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This Is Really Happening: Measure to Split California Into Three States Qualifies for November Ballot

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For the first time since before the Civil War, voters across California will decide in November on a proposal to split up the Golden State — potentially remaking it into three new states.

An initiative dividing California, pushed by Silicon Valley venture capital investor Tim Draper, received enough signatures to qualify it for the November ballot, the Secretary of State’s office confirmed Tuesday afternoon.

Supporters of the radical plan submitted more than 600,000 signatures, and a random sample projected that enough are valid that the measure can go before voters, setting up a campaign that is sure to attract a carnivalesque atmosphere and only-in-California chuckles from across the country. . .

The Bay Area would be part of a new Northern California state with a border that starts north of Monterey, runs east and north to the Nevada state line, and includes everything north to the Oregon border.

A new Southern California state would run south from the Northern California border, skirt around the coast from Monterey past Los Angeles, and include San Diego, Death Valley and the rest of the state east to Nevada and Arizona. (Read more from “This Is Really Happening: Measure to Split California Into Three States Qualifies for November Ballot” HERE)

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Google Puts the Blame on Wikipedia After ‘Nazism’ Appears on California GOP Search

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Google reportedly identified one of the ideologies of the California Republican Party as “Nazism” on its highly popular search platform.

The piece of inaccurate information, which is hyperlinked to presumably take web browsers to more information about the hateful, fascist persuasion, is found in the “knowledge panel,” a sidebar widget that presents further, more immediate information.

The feature has had problems before, specifically when an embedded fact-check feature tried to erroneously pin specious claims on articles written by The Daily Caller.

Google eventually suspended the fact check project after The Daily Caller News Foundation investigated and pressed further.

The most recent misattribution was first reported on by Vice News. Other ideologies listed besides Nazism, according to a screenshot obtained by Vice’s Alex Thompson, include “Conservatism, Market Liberalism, Fiscal conservatism, and Green conservatism.”

Many people, especially those on the right, will suspect that it might have been done by a rogue Google employee or inadvertently through a flawed algorithm.

Google, however, told TheDCNF that it’s because sometimes “people vandalize public information sources, like Wikipedia, which can impact the information that appears in search.”

Wikipedia is for the most part open-source, meaning that almost anyone with only limited verification can add, amend and delete information.

“We have systems in place that catch vandalism before it impacts search results, but occasionally errors get through, and that’s what happened here,” a Google spokeswoman said.

Nevertheless, it comes at an inopportune time for the subject as California primaries are less than a week way. It’s not clear how long the tag was up, but absentee ballots have been cast for some time ahead of the elections.

The listing caught the attention, particularly the ire, of many who are Republican or on that end of the political spectrum.

U.S. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, for example, took notice and equated it to apparent bias.

The listing has since been removed, but how much damage it may have done is not clear.

Google says it was only up for a short period of time.

“This would have been fixed systematically once we processed the removal from Wikipedia,” the company representative concluded. “But when we noticed the vandalism we worked quickly to accelerate this process to remove the erroneous information.” (For more from the author of “Google Puts the Blame on Wikipedia After ‘Nazism’ Appears on California GOP Search” please click HERE)

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Republican Governor in California?

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President Trump is the “pivotal reason” why a Republican likely will finish in the top two in California’s nonpartisan gubernatorial primary and even has a fighting chance to become the next governor of the deep-blue state, according to a long-time observer of Sacramento politics.

John Cox, a businessman from Illinois, was endorsed by Trump last week, noted Ben Boychuk, a regular columnist with the Sacramento Bee newspaper, and is just behind former Democratic Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and way ahead of the rest of the mostly Democratic pack, according to two recent statewide polls.

In California’s blanket primary system, the top two candidates go on to the general, regardless of party. A survey and electoral modeling by Competitive Edge Research & Communication, released Thursday, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported, shows Newsom with 26 percent and Cox with 22 percent.

Last week, Trump tweeted his endorsement of Cox, declaring “California finally deserves a great Governor, one who understands borders, crime and lowering taxes.” . . .

Boychuk wrote that while Democrat usually are the top two vote-getters in the governor’s race, this year could be different. (Read more from “Republican Governor in California?” HERE)

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Report Finds Cases of STDs Reach All-Time High in California

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The number of cases of sexually transmitted diseases in California reached a record high last year and officials are particularly concerned by a spike in stillbirths due to congenital syphilis, state health authorities said Monday.

More than 300,000 cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis were reported in 2017, a 45 percent increase from five years ago, according to data released by the California Department of Public Health.

Chlamydia and gonorrhea are most common among people under 30, the report said. Rates of chlamydia are highest among young women, while men account for the majority of syphilis and gonorrhea cases . . .

The figure that caused the greatest alarm for researchers and administrators was 30 stillbirths resulting from congenital syphilis statewide — the highest number reported since 1995, the CDPH said. Los Angeles County alone saw congenital syphilis cases jump from eight in 2013 to 47 last year.

