans. As the vehicles passed, for several miles, onlookers pelted the trucks with objects they found on the street — everything from beads to road barriers. At one point, a man charged the trucks and began punching the glass, which he ultimately shattered. He also threw an object at one of the passengers, after he gained access to the back of the vehicle. The footage from this convoy of Cybertrucks is truly incredible to watch. It&#8217;s like something out of a foreign country. Here&#8217;s some of it, as recorded by the camera on one of the trucks:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="001 Cybertruck attack" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-tvM59h129s?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>
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Police were stationed all along the parade route. They saw everything that happened. But they made no arrests. They sat by, doing absolutely nothing, as the mob inflicted thousands of dollars&#8217; worth of property damage, solely because of the politics of the CEO of the company that made those trucks. As you might have seen, at one point in that footage, a mother encouraged her young child to join in with the mob and pummel the truck. 
Here&#8217;s what one of those vehicles looked like afterwards:
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-890215 aligncenter" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/GlM_fuwXMAAnlLk-432x576.jpeg" alt="" width="432" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/GlM_fuwXMAAnlLk-432x576.jpeg 432w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/GlM_fuwXMAAnlLk-225x300.jpeg 225w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/GlM_fuwXMAAnlLk-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/GlM_fuwXMAAnlLk-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/GlM_fuwXMAAnlLk.jpeg 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 432px) 100vw, 432px" /></div>
Check out this footage from this parade, this time from the mob&#8217;s perspective. And as you watch, listen to the glee in their voices as they throw objects at people inside the CyberTrucks. And then ask yourself: When was the last time a mob of Right-wing protesters decided to team up and attack someone, solely because that person had purchased a product they don&#8217;t like? Has it ever happened in the entire history of this country? As critical as we were about Bud Light, did any mob of conservatives ever chase someone down and pummel them for ordering a Bud Light at a bar? I don’t think so. But that’s basically what happened in New Orleans just a few days ago. Watch:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="003 Cybertruck mardis gras" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/APIjsVWlQTc?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>
This footage is not the most extreme example of violence I could find, but it does illustrates how widespread this mob-like mentality has become on the Left. It&#8217;s not just a handful of Left-wing NGO&#8217;s who are pushing this (although that&#8217;s certainly happening, too). In reality, we&#8217;re talking about hundreds, if not thousands of people who are willing to make an American city feel like Fallujah for people who happen to be inside a truck they don&#8217;t like. And of course, this footage received thousands of positive &#8220;upvotes&#8221; on Reddit, which has become a central breeding ground for organizing and promoting Left-wing terrorism.
You&#8217;ll also find a lot of support on Reddit for the 41-year-old man who allegedly just threw Molotov cocktails at a Tesla location in Oregon, before returning shortly afterwards to open fire on the business with an assault rifle. Watch:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="004 Salem molotov Shooting Fix" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bcYsqJVupOg?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>
Andy Ngo has reported that Adam Lansky, the man accused of committing these attacks, is a Portland trans activist who uses the alias &#8220;Allison Tesla&#8221; in his activism (and his pornography career). Meanwhile, another trans activist — Justin Thomas Nelson aka &#8220;Lucy Grace Nelson&#8221; — is accused of repeatedly attacking another Tesla dealership in Loveland, Colorado. Justin Nelson allegedly spray-painted the words “Nazi cars” on some of the vehicles, and then returned days later with Molotov cocktails before he was arrested. So he was booked, then let out on bond, then attacked the same Tesla location again. Of course, local news reports refer to &#8220;Justin&#8221; as a woman, because even when trans-identifying males are allegedly committing acts of arson, we have to respect their false identities.
Odds are, if you get your news from the mainstream press, you weren&#8217;t aware of any of this. You didn&#8217;t know that two trans-identifying Antifa activists are accused of attempting to firebomb Tesla dealerships in just the past month. And for that matter, you certainly weren&#8217;t aware that a trans-identifying suspect named Ryan Michael English — otherwise known as &#8220;Riley English — was arrested just a month ago, after arriving in D.C. with Molotov cocktails with the intention of assassinating members of Trump&#8217;s Cabinet. That&#8217;s according to court documents, which state. that Ryan has confessed.
This is an awful lot of violence that&#8217;s coming from a small subset of the population, in a very short period of time. It&#8217;s enough to make you wonder if men who pretend to be women might not be the most mentally stable individuals. And these are just the suspects we know about. Just a day after the FBI identified the suspect in the first attack on the Tesla store in Oregon, there was another shooting at a different Tesla location near Portland. Watch:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="005 another shooting" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-vPal0k2t1g?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>
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These attacks aren&#8217;t just happening on the West Coast, of course. In Massachusetts, someone set fire to several Tesla &#8220;supercharger&#8221; locations, which Tesla owners use to charge their vehicles away from home. They’re like gas stations for electric vehicles. Watch:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="006 superchargers MA" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vEY70xIj-P4?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>
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Within about 48 hours, Tesla had this location up-and-running again. So they were able to recover quickly from this particular act of vandalism, which every sane person would object to. But if you go on the Boston sub-reddit, you&#8217;ll find that they don&#8217;t object to this arson attack at all. Here&#8217;s one post on the Boston sub-reddit, for example:
