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California wildfires prompt House Republican talks on conditioning aid: 'A pound of flesh'

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California wildfires prompt House Republican talks on conditioning aid: 'A pound of flesh'

As wildfires rage in California, Republicans in Washington have begun discussing whether to condition federal aid on changes to policies they blame for the blazes.

“It’s part of the discussion right now,” Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis., told Fox News Digital. “People are unwilling to just stroke a check for something that, quite honestly, they still have a lot of questions. And obviously, the fires are still burning, so we don’t even know what the total is going to be at the end of the day.”

The Los Angeles area has been grappling with multiple deadly wildfires in recent days, with nearly 100,000 Californians under evacuation orders.

Officials are far from knowing what the final damage estimates will be, as well as how much additional funding will need to be approved by Congress.

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Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republicans are discussing whether to condition aid for the California wildfires. (Getty Images)

But a broad cross-section of Republicans are already blaming the Democratic stronghold state’s policies and management for exacerbating the issue.

“I think there’s going to be a lot of questions raised about it, but we also want to work cooperatively with, you know, everybody on both sides of the aisle,” House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., said when asked about conditioning aid. “But I think that’s just the reality. There’s gonna be some questions we’ll be asking.”

Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., chairman of the House Financial Services Committee’s subcommittee on housing and insurance, said it was too early to be discussing possible specific conditions but criticized California’s home insurance policies.

“I think there’s real issues… For far too long, California state laws have been pushing out insurers from that state, making it even harder to get home insurance,” Flood told Fox News Digital. 

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“I think California’s got to do a couple of things. They have to demonstrate that they are going to create an environment where home insurance, housing insurance, is reflected in the risk, that they understand the risk, and they are pricing accordingly. And then, as it relates to forestry management, I think there’s a lot of members of Congress who will wanna say, ‘How did this happen? What kind of policies led to this?’”

Meanwhile, members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, who typically are adamant about steep cuts to offset any supplemental government spending, are no different on California’s fires.

Rep. Ralph Norman called for a “pound of flesh on any dollar spent” on California (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

“It’s got to be more than paid for. They’ve got to own it,” Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., told reporters. “California has never been exactly the most conservative state in terms of spending. We’ve got to get a pound of flesh on any dollar spent on California, in my opinion.”

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Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., who also sits on the House Appropriations Committee, told Fox News Digital, “Why would we continue to fund the same policies that caused the problem? I mean, seriously, why would you do that?”

California Republican Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., did not explicitly rule out conditioning aid but said people needed help as soon as possible.

“California needs to change the way it approaches issues of water, forest management, and not to mention a lot of other things. I think that absolutely we need to demand those changes take place. At the same time, folks who are suffering, who have lost everything, lost their homes, lost their communities, we need to get them help, and we need to get them help… as soon as possible, and we shouldn’t let anything stand in the way,” he said.

Not all Republicans are on board, however. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., whose own home state has seen a fair share of natural disasters, told Huffington Post, “I think we ought to do aid the way we do everybody else.”

But the idea has gained traction with the highest levels of GOP leadership — including Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who first floated conditional disaster aid to reporters Monday.

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Rep. Kevin Kiley did not endorse conditioning aid but did not rule it out either, while criticizing his home state’s progressive government. (Joseph A. Wulfsohn/Fox News Digital)

“It appears to us that state and local leaders were derelict in their duty. And in many respects, and that’s something that has to be factored in,” Johnson said. “I think there should probably be conditions on that aid. That’s my personal view. We’ll see what the consensus is.”

Democrats, meanwhile, have vehemently attacked the idea.

“Conditioning aid for suffering people who have paid beyond their fair share in federal taxes is uniquely reprehensible, even for my colleagues across the aisle,” Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., wrote on X.

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Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus, told reporters during a press conference on Tuesday. “I just want to say it is outrageous for Speaker Johnson to try to tie conditions onto this disaster relief or to tie disaster aid to unrelated concepts like the debt ceiling. We should not be leveraging the pain and suffering of our fellow Americans to try to force through policy changes.”

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San Francisco, CA

Missing woman last seen in San Francisco found dead in Texas after 53 years

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Missing woman last seen in San Francisco found dead in Texas after 53 years


On Wednesday, San Francisco police closed the case of a missing woman who was last seen in the city in 1973.

Police said 27-year-old Cheryl Lanier was last seen in 1973 in San Francisco, and her initial missing person’s report was filed in 2010. For years, the department’s Missing Person Unit worked on the case, but it remained open and unsolved.

In July 2025, police said they received a tip out of Harris County in Houston, Texas, advising that a deceased “Jane Doe” could be Lanier. After a DNA analysis, police determined the “Jane Doe” was Lanier and closed the case after 53 years.

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Denver, CO

Could the Dolphins Do Another Deal With Denver?

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Could the Dolphins Do Another Deal With Denver?


As the NFL draft moves farther into the rearview mirror and the offseason program continues to march on, linebacker Jordyn Brooks remains one of three significant Miami Dolphins veterans looking for a contract extension.

