News
Compiled by Michael Hernandez, CaliRed. 8-22-2
There are so many stories making up the mosaic of national/international news that we can’t cover them all every week. The biggest stories now seem to be: Israel and Iran, the Trump presidency (lawfare and judges), immigration (migrants and illegals), wars, weaponization of government (the deep state) against Trump and conservatives, our nation’s debt, massive inflation, climate change controversy and related expenses of government, industry attempting to address these issues, the Chinese threat, national security, abortion, taxpayer cuts, Ukraine peace, and hatred and violence against Christians. Here are just a few:
Aug. 18: Daily Caller By Hailey Gomez
California’s Caregiver Expansion Bill Put On Ice After Backlash
A California bill, AB 495, which aims to expand who can act as a caregiver —specifically for children of illegal immigrant families — was moved to suspension Monday after a hearing by the state Senate Appropriations Committee.
Introduced by Democrat Assemblymember Celeste Rodriguez in February, AB 495, also known as the Family Preparedness Plan Act of 2025, would expand who can execute a caregiver’s authorization affidavit to include a “nonrelative extended family member,” granting them the same rights to authorize school-related medical care. The bill passed the Assembly floor in June before being brought to the Senate Appropriations Committee for Monday’s hearing.
Following pushback from voters during the hearing, the committee announced the bill would be moved to suspension, which serves “as a way to consider the fiscal impacts to the state of legislation as a whole,” according to its website.
https://dailycaller.com/2025/08/18/californias-caregiver-expansion-bill-ice-after-backlash
Also see CAliRed article: https://substack.com/home/post/p-171527929
Aug. 19: Gateway Pundit By Mike LaChance
Winsome Earle-Sears, Republican Candidate For Virginia Governor Slams Socialism: ‘My Family Lived It In Jamaica, No Jobs, No Money’
Winsome Earle-Sears is the current Republican Lt. Governor of Virginia and the Republican candidate for governor of Virginia. During a recent interview on FOX News with Lara Trump, Sears slammed socialism when the subject of Zohran Mamdani came up.
Sears explained that she has been down that road before, when she was growing up in Jamaica, saying that socialism doesn’t work and that it only leads to empty shelves in grocery stores, as well as no jobs and no money. Sears came to the United States legally in 1970 and served in the United States Marines in the 1980s.
Aug. 20: Breitbart By Bradley Jaye
Democrats Losing Registration Race In All 30 States That Track Party Affiliation — 4.5 Million-Voter Swing Toward GOP
The Democrat Party is hemorrhaging support with no end in sight, according to a shocking analysis of new voter registrations. Fueled by President Donald Trump’s gains among men, younger voters, and Latinos in 2024, more new voters nationwide chose to be Republicans than Democrats for the first time since 2018, according to a report from the New York Times which relies on voter registration data compiled by L2, a nonpartisan data firm.
“Of the 30 states that track voter registration by political party, Democrats lost ground to Republicans in every single one between the 2020 and 2024 elections — and often by a lot,” the report reads. “That four-year swing toward the Republicans adds up to 4.5 million voters, a deep political hole that could take years for Democrats to climb out from.”
Aug. 21: Breitbart By Alex Marlow
Marlow: The Eighth Amendment Takes Down Letitia James’s Trump Case; Now She Should Be Disbarred
In my newly released New York Times bestselling book, Breaking the Law, I made the case that the nearly-$500 million fined imposed on Donald Trump by Judge Arthur Engeron in Letitia “Tish” James’s civil fraud case was a cruel and unusual punishment.
Today, we learned that a panel of five judges in New York’s mid-level Appellate Division believed that the fine imposed on Trump was “excessive,” i.e. it violated the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution.
As I noted: Trump was always going to lose (are you beginning to notice the pattern?), given the Democrat AG, the Democrat judge, and the absence of a jury. The brunt of the penalty for the victimless crime would be financial. Engoron and James came up with a number so obscene it reads like a joke: $354.8 million—plus interest!—adding up to over $450 million.
Yes, this was a juryless trial. And after interest accumulated, the penalty would have been over a half a billion dollars in total. In fact, it has been accumulating at a clip of over $87,000 per day! As of the March 2025 Oval Office interview I conducted with President Trump, they still have his money. Yes, the $175 million bond was still up as of Spring 2025.
Tish James and the state of New York ought to pay Trump interest on his $175 million they held for fraudulent reasons. The math on how they got to this number is, of course, unintelligible. They plucked it out of thin air. It was bigger than anyone saw coming, more than four times the outrageous $80 million that Trump was ordered to pay E. Jean Carroll.
The E. Jean Carroll penalty should also be thrown out on the same grounds. But, as I note, James wasn’t done yet. She called for lifetime bans for Trump and other Trump Org officials from participation in the New York real estate industry or serving on other corporate boards or as officers. She asked for Trump’s eldest sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric, to get five-year bans. Engoron obliged. He barred Trump from serving in top roles in New York, including some at his own companies, for three years, among other penalties.
