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WATCH: Left-wing LA mayor faces reality TV challenger’s blunt takedowns in heated mayoral debate

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Incumbent Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, Republican challenger Spencer Pratt, and Democratic Socialists of America-aligned city councilwoman Nithya Raman squared off in a heated nonpartisan debate on Wednesday as the city heads toward its June 2 mayoral primary.

The debate, hosted by NBC4 and Telemundo 52, centered on questions of public safety, affordability and immigration. Conservative commentators on social media, as well as some on the left, generally felt that Pratt exceeded expectations as he jumps into politics following his history as a reality star on “The Hills.” 

Fox News Digital took a look back at the top moments of the debate, including Bass confronting top issues such as the Palisades fires that tore through Southern California in 2025.  

CALIFORNIA MAYOR WANTS TO GIVE HOMELESS PEOPLE ‘ALL THE FENTANYL THEY WANT’: ‘NEED TO PURGE THESE PEOPLE’

“First off, Inside Safe, I like to say Inside Safe makes all of us outside, unsafe,” Pratt said near the midpoint of the debate.

Inside Safe is a municipal program spearheaded by Bass intended to take people out of homeless encampments and bring them into temporary or permanent indoor housing. A city report found that it spent $300 million on the project, which assisted roughly 6,000 people, 40% of whom have since ended up back on the streets.

“The reality is, no matter how many beds you give these people, they are on super meth,” Pratt continued. “They are on fentanyl. The DEA statistic says 93% of this is a drug addiction problem. I will go below the Harbor Freeway tomorrow with [Raman] and we can find some of these people she’s going to offer treatment for. She’s going to get stabbed in the neck.”

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Near the end of the debate, moderator Enrique Chiabra asked the three candidates a straightforward question.

“I want to ask you all three if this is a yes or no question and answer,” Chiabra said. “So there’s an LA council member. He wants voters to decide. He is saying that non-citizens, should they be allowed to vote in local elections. Is this a yes or no, Mr. Pratt?”

LA MAYOR BASS PROVIDES CASH PAYMENTS TO ILLEGALS, ISSUES ORDER TO THWART IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT

Pratt answered in a single word: “No.”

Bass gave a longer answer, differentiating between green card holders and illegal immigrants, pointing out that some cities allow the former category to vote in local elections.

Raman, meanwhile, gave an answer that a Los Angeles Times columnist described as “tongue-tied.”

“Yeah, I would say again, it does depend in other places, school boards have non-citizens, non-citizens who are residents who vote for these,” she began to say, before a moderator cut her off.

Early in the debate, Pratt took a jab at Bass over her handling of the January 2025 Pacific Palisades fires.

“To the mayor, Karen Bass, the thousand firefighters that were available, but there [were] no engines for them because of the $17 million that Chief Crowley had asked the mayor for nine weeks before, and Mayor Karen Bass denied it,” Pratt said. “Not to mention Janisse Quinones, who Mayor Karen Bass put into a position of power at the LA DWP. She drained both of these reservoirs that these firefighters needed to put out these fires.”

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Pratt called Bass’ conduct in the lead-up to the fires “the most dangerous thing that the mayor put us up against.”

Raman, who has been struggling to break through in the polls, accused Bass and Pratt during the debate of working together to block her out of the general election.

“You’re going to watch today as Mayor Bass and Spencer Pratt attack me because they want to run against each other in the general election,” Raman said, directly addressing debate viewers. 

“First off, Mayor Bass and I are definitely not working together,” Pratt responded. “I blame this person for burning my house and my parents house and my town and all my neighbors down.”

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He went on to point out that Bass’ strong relationship with labor unions and her status as incumbent mayor made her a stronger opponent than Raman, in his view.

Pratt concluded his statement by dismissing Raman as a “random council member.”

As the debate shifted to public safety, Pratt took an opportunity to slam Raman for historically advocating for decreased police funding.

“Councilwoman Raman keeps saying that the police department is over funded public safety – should be our number one priority,” he said. “And we’re going to find all this money when we stop her useless open bed plans. That actually doesn’t put drug addicts in these housing, that we’re spending billions of dollars, and we’re going to actually start checking where this money is going.”

Pratt proposed providing more resources to the Los Angeles Police Department to ultimately build the force to 12,500 officers.

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NFL announces that inaugural Thanksgiving Eve game between Packers and Rams will be streamed on Netflix

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The National Football League has found yet another day to take over.