<div id="attachment_890227" style="width: 398px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-890227" class="wp-image-890227 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/GlNuwhfWsAA_MQU-388x576.jpeg" alt="Screenshot: Reddit" width="388" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/GlNuwhfWsAA_MQU-388x576.jpeg 388w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/GlNuwhfWsAA_MQU-202x300.jpeg 202w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/GlNuwhfWsAA_MQU.jpeg 754w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 388px) 100vw, 388px" />Screenshot: Reddit</div>
As you can see, they&#8217;re sarcastically saying that weather probably caused the blaze, and that it&#8217;s no big deal. Thousands of people are up-voting posts like this. There&#8217;s similar enthusiasm in New York, where protesters were just removed after attempting to shut down a Tesla store there. Those are protests, according to Elon Musk, that involved — at least in part — organizations that have received substantial funding from George Soros&#8217; nonprofit over the years.
But regardless of George Soros&#8217; culpability, there&#8217;s really no other way to interpret what&#8217;s happening here: We are witnessing a campaign of terrorism by the Left, which is openly being celebrated (if not coordinated) by thousands of Leftists using platforms like Reddit. And it&#8217;s leading everyday people to physically assault Tesla owners at every opportunity. This is footage from New York for example:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="008 New York" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SYVDgIyvmJc?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>
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We don&#8217;t have sound for this one, so in case you can&#8217;t see it, it&#8217;s some guy running alongside a Cybertruck, punching it repeatedly and giving the middle-finger to the occupants. And then at the end of the footage, a police car appears in frame. And of course the officer does nothing.
These kinds of attacks are becoming so common now that it&#8217;s impossible to keep up with them.
Late Sunday, the reporter Jonathan Choe uploaded this footage of Cybertrucks on fire in Seattle, in yet another suspected arson attack:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="009 seattle cybertrucks on fire FIX" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fbuCZQP4yNY?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>
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No matter how hard you look, you will not find a single Democrat Party politician who is willing to condemn any of this violence. The &#8220;party of Democracy&#8221; is completely silent as Left-wing terrorists commit acts of political violence, all over the country, for the express purpose of intimidating Elon Musk and anyone who dared to vote for Donald Trump. And we all know why that is. They endorse all of it. The Democrat Party, and the media outlets they effectively control, have no problem with destroying the property of anyone they believe is a conservative. They also don&#8217;t mind destroying Tesla — one of the most important companies in the United States, which employs more than a hundred thousand people — in the process.
These are people who are not interested in progress, or the advancement of human civilization. They are the enemies of both. And, as if to prove that point, MSNBC anchors recently celebrated the explosion of SpaceX&#8217;s starship during a recent test launch. This is a test launch that, in case you missed it, included the &#8220;catch&#8221; of the booster rocket, which is one of the most remarkable technological achievements imaginable. But over at MSNBC, they didn&#8217;t even mention the booster catch. Instead, they burst out into song because the starship itself had exploded. Watch:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="011 MSNBC taunts" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/D-2ZGTYCJRc?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>
We&#8217;ve done a lot of segments recently about how utterly dumb and inane Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) is. But really, all we had to do is play that clip. &#8220;If only Musk had more DEI hires, maybe Starship wouldn&#8217;t have exploded.&#8221; That&#8217;s the logic they&#8217;re going with at MSNBC. That is how utterly shameless these people are. Because as we all know, when you need to achieve something that&#8217;s never been achieved before in human history, you call in the DEI hires. After all, DEI hires are how NASA landed on the moon.
Of course, none of these people — even Jasmine Crockett — believe any of this. For all their demonization of billionaires and corporations, the truth is that the Left has this intense hatred for Elon because they see him as a class traitor. They know that the wealthy are supposed to be on their side. Elon is not only an Uber-wealthy man, but also a man of great scientific achievement, and he should be a devotee to their cause. That&#8217;s why they reserve for him the special kind of hatred that you have not for enemies, but for traitors.
Just think for a moment about the absurdity of the clip you just saw. The man is building reusable rockets, for the purpose of making space travel affordable enough that we can colonize Mars in the near future. The whole point of these test launches is to gather data so that the next launch — in just a few weeks — can be a success. That&#8217;s why no one was or is onboard the Starship. It&#8217;s a test flight. And these test flights clearly work, as anyone familiar with SpaceX&#8217;s history — and its progress in just the past decade — understands very well.
But increasingly few people on the Left actually care about SpaceX, or Tesla, or Elon Musk, or any of that. Instead, they care about political control, which they&#8217;re obviously losing. So, in some cases, they&#8217;re resorting to terrorism instead. And on television, they&#8217;re turning to juvenile, barely-literate criticism of a space program they can&#8217;t begin to comprehend. It&#8217;s difficult not to be reminded of Roosevelt&#8217;s famous speech on insufferable people like this, from all the way back in 1910. &#8220;It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.” I won’t recite the whole thing for you. But if you don’t know it, google it. There is no better way to describe cable news hosts who laugh while a man builds rockets to Mars.
Shut out of political relevance, Leftists are turning to violence and terrorism. They will only intensify their efforts in the coming weeks. But with every arson attack, and every insufferable segment on MSNBC, they&#8217;re only highlighting two things. First of all, they are irrelevant. And secondly, the men in the arena — the people who are actually committed to moving this country forward — aren&#8217;t going anywhere.

