'Ingraham Angle' on Democrats' 'unraveling' government in California

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After a decade of Democrats dominating every branch of government in California, it’s all unraveling

If you want to know where America is headed if we don’t turn the tide against Biden’s socialist regime, look no further than California

This is a rush transcript from "The Ingraham Angle," August 25, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS HOST: I am Laura Ingraham. This is THE INGRAHAM ANGLE from Los Angeles tonight. And we start with breaking news.

U.S. and UK officials are warning Americans near the Kabul airport to leave immediately due to an undisclosed security threat. Now this happening is more than 19,000 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan in the past 24 hours alone. The Biden administration has not disclosed how many are Americans. But the Secretary of State said today that roughly 1500 were left in the country.

So, the questions remaining tonight. How is the administration keeping track of the remaining U.S. citizens there? And how are we getting them out? And did the Biden administration pay ransom for their safe passage or the promise of their safe passage? Additionally, new information breaking that the evacuation includes unaccompanied minors whose families have been left behind. Of course, that poses its own set of problems for an America already struggling with tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors, who've crossed our southern border.

We're going to get to more on all of this with Congressman Jim Jordan and former acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf. Also coming up, the porn industry chalks up another win, plus Raymond Arroyo exposes a human tragedy unfolding right here in California. But first, as California goes, that's the focus of tonight's angle.

If you want to know where America is headed, if we don't turn the tide against Biden's socialist regime, look no further than right here in California. Now, I brought the show here because Americans need to understand where we're headed with the Democrats in-charge. For better or worse, the Golden State has always led the way culturally, politically and yes, morally, the American dream in many ways, it began right here in California.

Now, it wasn't just the land of sunshine, surfing USA and beautiful people. But from the gold rush to the tech boom, it was a place that epitomized America's potential and limitless opportunities. But after a decade of Democrats dominating every branch of government here, it's all unraveling. Today's California consists of a tiny sliver of super wealthy people, a growing underclass, and a rapidly shrinking middle class that's fed up and running for the exits.

So, for all their claims of being progressive, California though is among the most regressive states in the country. Over the past decade, 80 percent of the state's jobs have paid under median wage, half of which are paid less than $40,000. And most are in poorly paid personal services or hospitality jobs. Even at some of the state's most prestigious companies like Google, many lower and even mid-level workers live in mobile home parks, others sleep in their cars. And thousands upon thousands of people now live on the streets, we're going to take you inside the homelessness crisis, swamping this city later on the show.

Now, it's so bad that even Democrat voters may finally be waking up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE HELSETH, REGISTERED DEMOCRAT: Let me work, let me pay my taxes. But provide me with safety and not be accosted by two homeless people within the matter of 15 minutes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is this Governor Newsom's faults?

ALISA SANDOVAL, REGISTERED DEMOCRAT: I mean, technically, how can I even answer that? He's the leader. Everything starts from the top and it goes down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Well, Democrats should be very worried because, their defund the police crusade has led to skyrocketing crime, those women are feeling it. In LA, murders are up nearly 24 percent, shootings are up almost 38 percent. Now, in San Francisco, where we were just earlier this week, shootings are up 105 percent during the first half of this year alone. So, police, they're understaffed and outgunned. And at the same time, we've left Left-wing DAs to run a walk.

People like Chesa Boudin in San Francisco and George Gascon here in LA, total travesties. They're more focused on letting the criminals walk free. been seeing them locked up in off the streets.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY MONTOYA, SAN FRANCISCO POLICE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT: The people were arresting on probation. They're on the electronic ankle monitoring by the probation department. And it still doesn't deter them from going out and committing these crimes. Because they know the district attorney won't do anything.

INGRAHAM: So, it's a revolving door of criminality.

MONTOYA: Absolutely.

INGRAHAM: 24, 48 hours.