The NFL announced on Wednesday its inaugural Thanksgiving Eve game will be played this year between the Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Rams, on Netflix.

A few years ago, the NFL realized that Black Friday could be an option for fans to gather around their televisions, and it found another as hometown bars will be packed the night before the big holiday.

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The NFL has dipped its toe into holidays, also becoming the new king of Christmas.

The Packers and Rams played each other each season from 2020 to 2024 (the 2020 campaign bout was during the playoffs) but did not face off in 2025.

The Packers have walloped the Rams in recent memory, winning 16 of their last 21 meetings dating back to 1992, including 10 of their last 11.

AN NFL GAME THE NIGHT BEFORE THANKSGIVING IS OFFICIALLY ‘TOO MUCH FOOTBALL’

Oddly enough, before their 2024 bout, each of their prior four meetings was in Green Bay, but this will now mark back-to-back contests in Los Angeles.

The last time the two teams met, back on Oct. 6, 2024, Tucker Kraft had two touchdowns for the Packers, including one that went for 66 yards.

The Rams tried their best at a fourth-quarter comeback, but Green Bay came away with a 24-19 victory on the road.

The game will be broadcast on Netflix, with the streaming service also broadcasting the Rams’ Week 1 game against the San Francisco 49ers in Australia, two Christmas games and a Week 18 Saturday game.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

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Spencer Pratt fires back at critics over luxe Hotel Bel-Air stay as LA mayoral run heats up

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Spencer Pratt escalated his war of words with critics this week, alleging safety threats forced him into a high-end hotel stay.

Pratt fired back Wednesday as scrutiny over his living situation intensified following reports he was not living in an Airstream trailer parked on the lot of his former California home. The former “Hills” star acknowledged he is not actively staying in the trailer, despite suggesting he was in a recent mayoral campaign ad.

“Hey guys, why don’t they wanna talk about why I need a hotel in the first place?” Pratt wrote on X. “Karen Bass let my home burn down. Also 6,000 of my neighbors. NBD.”

“Funny how they never attack my policy ideas,” the reality TV star added in a separate post. “They can only try to assassinate your character. They don’t wanna talk about my debate masterclass a week ago, they wanna talk about a reality show from a lifetime ago.”

SPENCER PRATT’S LA MAYORAL CAMPAIGN VIDEO DRAWS JOHN WICK COMPARISONS AS FANS RALLY BEHIND HIM

“That’s because they want the continued decline of the city,” Pratt continued. “They are locked in an ideological death spiral and can’t shake it. Come at my policies or go sit back down on the back bench. I’m in the arena, son.”

Pratt has been staying at the Hotel Bel-Air for the past month while his wife and kids have been staying in Carpinteria, Calif., sources told TMZ.

The 42-year-old told the outlet the Airstream had become unsafe as he campaigns to be Los Angeles’ next mayor, claiming the hotel’s “armed security” made it “the only option.”

SPENCER PRATT ANNOUNCES LA MAYOR RUN ON ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF PALISADES FIRE THAT DESTROYED HIS HOME

“The reality is the Ba–holes and Ramaniacs are a little bit whacko, and since I destroyed them in the debate, and am surging in the polls, they are getting increasingly desperate and hostile,” he explained.

“I can’t talk about specific threats, but that lot is … unsafe now,” Pratt added.

Fox News Digital reached out to a representative for Pratt.

Pratt took aim at the media back in April as he accused the Los Angeles Times of harassing his family and trying to expose where his children live as his campaign gains traction in the polls. According to Pratt, a journalist had reached out to his wife, sister, mother and even a restaurant he frequents to track down details about his family.

“Creepy LA Times ‘journalist’ has been phone-stalking & harassing my sister, my wife, my MOM, and even my favorite burrito restaurant trying to dox where my kids sleep and go to school, all because I pulled ahead of Nithya Raman in the polls, and she sent her lapdog to do her dirty work,” Pratt wrote on X.

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“That’s what they call ‘journalism’ at the LA Times, folks!” he added. “They’re scared of our campaign. We’re gonna take back our city, and they know they can’t stop us.”

A Los Angeles Times spokesperson told Fox News Digital: “The Times learned that Mr. Pratt was living in Carpinteria, and contacted him and those around him for comment. We stand by our story and the reporting of our journalists.”

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Pratt, who lost his home in the deadly 2025 Palisades wildfire, announced he was running for mayor on Jan. 7.

