Free Republic

Key takeaways * Eliminating property taxes could raise Florida home values by 7–9%, benefiting current homeowners but making it harder for first-time buyers. * Experts warn the state may need to increase sales tax or cut services to offset lost property tax revenue, raising questions about who ultimately pays. * The plan requires a constitutional amendment and faces skepticism; a recession could trigger housing oversupply, potentially crashing prices and straining the state budget.

Key Points: The national median rent for apartments fell 1% in November from October, and now stands at $1,367, according to Apartment List. The national multifamily vacancy rate was 7.2% in November, a record high. The historic surge in multifamily construction over the past few years is now pulling back, but a good supply of new units is still coming online at a time of much weaker demand. A slew of new supply is still making its way through the multifamily housing market. That, coupled with weakening demand, especially from the youngest workers, is pushing vacancies up and rents down....

Alleged gunman Luigi Mangione will be back in court Tuesday for a second day of testimony as the judge overseeing his state murder case weighs whether to throw out key evidence. On Monday, Judge Gregory Carro heard a 911 call a McDonald’s employee in Altoona, Pennsylvania, made telling the dispatcher some customers were concerned the alleged killer of United Healthcare Chief Executive Brian Thompson, who was fatally shot in Midtown Manhattan, was in the restaurant. Two corrections officers who work at SCI Huntingdon, the state prison where Mangione was held until he was extradited to New York to face charges,...

The last time gasoline was this cheap, 4% inflation seemed alarming, JD Vance was still a private citizen and the United States had only just begun its messy withdrawal from Afghanistan. Gas prices dropped below an average of $3 a gallon in the United States on Tuesday for the first time in four-and-a-half years, according to AAA. The milestone represents a rare feel-good story in a years-long affordability crisis marked by high prices for necessities. The national average for regular gas dipped to $2.998 a gallon, compared with $3.001 on Monday. Pump prices are down about six cents in just...

The Boy Scouts of America taught me valuable lessons about tying knots, lighting fires, and what it means to be a man, but I’m glad to see the Department of War reconsidering its historic partnership with the Scouts. Founded in 1910, the Boy Scouts of America taught young men wilderness survival skills, fostered friendship, and trained boys to become citizens and leaders. In order to attain the rank of Eagle Scout, a young man must not just demonstrate mastery of many skills but also plan his own project, leading others. For these and other reasons, the military awards an automatic...

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - Wisconsin Republicans are circulating a bill that would require doctors prescribing at-home abortion pills to also give their patients catch kits, medical waste bags and instructions on how to return the medical waste afterwards. “Anytime we’re pushing back against the abortion industry, there’s gonna be pushback,” State Rep. Lindee Brill, R-Sheboygan Falls, one of the bill’s sponsors, said. Brill said she’s worried at-home abortion pills are contaminating Wisconsin’s waterways. The proposal is part of a nationwide push by Students for Life Action to promote the Clean Water for All Life Act, including in Wisconsin. “There’s two...

Today the NY Times has published the story of a trans woman named Jennifer Capasso. Capasso, who lives in New York, was diagnosed with multiple tumors which had spread throughout to various organs. Capasso was still getting medical treatment, including surgeries to remove the tumors, at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan. In March 2022, Capasso set her phone to record what the doctors were saying during the operation.“I wanted to know what’s going on,” she recounted. She turned on the audio recorder on her phone before the anesthesia hit. “Knowledge is power.”The surgeon removed part of her lung....

The United Kingdom needs to be turned off and rebooted. No, I take that back. It needs a whole new operating system. The current one has become infected with a virus that has scrambled everything, and there is no way to set things right. In the opposite world view this is totally fine. pic.twitter.com/v5CahE52GL— Rich Stewart 🔰 (@richdstew) November 29, 2025If you think this story is bonkers, it really is only the tip of the iceberg. An IT consultant was arrested by police in Britain after he posted a picture online of himself posing with a gun in the US....

Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy declared on Monday that the "days of a 'Wild Wild West' trucking industry are over" amid the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal alien drivers. In a post on X, Duffy responded to an Associated Press report that read, "BREAKING: Nearly 44% of U.S. truck driving schools could close after a federal review found many may be out of compliance with government rules." BREAKING: Nearly 44% of U.S. truck driving schools could close after a federal review found many may be out of compliance with government rules. https://t.co/VLHKQDT07u— The Associated Press (@AP) December 1, 2025READ MORE:...

Americans have always prided themselves on being the "melting pot" of the world. It used to be that there was nowhere else on the planet that people wanted to immigrate to more. That melting pot has created a culture that is second to none. The food, music, and many customs from people around the world have blended to create an American culture that is beautiful in so many ways. But in the post 9/11 era, it's safe to say that some practices from other parts of the world are not welcome and are simply incompatible with Western and, more specifically,...