MONTOYA: Oftentimes, these people if they're arrested, we'll be back out of jail before the police officers are done writing their police report.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: It's not just the crime in the homelessness though. Democrats' policies from lockdowns to high taxes punish small business owners and entrepreneurs as well. And when Governor Gavin Newsom is asked to explain why so many people are leaving for the red states, he just gets dismissive and defensive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): We have better health outcomes in Florida and Texas and better economic outcomes. I'm proud of the fact we actually have a housing policy and homeless policy for the first time in decades. Everybody outside this state is bitching about this state because of our success.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Go back to plump jack winery, my friend. Oh, by the way, and they also literally can't keep the lights on or water running here. Under Newsom, the state saw its first rolling blackouts since 2001. Thanks in part to insane Left-wing climate policies. The state faces a potential supply shortfall of about 2.6 million households forcing gruesome Newsom to allow industrial facilities to run on diesel generators. That's great for the environment. So much for going green.

Things are so desperate here that Newsom is now paying people to cut down on energy use I kid you not. But it's not billionaires like Oprah Winfrey up in Montecito or Mark Zuckerberg, who gets hit with the Democrats growth killing taxes or Greeniac Act measures. They don't care about that. They're so rich. It's the middle class that gets hit.

California's energy and climate rigs are so crippling to working families, especially minorities, they've actually been dubbed the Green Jim Crow. And Larry Elder, the leading Republican in the September 14th recall effort aims to turn all of this around.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: What's the first thing you're going to do, if you get elected.

LARRY ELDER (R) CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: To the extent that there are any statewide mandates for mask wearing and for vaccine for state workers, they're going to be repealed. I'm going to declare a public emergency on homelessness. I'm going to declare a public emergency on water.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: More from the candidate from his old neighborhood in just a few moments. What we're revealing to you tonight is a cautionary tale. The media is shilling for Newsom, and the teachers' unions and big tech bankrolling, the war chest. That's happening, but none of that can change the fact the truth that California is dying a slow and painful death. But a political backlash is brewing. The people still have the power to turn the tide. Now is the time to throw the leftist bums out in California can lead the nation once again by sending a powerful message to the political establishment. Push us too far and will push you out. And that's the angle.

In moments, my exclusive interview with California Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Larry Elder. But first, Newsom's not the only Left-wing politician facing the ire of voters. LA DA George Gascon, who I just mentioned is under fire for his radical policies that have put the violent criminals above victims and their families, just as my next guest Desiree Andrade, a leader in the Recall Gascon Movement.

Her son was brutally murdered back in 2018. He was repeatedly stabbed, beaten, and then he was thrown off a cliff. His body was found two days later. And now, thanks to Gascon's reforms, none of his killers will actually face life without parole. Desiree joins me now.

Desiree, I know people say, I'm sorry for your loss. I don't know if it helps, but it's a desperately sad and infuriating story. And as a mother, my heart does break for you. I'm so sorry. But your story could perhaps make a difference here. Tell us what you're feeling given what you're seeing happen day in and day out at the hands of George Gascon.

DESIREE ANDRADE, RECALL GEORGE GASCON ORGANIZER: I'm feeling, first of all, thank you, Laura for having me. I'm feeling let down by the justice system. My son was brutally beaten and tortured to death back in May 2018. And the five killers involved in his murder are no longer as you mentioned, are no longer facing life without parole or the death penalty.

These gentlemen are now facing 25 years and only having to do 80 percent of that time which is 20 years. That is not enough. My son has a sentence, his sentence was death. I will never see my son again. How are they even - how is it even a thought that they will be out in time to create families of their own and do everything that my son was cheated from? So, I feel let down by George Gascon. I feel it's personal now. I feel that him neglecting as victims is personal. And for him not to reach out to me is personal. I think he's a danger to LA County. Point blank.

INGRAHAM: What was the reaction of your son's murderers when they found out that they'd be getting out in 20 years?

ANDRADE: It was sickening actually. My daughter and I sat in court, as one of them, gave a fist bump to his attorney. And his attorney looked at him like good job and was smiling from ear-to-ear. And it was done all in front of me, which was a slap in the face. It just goes to show you where we're at. Criminals are now considered victims. What are we doing here? It's the other way around. I feel that they are getting more justice than we the victims are and it's not right at all.

