Free Republic

A double-digit increase in popularity, rising Democratic enthusiasm and an early edge for representing “change” have vaulted Vice President Kamala Harris forward and reshuffled the 2024 presidential contest, according to a new national NBC News poll. With just over six weeks until Election Day, the poll finds Harris with a 5-point lead over former President Donald Trump among registered voters, 49% to 44%. While that result is within the margin of error, it’s a clear shift from July’s poll, when Trump was ahead by 2 points before President Joe Biden’s exit. But the transformation in the presidential contest goes well...

The budget motel chain Motel 6 is being acquired by the parent company of Oyo, a hotel operator based in India. The New York-based investment firm Blackstone , which owns Motel 6′s parent company G6 Hospitality, announced Friday that the deal would be an all-cash transaction worth $525 million. Oyo, which launched in India just over a decade ago, has been expanding its footprint in the U.S. over the past few years. The company says it currently operates 320 hotels across 35 states and is aiming to add 250 more this year.

The Irish government has abandoned plans to implement controversial new hate speech laws following widespread backlash from free speech advocates. Justice Minister Helen McEntee confirmed on Saturday that Dublin will drop new hate speech provisions in the proposed Criminal Justice Bill, admitting that the “incitement to hatred” section of the legislation did “not have a consensus,” the Irish Times reports. Critics of the speech restrictions have noted that the government failed to actually define what constitutes “hate” and therefore the law would have given broad powers to the state to crush dissent. The scope of the draconian powers would have...

Rumors have been spreading today that Republican North Carolina gubernatorial candidate and Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson – known for his bombastically extreme anti-LGBTQ+ statements – is dropping out of the 2024 gubernatorial election less than 50 days before Election Day because a CNN story with numerous new accusations is about to be published.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday condemned Israel over a series of explosions across Lebanon involving pagers that targeted members of militant group Hezbollah. Ocasio-Cortez, a vocal critic of Israel’s government amid its broader war in Gaza, weighed in following reports that Israel’s intelligence and military arms were behind Tuesday’s pager attack that killed a dozen people and injured several thousand. “This attack clearly and unequivocally violates international humanitarian law and undermines US efforts to prevent a wider conflict,” the New York Democrat wrote on social media platform X. “Congress needs a full accounting of the attack, including an answer...

In a huge blow to cheating Democrats, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Friday ruled that undated ballots or improperly dated ballots won’t be counted. Democrats heavily relied on mail-in ballots in 2020 to get Joe Biden across the finish line. Recall that President Trump was ahead of Joe Biden by more than 750,000 votes in Pennsylvania at midnight on Election Day in 2020, but Democrats in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia kept counting ‘mail-in ballots’ for two weeks without GOP monitors present. Joe Biden ‘won’ Pennsylvania by approximately 80,000 votes after Democrats used mail-in ballots to cheat. Last month a lower court...

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The woman behind an early Facebook post spreading a harmful and baseless claim about Haitian immigrants eating local pets that helped thrust a small Ohio city into the national spotlight says she had no firsthand knowledge of any such incident and is now filled with regret and fear as a result of the ensuing fallout. “It just exploded into something I didn’t mean to happen,” Erika Lee, a Springfield resident, told NBC News on Friday. Lee recently posted on Facebook about a neighbor’s cat that went missing, adding that the neighbor told Lee she thought the cat...

@BasedMikeLee Congress must pass the SAVE Act to stop noncitizens from voting in November To do that, we must attach it to the spending bill The House will be voting on the spending bill—with the SAVE Act attached—on Wednesday Share if you agree—and tell your reps to #PassTheSAVEAct

35 years in business, family-owned market in South Beach is closing... Co-owner David Pesusic said high operation costs and mounting neighborhood crime were driving factors.Bayside Market, at 120 Brannan St. near the Embarcadero, will cease operations on Sept. 13. Some of its 12 employees will be transferred to RJ’s Market near Fisherman’s Wharf, the owners’ other location, but most will be laid off, Pesusic said. In addition to inflation-fueled bills and declining foot traffic, the small grocery and deli has suffered from “rampant” crime, near-daily shoplifting and three break-ins in the past couple years, Pesusic said. He blamed city officials...

Warren Buffett, the seventh richest person on the planet, turns 94 years old today. Hailed as one of the most successful investors of all time, Buffett made his first stock purchase at just 11 years old in Omaha, Nebraska, and now boasts a net worth of over $148 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Buffett's acclaim is well-deserved as the chair of Berkshire Hathaway, which just two days ago became the first non-tech U.S. company to join the $1 trillion club. One might expect that someone leading such a massive conglomerate since 1970 would adhere to a healthy diet...

