Free Republic

The interest burden of the public debt of the U.S. government has topped $1 trillion already this year, the first time interest costs have crossed the trillion dollar threshold. In the first 11 months of the fiscal year, interest payments totaled $1.05 trillion, up 30 percent from a year ago, the Treasury Department said Thursday. This is the first time interest payments have ever climbed about $1 trillion. Despite claims by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to have addressed the U.S. budget deficit, the deficit is up 24 percent in the first 11 months of this fiscal...

Vice President Kamala Harris will purportedly sit for an interview this week as part of her campaign’s ramped-up strategy heading into the post-Labor Day push, Axios reported Monday. Harris has not held an unscripted press conference or unscripted sit-down interview about policy solutions for 36 days since joining the presidential race. The media have not interviewed Harris on television since June 24, 2024, and the last time the press reportedly questioned her at a solo news conference was eight months ago, on December 2, 2023. Harris might be avoiding the media for two reasons. First, the Harris campaign might be...

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said on Friday that the foreign policy vision that former President Donald Trump and Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), Trump’s running mate, espouse is “nonsense.” McConnell has long tried to eliminate the “isolationist” wing’s increasing influence over the Republican Party. Although he did not directly reference Trump or Vance, McConnell called the “America First” foreign policy doctrine “nonsense.” “I mean, even the slogans are what they were in the 30s — ‘America First,'” McConnell added. Despite McConnell’s strong support for Ukraine’s protracted war, he admitted in an interview in July that he is not sure...

Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that President Joe Biden needs to consult with people outside his inner circle to consider what is right for the country because Democrats must “beat that S.O.B.” Schiff said, “Ultimately, this is a decision President Biden will have to make and President Biden alone.” He continued, “The performance on the debate stage, I think, rightfully raised questions among the American people about whether the president has the vigor to defeat Donald Trump. This is an existential race given Joe Biden’s incredible record, given Donald Trump’s terrible record, he should...

The pattern for the northeastern United States will be a 'tale of two weeks' as low humidity and cool to seasonable air much of this week are replaced with surging heat this weekend and the first heat wave of the season for millions next week, AccuWeather meteorologists say. Opportunities for rain will be limited, a switch from much of the spring. The upcoming weather will provide some great conditions for summertime activity beginning late this week and continuing through much of next week. For some individuals without air conditioning, though, the upcoming building heat may become a problem. A dip...

On May 11, 2018, over six years ago, the National Rifle Association (NRA) filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging the Government of New York violated the organization’s First Amendment rights by coercing third parties, particularly insurance companies and banks, to cease to do business with the NRA. The government officials explicitly stated their dislike of the advocacy of the NRA to promote gun ownership and the Second Amendment. The opinion was issued on May 30, 2024. The ruling was expected, as explained in a previous AmmoLand article. The case was relatively clear. Government officials Andrew Cuomo (Governor) and Maria...

Chinese bosses have apologised after a hiker found a secret waterpipe which fuels the country’s tallest waterfall. A video shows a water main attached to the top of Yuntai Mountain Waterfall - China's tallest uninterrupted waterfall.

In a landmark election, Claudia Sheinbaum became the first woman, and the first Jewish person, to be elected president of Mexico. This year’s election is considered the largest in Mexico’s history, with the highest number of voters casting ballots for the presidency and more than 20,000 local, state and congressional posts. This page shows preliminary results provided in real time on election night. The vote counts that determine the final result will take place from June 5 to June 8. Claudia Sheinbaum A scientist and former mayor of Mexico City who has pledged to continue President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's...

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said he laughs at the term “America first,” an increasingly common phrase heard in the Republican Party regarding U.S. foreign policy that he finds “disorienting.” Romney said during an interview with MSNBC’s “The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle” earlier this week that growing isolationism in the GOP is “unimaginable” considering its past leaders, like former Presidents Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, as well as former Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). Romney argued the term, popularized by former President Trump, “flows” in from talk radio and TV, where “outrageous” things are embraced by the party’s...