INGRAHAM: I want to show some good news here, Desiree, which is the current polling about this George Soros supported DA, Mr. Gascon. 25 percent approval rating, a 40.8 percent disapproval rating, and 61 percent say they'll vote for an unnamed alternative candidate. Your message to Democrat women in this state who just can't feel like they, they can vote to vote against a Democrat, that's an office like George Gascon, because you need about - you need 580,000 signatures by October 27 to get this recall, in order. So, what's your message to them tonight?

ANDRADE: I'm a Democrat. We need to all wake up. This is not a political stance. This is not a political effort. This is about a fight for what's right and what's wrong. We need to wake up. We need to get together as a community as Angelenos and get this man out of office. I'm telling you all, you do not want to be in my place. You do not ever want to lose your son. You do not ever want to be a part of this, right here. You do not want to be a part of this violence. You do not want to be about this destroyed commute, criminal justice system. It's just gone wrong. So, please, everybody wake up.

These polls be nothing without these signatures. We need signatures. Please go to Recall George Gascon, download the petition, sign. We need this, him out. This is now down to crunch time. And I just do not want him to stay in office is a danger. Like I said, I am scared. I am scared for our safety. Please, I am begging all of you to please take this very seriously.

INGRAHAM: Desiree, I don't recognize LA. I first came here in 1984, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. It was the most incredible place. Watching your pain, the pain of so many parents, everything that's happening here. It's unacceptable. It's completely unacceptable. I will post the link--

ANDRADE: It really is.

INGRAHAM: To the website, so we can get more signatures. We will be in touch with you, obviously before the October deadline. But this cannot be for not, Desiree. Thank you for sharing this story. I noticed it's incredibly difficult for you and we really appreciate it.

ANDRADE: Thank you for having me again. I'm incredibly blessed. Thank you.

INGRAHAM: Unbelievable. The voting is currently underway and the recall election against Governor Gavin Newsom and on September 14th, another date, you have to keep in mind, if you want to save the state. We're going to find out if the Golden State turns red. Right now, 46 candidates are running to replace Newsom, should the voters decide to recall him? There's one question, do you want to recall? That's question number one.

Question number two is, who do you want to replace him? But the standout, the guy leading is Larry Elder. He's a radio talk show host. I spoke at length with him today, as we toured the South Central neighborhood where he grew up. Here's what we learned.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Larry Elder grew up in this neighborhood of South Central LA. He graduated from Crenshaw High School, right behind me. He ended up becoming an outspoken radio host, a columnist. Do you see him all the time on television, but now he wants to be the man who replaces liberal California Governor Gavin Newsom?

Larry, everyone says, look, the odds are against you. What's the magic sauce you have?

ELDER: Well, I was born and raised here. I'm from the hood. I went to Crenshaw High School. I can talk about issues like choice in public school, in a way that gives me more credibility and I think than the average Republican.

INGRAHAM: The crime in this state is, it's just devastating. As governor, what do you do there, given prop 47, which is already on the books, anything under $950, you're not really seeing a lot of police activity now?

ELDER: I will tell you what I won't do. I won't release 20,000 prisoners early because of Coronavirus and based on stats, most of them are likely to reoffend, Gavin Newsom has something like 70,000 people since he's been governor have been released early. Many of them have been violent offenders. I won't do that. I won't have this false narrative that the police are out to get black people. 81 percent of black people according to a recent poll, say they want the police manpower to remain the same or to be increased.

This is just common sense stuff. That's one of the reasons why a majority of Hispanics want this man recalled, because of lack of choice in school and because of crime. The people that are disproportionately hurt by crime are the very black and brown people that liberals love to say that they care about.

INGRAHAM: Now, Larry, you have been the subject, not surprisingly, of a lot of attacks from the LA Times, local California pundits and so forth and nationally, accusing you of everything from brandishing a gun to using the N word. It goes on and on. Your reaction to these specific charges?

ELDER: Well, I've never brandished a gun, loaded or unloaded on anybody in my life. Regarding the other allegations made, they're almost too silly to respond to. I've also been called the black face of white supremacy.

INGRAHAM: I saw that.

ELDER: Yes.

INGRAHAM: That's one of the top hits on Google, by the way, you put in Larry Elder, that's what you get, which means you're a threat to somebody.

