Free Republic

The city has filled only about half of the newly created pre-K seats it is funding, with one month to go until the program's January start. As of Monday, 1,150 families had started the enrollment process for 2,000 available spots. Enrollment opened Oct. 20. "We know from the district's pre-K and kindergarten registration that a lot of families wait until the last minute," said Deana Gamble, spokeswoman for the city's Office of Education. "So we're not overly concerned at this point, but we're still actively reaching out to families to encourage them to sign up."

Donald Trump's call with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen was organized by Bob Dole, a former Republican senator and the party's 1996 presidential nominee, The Wall Street Journal reports. Dole told the Journal that the law firm he is affiliated with does work with the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the U.S. “It’s fair to say that we may have had some influence,” he said. Trump's Friday conversation broke decades of U.S. protocol. For several decades, the U.S. has followed the "One China" policy that doesn't acknowledge Taiwan as a nation, but instead goes along with China's view that...

Syrian government forces and allied militias captured Aleppo's centrally located al-Shaar neighborhood from rebels on Tuesday. Rebels withdrew from al-Shaar under heavy bombardment by pro-government forces to the Marjeh and Maadi neighborhoods, said local media activist Mahmoud Raslan to The Associated Press. "Morale has hit rock bottom," he said from inside the city's rebel-held enclave. The SANA state news agency said the government captured the entire neighborhood as well as the neighborhoods of al-Qatarji and Karm al-Dada. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group also reported the gains. Rebels and pro-government forces fought street-to-street in the city's southern...

Sheena Greitens was robbed by multiple people while in her car at a coffee shop parking lot... Greitens, a former Navy SEAL officer, said he is "now, more than ever, focused on the mission of creating safer neighborhoods."

Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger will meet with President-elect Donald Trump Tuesday, according to pool reports.

Pennsylvania’s largest two counties completed their presidential vote recounts Monday and Hillary Clinton only picked up five votes. According to an election official in Philadelphia County, the largest county in the state, Clinton netted five votes after its final computations. Another official from the board of elections in the second largest county — Allegheny, where the city of Pittsburgh is located — told The Daily Caller that no numbers changed after their second recount was completed. Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2016/12/05/pennsylvanias-largest-counties-complete-recounts-and-clinton-wins-five-votes/#ixzz4S4mYtXQk

ANGELA Merkel today completed an astonishing U-turn as she formally endorsed a full burka ban following a backlash over her open-door migration policies. The German chancellor made the comments at a Christian Democratic Union (CDU) conference having recently declared she will seek re-election. The German chancellor also said she would avoid a repeat of the huge migrant influx that occurred under her watch last year She told the annual congress that it was legitimate to expect integration from newcomers, underlining her party’s bid to ban the full face veil. “The full veil must be banned wherever it is legally possible,”...

The resignation of Italy’s prime minister Monday marked the abrupt downfall of the third key European partner of President Obama this year, as the president becomes increasingly powerless to confront a populist wave sweeping both sides of the Atlantic and challenging traditional U.S. alliances.Matteo Renzi’s surrender in Italy came just seven weeks after Mr. Obama toasted the 41-year-old prime minister at a gilded State Dinner at the White House for possessing “the vision and the values that can carry Italy, and Europe, forward.” Mr. Renzi submitted his resignation after Italian voters resoundingly rejected his proposals for political reform in...

As I mentioned last week, I was never much of a Tucker Carlson fan until FNC gave him this new show. Now I'm checking almost every weeknight to see if he's embarrassed yet another lib. My biggest worry at this point is that they will all eventually catch on and refuse to appear on his show. Tonight's victim was a smug college kid who came armed with the mustache of a 12-year-old boy and not much else. Enjoy.

Fish as Smart as Apes? by Jeffrey P. Tomkins, Ph.D. * Evidence for Creation Since evolutionary thinking permeates the entire spectrum of biology, scientists are consistently surprised by the mental abilities of creatures thought to be lower on the so-called tree of life. In this mythical tree of evolutionary progression, apes are thought to be at the top of the intelligence scale—second only to humans. But now we have numerous examples of other land creatures, most notably birds, that rival or exceed apes’ mental capabilities.1-3 But what about fish, the supposed ancient ancestors of all land-dwelling animals? With such a...