The Dow Jones Industrial Average eclipsed 40,000 points for the first time in its history Thursday as Wall Street cheered slowing inflation and potential for lower interest rates. The iconic stock index was up roughly 111 points shortly before 11 a.m. Thursday, reaching about 40,020 points. The Dow was created in 1895 and includes the 30 most prominent U.S. companies as determined by S&P Dow Jones Indicies. The Dow is up 6 percent since the start of 2024 as investors eagerly await Federal Reserve rate cuts, which could add more fuel to the stock market. While the Fed has held...

"So my biggest concern is that your view has the First Amendment hamstringing the government in significant ways in the most important time periods."-Ketanji Brown Jackson

Elon Musk said that the first human patient has received a brain implant from his startup Neuralink. In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Musk reported that the patient is recovering well, and the initial results of the Neuralink brain implant procedure are promising. Neuralink's brain implant is designed to assist individuals with traumatic injuries in operating computers using their thoughts. In May, the company announced FDA approval for its first human trials. Last year, Neuralink began recruiting patients with quadriplegia due to cervical spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) for the trial. On X, Musk...

The Republican Party should run on the Bill of Rights, and how many have been violated by the Democrats and the Biden administration.

Melania Trump is poised to be among a group of all the living former first ladies — including Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush — to attend a tribute service this week honoring Rosalynn Carter. The ex-model and wife of former President Trump was on a list of expected guests released Monday by the Carter Center. Carter, who marked her 77th wedding anniversary with former President Carter in July, died last week at 96. In addition to the former first ladies, President Biden, first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff are all slated to...

Former Obama adviser David Axelrod brushed aside reporting that President Biden used colorful language to complain about his recent commentary about Biden’s reelection chances and political future. Politico’s Jonathan Martin, who has covered Biden for years, reported Monday that Biden referred to him as a “--‑‑‑” following Axelrod’s recent comments, citing a person who has heard Biden use the word on occasion in private. Axelrod, who is now a CNN contributor and political analyst, was asked about Martin’s reporting during an appearance on the network Monday.

Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD) said Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press” that the argument that former President Donald Trump did not break laws and was only expressing his First Amendment rights in the days after the 2020 election is a “deranged argument.” Discussing the January 6 indictment, Raskin said, “A technical violation of the Constitution is a violation of the Constitution. The Constitution in six different places opposes insurrection and makes that a grievous constitutional event. Our constitution is designed to stop people from trying to overthrow elections and trying to overthrow the government, but in any event, there’s a...

Johannesburg, South Africa was treated to a rare dusting of snow this week – the city’s first in more than 10 years. The unexpected winter wonderland was part of a patch of snow that covered various provinces through the weekend into Monday, South Africa’s Times newspaper reported. Photos from around the city show delighted residents gallivanting among the snowflakes, which last coated the area in August 2012. “Eleven years down the line, it’s exciting that we have snow,” local Jennifer Banda said. Others on social media referred to the weather as “pure magic,” The Guardian reported.

Former New Jersey governor and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie echoed House Republican calls for a new attorney general, after allegations of interference by Attorney General Merrick Garland into a federal investigation into Hunter Biden. “I’m concerned about the entire Delaware investigation. I think it took too long and produced too little. And I think it’s one of the reasons, one of the reasons we need a new attorney general,” Christie told Just the News at the Faith and Freedom Coalition Conference on Friday.

Former Trump economic adviser Gary Cohn on Sunday said the anticipated sale of First Republic bank will be a “much faster process” than occurred in the case of Silicon Valley Bank. “What will most likely happen is the FDIC will seize control and then simultaneously resell the asset to the successful bidder. I think that will happen sometime later this afternoon before the markets open in Asia this evening,” Cohn said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

Legislation meant to control the migration crisis at the US-Mexico border will be first on the agenda if Republicans win back the House of Representatives this week, GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy said Monday. ​​“The first thing you’ll see is a bill to control the border first,” McCarthy (R-Calif.) told CNN in an interview. “You’ve got to get control over the border. You’ve had almost 2 million people just this year alone coming across.” President Biden has been criticized for rolling back many of the hardline immigration and border policies of former President Donald Trump upon taking office in January 2021....