Pratt told the crowd at a fire anniversary event that “this just isn’t a campaign, this is a mission. And we are going to expose the system.” The event, called “They Let Us Burn!,” was a rally critical of state and local government’s handling of the Jan. 7 wildfire that killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes.

In the aftermath of the fire, Pratt emerged as an outspoken critic of Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, both Democrats, and said they failed to prevent the blaze. He has since sued the city of Los Angeles. The complaint blames Los Angeles and its municipal water department for the water issues that hampered firefighting efforts and says it ultimately led to the damage to their properties.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Reported hantavirus protocol breach at hospital forces 12 employees into 6-week quarantine

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A Dutch hospital has quarantined a dozen staff members following reports of a protocol breach involving a patient infected with hantavirus, hospital officials said Monday.

The breach occurred last week at Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen, Netherlands, after the facility admitted a patient tied to a rare and deadly hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius luxury cruise ship.

The hospital said the patient’s blood and urine were not processed and disposed of using the strictest international protocols required for handling the specific hantavirus strain.

“Because of these circumstances, 12 employees will go in preventive quarantine for six weeks as a precaution, despite the fact that the chance of infection is small,” the hospital said.

RARE HANTAVIRUS HUMAN-TO-HUMAN TRANSMISSION SUSPECTED ON LUXURY CRUISE SHIP WHERE 3 HAVE DIED

According to the hospital, when the patient was admitted on May 7, their blood was processed according to standard procedures but should have been handled under stricter protocols required for the nature of the virus.

Staff also realized on Saturday that the most up-to-date international regulations for disposing of a hantavirus patient’s urine had not been followed. Instead, they had adhered to what was considered standard procedure.

Dutch Health Minister Sophie Hermans addressed the incident in Parliament on Tuesday, reassuring officials that the protocols that were followed were still considered strict.

“At Radboud Hospital in Nijmegen, strict procedures have been followed, but not the strictest procedures applicable in the case of this hantavirus,” she said.

Hospital executives said they regretted what happened in a statement Monday, adding that they remain committed to providing care for any new hantavirus patients who may arrive.

CRUISE SHIP LINKED TO DEADLY HANTAVIRUS OUTBREAK ARRIVES OFF TENERIFE AS PASSENGER EVACUATION BEGINS

“Despite the fact that the chance of actual infection is very small, these measures have a major impact on all those involved. We regret that this happened in our [university medical center]. We will carefully investigate the course of events to learn from this so that it can be prevented in the future,” Bertine Lahuis, chair of the hospital’s executive board, said.

“Of course, we will ensure that the colleagues involved receive all the support they need. We have great appreciation for their commitment, and that of their colleagues, to ensure that care for the patient runs smoothly. In the meantime, our [university medical center] stands ready to admit any new patients should this be necessary.”

The announcement marks a backtracking from earlier hospital statements during the patient’s admission that “appropriate isolation measures have been taken to prevent the spread of the virus, in accordance with internationally agreed protocols.”

As of May 13, there have been 11 hantavirus cases — up from eight reported on May 8 — and three deaths, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

THE EVERYDAY PLACES AMERICANS COULD BE EXPOSED TO HANTAVIRUS — WITHOUT KNOWING IT

The agency reported that two of the most recent cases have been confirmed and are from Spain and France. The French patient became symptomatic during repatriation, while the Spanish patient tested positive following repatriation and remains asymptomatic.

A third case returned inconclusive results, with the patient initially testing positive and later negative.

In total, eight cases are confirmed, two are probable and one is inconclusive. The three deaths also include two confirmed cases and one probable case.

Health officials say the virus can be deadly but poses a low risk to the public. Contact tracing for all individuals linked to the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship remains ongoing.

In the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday added that it has deployed a team to the Canary Islands, where passengers disembarked, to provide onsite healthcare, including speaking with each American passenger at risk of potential exposure.

The CDC said it will not release exactly how many passengers are currently being monitored.

The outbreak began when a Dutch cruise ship carrying 147 passengers and crew departed Argentina on April 1 for a South Atlantic voyage. It is believed the initial infection was contracted by a passenger who may have been exposed to rodents during regional birdwatching activities prior to boarding, according to the WHO.

Following multiple infection reports, the ship docked in Spain’s Canary Islands on May 10, where the remaining passengers and most of the crew were evacuated under quarantine protocols.

Passengers have been repatriated to their home countries for a recommended 42-day isolation period.

The ship, along with a skeleton crew of 25 and two medical professionals, then sailed to Rotterdam, Netherlands, The Associated Press reported.

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