President Trump Speaks Alongside Tesla Vehicles At The White House

Exposing The Coordinated Terror Campaign Against Elon Musk And Tesla

Boston

Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)

Electric cars

Elon Musk

Leftists

Matt Walsh

MSNBC

Opinion

Oregon

Portland

President Trump

Tesla

Another fire broke out at one of the world’s largest lithium-ion battery storage facilities in California.
Residents living near the Vistra Moss Landing Power Plant and Energy Storage Facility were told Tuesday night to close their windows and doors after “light smoke and fire” were seen at the facility, <a href="https://www.readymontereycounty.org/emergency/alerts?eventId=995779ALE" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an emergency aler</a>t from county officials said.
“Public Safety Agencies are in Unified Command due to light smoke and fire at the Vistra Battery Facility in Moss Landing. Unified Command continues to monitor the situation and community air particulate matter and metals monitoring are ongoing,” the alert from Monterey County officials said. “Out of an abundance of caution, safety agencies urge residents to close windows and doors overnight.”
An earlier message from the county said the fire was first detected around 6:30 p.m., but residents weren’t told this until after 8:30, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/moss-landing-lithium-battery-storage-vistra-monterey-county/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to CBS News</a>. The fire started in the burned-out area where a previous fire broke out on January 16, but the message said the new fire didn’t appear to be burning undamaged batteries.
“The Jan. 16 fire grew out of control when the facility&#8217;s internal fire suppression system failed,” CBS reported.
The fire burned for several days, NBC Bay Area <a href="https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/california/heavy-metals-elkhorn-slough-battery-storage-fire/3773937/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>, and noted the increase in toxic metals related to baseline measurements that had been conducted prior to the blaze. Initially, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under then-President Joe Biden, along with local authorities, claimed the fire at the energy storage facility released no toxins.
High levels of nickel, manganese, and cobalt were found in the soil within 2 miles of the facility, The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nature-preserve-poisoned-after-california-lithium-battery-facility-catches-fire-scientists-say" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>, according to measurements taken by scientists at San Jose State University.
Dr. Ivano Aiello, the chair of San José State’s Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, <a href="https://www.kqed.org/news/12024233/monterey-county-battery-fire-linked-surge-heavy-metals-nature-reserves-soil" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> KQED that his lab tested soil within two miles of the Elkhorn Slough nature preserve and found that samples from around 100 locations showed concentrations of three toxic heavy metals hundreds of times higher than before the fire. He noted that the fire caused the increase in findings because the heavy metals were only found in the top layer of soil, suggesting they were recent.
“They are clearly the type of material from a battery, so you can link directly the occurrence increasing of this toxic heavy metal to the source, which is a battery,” he told the outlet. “The line of evidence from a scientific perspective is pretty solid. There’s no other explanation as to why before the concentrations were much lower and now are much higher, and those elements are linked to those nanoparticles.”
Earlier this month, residents near the facility filed a lawsuit against Vistra Energy and PG&amp;E, the companies that own the two facilities at the Moss Landing site. The lawsuit alleges that Vistra failed to take proper safety measures and PG&amp;E designed an unsafe facility.