ELDER: Well, that's right. And I've also been accused of saying women are stupid. They're referring to an article that I wrote in 2000, 21 years ago, where I was quoting a study from the Annenberg School, which is a Left-wing school. They asked men and women 25 questions about politics, men knew more than women did. 15 of them, they knew the same and nine of them, women knew only more than men in one of them.

And the reason that the women knew less, according to a female professor, who's still around, Left-wing.

INGRAHAM: So, you're quoting.

ELDER: I'm quoting her, she said, the reason women know less is because they get their dominant source of news from local news, and local news makes you dumber. And of course, I didn't say it. She did. And now I hate women.

INGRAHAM: This happens. This happens to those of us in the public eye a lot. You have a very thick skin though. And I think this is part of the reason that you need almost someone who has been out there in the public eye a lot, to be able to withstand what the incoming is. Where did you get that? Where did you get that thick skin?

ELDER: I think from my mother and my father. My mother always told me nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission. My dad always felt Democrats want to give you something for nothing. When you try and get something for nothing, you almost always end up getting nothing for something, one of the favorite expressions. My father was thrown out of the house by his mom when he was 13 years old. At Athens, Georgia, Jim Crow South at the beginning of the Great Depression. tough, tough guy and so was my mom.

And I've been called an Uncle Tom for 30 years.

INGRAHAM: I worked for Justice Thomas, so I know this terrain very.

ELDER: Uncle Tom, bootlicking Uncle Tom, bug eye googling Uncle Tom, Oreo, coconut, the Antichrist, you name it. I've been called that. That's one of the reasons by the way, Laura, I think I'm going to be successful when I get up to Sacramento. I'm not going up there to make friends. I'm not afraid of being disliked, like I expect to be disliked.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: After he showed me where he attended high school. Larry took me to his childhood home in South Central LA. And we talked about what impact he could have on the U.S. Senate, if he were elected.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: And a lot of people that are talking about potential senate retirements.

ELDER: They are.

INGRAHAM: The Democrat side. If you're governor, you would have the replacement power.

ELDER: That's right. The governor replaces the senator. Recently, Alex Padilla was the replacement for Kamala Harris. And I would have that power. And as you well know, we have a 50-50 split in Washington, D.C. And if anything would have happened to Dianne Feinstein--

INGRAHAM: She might retire.

ELDER: She might retire. I would have the ability to replace her and that's one of the reasons that Democrats are freaking out.

INGRAHAM: We just learned that Joe Biden is planning to come to this state to campaign for Gavin Newsom against the recall, Kamala will arrive Friday. You're worried?

ELDER: Christmas is coming early in August here in South Central Los Angeles. Biden's popularity has never been lower. I think I just read is at 41 percent? Because of the Afghanistan debacle. The only major public figure that I know of who has praised him has been Gavin Newsom. So, let Joe Biden come out here and praise the wonderful job Gavin Newsom has done on crime, on homelessness, on the rise of gas taxes, on the fact that people are leaving California for the very first time. And on the way he slammed this state down, ignoring science in the most severe way compared to all the other 49 states.

Let Joe Biden defend that record. I welcome that. And maybe Joe Biden can encourage Gavin Newsom to debate me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Oh, that would be nice. Don't hold your breath. And breaking, just moments ago, California is still going down the drain. According to the LA Times, California assembly members who refuse to provide proof of vaccination will be suspended for the final two weeks of the session. I don't think they're going to think that's punishment. It might turn out that under Biden, though the - moving on to a different topic.

The U.S. does negotiate with terrorists. Congressman Jim Jordan sounds off on Biden's latest blunder. Plus, why are we rushing the vetting process for Afghan refugees. Former Trump Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf lays out the dangers of expedited vetting. You don't want to miss that; you won't see it anywhere else tonight. Stay there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

INGRAHAM: Leave immediately. That's the warning just issued by the Biden State Department to Americans waiting to leave the Kabul airport. They're also telling Americans on their way to the airport to turn around, avoided altogether, what is going on? The State Department estimates right now that roughly 1500 Americans somewhere in Afghanistan, and their safe passage we know now is going to depend on the good graces of the Taliban.

