Free Republic

Planned Parenthood is the nation’s largest abortion provider and a powerful multi-million-dollar political machine. Hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer funding go for its non-profit “family planning services.” In truth, however, that facilitates Planned Parenthood’s political activities, underwritten by private donations, in support of politicians who keep the federal funding flowing. Fortunately for the pro-life side, the Susan B. Anthony List has reached parity in political fundraising and organizational operations on the ground. Of course, it gets no tax dollars. And the Trump administration has been a great restrictor of the abortion giant with executive guidelines. Recently, the Trump...

“Justice” for Whom? Left-leaning urban prosecutors are working to undo the successes of the crime-fighting revolution. Rafael A. Mangual March 20, 2019 New York Politics and law Public safety A leftward shift among urban prosecutors has become a race to the bottom. In Boston, Rachael Rollins campaigned on ending prosecutions for “minor” offenses, such as petty larceny. In Manhattan, Cy Vance promised to stop prosecuting marijuana possession and fare evasion. Chicago’s Kim Foxx, who recused herself from disgraced actor Jussie Smollett’s prosecution, has gone all-in on “restorative justice.” Philadelphia D.A. Larry Krasner wants to reduce sentences for even the most...

Five Democratic presidential candidates say they will not attend this year's American Israel Public Affairs Committee policy conference. The announcements come a day after progressive advocacy group MoveOn urged candidates to skip the conference, which is widely attended by lawmakers in both political parties. Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Kamala Harris of California will not be attending, according to reports. Neither will independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is Jewish, nor former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro.

The wacko pro-Trump QAnon conspiracy theory has some friends in high places in South Carolina, where State Rep. Lin Bennett (R) has been posting on Facebook about her belief in QAnon. QAnon is a kind of mega-Pizzagate, premised on anonymous internet posting that that claim that Trump is about to arrest top Democrats and either ship them off to Guantanamo Bay or just have them executed. QAnon has been linked to several violent incidents, including a Seattle stabbing and, incredibly, the recent murder of a mafia boss. Bennett is arguably the highest ranking politician to promote QAnon so far.

RUSH: “TheHill.com: Ukrainian Prosecutor Investigating Alleged Plot To Aid Hillary Clinton.” This story you will not see in the Drive-By Media. There are two versions of this, one by Sara Carter and the other is by John Solomon. “Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko said he opened an investigation into alleged attempts by Ukrainians to interfere in the United States’ 2016 presidential election on behalf of Hillary Clinton.” Would this not be the piece de — there wasn’t any Russian collusion with Trump. What if there actually was Ukrainian collusion with Hillary? And it makes sense because the Ukrainians hate Putin!...

Mississippi’s Republican governor signed one of America’s strictest abortion bills on Thursday banning women from obtaining an abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can often occur before a woman even realizes she is pregnant. Dubbed the ‘heartbeat bill,’ this is the second legislative attempt in less than a year aimed at restricting abortions in a state with a single abortion clinic. In a tweet earlier this week, Governor Phil Bryant thanked the state’s legislature for “protecting the unborn” by passing the bill and sending it to him for his signature.

SACRAMENTO — With at least three current and former students under investigation for allegedly obtaining entry to a University of California campus through fraud, the system’s top academic official would not commit Tuesday to expelling or rescinding the degrees of anyone who participated in a far-reaching college admissions scam. “No one has a good taste in their mouth about that kind of situation,” Michael Brown, UC provost and executive vice president of academic affairs, told state lawmakers during a committee hearing on university funding. Federal prosecutors alleged last week that two students were admitted to UCLA through bribes paid to...

CIUDAD JUÃREZ – They all know their number by heart and eagerly recite it when asked about where they are on the list of people waiting to make an asylum claim at an official port of entry. “It’s 7971,” said Jessiel O’Farrill, 33, a Cuban migrant. “They’ll call us on the day our number appears,” O’Farrill explained, referring to U.S. authorities. “They only take about 30 to 50 a day,” he said. O’Farrill is waiting in a school gym converted into a makeshift shelter in central Juárez with his 2-year old daughter. His pregnant wife was hospitalized in Ciudad Juárez...

President Trump on Thursday signed an executive order to promote free speech on college campuses by threatening colleges with the loss of federal research funding if they do not protect those rights. "We’re here to take historic action to defend American students and American values," Trump said, surrounded by conservative student activists at the signing ceremony. "They’ve been under siege." "Under the guise of speech codes, safe spaces and trigger warnings, these universities have tried to restrict free thought, impose total conformity and shut down the voices of great young Americans like those here today," he said. A senior administration...