And while new GM Jon-Eric Sullivan said at draft time that running back De’Von Achane was not available for trading purposes, he hasn’t made the same declaration for either Brooks or center Aaron Brewer (while it’s fair to add that Sullivan wasn’t asked specifically about the latter two at draft time, he easily could have ended all speculation by adding them to Achane’s name).

Instead, what we have are Sullivan’s prior words that he always would listen if another GM were to give him a call.

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That’s important to remember when it comes to Brooks when we hear or see reports around the league about teams in the market for a linebacker.

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The Dallas Cowboys were one such team heading into the draft, but they acquired former starting San Francisco 49ers starter Dee Winters for a fifth-round pick, so it would seem they’re not longer shopping around.

Now comes a report that the Denver Broncos could be looking to add a linebacker to a defense they believe could lead them to a Super Bowl after they secured the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs last year before losing starting QB Bo Nix in the divisional round.

An NFL executive told Denver Broncos On SI that they could be looking to make a move that seemed to describe the Dolphins and Brooks to a T.

“The Broncos, I am certain, are going to be watching every cut for a terrific linebacker who can upgrade that,” the executive told Broncos On SI. “It’s the only weak link on their defense. If they could get one dominant player that another team couldn’t afford or doesn’t want to pay because they’re not in contention, they could be scary next year.”

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The key line in the executive’s quote was about a dominant player that a team doesn’t want to pay because they’re not in contention.

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Wow, might as well have stamped Brooks’ picture on that comment right there.

Brooks was dominant last year, for sure, when he earned All-Pro honors and it’s not realistic to expect the Dolphins to be in contention in 2026 after their roster overhaul that ended with more than 60 percent of the team’s salary cap going to players no longer around.

Under normal circumstances, extending Brooks would look like a no-brainer for the Dolphins given his ability, leadership and culture-setting characteristics, but he’s looking for a payday and he’s also going to be 29 years old during the 2026 season.

So instead of a slam dunk, the Dolphins have to ask themselves have kind of financial commitment they want to make to a linebacker who likely will be in his 30s when the team is ready to compete.

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Brooks has no guarantees this year with a $7.8 million base salary and he’s set to become a free agent next offseason when his contract goes into void years. If a move were to happen with Brooks, it almost assuredly would take place after June 1 when the Dolphins would save $8.4 million with a trade.

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Brooks currently has a $10.9 million cap number for 2026 and an extension likely would lower that number, which makes it very intriguing that it hasn’t happened yet or that the Dolphins did not restructure his contract to lower his cap number — the way they did with Achane and Brewer.

But any decision to trade Brooks would not be easy because the Dolphins, after all, do need good players and good leaders to establish a foundation in the first year of the Jon-Eric Sullivan/Jeff Hafley regime.

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WHAT A TRADE COULD LOOK LIKE

If the Broncos indeed were to place a phone call to Sullivan at some point, there probably isn’t a strong likelihood that the Dolphins could get a replay of what they got when they sent wide receiver Jaylen Waddle to Denver this year.

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That deal saw Miami give up Waddle for picks in the first and third rounds, with the teams swapping fourth-round choices to the benefit of the Broncos for 19 spots.

But Waddle is only 27, was under contract for three more years and plays a more premium position.

So thinking about getting a first-round pick for Brooks would not seem realistic, though maybe Denver would be willing to pay a bigger price if the Broncos indeed feel that the linebacker could be the final piece to a Super Bowl puzzle.

As was the case with the Cowboys, this is a situation to monitor because the idea of a trade involving Brooks really can’t be summarily dismissed until he signs a contract extension and we’re still waiting on that.

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Seattle, WA

Who will be the next Seahawks owner? One possible bidder invests in the 49ers

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Who will be the next Seahawks owner? One possible bidder invests in the 49ers


The Seattle Seahawks’ new ownership group may be just like the old one: a team of basketball owners.

In addition to being the first known bidders for the Seahawks, Mittal and Grousbeck were the only names listed on their letter of interest to the Allen Estate. Since Mittal lives in London, Grousbeck would likely be running operations from Seattle and live there part-time, as per Sportico.

But wait, there’s more.

Vinod Khosla, an investor in the division rival San Francisco 49ers, has also been named as a potential buyer. Last year, Khosla was one of a few nearby investors to purchase equity in the 49ers, with the team’s total valuation reaching north of $8.5 billion at the time. The specifics of the individual stakes were not made public, but Sportico reports that Khosla’s was the largest of the group.

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The Seahawks are valued at just under $7 billion, but they will likely be sold for more. If Khosla were to purchase the team from Jody Allen, he would obviously need to sell his stake in the Niners. This type of move is becoming increasingly common in today’s NFL, which has seen former Pittsburgh Steelers minority owners David Tepper and Josh Harris acquire the Panthers and Commanders, respectively.

Harris, who bought a controlling interest in the Commanders in 2023, purchased the team from Dan Snyder for over $6 billion, the largest figure for such an acquisition for an NFL franchise. No matter who ends up purchasing the Seahawks from the Allen Estate, Harris’s record will surely be broken.



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