First, the transfer of power happens on January 20 not January 6. (And DOJ let off the hook hundreds of 2017 inaugural rioters.) Second, there is no law guaranteeing the "peaceful transfer of power." Which is why the Constitution provides several weeks between election day and inauguration day with both a state and congressional certification process and opportunities to contest the results. Third, as he brags about the nearly 1,500 J6ers arrested and charged so far for January 6--including at least seven last week during the DNC--most face misdemeanors.

(Kitco News) – Gold has had a breakout year as the yellow metal surged to new heights above $2,500 while its grey counterpart, silver, has struggled to keep pace, but that could soon change, according to one analyst, as silver demand is expected to increase thanks to one new technological development from Samsung. According to retired investment professional Kevin Bambrough, Samsung has developed a new solid-state (SS) battery. The inclusion of silver as a key component, combined with the increasing demand for electric vehicles, means that demand for the grey metal will soon increase. “The key drivers that will ramp...

The Secret Service has made another concerning security mishap while protecting former President Donald Trump. During the former president's campaign rally in Asheville, North Carolina, on Wednesday afternoon, a female Secret Service agent allegedly left her position without telling the site agent - the individual in charge of security. The agent departed her post just minutes before Trump's motorcade arrived at the venue to breastfeed her child in a side room meant for agency work, RealClearPolitics first reported. When the site agent conducted a last-minute walkthrough of the route Trump would take, they noticed the agent's absence and later discovered...

Vice President Kamala Harris is leading former President Donald Trump by nine percentage points in a key battleground state, according to a new poll. The survey, conducted by the Independent Center between August 8 and August 11, reveals that Harris received 51 percent of the vote among respondents in Wisconsin, compared to Trump's 42 percent in a head-to-head matchup. Harris is also leading Trump by five percentage points in Michigan, securing 49 percent of the vote to the former president's 43 percent; and in Pennsylvania by 4 percentage points with 49 percent to Trump's 45 percent. In Wisconsin, Harris maintains...

The election handicapper Cook Political Report shifted its ratings for Arizona, Georgia and Nevada toward Vice President Harris as she continues to close the polling gap with former President Trump. All three states had been considered “lean Republican” in early July, while President Biden was still in the race and falling further behind Trump both on the national level and in the key battleground states. But with polls showing Harris getting back within the margin of error of Trump, or in some cases slightly ahead, the three swing states have been moved to be a “Toss Up.” “For the first...

On Tuesday, Axios announced that it would be laying off around 50 employees. This equates to roughly 10 percent of the news company’s staff. In a memo sent to employees, obtained by The Washington Post’s Katie Robertson, Axios CEO Jim VandeHei said the company was making "some difficult changes to adapt fast to a rapidly changing media landscape." We’re eliminating around 50 positions to get ahead of tectonic shifts in the media, technology and reader needs/habits. This is a painful but necessary move to tighten our strategic focus and shift investment to our core growth areas," he wrote. He said...

July 14, 2023 Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie says he’s ready to beat GOP opponent Donald Trump — including in the ring. The former New Jersey governor told Fox News host Piers Morgan in a recent interview that he would no doubt emerge victorious in a head-to-head fight with the former president. “Come on,” Mr. Christie said with a smile in response to the question. “Guy is 78 years old. I’d kick his ass.”

Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said on this week’s broadcast of “CBS Sunday Morning” that President Joe Biden should be added to Mt. Rushmore. Host Lesley Stahl asked, “Please tell us what you told President Biden to persuade him to step aside.” Pelosi said, “Well, I have never shared any conversations with a President of the United States publicly, so no.” Stahl said, “I understand that you don’t want to own this, but it is so well reported that you were the leader of a pressure campaign.”

The move to take the conflict outside Israel’s borders by the Netanyahu-led Israeli government is proving to be quite a slippery slope that has us seemingly barreling towards getting fully involved in yet another endless war in the Middle East. On Friday, the Pentagon announced its plans to send additional fighter jets and Navy warships to the region. This strategic move aims to bolster existing US forces and strengthen support for Israel. It comes in response to increased tensions and threats from Iran and its allies, including Hamas and Hezbollah, as IDF forces carry out targeted strikes in Lebanon and,...

Former President Trump's comments about Vice President Harris to the National Association of Black Journalists are being treated as radioactive by many Republicans. Why it matters: The tense interview is being met with GOP reactions ranging from qualified concern to outright shock, with some Republicans questioning Trump's ability to adapt to the new Democratic ticket. ...