And when we want to see the White House projecting strength, today, they projected weakness.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Why haven't we heard the president say, the United States will not negotiate with terrorists? Is that still the U.S. policy?

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Well, of course it is, Peter. But I would also say that there's a reality that the Taliban is currently controlling large swaths of Afghanistan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: This all of it takes your breath away. Joining me now, Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan. Congressman, are we looking at a developing hostage situation in Afghanistan? Or do we rely on whatever deal the CIA director cut with the Taliban on Monday to get these Americans home?

REP. JIM JORDAN (R-OH): Well, who knows. But this has got to be the focus here, Laura. What is the number of Americans who are in the country? Let's focus first and foremost on getting them to safety, getting them home? Second, let's secure our southern border before we worry about anything else. But this idea that they're negotiating, not negotiating, it looks to me like they're giving in. I mean, just the other day when the Taliban said that August 31st is a red line. And Joe Biden hasn't changed that date.

So, I don't know what that - what's going on there. But I do know one thing, what's the number? Let's bring American citizens home and let's secure our southern border. So, these Taliban and other terrorists don't exploit a border that is no longer, frankly. That should be our focus versus spending money and all the other things that the Democrats are focused on doing.

INGRAHAM: Well, yes. Total, what $5 trillion that's on its way to, a reality, a shocking reality. And a house pushing a socialist agenda and the house - I mean, it's just - but congressman, moments ago, a source is telling--

JORDAN: While we have American citizens stranded, while we have a border that had the highest illegal crossings on record until April, it was higher until May. And then May was the highest, until June and June was the highest until 212,000 crossed the border in July, and they're focused on spending $5 trillion, instead of those two fundamental tasks that government's supposed to have, secure your border and protect citizens abroad when they're being potentially threatened and attacked by a terrorist organization.

INGRAHAM: Congressman, these are impeachable offenses after years of hounding Donald Trump on phony Russian collusion charges. This is truly the most shocking dereliction of presidential duty, I have ever witnessed in my lifetime, I was a little kid during Nixon. OK, so, but this is the most shocking.

Moments ago, as I was saying congressman, a source is telling us that apparently, Afghan refugees, they've already been housed at Dulles Airport, but they're actually going to be brought to Quantico, the marine base, and to Fort Pickett. Another report that we're going to have as many as 30,000 Afghan refugees brought to Texas. Did we have 30,000 translators and interpreters in Afghanistan, we still have Americans there for goodness sakes.

JORDAN: Exactly right. and common sense and the American people understand this fundamentally, focus on Americans, get them home, don't leave them stranded, protect our border, and then you can worry about this Special Immigrant Visa and all that stuff. But don't - focus on the priorities and what needs to happen.

But Laura, Democrats always screw this up. I was thinking about this today, whenever they got foreign policy, right. Carter, Clinton, Obama, Biden. Carter was the Iran hostage issue. Clinton, Mogadishu. Obama, Benghazi. And now here we are with Biden in Afghanistan. So, tell me when they get that right. And you said it best, when you project weakness from the Oval Office, bad guys do bad things around this planet? That is the biggest problem.

For all they said about President Trump, he's going to get us into conflict. President Trump projected strength. And we didn't have this kind of thing going on the last four years. But it took all of eight months for this to unfold in the Biden administration. And the same people, the exact same people who were in-charge of foreign policy were the ones who were in- charge of it, when we had the Libya fiasco and poor Americans getting killed in Benghazi. It is Blinken, Burns, Sherman, Rice, Sullivan, these exact same people. That's what bothers me so much. We saw how bad they messed that up, messed up Libya and what happened in Benghazi.

INGRAHAM: Congressman?

JORDAN: Poor Americans gave their life for our country; this is the same group of people.

INGRAHAM: I wouldn't hire that group to secure an elementary school, let alone secure the United States of America. This is a purposeful dereliction of duty at this point, Congressman, thank you.