Today's installment of "We're Doomed, We're Doomed!" comes via The New York Times regarding the nomination of Dr. Ben Carson to head up the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Big-city mayors and housing experts are nervous about the idea of a billionaire real estate developer in the White House. Now President-elect Donald J. Trump has picked Ben Carson, a retired neurosurgeon with no housing experience, as his nominee for secretary of Housing and Urban Development — and high anxiety has set in. As The Times’s Mid-Atlantic bureau chief, I have spent a lot of time in Baltimore, Cleveland and...

Despite 24/7 complaints from Democrats that Hillary Rodham Clinton won the popular vote, support for the Electoral College system, which President-elect Trump won, has surged since the election.

Most CTH followers are familiar with RSBN from their exceptional coverage of Trump rallies and events throughout the entire election. Indeed, RSBN broke new ground in the way political rallies could be broadcast, live-streamed and followed by operating outside the traditional legacy media. Without their diligent efforts we would have been forced to rely on broadcast network coverage of Trump speeches and events.

West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin on Monday warned the Democratic Party not to engage in payback when it comes to President-elect Trump's nomination to the Supreme Court or they will continue to lose a significant portion of the electorate in rural states like his who helped hand Trump the presidency.

Relax. Breathe. Donald Trump’s phone call with the president of Taiwan wasn’t a blunder by an inexperienced president-elect unschooled in the niceties of cross-straits diplomacy. It was a deliberate move — and a brilliant one at that. The phone call with President Tsai Ing-wen was reportedly carefully planned, and Trump was fully briefed before the call, according to The Post. It’s not that Trump was unfamiliar with the “Three Communiques” or unaware of the fiction that there is “One China.” Trump knew precisely what he was doing in taking the call. He was serving notice on Beijing that it is...

Angela Merkel calls for a BURKA BAN: German leader says 'the full veil is not appropriate here' in astonishing U-turn German chancellor made the remarks at her conservative CDU party conference She told the audience 'the full veil is not appropriate here and should be banned' The 62-year-old recently announced she is seeking a fourth term as chancellor Angela Merkel has called for a burka ban after saying the 'full veil is not appropriate' in Germany. In an astonishing U-turn, the German chancellor told her conservative CDU party conference that wearing the burka should be outlawed 'wherever that is legally...

I wish this was a fake news satirical story, but sadly, it’s true. Liberal activists are outraged that the seasonal song Baby it’s Cold Outside should be banned because, wait for it, it promotes sexual harrassment and non-consensual sex.It’s a movement that started a few years ago and has been taken up with more fervor and passion every Christmas season. But this season, the movement has gained steam because, according to HuffPo, a pair of songwriters have offered up alternate lyrics to make the song more politically correct, socially acceptable, and completely awful: The duo, singer-songwriters Lydia Liza and...

Liberal black activists have launched a monthly “subscription box” designed for white people “to not only financially support Black femme freedom fighters, but also complete measurable tasks in the fight against white supremacy.” The subscription service is called Safety Pin Box and was launched last week. Wearing a safety pin has recently become a symbol within the liberal community for one to show solidarity with minorities. The group is headed by Leslie Mac and Marissa Jenae Johnson. Johnson is one of the Black Lives Matter protesters who interrupted Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders during a speech in Seattle last year.

On Day Five of the Wisconsin presidential election recount, as reported by Fox 6 News, a milestone has been reached. Over a million votes have now been recounted, and the recount effort is finished in six of the 72 Wisconsin counties. Donald Trump now has 20 fewer votes than he had at the close of the polls on November 8; Hillary Clinton also has exactly 20 fewer votes than she had at the close of the polls, so Trump’s margin of victory is literally unchanged. Gary Johnson (who came in third in the actual election) has gained 13 votes over...

Is this the Art of the Deal coming into play, or a stand against gouging by defense contractors? Despite insisting on the latest in luxury as a private citizen, Donald Trump seems to be saying no to a new fleet of presidential aircraft. He tweeted earlier today that the contract for replacing Air Force One should be canceled due to spiraling costs: Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 6, 2016 Over the past few months,...