Free Republic

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) is torching his own party as the federal shutdown threatens to cut off food assistance for millions — and he’s warning Democrats are playing a dangerous political game. The Pennsylvania Democrat blasted his colleagues Tuesday as officials from 25 states and Washington, D.C., sued President Donald Trump’s administration over the suspension of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funding. The USDA has refused to dip into a roughly $5 billion reserve to cover November benefits, saying “contingency funds are not legally available to cover regular benefits.” States that pay upfront won’t be reimbursed. Democrats and advocacy groups insist...

Republican senators on Tuesday railed against the administration’s plans to import more beef during a closed-door meeting with Vice President JD Vance.p> Officials said last week they would allow Argentina to ship four times as much beef to the US as it previously did at a lower tariff rate. Ranchers immediately panned the move, as did the lawmakers who represent them: Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., warned “this isn’t the way to do it.”Vance sought to “explain what the administration is thinking” in Tuesday’s meeting, one Republican senator in attendance told Semafor.“There were a number that really expressed …...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom invoked biblical teachings while criticizing Republican leadership and the Trump administration for the federal government shutdown’s impact on food assistance, arguing that Scripture commands care for the hungry and that Washington is failing that moral test. Speaking Tuesday in Sacramento alongside state Attorney General Rob Bonta and Health and Human Services Secretary Kim Johnson, Newsom cited teachings from Matthew, Isaiah, Luke and Proverbs as evidence that feeding the poor is "core and central to what it is to align to God’s will." "It’s not a suggestion in the Old [and] the New Testament," Newsom said. "These...

R.C. and Annia Carter survey their ranch near Ten Sleep, Wyo., on Oct. 14, 2025. The Carters have practiced regenerative or holistic agricultural practices to cultivate their pastureland. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times ================================================================ TEN SLEEP, Wyo.—The alfalfa weevil, scourge of Western ranchers, appears when the frost melts, skeletonizing leaves and profits. There are ways to limit its damage—early harvest, livestock grazing, and intercropping alfalfa with grass—but most growers opt for insecticides. R.C. Carter, a third-generation rancher in Northern Wyoming, recalled a realization he had while using a 1.5-gallon container of concentrated pesticide to spray a 60-acre alfalfa pasture. “I was...

In an industry battered by debt and sagging prices, this year’s bounty is more bad news.FREDERICKSBURG, Iowa - Kyle Wendland stepped away from his engineering degree two decades ago to follow his father – not just into farming corn, but into a world of debt, grit, and stubborn faith he could wrest a living from Iowa’s soil. He calls his place Comeback Farms, after his family nearly lost the land in the 1980s farm crisis.This summer, with bills mounting and a farm economy in recession, he led a team through the sweltering Midwest, scouting fields and sizing up what President...

It turns out that more peanut exposure earlier on means fewer allergy cases later. Health experts suggested in years past that mothers with familial predispositions to developing allergies should avoid peanut consumption during pregnancy and breastfeeding and that parents should avoid giving their children peanut products and other common allergens before the age of 3. According to a National Institutes of Health-backed study published on Monday in the American Academy of Pediatrics' medical journal, Pediatrics, the strategy of avoidance appears to have been the wrong approach. Background After observing the prevalence of peanut allergy among children in Western countries double...

You can’t control happy people. So they keep you tired, anxious, and hungry. Fake meat, fake joy, fake freedom. ========================================================== Bill Gates didn’t build a better burger. He built a better leash. BRIEFING Jett here. Turns out Bill Gates’ fake beef doesn’t just taste like cardboard and misery, it’s actually making you depressed. Let’s get into it. A new study out of the U.K. just found that plant-based “meat” products, like the kind Gates has been pumping billions into, are linked to higher rates of depression. And no, not just some mild sadness. We’re talking serious neurological fallout from the...

There's probably a lot going on in your life that can be turning you into a ball of stress (guilty!). But what if all it took to help you unravel that stress ball was a little yarn, a favorite feel-good book, or a great cookie recipe? If you're looking for a low-cost, high-reward self-care treat, taking up a grandma-inspired hobby may be just what the doctor ordered to help you unwind after a busy or stressful day. And it turns out, knitting, baking, and other cozy pursuits can have plenty of benefits for you (beyond a cute scarf or a...

President Donald Trump’s administration intensified efforts on Wednesday to combat rising beef prices, calling on domestic cattle ranchers to lower prices for consumers while also releasing a multi-agency strategy to restock the nation’s depleted cattle herd. Beef prices in the United States have eclipsed record levels after a prolonged drought that has impacted grazing lands and elevated feed expenses, forcing ranchers to reduce herd sizes. The U.S. cattle inventory, currently at its lowest since 1951, has been shrinking amid import restrictions, including the suspension of Mexican cattle shipments due to pest concerns and tariffs constraining Brazilian supplies, all while consumer...