And for those of you concerned about vetting the thousands of Afghans coming here, have no fear, because Biden has a big plan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PSAKI: It typically takes months to go through this process. And what - this is a signal of is, is the fact that this is a top priority for the president and the intelligence community and the individuals who oversee this vetting process, who have massively expedited the process in order to move through the necessary steps, thorough steps in order to process individuals and get them moving through the system.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

INGRAHAM: Joining us now, Chad Wolf, former Trump acting DHS secretary. Chad, expediting the vetting process from a terrorist hotbed like Afghanistan, what could possibly go wrong?

CHAD WOLF, FORMER TRUMP ACTING DHS SECRETARY: Laura, when you're dealing with the number of people that we're looking at today, the vetting process for our special immigrant visas is a multistep process. And so any time that you're going to expedite that, and it's usually a process that will last several weeks into months where you've got to validate their passport, their birth certificate, proof that they actually worked as a translator for 12 months, proof that they've gone through a DOD background check, letters of recommendation. Then CBP, DHS, Customs and Border Protection, will do also terrorist watch list checks. This takes weeks and weeks and weeks. And so if you now have an administration who is talking about expediting that with the number of people that we're seeing, there's going to be corners that are going to be cut. And you're going to -- the concern here is people slipping through those cracks. So any time that you're going to expedite the screening process and the vetting process, that invites a lot of trouble.

And I would say if it was properly planned out to get Americans out, to get these SIV individuals out, they would have had time to properly vet them over the course of several, several weeks instead of days that we're seeing today.

INGRAHAM: I don't trust it. All of that is all well and good, Chad. I don't trust anything these people are saying. After what we have seen unfold at our southern border and in Afghanistan, I don't trust them, OK. And I think I have good reason not to trust them. But if you were in charge if it, I'd feel better about it. But we just learned that officials are projecting 25,000 will arrive at these four military institutions, Fort Bliss at El Paso are one of the installations selected by the military, 25,000. We've got a lot of translators and interpreters, apparently. I didn't know we had that many.

WOLF: What we also know is the DHS is paroling the vast majority of these individuals into the country and then doing a lot of these checks and looking at their applications after the fact. So that's why we're seeing the vast amounts of individuals coming in, landing at Dulles, and landing at other individual airports across the country is that they're doing a lot of these checks in --

INGRAHAM: How much does this cost, Chad? Chad, how much does this cost?

WOLF: I'm sorry, how much does it cost?

INGRAHAM: How much does it cost per refugee. I saw that broken down at one point when we were bringing the Somalis in to Maine and Minnesota. But the American are people are footing the bill, so they deserve to know ultimately even how much that will cost.

WOLF: Well, it's going to be significant. A lot of the checks being done by the Department of Homeland Security are done through the National Vetting Center and CBP, and then USCIS also does a number of checks. So you've got multiple entities within the department that are doing checks and looking at these applications. So it's tying up resources.

These are also some of the same folks that are looking at asylum applications and other things that are going along that southwest border as well.

INGRAHAM: And then the cost of the refugees over decades, over a long period of time, which we don't know how much.

WOLF: That's correct. A lot of these individuals -- yes. A lot of these individuals apply and get benefits once they come into the country as well.

INGRAHAM: It's a huge amount of money, and some of them need to be paroled in. But that's a lot of people. Chad, thank you.

And coming up, you won't believe how bad L.A.'s homelessness crisis has gotten since THE INGRAHAM ANGLE last visited. It's going to blow your mind. Raymond Arroyo has all of the information you need on this decline next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

INGRAHAM: We've been here all week documenting the decline of California, a once idyllic state. From COVID mandates to a rise in crime, it's collapsing here. We were here exactly two years ago covering all this, and we're back, and we some things may have gotten a little bit better. Other things have gotten much worse. So Raymond Arroyo hit the street to investigate.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

RAYMOND ARROYO, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: When we visited Venice in 2019, it looked like this. Not much has changed. These tents and homeless encampments spread out all over this city, choking neighborhoods throughout Los Angeles. It's estimated that 41,000 homeless people are on the streets today.

This is the scene outside of Google just around the corner. But the situation at Venice Beach has vastly improved since our last visit. L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva grew tired of watching the expanding encampments. This summer, he took matters into his own hands and cleared the beach.

ALEX VILLANUEVA, SHERIFF OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY: The homeless took over. And we started getting inundated with calls, emails. Then the videos started popping up on YouTube and just the sheer horror and anarchy.

