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Go ahead MAGA influencers, trash L.A. for likes. We'll always beat you at the fame game

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Go ahead MAGA influencers, trash L.A. for likes. We'll always beat you at the fame game

Los Angeles is a wicked, dangerous city, where treasonous depravity lurks behind every pride flag, pupusaria and EV charging station, according to MAGA pundits. We’re a blue city, in a blue state, which in Fox News-speak means we’re a perilous hell pit. Think Mordor or Flea Bottom but with bike lanes and prettier people.

Right-wing media never misses an opportunity to “report” on the nation’s alarming rise in crime (though rates are in fact dropping), especially in blue states, and particularly on the left coast. Angelenos are “legitimately in danger” from “thugs, felons, and unhinged green-hairs,” said Tomi Lahren on Sunday, joining the hoarse chorus of conservative commentators who insist L.A. is a 24/7 loop of “Training Day” thanks to its liberal policymakers and leftist electorate.

For the record:

10:04 a.m. June 19, 2024A earlier version of this story incorrectly said the Skinny Confidential was an OutKick podcast. It is not.

Never mind facts or data. Sean Hannity and lesser-known personalities (OAN, NewsMax, etc.) are beholden to ratings, and nothing moves the needle like fear of The Other and the salaciousness of Los Angeles. Promoting lockstep hatred of the West Coast — not just its politics, but its people — is now a requisite for anyone hoping to stake a claim in the right-wing mediaverse.

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Lahren took her turn Sunday, lamenting the “crap hole blue state” of California on The Skinny Confidential podcast. The former South Bay resident said avoided going to L.A. because “it would be violent” … but her examples of the dangers that good folks face in the Antifa breeding ground of L.A. say less about crime than about the profound intellectual dishonesty of the argument.

Disingenuous conflations of crime rates and political leanings are performative politics at best, not substantive debate, but if you’re going to take the low road at least come prepared with powerful examples of L.A.’s wickedness.

Lahren showed up with tales of a passive-aggressive ice cream vendor, suspect Vons shoppers and “mean girls.” When asked where she felt the most threatened, the Fox Nation personality cited Santa Monica, particularly The Bungalow café (“A haven for social connectivity and creative collaboration” according to the website. Margaritas start at $20). “People would be screaming at me,” she said of her experience at the trendy seaside eatery.

A selection of ice cream flavors from Salt & Straw.

(Courtesy of Salt & Straw)

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The podcast host of OutKick’s “Tomi Lahren is Fearless” said she was followed around Vons, accosted by a woman at Hermosa Beach’s The Tower (“a beach-town casual kitchen”) and targeted during her man-on-the-street assignments in West Hollywood for Fox’s “Hannity” show. “The Salt & Straw there would give free ice cream to people if they wouldn’t talk to me,” she said of the harrowing experience. She never mentioned the chain’s great culinary crime, Strawberry Honey Balsamic with Black Pepper ice cream.

Lahren is a B-list right-wing commentator and influencer who’s rattled around various platforms. In 2019, when she still lived in the L.A. area and was calling Gavin Newsom “greasy Gavin,” she told The Times in an interview she was on a rescue mission. “I love California. I think it needs to be saved. Things that happen here trickle down. California is a cautionary tale for the rest of the country.”

Now, that love seems to be long gone.

When the podcast interviewer asked Lahren if she still feels unsafe, she said no because she now lives in Tennessee. “I feel badly for a lot of these people who don’t have the protection of living in a place like I get to live in,” she said. “There’s a lot of people out there right now that are legitimately in danger and it’s right here in L.A. and it’s in New York and it’s in Washington D.C. and it’s in Portland. It’s really sad.”

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But with a pivotal election at stake, crime rates are increasingly in the eye of the beholder. Where one conservative commentator sees Sodom and Gomorrah, data and trends paint a different picture. According to a 2022 study, Tennessee ranked above California in its violent crime rate with 621.6 incidents of violent crime per 100,000 residents. The southern state was topped only by New Mexico (780.5 incidences), Alaska (758.9), Arkansas (645.3) and Louisiana (628.6). And Memphis, Tenn., had the highest violent crime rate of any city that reported to the FBI in 2022.

Los Angeles has always been a magnet for those seeking fame, even if that means serving as a bogeyman for opportunistic pundits.

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RFK Jr. responds to snake-handling critics with new video showing him wrangling a venomous rattlesnake

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RFK Jr. responds to snake-handling critics with new video showing him wrangling a venomous rattlesnake

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Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. shared another snake-handling video Wednesday after social media users raised concerns over his earlier encounter with a pair of black racer snakes.

Kennedy Jr. posted an Instagram video captioned, “In response to the many comments about venomous snakes, this video shows how Cheryl and I handled a recent rattlesnake rescue.”

