Southwest
Battleground Senate candidate unloads on 'radical' Dem opponent for disparaging Trump voters
PHOENIX, AZ – Arizona GOP Senate candidate Kari Lake is blasting her Democratic opponent Rep. Ruben Gallego and labeling him as “radical as they come” after a resurfaced interview of him disparaging Trump voters.
“Isn’t that terrible?” Lake said in response to Fox News Digital reporting of a comment made by Gallego in 2016 where he said that Trump voters were “dumb” and the “worst people in the world.”
“He’s been lying about who he is,” Lake added. “He’s trying to paint himself as a moderate, which is it’s laughable if it wasn’t so dangerous.”
Lake told Fox News Digital that Gallego “bullied” moderate Sen. Kyrsten Sinema out of the race “because she wasn’t liberal enough.”
KARI LAKE SHREDS VP HARRIS’ ‘DESPICABLE’ SOUTHERN BORDER VISIT: JUST TO MAKE THE ‘MAINSTREAM MEDIA HAPPY’
Kari Lake (Right) and Rep. Ruben Gallego (Left) are battling in the Arizona Senate race (Getty Images)
“Now he is doing all these ads trying to say he’s a moderate when, in fact, he’s voted to spend our federal dollars, our tax dollars, our money, supporting sanctuary cities and states. He’s voted against securing our border every step of the way. He’s for an open border America. He’s voted to defund the police. He actually co-sponsored the George Floyd legislation, which would have defunded the police nationwide.”
Lake went on to tell Fox News Digital that Gallego has “never batted an eyelash” when it comes to spending bills and has not been strong enough defending women’s sports.
“He wants biological men to participate in women’s athletics.,” Lake said. “That means it’s an end for girls sports. Anybody out there who played sports? I did for a little bit. It’s an end. I mean, if you have to compete with biological men, what’s the purpose of having girls sports?”
ENIGMATIC VOTER GROUP COULD SPLIT TICKET FOR TRUMP, DEM SENATE CANDIDATE IN ARIZONA
Rep. Ruben Gallego (Getty Images)
Lake added, “It’s absolutely crazy and he’s as radical as they come.”
Gallego and Lake will both be attempting to sway independent voters, especially in Maricopa County, the largest county in the state, where independents make up a third of the electorate. Lake told Fox News Digital she is optimistic she can win votes from Arizonans who aren’t Republicans.
“I do believe that independents are with me, I think we’re doing pretty well, our polling is showing that we’re building on the independent vote,” Lake said. “And I think a lot of Democrats, while he [Gallego] hates Trump voters and he hates Republicans. I don’t hate Democrats. I actually believe that disaffected Democrats are going to help us turn the corner.”
“They’re realizing, looking at Kamala Harris and Ruben Gallego, and they’re saying, wait a minute, this isn’t the Democrat Party that I signed up for years ago, the old Democrat Party used to care about the working class. The old Democrat Party wanted a strong economy for everybody. This Democrat Party is a bunch of globalists, and they are for, they want to spend more money helping people coming here illegally than they do people who are American citizens.”
US Senate candidate Kari Lake speaks during a campaign rally of former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, August 23, 2024. (Photo by Olivier TOURON / AFP) (Photo by OLIVIER TOURON/AFP via Getty Images)
While the Real Clear Politics average of polls shows Gallego leading Lake by about 7 points, Lake told Fox News Digital she is confident the race is much closer and says her internal polling shows that she is within the margin of error.
“We have to go into it acting like we’re ten down, but we’re not ten down,” Lake said. “This is a very tight race. I’m proud of that, considering, as I said, he spent 75 million. He’s been outspending us massively and the fact that this is such a tight race is incredible. Chuck Schumer is in a panic about Arizona. He’s dumping 5 million bucks a week into Arizona.”
Lake told Fox News Digital that Democrats are in a “tailspin” in Arizona because their efforts to make the election about abortion have not been fruitful because most voters are focused on other issues like the economy.
Lake also criticized Gallego over his record before he entered politics, including his involvement with a bank that worked with illegal immigrants, a harassment claim against him by a 20-year-old intern while he worked at city hall, and his time working for an ambulance company that was being investigated for fraud.