I talked to the lieutenant and said let's go down there, June 7th. How bad could it be? And it was as bad as it was promised.

ARROYO: Venice residents like Mark Ryavec are pleased with the progress.

MARK RYAVEC, VENICE STAKEHOLDERS ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT: I credit him for having embarrassed the mayor and having embarrassed the councilmember to the point that they moved up whatever they were going to do here by a year or two. They moved a lot of people. They got them into shelter. Assaults dropped down to almost nothing.

ARROYO: Has this scatter the homeless population into the neighborhoods?

RYAVEC: We had two thefts last week on my block. Because of this defund the police effort and the loss of these at least 300 officers, the result is that we don't have presence.

ARROYO: What do you make of this anti-camping ordinance that has been passed, signed. It's going to be enforced in September. Will that clean up the rest of the problem, as you see it?

RYAVEC: No, because we don't have the personnel to do it. The city just stopped its overnight cleanups, and they cut the funding to the Department of Sanitation.

VILLANUEVA: The city has laws that were in place. They removed laws. They handcuffed the police. And then they wonder why there's encampments everywhere. These people are some geniuses. So by handcuffing the LAPD, the only solution is regulating public space.

ARROYO: So you're not convinced this anti-camping ordinance is going to work.

VILLANUEVA: It's not got work at all. It almost takes an act of Congress to actually enforce a law that they put on the books, which meant they had no intention of every enforcing it.

You go right there to Olvera Street, the whole Plaza Olvera is surrounding by popup tents. It used to be a tourist destination. This is the mindset of the woke elite. They've decided that they want to virtue signal how compassionate they are. What were they thinking? Where is the sense of pride in the mayor, the city council, the board of supervisors? They allowed our county and our city to be a dumping ground for the entire nation's homeless.

ARROYO: While the homeless have left Venice Beach, they found shelter here under overpasses. It's estimated that there's been a 45 percent increase in the number of homeless here in Los Angeles County. The problem is these encampments are spreading onto sidewalks, causing potential injury.

VILLANUEVA: The 101 freeway, that is Gavin Newsom. That is Caltrans. That's the California Highway Patrol. Those are all executive branch of state government. Who runs the executive branch? The governor. So why is this the mess it is? And that all falls on his shoulders, just like the rest of the city falls on Garcetti's shoulders, the city councilman, the board of supervisors. The solutions are there, but there's no political will to do the obvious.

ARROYO: Sheriff Villanueva believes there could be political consequences for the ongoing homeless crisis.

VILLANUEVA: The recall, not just of Newsom. Of Gascon, of Bonham (ph) is a referendum on homelessness and lawlessness. That's what the referendum is going to be on. Every person is going to vote based on the transient defecated on their front lawn, the garbage dump right around the corner filling the back ally, the encampments everywhere, that is what the recall is on. It's a referendum on their performance in office, and right now it's just been horrible.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

INGRAHAM: Raymond, this takes your breath away. It looks like a refugee camp in the Middle East.

ARROYO: You bet. In some cases it's worse than the refugee camps we've set up for the Afghans we've been seeing all week. But Laura, there's a public safety dimension of this. We spoke to a woman, Deborah (ph) Todd (ph), you'll see her on FOX Nation on the larger piece. She was struck by a car because she couldn't pass down the sidewalk. The encampments had covered it. We spoke to another man homeless, stepped into the street, hit by a car. This is happening all the time. This is life and death. It's not just a public hazard and a blight to look at. There's real safety involved here, and somebody should jump in --

INGRAHAM: There's a lot of talk about this camping, anti-camping ordinance. What the heck is that?

ARROYO: The city council passed it. But the city council --

INGRAHAM: All right, we are going to be right back. We're going to hold it --

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

INGRAHAM: The website OnlyFans surprised a lot of people last week by announcing it would actually ban pornography. But today the site reversed the decision and is now going to be a platform, once again, for total depravity. Far worse, OnlyFans is giving a green light to sickos and perverts to exploit our kids. In fact, a recent BBC investigation made a shocking discovery. OnlyFans was failing to prevent under 18s from selling and appearing in explicit details. BBC news was able to set up two subscriber accounts in French and German despite explicitly stating they were young teenagers in the bios and advertising the sale of photographs.