Moss Landing Power Plant

California Lithium Battery Facility Catches Fire Again, Residents Told To Close Windows

California Lithium Battery Facility Catches Fire, Again, Residents Told To Close Windows

Environment

A recent fire at one of the world’s largest lithium-ion battery storage facilities poisoned a vital nature reserve in Northern California.
High levels of nickel, manganese, and cobalt were found in the soil within 2 miles of the Vistra Moss Landing Power Plant and Energy Storage Facility, KQED <a href="https://www.kqed.org/news/12024233/monterey-county-battery-fire-linked-surge-heavy-metals-nature-reserves-soil" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>, citing measurements taken by scientists at San Jose State University. Those heavy metals were found in soil samples shortly after the facility caught fire on January 16.
The fire burned for several days, NBC Bay Area <a href="https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/california/heavy-metals-elkhorn-slough-battery-storage-fire/3773937/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>, and noted that the increase in toxic metals related to baseline measurements that had been conducted prior to the fire. Initially, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under then-President Joe Biden, along with local authorities, claimed the fire at the energy storage facility released no toxins.
Local officials said they didn’t detect higher levels of pollutants, KQED reported, and a company hired by the power facility also found no evidence of heightened toxic metals. A Facebook group of nearly 3,000 people in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties, however, contains allegations that people are suffering from headaches, sore throats, nausea, and other conditions they believe are linked to the fire.
Dr. Ivano Aiello, the chair of San José State’s Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, told KQED that his lab tested soil within two miles of the Elkhorn Slough nature preserve and found that samples from around 100 locations showed concentrations of three toxic heavy metals hundreds of times higher than before the fire. He noted that the fire caused the increase in findings because the heavy metals were only found in the top layer of soil, suggesting they were recent.
“They are clearly the type of material from a battery, so you can link directly the occurrence increasing of this toxic heavy metal to the source, which is a battery,” he told the outlet. “The line of evidence from a scientific perspective is pretty solid. There’s no other explanation as to why before the concentrations were much lower and now are much higher, and those elements are linked to those nanoparticles.”
Though local outlets have covered the story, it has not received national attention, possibly because the facility was used to store solar power during the day and provide it to consumers in the evening. Had the facility been a nuclear power plant, the story would likely have become international news.
Today, however, the same voices who would otherwise oppose nuclear power for the threat it poses to crops and nature are silent about their preferred energy source causing damage to the surrounding area.

California Power Plant Fire

Nature Preserve Poisoned After California Lithium Battery Facility Catches Fire, Scientists Say

Toxin

President Donald Trump called out <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/khloe-kardashian-blasts-la-mayor-karen-bass-for-fire-dept-buget-cuts-you-are-a-joke" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass</a>, a Democrat, during a roundtable discussion on Friday about the devastating wildfires that killed 28 people and destroyed more than <a href="https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/california-wildfires/map-la-fires-containment-2/3614547/#:~:text=More%20than%2016%2C200%20structures%20were%20destroyed%20in%20the%20Eaton%20and%20Palisades%20fires." target="_blank" rel="noopener">16,200</a> structures.
Trump ripped Bass for not exercising her emergency powers effectively to cut red tape and help residents rebuild as quickly as possible.
“You have emergency powers, just like I do, and I’m exercising my emergency powers,&#8221; Trump told the mayor. &#8220;You have to exercise them also.&#8221;
“I did exercise them,” Bass responded. “If individuals want to clear out their property, they can.”
Members of the Palisades and Eaton communities in attendance at the event shouted from their seats that this was not true. Subsequently, Bass rephrased her statement, saying that, eventually, they will be able to clear out their properties.
&#8220;You know that you will be able to go back soon,&#8221; Bass told the homeowners, who responded by asking when that would be. &#8220;I think, within a week,&#8221; the mayor replied.
Trump reacted by telling Bass that &#8220;a week&#8221; is actually a long time, considering the fires started back on January 7.
Bass justified the delay by citing &#8220;safety.&#8221;
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Trump argued that residents are &#8220;not safe now&#8221; and said he&#8217;s been told by homeowners that they can&#8217;t get permits to start the rebuilding process for another 18 months.
&#8220;I watched hundreds of people standing in front of their lots, and they’re not allowed to go in,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;It’s all burned. It’s gone, it’s done. Nothing’s going to happen, it&#8217;s not going to burn anymore. The people are all over the place, they’re standing and they say, ‘We’re trying to get a permit,’ and the permit is going to take them &#8212; everybody said, 18 months.&#8221;
Residents shouted in agreement with Trump. One female homeowner told the president, &#8220;We can&#8217;t even see our home right now. We&#8217;re blocked from entering our street. The first time we saw our house was yesterday.&#8221;
Trump was not done laying into California Democrats, however.
When Republican Rep. Darrell Issa (CA) told the president that they were going to implement practices to stop future fires, Trump interjected, &#8220;Like, water &#8212; little things like water,&#8221; and turned his attention to Democrat Rep. Brad Sherman (CA). &#8220;Brad, we&#8217;re the party of common sense. You&#8217;re not, in all fairness. We like water to put out fires, it&#8217;s really quite efficient.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
WATCH: President Trump demands that LA&#8217;s Democrat Mayor Karen Bass let people back into their homes to start the rebuilding process.
All she does is sputter.
California Democrats are not in the same league as President Trump&#8217;s common-sense approach to disaster recovery. <a href="https://t.co/mTz0jUs8vY">pic.twitter.com/mTz0jUs8vY</a>
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveGuest/status/1882965356807164025?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 25, 2025</a></blockquote>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/la-mayor-bass-appointee-who-oversaw-fire-dept-was-on-leave-over-alleged-bomb-threat" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LA Mayor Bass Appointee Who Oversaw Fire Dept Was On Leave Over Alleged Bomb Threat</a>