President Donald Trump rebuked cattle ranchers after they criticized his idea to import Argentinian beef, writing on Truth Social on Wednesday they “don’t understand” his policies—as the proposal has prompted criticism from Republican lawmakers in farm states while consumers face record-high beef prices.

More than 420 anti-science bills attacking longstanding public health protections – vaccines, milk safety and fluoride – have been introduced in statehouses across the U.S. this year, part of an organized, politically savvy campaign to enshrine a conspiracy theory-driven agenda into law.An Associated Press investigation found that the wave of legislation has cropped up in most states, pushed by people with close ties to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The effort would strip away protections that have been built over a century and are integral to American lives and society. Around 30 bills have been enacted...

A little-known microbe in your gut produces methane and may help your body extract more calories from food, according to a study led by Arizona State University. Deep inside your gut lives a vast community of microbes, and among them is one unusual resident that produces methane. This lesser-known methane-producing microbe may influence how efficiently your body absorbs calories from food, according to new research from Arizona State University. This community of microbes is collectively known as the microbiome. In some people, the gut microbiome generates large amounts of methane, while in others it produces very little. Researchers discovered that...

Researchers in Italy’s University of Padua detected plastic particles in nearly every dairy sample they tested, with the highest concentrations found in aged cheeses.-A recent study out of the University of Padua in Italy found microplastics in nearly all dairy products tested — including milk, fresh cheese, and ripened cheese. -The researchers found an average of 1,857 particles per kilogram in ripened cheese, 1,280 in fresh cheese, and about 350 in milk, likely from processing and packaging. -While the study didn’t evaluate health effects, previous research links microplastics to heart and liver issues, raising concerns about plastic contamination in the...

QUESTION: Hi Dr Zac, After eating fast food I often feel bloated, sluggish, and even a little nauseous. Recently, I’ve seen heaps of wellness influencers blaming seed oils like canola or soybean for inflammation, poor digestion, and overall “toxicity”. Is there actually any science behind this, or is it just another internet scapegoat? — Dani, 32, Albury NSW ANSWER: Dear Dani, Thanks so much for questioning everything that you see on social media. Seed oils definitely are under the microscope at the moment but before you swear off canola oil let’s have a look at what the research really says....

Get ready for a fight over how much steak, butter and ice cream you should eat. These beloved foods—not to mention pizza, cookies and many sandwiches—all contain saturated fat. For decades, the federal government has told Americans to reduce their consumption of this type of fat, citing its link to heart disease.The government’s advice may be changing soon.Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in July that the government would issue “new dietary guidelines that are common sense that stress the need to eat saturated fats, dairy, good meat, fresh meat and vegetables.” Kennedy last month released the Trump administration’s...

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After two decades treating heart disease, clogged arteries, and metabolic dysfunction, I began to notice a pattern. Many of my patients thought they were doing everything right — like exercising regularly and managing stress — yet they still ended up in my office with serious cardiovascular issues. The common thread? Everyday food choices. Some of the most harmful foods in the American diet don't come with warning labels. Instead, they're marketed as "heart smart," "plant-based," or "low-fat." But behind the buzzwords are ingredients that fuel inflammation, spike blood sugar, and quietly damage your arteries over time. As a cardiologist, there...

Everywhere I go, people ask me: What can we do about all the farms we’re losing?The truth is, our local farms cannot survive without us. Supporting them isn’t optional—it’s essential. Go to farm-to-table dinners. Visit your farmers’ market. Buy a meat box or a CSA (community supported agriculture) share. Drive out to the farm. Use farms as venues for weddings, baby showers, or birthday parties. Every single action matters.But let me be honest: individual support alone, while necessary, is not enough. Please don’t take that as an excuse not to support—that is still the most critical piece of the puzzle....

A Christian baker believes she should not have to design a cake that celebrates an ideology that goes against her faith. In 2017, Cathy Miller was reportedly approached by a lesbian couple, Eileen and Mireya Rodriguez-Del Rio, at her business, the Tastries Bakery in Bakersfield, California. Miller explained that same-sex couples were not part of her belief system and that she did not wish to design their cake. Miller did, however, recommend another cake decorator in town. Later that year, California's Civil Rights Department sued Miller and said she violated the state's anti-discrimination laws. In 2023, a five-day trial ended...

Hey, kids — it's trivia time. But don't sweat today's question because it's an easy one. What do you get when you take carbon dioxide captured from the atmosphere, hydrogen from water split by renewable energy, and glycerol, then use proprietary catalysts in high-pressure bubble reactors to synthesize hydrocarbon chains, oxidize them into fatty acids, esterify them into triglycerides that mimic the molecular structure of a common fat, and finally blend and crystallize the result, before extruding it into four-ounce sticks? Something very much but not exactly like butter! See, I told you this was an easy one. But don't...