The clip begins with Kennedy Jr. sitting in his home office before someone alerts him to a snake in the driveway.

“Hold on, guys. I’ll be back in a flash,” he says before grabbing a bucket and a small net and heading outside.

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RFK JR BAREHANDS A PAIR OF SNAKES ON DR. OZ’S PATIO IN WILD VIDEO

RFK Jr. wrangles a Western Diamondback rattlesnake during a rescue video shared to Instagram Wednesday. (Instagram/RFKJr.)

The HHS secretary then carefully scoops up the rattlesnake as onlookers react in amazement.

After placing the snake in a bucket, Kennedy Jr. later pins it behind the head and lifts it toward the camera while explaining how to identify the reptile.

“His fangs are in there. I don’t want to touch them,” he said. “This is a beautiful snake. This is a Western Diamondback. You can tell by these rings at the end of his tail.”

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Kennedy Jr. then asked his wife, actress Cheryl Hines, to bring him a pillowcase before transporting and releasing the snake back into the wild.

ACTRESS CHERYL HINES CLASHES WITH ‘THE VIEW’ OVER HER HUSBAND RFK JR’S RECORD SERVING AMERICANS

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. proudly displays a pair of black North American racer snakes he caught on Dr. Oz’s patio. (Robert F. Kennedy Jr.)

The Instagram post appeared to respond directly to criticism and concern sparked by another snake video Kennedy Jr. shared Tuesday on X.

In that clip, Kennedy Jr. grabbed two black North American racer snakes with his bare hands while visiting Dr. Mehmet Oz’s patio as Hines watched in apparent horror.

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“Honey, honey … why?” Hines yelled as Kennedy Jr. cornered the snakes.

Kennedy Jr. then lunged at the reptiles and eventually lifted both by their tails as they repeatedly bit his hands.

CHERYL HINES SHARES HARROWING EVACUATION FROM WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS’ DINNER AS GUNSHOTS RANG OUT

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cheryl Hines attend the 2026 White House Correspondents’ Dinner at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C., on April 25, 2026. (Taylor Hill/WireImage)

“Black snakes, they’re biting me,” Kennedy Jr. said with a smile.

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The snakes continued striking at his hands as Hines pleaded, “Bobby, please! Bobby, Bobby, please,” before later telling him, “You are nuts.”

Kennedy Jr. later posted the video to X with the caption, “Cheryl cheerleads the removal of a pair of Black Racers from Dr Oz’s patio.”

According to the Florida Museum of Natural History, black racer snakes are nonvenomous and generally harmless to humans, though they will “readily bite to defend themselves.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The earlier video showed Kennedy Jr. handling nonvenomous snakes, while Wednesday’s Instagram clip focused on a venomous Western Diamondback rattlesnake, prompting some social media users to question whether the HHS secretary was taking unnecessary risks.

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Fox News Digital’s Robert McGreevy contributed to this report.

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Newsom vows to levy 100% tax on California recipients of Trump’s $1.8-billion ‘slush fund’

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Newsom vows to levy 100% tax on California recipients of Trump’s .8-billion ‘slush fund’

Gov. Gavin Newsom has threatened to tax 100% of the money Californians receive from President Trump’s “anti-weaponization” fund for his political allies.

Trump’s Justice Department had announced last week that it would establish a $1.776-billion fund to compensate allies of the president who claim they have “suffered weaponization and lawfare” under the Biden administration’s Justice Department.

“Anyone from California that receives any of those funds, we want to tax 100% of those proceeds,” the governor told reporters Thursday.

“That’s an action the state of California can take …[and] it’s an action we look forward to taking.”

Just how Newsom would do so remains unclear. He indicated that he would need action from the Democratic-led California Legislature to impose the new tax. If adopted, the measure would likely face legal challenge.

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The fund has prompted outrage from Democrats and some Republicans — including Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who said in a statement that the “slush fund,” which would “pay people who assault cops,” was “utterly stupid.”

Newsom’s remarks about Trump’s settlement fund came on Thursday as he signed a bill designed to prevent election interference ahead of Tuesday’s primary.

The bill, Senate Bill 73, restricts law enforcement agencies and officers — including those from federal agencies — from interfering with state and local election officials, such as confiscating ballots, voter rolls or voting machines without a warrant.

The governor said the bill is meant to address “legitimate anxiety” over threats to election integrity after Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco’s decision to seize ballots from the county’s voter registrar as part of a fraud probe. Bianco, a long-time Trump supporter, is one of the top Republicans running to succeed Newsom after the end of his second and final term as governor.

Newsom also pointed to ICE and Border Patrol’s decision last November to stage an event near Dodger Stadium, calling it a “show of force designed to intimidate free expression and free speech.”