“The people of Arizona know me and they trust me and I love the people of the state, Lake said. “I want to represent all of them, including people who maybe don’t even vote for me. If you choose not to vote for me, I hope I can earn your vote, but I still want to represent you and I want to do a great job for you in Washington, D.C. We need decent, honest people back to D.C. and Ruben Gallego was not honest before he got into politics.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the Gallego campaign for comment but did not receive a response.
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Los Angeles, Ca
‘Moana’ is a triumph for Pacific Islander representation on the big screen
“Moana” has been called a box office flop, an unnecessary money grab by Walt Disney Studios, but what it hasn’t been called yet is a triumphant win for cultural representation on the big screen.
The live-action adaptation of the beloved 2016 animated movie “Moana” effectively bombed at the box office, making much less money than industry insiders anticipated.
While it failed to live up to the expectations of the box office and critics alike, the film did exceed the expectations of moviegoers of Pacific Island descent, and they’ve taken to social media to express just how much the movie means to them.
Moana is more than the main character’s name. It means ocean across several Pacific Islander languages.
One user explained how this kind of representation is more than entertainment.
“When I watched ‘Moana,’ I couldn’t hold back my tears. I heard the language of my parents, the language of my people. I saw our traditional Samoan clothing, our weaving, our siva, our culture, our values. I saw my people. I saw me.”
Another user said seeing Pacific Islanders on the silver screen influenced her own artistry.
“Representation matters. As a sometimes-Female-Polynesian-filmmaker (depending on the day and my imposter syndrome), seeing our stories on a screen this big makes me dream a little bigger too.”
Even the film’s star, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, spoke to the film’s representation in a recent Instagram post.
“I feel that our movie ‘Moana’ will always serve a bigger purpose than just a film – it’s representation. Our Polynesian culture showcased to the world, and embraced by the world – with love, humility, warrior spirit and MANA.”
That representation was taken as a serious responsibility by the actors and creative team behind the scenes of Disney’s latest live-action remake.
“We got chosen for a reason,” Rena Owen, who plays Gramma Tala in the film, explains.
“Every single one of us, whether that’s an actor, whether that’s a creative, whether that’s a crew person. We’re raised that way, we’re raised in villages and we’re raised… on our earth, with our sky father and our moana, that’s what we all have in common. So, we just had to be ourselves.”
Disney once again leaned on members of its Oceanic Cultural Trust, a group formed over a decade ago to ensure cultural accuracy for the first “Moana” movie.
The trust’s lead consultant, Dr. Grant Muāgututiʻa, spoke about the work that went into bringing Moana to life on screen.
“We have a big responsibility to our folks who are gonna be watching the film. We’re elated that the film crew and the filmmakers were really receptive to all of the input that we had and we’re really happy with the way it turned out.”
Dr. Muāgututiʻa is a linguist by trade, serving as Assistant Professor of Linguistics at California State University San Marcos. He told KTLA he was thrilled that people of Samoan descent can hear their language spoken in a major Disney film.
“The mountaintop scene where you can hear both Jon Tui, who plays Chief Tui, and Catherine Laga’aia, who plays Moana speaking Samoan. And then the Siva Tau scene, where Seiuli Dwayne Johnson also speaks Samoan. I think those are special moments that are new, especially for our people to see. They’re able to experience real islanders that are proud of their culture.”
“Moana” Choreographer and Cultural Trust member Tiana Nonosina Liufau agreed.
“Seeing an all-Pasifika cast, and hearing them, there’s a lot of Mana in that, hearing these words come out of their mouth, something audiences can trace back to their genealogy, that’s priceless. All worth it.”
Los Angeles, Ca
LADWP begins long-term repairs after West Hollywood water main rupture
Crews worked overnight on what is expected to be a long-term effort to clean up and repair a broken water main that caused extensive damage in West Hollywood on Thursday.
Yellow tape remained in place Friday morning, blocking streets around Sunset Boulevard and Holloway Drive as crews continued pumping water out of the century-old trunk line.
Asphalt and soil were also being removed so crews could get a better look at the damaged 36-inch trunk line, a major feeder pipe serving the area.
“First and foremost is our crews’ safety,” a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power spokesperson said Thursday. “When we excavate, we are going to have to make sure the area is safe before we send crews in to proceed and start the actual repairs on the pipe.”