James and Engoron had abandoned the legal foundations of civil law and assessed a fine that imitates a criminal penalty and is, I believe, a fundamentally cruel and unusual one. Nearly half a billion dollars in a zero-damages situation is an excessive amount that is seemingly chosen at random.
None of this should have been surprising. After all, James had famously campaigned to get Donald Trump. She had said that she looked forward to suing him and that she would be a “pain in his ass.” After the verdict came down, James began to taunt Trump by posting daily updates to the X social media platform on the gargantuan interest payment he was required to make. All of this violates his right to due process and equal protection under the law.
Aug. 21: Breitbart By Hannah Knudsen
D.C. Violent Crime Drops 22% After Trump’s Crackdown; Zero Homicides In Last Week
Violent crime in Washington, DC, has dropped 22 percent over the last week following President Donald Trump’s crackdown in the city.
Fox News Digital’s David Marcus detailed the stunning findings, which include the fact that — as of Wednesday afternoon — there were no murders in the city over the last seven days. That is a feat that has not been seen for months — since March. Marcus also cited a few other stunning statistics from the local police union, revealing that since Trump’s federal takeover, carjackings have dropped an astonishing 83 percent. Additionally, robbery has dropped 46 percent.
Aug. 21: Gateway Pundit By Jim Hoft
Far-Left FL Teacher Suspended After Mocking A Student As “Most Likely To Become A Dictator” For His Conservative Views — State Education Department Moves To Sanction And Potentially Revoke Her License
A disturbing case out of Alachua County, Florida, has exposed just how toxic the education system has become for conservative families. A high school history teacher at Gainesville High School nominated her own student for “Most Likely to Become a Dictator,” all because he dared to hold conservative views and was interested in ROTC and World War II history, Florida’s Voice first reported.
The incident came to light after parent Dr. Crystal Marull testified at a State Board of Education meeting that her 16-year-old son was repeatedly targeted by his history teacher because of his conservative views and interest in ROTC. According to Marull, the teacher allowed classmates to brand her son a “Naziphile” for his interest in World War II history. Later, she orchestrated a mock award, forcing students to vote for him “Most Likely to Become a Dictator.”
Aug. 22: Gateway Pundit By Robert Semonsen
Obama’s $500M Presidential Center Turns $830M Nightmare As Locals Push Back
The Obama Presidential Center in Chicago’s Jackson Park, originally budgeted at $500 million, has seen costs balloon to over $830 million. Construction began in 2021, but delays have pushed the opening to April 2026. The facility includes a museum tower, library branch, and community spaces, funded privately by donors like Jeff Bezos and Oprah Winfrey.
Property values have surged, with two-bedroom apartments jumping from $800 to $1,800 monthly in some areas. Construction workers attributed delays to extensive DEI sessions, which included discussions on oppression and equity. A foreman recounted mandatory 90-minute workshops that distracted from work. These policies have led to cost overruns exceeding initial estimates by hundreds of millions.
In contrast, less than a mile away, Reverend Corey Brooks is building a $47 million Leadership and Economic Opportunity Center through Project HOOD on the notorious O Block. Brooks, a conservative pastor, focuses on mentoring youth without relying on government aid or DEI mandates. His initiative emphasizes self-reliance and the American dream, employing over 150 locals in trades and education programs. Brooks has fundraised creatively, including a 94-day rooftop stay in 2021 and an upcoming 3,000-mile Walk Across America starting September 1, 2025, from New York City. He rejects victimhood narratives, stating his center will transform more lives than large-scale projects dependent on billionaire funding. Despite outreach, Brooks received no support from the Obama Foundation or similar groups.
As of August 2025, both projects reflect differing approaches to South Side revitalization.
CaliRed News is a news site posted on Making California Red by the 2028 elections through reaching Gen Z (ages 13-28), Hispanics, and Christians with biblical traditional values and their pastors. CaiRed News (founder and senior writer is Mike Hernandez) reports on political, business, community, nonprofit, and church news. CaliRed News is the Christian conservative/constitutional voice of Patriots who will vote into office a new governor in 2026 and “Make California Golden Again” while bringing faith (Prayer Over News Daily) and politics together. Free subscriptions are available at: https://substack.com/@calirednews.
Michael Hernandez, is co-founder of the Citizens Journal–Ventura County’s online news service and writes for CitizensJournal.net and MountainTopMedia.com. He is a former Southern California daily newspaper journalist and religion and news editor, writer of “Prayer Over News Daily” on Substack.com, the monthly Election Countdown, and edits the weekly “Stories Speak Volumes.” Mr. Hernandez mentors citizen journalists with trainings held every other month (on Saturdays at Shasta Bible College and online) and can be contacted at: [email protected] or at MikeHernandezMedia.com.