SANTA FE — Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver on Thursday rejected a petition aimed at repealing New Mexico’s new background checks law for gun sales. The petition, filed by Republican lawmakers in the state House, sought to put the legislation before voters through a rarely used referendum process. No law has been repealed by referendum in New Mexico since 1930, according to legislative staff. Toulouse Oliver, a Democrat, said Thursday that the state Constitution prohibits petitions for the repeal of “laws providing for the preservation of the public peace, health, and safety” — a finding that’s been repeatedly upheld...

Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke joined the chorus of Democrats and Republicans criticizing President Donald Trump for his renewed attacks on the late Republican Arizona Sen. John McCain. Trump has sharply criticized McCain in recent days for his decision to turn over the unverified Steele dossier to the FBI in 2016 — as well as his decisive vote against a bill to repeal Obamacare in 2017. Trump said of the Senate icon, “I was never a fan of John McCain and I never will be.”

Acting Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt ordered Thursday that federal land managers consider public access when selling or trading public land. “This order will help ensure that the Bureau of Land Management considers public access to public lands,” Bernhardt said in a statement. “It requires that before the BLM exchanges or disposes of any land, they must first consider what impact the disposal or exchange of land will have on public access. The Trump Administration will continue to prioritize access so that people can hunt, fish, camp, and recreate on our public lands," he said. This order will address...

TD Bank was criticized for this ad in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood, which locals on social media say slighted Dorchester. Reilly Hay TD Bank was criticized for this ad in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood, which locals on social media say slighted Dorchester. TD Bank apologized Thursday for posting an advertisement that some said reinforced negative stereotypes about Dorchester, the city’s largest, most racially diverse neighborhood. The ad states, “When you’re downtown, but your debit card’s somewhere in Dorchester," a neighborhood with a higher minority population and lower median household income than the rest of Boston. Local Twitter users who saw...

President Trump’s joke about Michael Dukakis tanked with the former Democratic presidential nominee. Dukakis, who ran against George H.W. Bush, wasn’t happy about Trump mocking him for donning a helmet and riding in a tank during the 1988 campaign. “I want to get into them but then I remember when a man named Dukakis got into a tank,” Trump said to laughter Wednesday during a visit to a tank factory in Lima, Ohio. “The helmet was bigger than he was. That was not good.”

In February, Bonnie VanDeraa approached the finish line of the Sweetheart 5K in Tulsa, Oklahoma. With a determined look in her eye, and loads of cheers from the crowd, she focused on putting one foot in front of the other. This race was a major milestone for her; it was the first she’d complete without the aid of a walker in more than a year. At that point, VanDeraa had been running for a little more than five years, starting after she signed up for that same race back in 2014 with a coworker. Following that, she completed a bunch...

Authorities arrested a California man Tuesday for allegedly setting up phony PACs and websites to raise money for Democrats. Prosecutors charged John Pierre Dupont, 80, with wire fraud and identity theft, NBC News reported. He allegedly used $250,000 raised to pay personal expenses, including the purchase of a Mercedes-Benz.

Judge Jeanine Pirro's Saturday night Fox News show will not appear as scheduled for a second straight week, according to the network's online programming calendar. Instead of Justice w/ Judge Jeanine, Fox News will air Scandalous: The Trial of William Kennedy Smith at 9 p.m. on the East Coast, the same show that aired on Saturday, March 16.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's (D-N.Y.) staff has reportedly been trained on performing risk assessments due to the amount of death threats the congresswoman has received. Aides to Ocasio-Cortez told Time magazine that U.S. Capitol Police trained them how to vet visitors after multiple people threatened to kill the first-term lawmaker. Staffers say they are now tense whenever they hear a knock on the door of her Capitol Hill office, according to Time.

Keeping apples or avocados from browning after being cut is impossible; within minutes of being exposed to air, these fruits (yes, avocado is a fruit) begin to brown. No matter what you try—adding lemon juice, keeping the pits in place, immediately sealing the produce in an airtight bag—brown discoloration always occurs. However, air is not the only reason that foods like apples, avocados, and lettuce brown: it's also due to the knife you're using. Why Does Browning Occur? Apples and other produce contain both polyphenol oxidase (PPO), an enzyme, and polyphenols, a chemical. Normally, these two are separated and do...

An 88-year-old Tennessee woman has been mauled to death by six German shepherds, with the authorities considering criminal charges against the dogs’ owner. Jill Peterson was viciously attacked by the dogs on Tuesday night behind her own home while clearing a drainage ditch. ‘EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMAL’ MAULS 5-YEAR-OLD AT PORTLAND AIRPORT, LAWSUIT CLAIMS “They dragged her down the yard and all of her clothes were off, her shoes, everything. They tore all of her hair out, the casket can’t be open, it’s like a nightmare. It’s hard to believe,” sister Nina Brown told News Channel 5. She tried to get...