The water main ruptured around 3 a.m. Thursday, sending thousands of gallons of water rushing through West Hollywood streets, flooding dozens of garages and pushing parked cars into one another.
A Metro bus yard was also flooded, leaving several buses partially submerged.
The force of the water washed away dirt and gravel supporting the roadway, creating a massive sinkhole on Sunset Boulevard and a smaller one near Palm Avenue, where two people fell in.
“I’m astounded by the massive sinkhole that has just opened up before our eyes,” KTLA’s Annie Rose Ramos reported Thursday from Palm Avenue.
The two men appeared to be uninjured.
As for the larger trunk line that burst beneath Sunset Boulevard, KTLA’s Carlos Herrera reported it was scheduled for replacement in 2031.
LADWP officials now hope to establish a repair timeline after getting a closer look at the damage Friday. For now, the intersection is expected to remain closed for anywhere from several days to several weeks.
The cause of the rupture remains under investigation.
Los Angeles, Ca
Arrest made in deadly shooting at 4th of July gathering in Compton; search for 2nd suspect continues
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna gave an update Thursday on several shootings over the Fourth of July weekend that left three people dead and several others injured.
Police arrested Antoine Jones, a 50-year-old man from the Los Angeles area, who they believe is responsible for the murder of a 19-year-old woman and the attempted murder of two additional surviving female victims who were attending a large community block party in Compton.
On July 4 at approximately 11:40 p.m., deputies from the Compton station responded to an apartment complex on the 700 block of West Laurel Street following reports of multiple people being shot.
Meah Bordenave-Jenkins, a 19-year-old nursing student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, was killed when gunfire broke out at the party.
Deputies located Bordenave-Jenkins and the two other women suffering from gunshot wounds outside of the apartment complex.
“While today’s announcement represents an important step towards justice for Meah and her family, our work is very far from being over,” said LASD Sheriff Robert Luna.
The LASD is also seeking the public’s help in identifying those responsible for the murder of Eric Washington, 37, a beloved community activist and former government staffer, and the attempted murder of another surviving man injured that same night at the same party.
Washington was reportedly killed while trying to deescalate a conflict at the party, his family said. Deputies found victim Washington suffering from a gunshot wound inside the complex.
Investigators later learned that another man had also been shot at some point during the incident.
Bordenave-Jenkins and Washington both died from their injuries. The remaining victims, two women and a man, sustained non-life-threatening injuries and have been released from the hospital. They have not been identified by police.
Detectives determined the two shootings happened moments apart at the party but appear to be separate and unrelated.
Detectives identified Jones as the suspect responsible for Bordenave-Jenkins’ death and the attempted murder of the two surviving women. Authorities located Jones on July 14 in Los Angeles and took him into custody.
The LASD is still searching for the suspect or suspects responsible for the murder of Washington and the attempted murder of the surviving male victim.
“Although today’s arrest is significant, this investigation remains extremely active,” Luna said.
“There were hundreds of people at this gathering,” Luna said. “Somebody knows, somebody saw or somebody heard what happened.”
The LASD also announced they’re searching for a suspect in a separate shooting at a different Fourth of July gathering that occurred in the early morning of July 5.
At approximately 12:10 a.m., Compton deputies responded to the 2100 block of North Grandee Avenue, where they located a 30-year-old victim, Thaddeus Clark, and a second victim suffering from gunshot wounds at the gathering.
Clark, a father of three, did not survive his injuries, Luna said.
The LASD is urging anyone with information about Clark’s murder and the attempted murder of the surviving victim to contact the LASD Homicide Bureau.
Although these shooting incidents occurred at gatherings less than an hour apart, investigators found no evidence that the two were connected, Luna said.
Luna also announced three suspects have been arrested in connection with a shooting in East L.A. on July 5. It happened as crowds crossed the intersection near Whittier Boulevard and Leonard Avenue during a World Cup match.
Four people were hit by gunfire, including two men, one woman and a boy. None of the injuries were life-threatening.
The sheriff said the alleged shooter, a 15-year-old known gang member, was arrested. Two female suspects, ages 21 and 38, have been arrested in the Lancaster and Palmdale areas for their alleged roles in luring the primary victim to the location and assisting the shooting suspect in evading arrest.
They’re all facing four counts of attempted murder.
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