“For California to have a steady increase in congenital syphilis is shameful,” said Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, a professor of medicine at University of California, Los Angeles. He pointed to nations such as Cuba, Thailand and Belarus that have nearly eliminated the life-threatening infection seen in infants. (Read more from “Report Finds Cases of Stds Reach All-Time High in California” HERE)

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Police Returned a Missing Boy to His Parents’ Home – Then Arrested Them When They Looked Inside

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Police say that they returned a boy to his California home after he was reported missing, but then arrested the parents when they discovered the conditions he was living in . . .

30-year-old Ina Rogers called the police in March after she discovered that her 12-year-old son was missing. She and 29-year-old Jonathan Allen, live in the city of Fairfield, just north of San Francisco.

After police found the child and returned them to his parents’ home, they discovered that the couple were forcing their ten children to live in horrible conditions.

Ina Rogers was arrested and charged with neglect, while Jonathan Allen was arrested and charged with nine counts of felony torture and six counts of child abuse . . .

“The children described incidents of intentional abuse resulting in puncture wounds, burns, bruising, and injuries consistent with being shot with a pellet gun or BB gun,” said Lieutenant Greg Hurlbut of the Fairfield Police.

(Read more from “Police Returned a Missing Boy to His Parents’ Home – Then Arrested Them When They Looked Inside” HERE)

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Hilarious: Homeless Man Says He Broke into Jerry Brown’s House Because Brown’s ‘an Open-Door Policy Kind of Guy’

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By The Daily Wire. . .Brown, a sanctuary cities supporter, likely never figured that his own views on the subject would return to bite him, but that’s exactly what happened last month, when a homeless man arrested for breaking into Brown’s home claimed he selected Brown’s home because Brown was “an open-door policy kind of guy.”

According to the California Highway Patrol, Steven Seeley, 51, was arrested April 19 after breaking into Brown’s mansion in Sacramento. On Sunday, speaking to KCRA, Seeley stated he heard what he thought was a large cat roaring nearby, and ran into Brown’s home through a side door. He asserted, “He’s an open-door policy kind of guy, so I figured the door would be unlocked, or else I wouldn’t have ran over there if I thought the door would be locked.” (Read more from “Hilarious: Homeless Man Says He Broke into Jerry Brown’s House Because Brown’s ‘an Open-Door Policy Kind of Guy'” HERE)

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Sacramento Man Arrested for Trespassing at Governor’s Mansion

By KCRA. A homeless man was arrested for trespassing at the Governor’s Mansion in Sacramento, but not until two days after walking through an unlocked door.

In a jailhouse interview, Steven Seeley, 51, said he ran inside Gov. Jerry Brown’s home April 19 through an unlocked side door after being frightened outside. . .

Seeley said he heard what sounded like the roar of a large wild cat from a nearby garbage can before running into the home. He also said he was never approached by security before or after he entered the mansion.

Though he’s never been diagnosed with a mental illness, Seeley admits he sometimes hears things, but didn’t want to take any chances in case the roar came from a legitimate threat.

CHP confirms that a man who was “behaving erratically” trespassed inside the mansion. (Read more from “Sacramento Man Arrested for Trespassing at Governor’s Mansion” HERE)

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WATCH: Students Condemn Trump’s Decision to Send Troops to the Border… Before Finding out Their ‘Favorite’ President Did the Same Thing

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By The Daily Wire. On Saturday, Campus Reform uploaded a video in which Media Director Cabot Phillips speaks with students at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

When Phillips asks the students their opinion on Trump sending troops to the southern border of the United States, their reaction is exactly what one would expect.

“I feel like it’s not justified … it is like a totally uncalled for act of power,” one student said. Another student said she thinks the move “puts a bad light on America.” . . .

Then Phillips flipped the script: “Did you know that President Obama did the exact same thing when he was president?” he asked.

The student who called Trump’s actions an “uncalled for act of power” simply replied, “Like…” followed by a lengthy pause. He eventually finished his thought, saying, “I don’t know anything about that, personally. So, the difference is definitely with publicity and like, false information.” (Read more from “WATCH: Students Condemn Trump’s Decision to Send Troops to the Border… Before Finding out Their ‘Favorite’ President Did the Same Thing” HERE)

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Gov. Brown Says He’s ‘Close to an Agreement’ with Trump Administration on California National Guard Deployment

By Capital Public Radio. Gov. Jerry Brown says he is “close to an agreement” with the Trump administration on deploying California’s National Guard to the Mexico border, but tweets from President Donald Trump seem to indicate otherwise.

On Wednesday morning, Trump tweeted that “Jerry Brown is trying to back out of the National Guard at the Border” and that “the people of the state are not happy.”

The Governor’s Office, meanwhile, has maintained that nothing has changed since California submitted a proposed agreement to the administration last week. (Read more from “Gov. Brown Says He’s ‘Close to an Agreement’ with Trump Administration on California National Guard Deployment” HERE)

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The Amount of Californian’s That Support the Travel Ban Will Surprise You

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By The Guardian. Half of Californians support the travel ban on Muslim-majority countries and 59% are in favor of increased deportations, according to a new survey that suggests there are widespread conservative and xenophobic views in one of the most progressive US states.

The poll, conducted by the University of California, Berkeley, found that while a majority of Californians say they broadly support immigrants’ rights and refugees, many also back signature features of Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda in a state that has served as the leader in opposing the president’s policies.

