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California Resident Shoots, Kills Drunk Intruder, Now Target of Murder Investigation

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Photo Credit: NBC Los Angeles

Photo Credit: NBC Los Angeles

By Willian Avila and Tony Shin. An Ontario resident shot and killed an intruder who broke into his apartment in the middle of the night and attacked his sleeping son, police said.

Officers said the suspect, identified as 24-year-old Thomas Gilbert Manzano, entered the home in the 2500 block of East Riverside Drive (map) about 3 a.m. when the resident opened fire.

Manzano and a friend had been drinking alcohol for several hours when they decided to go to what they thought was a vacant apartment where the friend had been squatting, police said. Manzano’s mother lives in the same complex.

When Manzano came to the door, the resident turned him away, police said. That’s when Manzano allegedly threatened the resident, forced his way into the home through a bedroom window and confronted the resident’s adult son. Police said Manzano began to threaten and attack the son.

The father, who heard the commotion from another bedroom, armed himself with a firearm before coming to his son’s aid. He fired several rounds at Manzano and struck him. Read more from this story HERE.

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Man Who Protected his Sleeping Son from Drunk Intruder Now Subject to Homicide Investigation

By Jason Howerton. Police are investigating a potential homicide in Ontario, Calif., after a resident shot and killed a drunk intruder who broke into his apartment and attacked his sleeping son.

In California, citizens have a right to protect themselves and their families, however, there are stipulations in the state.

“The homeowner, the citizen, has to be able to articulate or apply the appropriate amount of force that was done against them,” Ontario Police Sgt. David McBride told NBC Los Angeles, later adding that Manzano was unarmed at the time of the shooting.

Thomas Gilbert Manzano, 24, forced his way into the California residence at around 3 a.m. on Monday, according to police. Manzano had been drinking alcohol for several hours with a friend when they decided to break into an apartment they thought was vacant. They had reportedly been squatting in one of the apartments but got confused as to its location. Read more from this story HERE.

Sheriff Strips Federal Forest Service of State Law Enforcement Powers (+video)

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Photo Credit: Kaibab National Forest

Photo Credit: Kaibab National Forest

The El Dorado County Sheriff says he’s not happy with the U.S. Forest Service, so he’s stripping them of their authority by keeping them from enforcing state law within the county.

Sheriff John D’Agostini is taking the unusual step of pulling the police powers from the federal agency because he says he has received “numerous, numerous complaints.”

In a letter obtained by CBS13, the sheriff informs the federal agency that its officers will no longer be able to enforce California state law anywhere in his county.

“I take the service that we provide to the citizens of El Dorado County and the visitors to El Dorado County very seriously, and the style and manner of service we provide,” D’Agostini said. “The U.S. Forest Service, after many attempts and given many opportunities, has failed to meet that standard.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Grandma, 72, Shoots at Home Intruder in California, Defends Actions

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Photo Credit: AP

A 72-year-old Southern California grandmother who shot at — and narrowly missed — a man trying to break into her home said Tuesday she was shocked at the attention her action was getting but does not regret defending herself and her husband, an 85-year-old World War II veteran who uses a wheelchair…

During a 911 call of the incident, Cooper can be heard begging with the dispatcher to send deputies and warns that she has a gun at the ready as her Rottweiler barks furiously in the background.

Minutes later, a breathless Cooper says the man has come to the back porch and is trying to get in the house through a sliding door. Through the vertical blinds, Cooper saw his silhouette just inches away through the glass as he began to slide open the door.

“I’m firing!” Cooper shouts to the dispatcher as a loud band goes off…

“You’d better get the police here. I don’t know whether I hit him or not. I’m not sure. He’s standing at my door, my back door. He’s in my yard,” she said.

Read more from this story HERE.

California vs. New York as Nation’s Worst State

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Photo Credit: Kyle Platts

Whenever a free-market research or business group releases a “best and worst” list of states, my eye goes straight to the bottom: To see whether California is last or was edged out for the lowest rank by one of the other mismanaged liberal bastions. Illinois seems to exist to boost the self-esteem of Californians.

I can raise a glass of zinfandel to California’s great victory in the Mercatus Center’s recent “Freedom in the 50 States” study. The state didn’t place last. That distinction went to New York, thanks to its highest-in-the-nation tax rates and entrepreneur-crushing economic regulations. I owe an apology to residents of the Land of Lincoln.

For all the study’s detail about tax rates and regulation, this information jumps out as the most telling about New York: “9.0 percent of the state’s 2000 population, on net, left the state for another state between 2000 and 2011, the highest such figure in the nation.” Moving is the surest sign of dissatisfaction, especially when people relocate from a state that has long been an economic and cultural magnet.

Californians talk incessantly about high-tailing it to Texas or Nevada, yet New Yorkers flee at about double our rate. Migration numbers aside, I would still rank the Golden State as the Most Hopeless State. There are other studies that bolster that case, including Chief Executive magazine’s “2013 Best and Worst States for Business” that places California dead last, with New York in 49th place.