US-POLITICS-TRUMP

Trump Calls Out Mayor Bass During Live Presser, Community Members Back Him Up

Donald Trump

On Friday, a union representing more than 3,000 Los Angeles city firefighters gave its full-throated support for Fire Chief Kristin Crowley, who was reportedly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/la-fire-chief-reportedly-called-to-mayors-office-to-be-fired-heres-what-we-know" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called into Democrat Mayor Karen Bass&#8217; office</a> last week to be fired, though she ultimately kept her job.
Mayor Bass and Crowley have been at odds while the city of Los Angeles battles historic wildfires that have so far killed 25 people, and others remain missing. Additionally, Crowley was recently the subject of an anonymous letter from “retired and active LAFD chief officers&#8221; condemning her performance as chief, and specifically her decision to <a href="https://x.com/CollinRugg/status/1877827973895893084?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1877827973895893084%7Ctwgr%5E585d526402d13d1ba29fc4ec80f388dbccb9aa40%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailywire.com%2Fnews%2Fla-fire-chief-reportedly-called-to-mayors-office-to-be-fired-heres-what-we-know" target="_blank" rel="noopener">call out Mayor Bass</a> on television.
United Firefighters of Los Angeles City Local 112 condemned the letter admonishing Crowley, which they said was signed by &#8220;disgruntled and anonymous individuals.&#8221; The union also thanked Crowley for being “willing to fight” for her staff and the agency’s budget, the Los Angeles Times <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-01-17/firefighter-union-rallies-behind-lafd-chief-denounces-attack-on-her-performance" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
“While we haven’t agreed on everything, you’ve been the only fire chief in decades to repeatedly demand adequate resources,” the union said.
Crowley bluntly told the press last week that city leadership “failed” her department &#8212; a moment the letter admonishing Crowley referred to as an &#8220;outburst.&#8221;
“Chief, please focus on your current duties and responsibilities which currently should be focused on mitigating and stabilizing the Palisades fire,&#8221; the anonymous letter said. &#8220;Your outburst regarding the budget and the statement that the ‘City failed the LAFD’ was ill-advised, poorly timed and took away from the most important issue, the Palisades fire.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
JUST IN: Los Angeles Fire Department chief Kristin Crowley turns on Los Angeles leadership, says they failed her.
Remarkable interview.
Crowley called out the city for having no water in the Santa Ynez Reservoir.
Reporter: &#8220;Did the city of Los Angeles fail you and your… <a href="https://t.co/fUQPoW32QA">pic.twitter.com/fUQPoW32QA</a>
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) <a href="https://twitter.com/CollinRugg/status/1877827973895893084?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
Mayor Bass has been accused of ignoring warnings of the forecasted high winds and fire threat, opting to leave town for a taxpayer-funded trip to Africa. The mayor also cut the fire department budget by <a href="https://abc11.com/post/los-angeles-cut-175m-fire-department-budget-months-before-palisades-signed-mayor-karen-bass/15782731/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$17.5 million</a> just months before the fires broke out, as highlighted by Crowley. Currently, an online petition signed by <a href="https://www.change.org/p/demand-the-immediate-resignation-of-mayor-karen-bass" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more than 155,000 people</a> calls for Bass&#8217; immediate resignation.
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There is also much controversy about the LA Fire Department&#8217;s priorities, specifically its focus on DEI goals over competence and effectiveness. For example, the department’s assistant chief, Kristine Larson, appears in a video in which she says that if someone complains about a woman firefighter’s inability to carry a man out of a fire, her response would be, “He got himself in the wrong place if I have to carry him out of a fire.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
LAFD Assistant Chief Kristine Larson:
&#8220;Am I able to carry your husband out of a fire? He got himself in the wrong place.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/BofTVr6dWP">pic.twitter.com/BofTVr6dWP</a>
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) <a href="https://twitter.com/EndWokeness/status/1877458240050446339?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
Journalist Michael Shellenberger has reported whistleblowers&#8217; stories about detrimental DEI standards with the department.
&#8220;DEI didn&#8217;t hurt the LA Fire Department&#8217;s response to the catastrophic fires, say the media. But anything that trumps meritocratic standards would,&#8221; Shellenberger posted online. &#8220;And now, whistleblowers within LAFD say the Department lowered standards on ladders, hoses &amp; push-ups to meet DEI quotas for women.&#8221;
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Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/la-fire-chief-reportedly-called-to-mayors-office-to-be-fired-heres-what-we-know" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LA Fire Chief Reportedly Called To Mayor’s Office ‘To Be Fired.’ Here’s What We Know.</a>