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“That’s why we have to step up and we have to draw the line,” Newsom said. “We have to clarify the rules of engagement… there are fines associated with this, criminal fines and jail time of three years, so that’s a warning [to] the folks out there that think they can do the bidding of the Trump administration.”

Newsom said he expects Trump to interfere with the upcoming election — noting that the president has falsely claimed that he “won” California in the last election.

“Every single thing that Donald Trump is saying only suggests that he will do more, not less, to intimidate and to impact the outcome of this election,” Newsom said. “I absolutely expect the worst again, because we’ve been on the receiving end of it.”

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See Where the Gerrymandering Wars Have Redrawn U.S. Congressional Maps

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See Where the Gerrymandering Wars Have Redrawn U.S. Congressional Maps

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Tap on a state to jump to its maps.

The nationwide gerrymandering battle has escalated in recent weeks, after a landmark Supreme Court ruling in April weakened the Voting Rights Act and set off a scramble to redraw maps in some Southern states that have yet to hold primaries.

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Eight states have redrawn their congressional districts since President Trump pressured Texas lawmakers last summer to pass a new map favoring Republicans. Republican lawmakers in two states are pushing to use a new map ahead of November’s midterm elections.

Here is a look at how district lines have changed in each of the states that have redrawn maps, and how the new maps would have fared in the 2024 presidential election.

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Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic state lawmakers moved quickly to redraw California’s congressional districts in response to Texas’ gerrymandered map. The new California map, which lawmakers approved in August and voters passed in November of last year, was designed to flip five red districts.

The Supreme Court upheld the map in February, dismissing Republican claims that the state’s new district boundaries illegally favored Latino voters.

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Florida’s Legislature passed a new map just days after the Supreme Court ruling on the Voting Rights Act. The map creates four more Republican-leaning House seats, splitting up a Democratic-leaning district in the Tampa area and eliminating a Democratic-leaning district in the Orlando area.

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In late September, Gov. Mike Kehoe, a Republican, signed into law a new map that slices the Democrat-leaning core of Kansas City into districts with heavily Republican rural areas. Republicans hope to add one Republican seat, ousting longtime Representative Emanuel Cleaver and leaving the state with just one solidly Democratic district in the St. Louis area.

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In North Carolina, Republicans control both houses of the legislature and approved a new map in October of last year. The new map could give Republicans an extra seat in the First Congressional District, which previously included all eight of the state’s majority Black counties and was redrawn to include more conservative-leaning counties.

Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, cannot veto redistricting plans, per the state Constitution.

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Ohio’s bipartisan redistricting commission approved a new map in October of last year that could add up to two Republican seats. The new map dilutes Democrat-held districts near Toledo and Cincinnati.

Unlike many other states pursuing maps ahead of the normal timeline, Ohio had been required under its state Constitution to redraw its congressional maps before the 2026 midterms.

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Tennessee Republicans moved swiftly after the Supreme Court decision that weakened the Voting Rights Act. Gov. Bill Lee signed a new map into law in early May that carves up the only Democratic district in the state, a majority Black district encompassing the Memphis area, splitting it into three neighboring districts.

A coalition of voters and Democratic candidates sued Tennessee officials in federal court over the new map, arguing that it was unconstitutional to implement new district lines this close to the state’s Aug. 6 primary.

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Texas was the first state to redistrict last year, after President Trump urged Republican leaders to redraw maps ahead of the midterm elections.

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The new map, signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott in August of last year, could add up to five Republican seats in the state. Democrats argued that the new lines cut into majority Black and Hispanic districts in violation of the Voting Rights Act, but the Supreme Court upheld the map in December.

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A Utah state judge in November tossed out a congressional map proposed by the state’s Republican Legislature, instead adopting a map offered by a centrist coalition. That map adds a Democratic-leaning district surrounding Salt Lake City.

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Alabama had faced a ban on middecade redistricting until after the 2030 census. But after the Supreme Court ruling on the Voting Rights Act, Republicans in Alabama sought to revert back to a map first proposed in 2023 that had previously been rejected as a violation of the act.

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The Supreme Court removed a critical obstacle for the use of that map in May, which would most likely do away with one of two majority-Black districts in the state.

Still, legal challenges remain. A panel of federal judges on May 26 rejected the new map, saying that the districts discriminated against Black people and could not be used so shortly before a vote. Alabama has appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court.

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Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican, delayed House primary elections after the Supreme Court’s decision on the Voting Rights Act tossed out Louisiana’s current maps. Ballots cast in the state’s primaries, where early voting began just days after the decision, did not count. New primary elections will be held in November.

The Louisiana Legislature is continuing to debate a new map, but is expected to eliminate at least one of the state’s two majority-Black districts.

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