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is reportedly considering pursuing new indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) after a federal judge dismissed their prior charges in November.Comey had been indicted in late September for making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional investigation. James was indicted in early October for bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution. Both pleaded not guilty.Judge Cameron McGowan Currie, as RedState reported last week, dismissed both cases while ruling that the interim U.S. Attorney who brought the charges, Lindsey Halligan, was unconstitutionally appointed.The...

~The FReeper Canteen Presents~ Road Trip: Hanscom Air Force Base, MassachusettsHanscom Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force base located predominantly within Bedford, Massachusetts, with portions extending into the adjoining towns of Lincoln, Concord and Lexington. The facility is adjacent to Hanscom Field which provides general aviation and charter service. Hanscom AFB is the part of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, one of six centers under Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC)The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center is the single center responsible for total life cycle management of Air Force weapon systems and is...

Donald Trump's latest power play may be derailed by a member of his own political party in a vote planned to take place over 500 miles away from Washington, DC. Indiana State Senator Michael Bohacek, a Republican from the Hoosier State, has pledged to vote against a draft congressional map that would see two Democratic seats eliminated because of the president's inflammatory rhetoric. The proposed map comes as part of a redistricting effort aimed at keeping a GOP majority in Washington, DC, after the 2026 midterm elections. As midterm elections typically result in the president's political party losing seats, Trump...

"I know a different guy," said the actor, who was pals with the politician before he became president.Josh Brolin says he once considered Donald Trump a pal and that he was "a different guy" before he became president. The Dune actor befriended Trump around the time they shot Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, from which the Apprentice star was cut. "There is no greater genius than him in marketing," Brolin said. Josh Brolin is reflecting on his relationship with Donald Trump before the business mogul moved to the White House. The No Country for Old Men star befriended the U.S....

The founder of a Swiss assisted suicide clinic has ended his own life just days before his 93rd birthday. Ludwig Minelli, who was at the helm of the Dignitas right-to-die organization for nearly two decades, died on Saturday from “voluntary assisted dying,” the group said. Minelli — described by the non-profit as a “pioneer and warrior” — would have celebrated his birthday this Friday. No other details about Minelli’s death were immediately available, including where he died. The journalist-turned-human rights lawyer had founded Dignitas back in 1998 to help people end their lives on their own terms. In a tribute,...

There's conspiracy theories, and then theres Patrick Soon-Shiong, the surgeon who owns the LA Times, talking about how he's now seeing spike proteins "from COVID" in the aggressive tumors of his patients. A billionaire oncologist just went on national television and said the words millions have been waiting to hear publicly.Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong – the surgeon who invented the nanoparticle chemotherapy Abraxane, sold companies for billions, and now owns the LA Times – appeared… pic.twitter.com/ZWA960vha9— Camus (@newstart_2024) November 30, 2025Chris Cuomo: 'When you look in tumors what are you seeing? Dr. Soon-Shiong: 'There's now evidence that when you actually biopsy...

... KEY FACTS Since calling the strike on November 13, the company’s highly trafficked “Red Cup Day” when it gives away free reusable coffee cups to customers, Starbucks Workers United reports new stores have been added to its strike list each passing week, now totaling 120 stores. SWU claims that baristas in 550 unionized stores are prepared to continue escalating the strike until Starbucks delivers a fair union contract and resolves hundreds of unfair labor practices charges. Since the strike began, Starbucks has disputed the number of stores impacted, claiming many stores on the strike list never closed and others...

Food stamps were first issued in 1939 as an assistance program to prevent starvation during the Great Depression. But 86 years later, thousands of liquor stores and smoke shops have become approved retailers, increasing the possibility of fraud, new research shows. The longest ever government shutdown, which ended after 43 days of deadlock, thrust the federal food stamp program into the national spotlight as millions of recipients went without benefits. But, it also laid bare many abuses in the system. Even before the shutdown, the Trump administration planned to crack down on fraud in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)...

A man has been jailed for possessing and distributing extreme right-wing music and material.Norbert Gyurcsik, from Kestrel Road, Hereford, was arrested in May last year over albums in which lyrics breached terrorism legislation and intended to incite racial hatred.

President Donald Trump suggested that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) should be removed from the United States, referencing allegations that she “supposedly” entered the country by marrying her brother. “Somalia, where you have a Congressman goes around telling everybody about our Constitution, yet she supposedly came into our country by marrying her brother,” Trump said while speaking to reporters on Air Force One. “Well, if that’s true, she shouldn’t be a Congressman, and we should throw her the hell out of our country.” While talking to reporters, Trump also stated that the U.S. doesn’t need people coming into the country, “telling...