Fire Chief Kristin Crowley

LA Fire Chief Gets Backing From Union After Reportedly Being On Mayor’s Chopping Block

Natural Disaster

Filmmaker <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mel-gibson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mel Gibson</a> has become the latest <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/patricia-heaton-blows-up-on-la-mayor-as-fires-rage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">celebrity to torch</a> Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass after losing his home in the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/fire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Southern California fires</a>.
Speaking on the “Arroyo Grande” <a href="https://x.com/RaymondArroyo/status/1879912134114513236">podcast</a>, the 69-year-old actor reflected on the destruction of the Palisades Fire and what was left of his home due to the failure of the state&#8217;s leadership.
&#8220;Well, first I thought it was, &#8216;Oh gee, bad luck, tragedy,'&#8221; Gibson explained. “But then I came to realize that it was monumental mismanagement by our elected officials; and that’s the nicest thing you can say about it.”
&#8220;I mean, as a citizen here, Newsom and Bass, they want us to trust them to reimagine the city, our city, and how they think it should be,” he added. “I mean, look at what they’ve done so far to this town. You got nothing but rampant crime, acute homelessness, high taxes, mismanagement of water, firefighters, defunding the department, and we’re supposed to trust them with millions of dollars to sort of remake where we live?”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
BREAKING: Mel Gibson on LA 2.0: “Newsom and Bass, they want us to trust them to re-imagine the city, our city… look at what they&#8217;ve done so far to this town, you know…It&#8217;s our city, it&#8217;s the city of the people, and they have another plan.” 
Subscribe to the full ARROYO GRANDE… <a href="https://t.co/nFnTUfVsIM">pic.twitter.com/nFnTUfVsIM</a>
— Raymond Arroyo (@RaymondArroyo) <a href="https://twitter.com/RaymondArroyo/status/1879912134114513236?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
“It’s our city, it’s the city of the people, and they have another plan,” the director continued. “There’s still people from the Woolsey Fire still living in trailers. … When have you seen the government ‘build back better?’ It’s just social engineering, environmental regulation, and spending; that’s the last thing any of us who have been burned out need are a bunch of bureaucrats tellings us how to rebuild our communities.&#8221;
Gibson recently spoke to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hE9VvdUXf8">NewsNation</a> and said he wasn’t even in town when the fires consumed his Malibu home because he was in Austin, Texas, recording an episode with Joe Rogan for “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, as previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/your-heart-just-breaks-jeff-bridges-mel-gibson-and-others-become-latest-to-lose-homes-in-fires">reported</a>.
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“I was doing the Rogan podcast. … And [I was] kind of ill at ease while we were talking, because I knew my neighborhood was on fire, so I thought, I wonder if my place is still there. But when I got home, sure enough, it wasn’t there,” Gibson said. “I went home and I said to myself, well, at least I haven’t got any of those pesky plumbing problems anymore.”
The &#8220;Braveheart&#8221; actor admitted he was still dealing with the “devastating” impact of losing the home that he’d lived in for more than a decade.
“It is obviously, it’s kind of devastating. It’s emotional,” the famed actor said. “You live there for a long time, and you had all your stuff. You remember George Carlin talking about your stuff? I had my stuff there, and it’s all like, I’ve been relieved from the burden of my stuff, because it’s all in cinders.”
Gibson remarked on the destruction left by the fire and said he’d never “seen a place so perfectly burnt. You could put it in an urn … I’ve never seen such complete burn.”
“It’s like someone did it on purpose to really destroy every aspect of it,” the actor said. “My place looked like Dresden. It’s emotional and I lived there for about 14, 15 years, so it was home to me. I had a lot of personal things there I can’t get back.”
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/your-heart-just-breaks-jeff-bridges-mel-gibson-and-others-become-latest-to-lose-homes-in-fires" target="_blank" rel="noopener">‘Your Heart Just Breaks’: Jeff Bridges, Mel Gibson, And Others Become Latest To Lose Homes In Fires</a>