Joining me now is Laila Mickelwait, founder and CEO of Justice Defense Fund. Laila, I know you have been tracking this, you've been all over this issue from day one. What do parents watching this tonight need to understand about this website OnlyFans?

LAILA MICKELWAIT, FOUNDER, "JUSTICE DEFENSE FUND": Sure. Well, I think what's important to understand, first of all, is the context in which this is happening with OnlyFans. In 2020, Pornhub, the world's largest porn website, was globally exposed and condemned for complicity in mass sexual crime, including child exploitation, rape, and sex trafficking. Visa, Mastercard, and Discover subsequently stopped doing business with Pornhub, and there have been seven lawsuits that have been launched against the company, four class actions. And one of those lawsuits on behalf of 34 victims, 14 who were children when they were exploited on the site, not only sued Pornhub, but they also sued Visa for knowingly profiting from the sex-trafficking venture.

This has caused the credit card company to reassess their liability and whether they want to do business with such sites that are reckless and negligent in their moderation and verification practices, and that is including OnlyFans.

INGRAHAM: Laila, that begs the question, why would credit card companies want to be part of a site that facilitates transactions that exploit sexually children? And that's what ends up happening, whether it's by chance or whether it's by glitches in their platform. But this is a huge problem, and it's against every country's law, as far as I can tell. So why would they continue to do it? Just pure cash, pure money?

MICKELWAIT: Yes. These are financially driven decisions, I think on all accounts. But what the credit card companies, is what they've realized with the Pornhub fiasco is that they are liable to be sued if they continue to do business with sites that are engaged in reckless moderation and verification policies. So what they did recently was they enacted policies that they will not allow these porn sites to do business with them without rigorous moderation, without age and unambiguous consent verification of every individual in every video. And that was supposed to take place on October 1st that those policies would be enacted, and it's not a coincidence that OnlyFans decided that on October 1st they were going to drop all porn content before reversing that decision.

INGRAHAM: Well, I want to play something for our viewers so people understand what is really happening on this site. This was an interview that CBS did with one of the women in that porn suit in the Pornhub lawsuit. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is there any possibility that Pornhub tried to contact you to confirm your age?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, they did not.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To confirm that it was consensual?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They did not.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They didn't?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They did not.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many people saw it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Over 200,000.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Over 200,000, Laila. A lot of these girls, their life is forever changed, a lot of them feel like their life is ruined or even over, which in itself is horrific. Laila, final thoughts.

MICKELWAIT: Yes. Look, I've spoken to victims not only of Pornhub, but of OnlyFans. Recently a girl who is a child was blackmailed into violent sex acts. And that child pornography was uploaded and monetized on OnlyFans. And so if you've been a victim of OnlyFans or Pornhub or any other website, for that matter, reach out, JusticeDefenseFund.org. We want to help.

INGRAHAM: Laila, thank you for staying on this. We'll check back with you as we know there will be many more challenges to this sick and perverted website down the road. Thank you so much.

And what are the leaders here in California focusing on instead of that minor issue of saving the state? The Last Bite explains next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

INGRAHAM: All right, we documented the drug abuse, the crime, the homelessness here in California. It's exploding, especially in San Francisco, but the city's mayor there decided to make life harder, remember, by imposing that business-destroying vaccine mandate. Great going. But don't worry, she did find time to offer relief and a tribute to one community.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed yesterday declared the month of August, which is almost over, transgender history month. OK. While she is doing that, we are going to continue to bring you more of our investigation into the collapse of California under Democrat rule. Tomorrow, my ride along with the LAPD, what I discovered will make you cry, maybe have a little hope as well.

That's it for us tonight. Don't forget, set your DVR so you always stay connected with us, and also don't forget to show that you understand what's at stake by wearing your USA made Freedom Matters gear. Go to LauraIngraham.com. All for charity.

And I want to thank you for watching. And remember, it's America now and forever. Greg Gutfeld takes it all from here.

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