The magazine ranks states based on three categories: taxation and regulation, workforce quality, and living environment. Even with its natural advantages in the last category and high ranking in the second one, California still flopped because its officials have adopted a punitive environment in the first category. That takes some doing.

Read more from this story HERE.

Even After Boy Scouts Allow In Homosexuals, California Votes to Strip BSA of Nonprofit Status

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Photo Credit: Rich Pedroncelli

The California Senate on Wednesday passed a bill that would revoke the Boy Scouts’ nonprofit status because the group does not allow openly gay adults to join.

The Boy Scouts of America voted last week to allow gay youths to join the organization, but it reaffirmed its ban on gay adults serving as Scout leaders.

“They are out of line with the values of California and should be ineligible for a tax benefit paid for by all Californians,” state Sen. Ricardo Lara, a Democrat, said as he introduced his bill, The Sacramento Bee reports. “SB 323 brings our laws into line with our values.”

Read more from this story HERE.

California Bill Would Give Driver’s Licenses to Illegal Immigrants

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Photo Credit: Ken Lund

More immigrants living in the U.S. illegally would be able to obtain a California driver’s license under a bill that is moving through the state Legislature.

A measure from Democratic Assemblyman Luis Alejo, of Watsonville, would allow people without a Social Security number to apply for a license. They must show several alternative forms of identification, including a birth certificate and proof of residency.

Unauthorized immigrants seeking a license also must pass a driving test like other applicants.

The legislation, which passed the state Assembly on Wednesday, follows a law approved last year that allowed driver’s licenses to be issued to unauthorized immigrants who are eligible for work permits under a revised federal policy.

Alejo said his bill, AB60, would increase safety on California roads. A recent study by the state Department of Motor Vehicles showed that unlicensed drivers are nearly three times as likely to cause a crash, he said.

Read more from this story HERE.

California Oil Boom: 15 Billion Barrels but the Dem’s are Trying to Stop It (+video)

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Photo Credit: Richard Masoner / CycleliciousCalifornia is on the verge of a new gold rush. Expanded hydraulic fracturing — or “fracking” — at the Monterey Shale formation is sparking estimates that 15 billion barrels of oil could be accessed, along with millions of jobs and huge contributions to the domestic energy supply.

Even the state’s green-friendly Democratic governor, Jerry Brown, says “the potential is extraordinary.”

But standing in the way is a flurry of anti-fracking bills. At last count, 10 were on the table, all introduced by Democrats seeking tighter controls over the controversial technology.

Some of the measures take aim at how crude is extracted from rock layers beyond the reach of conventional drilling.

Others call for full disclosure of what chemicals are used in the high-pressure process, how they’re removed, and where they’re stored.

Read more from this story HERE.

A Farmers’ Rebellion Lifts the California GOP

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Photo Credit: Bill Mahon Democrats were writing obituaries for California’s GOP after winning a supermajority in the state legislature last November, thus gaining veto-proof power to raise taxes. But their legislative lock may have slipped after this week’s special election in which Republican farmer Andy Vidak appears to have defeated a Democrat—in a heavily Democratic senate district—who had championed high-speed rail and a higher minimum wage.

If Mr. Vidak wins an outright majority—late Friday, he led with 49.8% of the vote and provisional ballots were still being counted—his victory would put Republicans two senate seats short of reclaiming their veto on tax hikes. But more important, the election has exposed the Democrats’ soft underbelly in California’s Central Valley—a no man’s land in state politics—and given Republicans a rallying point.

“This is the shot in the arm that shows that we are doing some things right,” California Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the House GOP whip, says.

Read more from this story HERE.

California Cops Break Into House Without a Warrant, Tase Man Who Complains About Police State and It’s All on Video

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Photo Credit: West Midlands PoliceIn this video, a group of officers arrive at a home and, through a closed screen door, demand that the occupants come outside.

The unidentified man inside, along with his female companion, demand that the officers produce a warrant, but they don’t.

When the police continue to demand that they come outside, and order that both occupants raise their hands, the man responds that he doesn’t live in a police state with martial law. He also warns the police that he is video-recording everything.

Eventually, the police breakthrough a side door and tase the man with the video camera. It sounds as if his female companion may have been tased as well.

Father Dies After Begging For Life While Cops Struck Him With Batons; Cellphone Videos Seized

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Photo Credit: KERO-TVA California father of four died after being beaten by police outside of a Bakersfield hospital, while witnesses say he begged for his life. A couple witnesses filmed the gruesome scene, but say they were later forced to give their cellphones to authorities and have yet to receive their devices back.

The Bakersfield Californian reported 33-year-old David Sal Silva died early Wednesday morning in the hospital after he was struck an unknown amount of times by nine authorities seeking to subdue him. Silva was considered possibly intoxicated and an autopsy is expected to reveal if he was killed by injuries sustained in the beating or other complications.

Police and county sheriffs were responding to a call regarding a possibly intoxicated man outside Kern Medical Center Tuesday night and say Silva resisted them.

Read more from this story HERE.