Mel Gibson

Mel Gibson Becomes Latest Celebrity To Torch Newsom, LA Mayor After Losing Home

Celebrities

Entertainment

Gavin Newsom

Hollywood

Los Angeles Mayor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/karen-bass" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Karen Bass</a>’ deputy mayor, who was in charge of overseeing the city&#8217;s fire department, was not on the job in the weeks and days leading up to the historic wildfires that erupted last week because he was placed on leave after he was raided by the FBI.
The New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/01/14/us-news/bass-appointee-was-put-on-leave-after-alleged-la-bomb-threat/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that the Los Angeles Police Department initially indicated when the incident happened last month that Deputy Mayor Brian Williams was likely the “source of the threat.”
The FBI took over the investigation because of Williams&#8217; connections to the local police department, the report said.
The raid happened less than three weeks before the fires broke out — burning more than 40,000 acres, causing $50+ billion in damages, destroying 10,000+ structures, and killing more than a dozen people.
Williams was in charge of overseeing several of the city&#8217;s largest departments, including the fire department, police department, and more, the report said.
The controversy is just the latest negative development for Bass, who has seen widespread criticism for her lack of preparedness and the fact that she was in Africa when the fires erupted despite pledging in 2021 to never take international trips if elected as mayor.
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Bass has also faced intense scrutiny over cutting millions of dollars from the city’s fire department budget.
In a memo dated December 4, 2024, L.A. Fire Chief Kristin Crowley wrote that the nearly $18 million in cuts “severely limited the department’s capacity to prepare for, train for, and respond to large-scale emergencies, including wildfires.”
“Without this funding, pilot compliance and readiness are jeopardized, and aerial firefighting capabilities are diminished,” Crowley wrote in the memo that was presented last month to the Board of Fire Commissioners, a panel of mayoral appointees who oversee the management of the department.
Crowley said that the overtime hours funded “Heavy Equipment Operators (HEOs) who make fire control lines around wildland fires, manage firefighting robotics, wildland fire road maintenance, post-fire demolition services, and other allhazard emergency services.”
“Ultimately, loss of funding impairs the Department’s ability to mitigate wildland fires and other hazards effectively,” she wrote.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/karen-bass-ignores-questions-about-her-handling-of-devastating-fires">Karen Bass Ignores Questions About Her Handling Of Devastating Fires</a>

LOS ANGELES, CA – AUGUST 17: L.A. Mayor Karen Bass announces establishing a task force to investigate, apprehend and prosecute suspects who have committed retail theft as businesses grapple with an uptick of smash-and-grabs in recent weeks a press conference held at City Hall in Los Angeles, CA.

LA Mayor Bass Appointee Who Oversaw Fire Dept Was On Leave Over Alleged Bomb Threat

Reality star <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/khloe-kardashian">Khloe Kardashian</a> had strong criticism for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/los-angeles">Los Angeles</a> Democratic Mayor Karen Bass amid the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/fire">wildfire</a> crisis which has caused tens of billions of dollars in damage and forced residents to flee their homes.
 The 40-year-old mom of two made her opinion known over the weekend when she shared a clip of LA Fire Chief Kristin Crowley on social media discussing a $17.5 million budget cut to her department, per <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/01/11/entertainment/khloe-kardashian-rips-la-mayor-karen-bass-amid-wildfire-disaster-you-are-a-joke/">the New York Post</a>.
In the clip, Crowley told a Fox 11 reporter that the city failed her department.
The influencer wrote, “I stand by YOU Chief Crowley!!!! You spoke the truth and you had tears in your eyes because I can tell you didn’t even want to say that but it was THE TRUTH!!!!”
“Thank you for being honest,” the caption said. “Mayor Bass you are a joke!!!!”
The outlet noted that Khloe and other members of her family who live nearby were forced to evacuate as fires raged on in the area. 
Kardashian also shared an image of a memo sent by the LAFD to the board of fire commissioners stating that the budget cut would “severely limit the department’s capacity to prepare for, train for, and respond to large-scale emergencies, including wildfires.”
The celeb shared in a follow-up post that firefighters and other first responders are “truly inspiring.” 
“The work you do is nothing short of heroic,” Kardashian wrote. “We are deeply grateful to your unwavering commitment to keeping us safe…Please know that your efforts do not go unnoticed, and we are forever grateful for everything you are doing.”
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Kardashian was criticized as a hypocrite by several social media users who brought up a previous <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-08-22/kim-kardashian-kevin-hart-california-drought-water-waste">news report</a> revealing that the Kardashians were among the biggest water wasters in parts of Los Angeles County.
At least 24 people are dead, and more than a dozen others are missing as the fires continue to burn in the Los Angeles area. According to the latest updates from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, at least three major fires are still burning in Los Angeles County.
Bass was also criticized for being out of the country when the fires broke out despite being warned that the risk was high. The LA mayor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/let-me-finish-karen-bass-snaps-at-reporter-who-dares-to-question-her-leadership">avoided questions</a> from a reporter about her role in the disaster, but she has been active on social media, speaking directly to residents via X.
“Angelenos, we&#8217;re still going through it and to any of you and all of you that have experienced a loss, the grief, the anger, the just utter shock. I&#8217;ve seen the devastation. It is unbelievable the amount of loss that people have experienced, but we have to get through this crisis and I know that we will,&#8221; Bass <a href="https://x.com/MayorOfLA/status/1878295018810876077">said</a> in a tweet.