“In this period when immigrants are being attacked, Californians felt that it’s important to increase deportations,” said Olivia Araiza, the director of the Haas Institute’s Blueprint for Belonging Project, which commissioned the survey alongside the polling group Latino Decisions. “Even Californians are sensitive to rhetoric that excludes people.”

The poll was released at a time of intensifying disputes between the Trump administration and the Golden State, which is home to more than 2 million undocumented people, nearly a quarter of all unauthorized immigrants in the US. Last year, the state passed a landmark “sanctuary” law meant to limit local police cooperation with federal immigration authorities, sparking a US justice department lawsuit and mass arrests and raids.

While the state’s urban centers like San Francisco and Los Angeles are known as liberal havens, there are some signs of rightwing rage brewing in certain conservative regions under Trump. (Read more from “The Amount of Californian’s That Support the Travel Ban Will Surprise You” HERE)

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Half of Californians Support Deportations, Muslim Travel Ban, Survey Finds

By Fox News. An overwhelming majority of Californians want to deport more illegal immigrants, and nearly half support President Trump’s travel ban aimed at reducing terrorism, according to a new survey from the University of California at Berkeley’s Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society.

But in reporting the findings of the statewide December 2017 survey, the Haas Institute on Wednesday appeared to put a liberal spin on some of the results.

For example, the headline of its news release reads, “Majority of Californians oppose border wall, support racial inclusion.”

(Read more from “Half of Californians Support Deportations, Muslim Travel Ban, Survey Finds” HERE)

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California Refuses Border Duties for National Guard

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By AP. The Trump administration said Monday that California Gov. Jerry Brown rejected terms of the National Guard’s initial deployment to the Mexican border, but a state official said nothing was decided.

“The governor determined that what we asked for is unsupportable, but we will have other iterations,” Ronald Vitiello, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s acting deputy commissioner, told reporters in Washington.

Brown elicited rare and effusive praise from President Donald Trump last week for pledging 400 troops to the Guard’s third large-scale border mission since 2006. (Read more from “California Refuses Border Duties for National Guard” HERE)

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California in Dispute Over Trump Administration Plan for National Guard Troops at Border

By Fox News. California authorities pushed back Monday on a Trump administration official’s claim that Gov. Jerry Brown rejected terms of the National Guard’s initial deployment to the Mexican border.

California National Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Thomas Keegan told Fox News on Monday that state officials have not rejected anything since the governor pledged 400 troops. President Trump has vowed to send up to 4,000 troops to the border . . .

Brown, who repeatedly has found himself in Trump’s political crosshairs, earned rare praise from the president last week.

“California Governor Jerry Brown is doing the right thing and sending the National Guard to the Border. Thank you, Jerry, good move for the safety of our Country!” Trump tweeted last week.

But Brown insisted that California’s troops have nothing to do with immigration enforcement. (Read more from “California in Dispute Over Trump Administration Plan for National Guard Troops at Border” HERE)

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Father Gives Thug Instant Justice for Allegedly Trying to Snatch 3-Yr-Old Daughter

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By The Daily Caller. A father in California caught a man allegedly attempting to kidnap his 3-year-old daughter and left him with a bloody face.

The man’s daughter was playing at a park outside of Sacramento, Calif., while her mother and the mother’s boyfriend were walking their dog nearby. Yonel Hernandez-Velasco, 26, allegedly walked up to the girl, grabbed her hand and began “skipping” away with her, The Sacramento Bee reported.

The mother then called the girl’s father, Fred Cantrell Jr., who lives across the street from the park. When he heard what was happening, he rushed over and confronted Hernandez-Velasco who was reportedly acting “aggressively.”

Hernandez-Velasco pulled out a pair of handcuffs, which he tried to use as brass knuckles, and began running at Cantrell Jr. The girl’s father immediately punched Hernandez-Velasco in the face, knocking him to the ground.

(Read more from “Father Gives Thug Instant Justice for Allegedly Trying to Snatch 3-Yr-Old Daughter” HERE)

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California Dad Decked Man Who Allegedly Tried to Kidnap His Daughter, 3, Report Says

By Fox News. A quick-thinking father decked a man who was allegedly attempting to kidnap his 3-year-old daughter and punched him twice during the confrontation, The Sacramento Bee reported.

The girl had been playing at the park– 33 miles northeast of Sacaramento– while her mother and the mother’s boyfriend were walking their dog nearby . . .

The suspect pulled out a pair of handcuffs from his pocket and used them as brass knuckles, authorities said. The suspect allegedly charged at Cantrell who punched him. The suspect fell to the ground, got up and charged Cantrell for a second time and was punched again, the news release said. After the second punch, the suspect remained on the ground until authorities arrived.

A group of boys who had been playing basketball told police the suspect had approached them asking to buy their basketball, The Bee reported. When they refused, he allegedly showed them his pair of handcuffs and said he could handcuff one of them and drag them into the pond. (Read more from “California Dad Decked Man Who Allegedly Tried to Kidnap His Daughter, 3, Report Says” HERE)

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