Khloe Kardashian

Khloe Kardashian Blasts LA Mayor Karen Bass For Fire Dept Budget Cuts: ‘You Are A Joke’

Khloe Kardashian Blasts LA Mayor Karen Bass For Fire Dept Budget Cuts: 'You Are A Joke'

In Altadena, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/california" target="_blank" rel="noopener">California</a>, a Catholic family who lost their house in the historic wildfires stood together in the rubble of what was their home and sang praise songs, video shows.
The video, uploaded by Gianna Halpin and shared by journalist Sachin Jose, shows the Halpin family singing &#8220;Regina Caeli&#8221; in Latin. According to a <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-halpin-familys-home-loss?attribution_id=sl:75c6b077-ed52-41da-bfb7-a8ec3b57ffed&amp;utm_campaign=fp_sharesheet&amp;utm_medium=customer&amp;utm_source=twitter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fundraiser</a> set up for the family, the Halpins lived in the home for 35 years before it was destroyed on Tuesday night.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
People find solace in singing &#8216;Regina Caeli,&#8217; O Queen of Heaven, after witnessing the devastation of the fire in California.
Video: Gianna Halpin <a href="https://t.co/ENfA4tCceS">pic.twitter.com/ENfA4tCceS</a>
— Sachin Jose (@Sachinettiyil) <a href="https://twitter.com/Sachinettiyil/status/1877579291040395335?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
This is the Halpin family glorifying God in the rubble of their own home. They are among a number of marvelous people I know whose homes have been destroyed or damaged by the fires. This may be the worst disaster to strike L.A. in my lifetime – sure feels like it <a href="https://t.co/pg0EoDbhjK">https://t.co/pg0EoDbhjK</a>
— Edward Feser (@FeserEdward) <a href="https://twitter.com/FeserEdward/status/1877797479665553425?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
&#8220;Regina Caeli&#8221; translates to &#8220;Queen of Heaven.&#8221; The church hymn is about Mary rejoicing at the resurrection of her son, Jesus Christ. The &#8220;Queen of Heaven&#8221; <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/resource/55082/regina-coeli" target="_blank" rel="noopener">prayer</a> goes as follows:
<blockquote>Queen of heaven, rejoice, alleluia. 
For he whom you did merit to bear, alleluia. 
Has risen, as he said, alleluia. 
Pray for us to God, alleluia. 
Rejoice and be glad, O virgin Mary, alleluia. 
For the Lord has truly risen, alleluia.
Let us pray. O God, who gave joy to the world through the resurrection of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, grant we beseech Thee, that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, His Mother, we may obtain the joys of everlasting life. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.</blockquote>
Pete Halpin, who organized the fundraiser for his parents and sister, wrote that his family has been &#8220;overwhelmed by your incredible generosity. Your gifts to them, and likely to many others, are true instances of God&#8217;s love.&#8221;
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Halpin noted that his father&#8217;s concrete company, Halpin Bros. Concrete, &#8220;is preparing to help expedite wherever possible, site clean-up for our neighbors in Altadena and in the St. Monica Academy community.&#8221;
As <a href="https://www.christianpost.com/news/christian-organizations-partner-with-la-churches-for-fire-relief.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">highlighted</a> by The Christian Post, Christian organizations, including nonprofits CityServe and World Help, have already stepped up to help those in need in California. The organizations are &#8220;deploying vital aid and working with local churches and community partners to provide immediate relief to those in need,&#8221; the Post reported Friday.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/la-fire-chief-reportedly-called-to-mayors-office-to-be-fired-heres-what-we-know?topStoryPosition=2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LA Fire Chief Reportedly Called To Mayor’s Office ‘To Be Fired.’ Here’s What We Know.</a>

Hope In Darkness: L.A. Christians Sing Praise Song While Standing In Rubble Of Their Former Home

L.A. Christians Sing Praise Song While Standing In Rubble Of What Was Their Home

Christianity

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