Free Republic

Forty-two million Americans are days away from losing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, including more than 1.1 million people in Minnesota and Wisconsin.The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Services recently notified states that if the government shutdown continues, “there will be insufficient funds to pay full November SNAP benefits.”More than 440,000 Minnesotans — roughly 8% of the population — use SNAP benefits.In Wisconsin, nearly 700,000 people — or 12% of the state’s population — rely on SNAP through the state’s FoodShare program.RELATED: Food shelves brace for expected lapse in SNAP benefitsOpen Cupboard Executive Director Jessica Francis...

<p>The FBI’s Washington Field Office requested the senior officials’ authorization before looking into “an apparent effort to obstruct Congress’ certification of the Electoral College” and “fraudulent certificates of electors’ votes were submitted to the Archivist of the United States, purporting to represent the actual elector votes from the states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin,” the files show.</p>

Federal agents launched a high-impact gang takedown in Wisconsin this morning, arresting 22 suspects and seizing a cache of drugs, guns, and vehicles in a coordinated strike dubbed “Operation Chalkline.” Backed by 14 SWAT teams and dozens of law enforcement partners, the FBI Milwaukee-led operation targeted violent criminal networks operating in Milwaukee and Racine, Wisconsin. FBI officials released information on Wednesday about a multi-agency takedown of cartel-connected gangs operating in Wisconsin. The coordinated action led to the arrest of 22 people on federal charges. Agents and other law enforcement officials executed 24 federal search warrants, leading to the seizure of...

The Democrats have named their price to end the government shutdown — an additional $350 billion for health care over the next decade. Critics say a big chunk of that money may go to ghosts. At issue are the generous subsidies the Biden administration created for Affordable Care Act policies, sweeteners that are slated to expire in December. Making health care essentially free for millions of Americans, those policies have sent enrollment in Obamacare plans skyrocketing. But a recent study found they have also sparked a curious phenomenon: an estimated 12 million enrollees “without a single claim — no doctor...

MADISON, Wis. -- Madison police said an estimated 15,000 people attended Saturday's "No Kings" protest downtown. The group gathered at McPike Park at around 2 p.m. then marched up East Washington Ave. to the Wisconsin State Capitol. Police said the march was briefly rerouted after a K9 indicated the possible presence of explosives in a vehicle on West Washington Ave. near the Capitol. The vehicle was investigated and no explosives were found. There were no reported arrests as of 5:30 p.m. Saturday.

Cyndi Greening has a distinct memory of when Donald Trump won the presidency last November. It’s from her living room floor. The former college professor from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, said she cried there for days until her 37-year-old son interjected: “Get up and do something. What’s the matter with you?” That’s when the Chippewa Valley Indivisible group was created. At the first meeting in January, 28 people showed up. At the next, it was 68. It then grew to 124. Today, membership is nearing 1,900. On Saturday, they’ll be among the millions of people marching in nationwide “No Kings” protests,...

Hot and homicidal. That’s the dating criteria for 20-somethings with hybristophilia, a sexual attraction to criminals — like serial killer and body snatcher, Ed Gein. It’s an outré affinity toward bad boys that’s being fueled by social media, according to blood-curdling new data. Gein, infamously nicknamed “The Butcher of Plainfield” for slaughtering and skinning women on his farm in Plainfield, Wisconsin, is the internet’s latest love interest. The mid-century murder’s sordid tale of abuse and savagery is spotlit in Ryan Murphy’s Netflix series, “Monster: The Ed Gein Story,” starring Hollywood heartthrob Charlie Hunnam as Gein. But, instead of horror and...

MADISON — The citizenship status of all Wisconsin voters must be verified before the next statewide election in February, a Waukesha County judge has ordered. The ruling from Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Maxwell requires the Wisconsin Elections Commission to review the state's voter rolls over the next five months to determine whether anyone who is not a U.S. citizen is registered to vote.Maxwell also ordered election officials to verify citizenship of any new registrants. The ruling requires state election officials to verify citizenship by matching voter registration information to state Department of Transportation files or other state records, but...

Today, Judge Michael P. Maxwell of the Waukesha County Circuit Court issued a ruling in the case Cerny v. Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) that requires the WEC to verify the U.S. citizenship of ALL voter registration applicants and review existing voter rolls for non-citizens. The WEC and local officials must fulfill their duties and are barred from registering anyone without verification of US citizenship. The court also mandated collaboration between the parties to create a plan, utilizing Department of Transportation (DOT) records or other legal methods to identify ineligible registrants. This review must be substantially completed before the next statewide...

Whitefish Bay businessman Bill Berrien — who also had a past dalliance with the disastrously kinky election method known as ranked-choice voting — has dropped out of the Badger State governor’s race. A Wisconsin RINO who appears to have a penchant for “sexually explicit” material — and a connection to a trans porn site — has dropped out of the Badger State governor’s race. Whitefish Bay businessman Bill Berrien, who also had a past dalliance with the disastrously kinky election method known as ranked-choice voting, quit Friday following reports linking the candidate to several “sexually explicit accounts” on social media....

A recent Wisconsin state Senate debate on an immigration bill erupted when the panel’s top Democrat lunged at the chairman’s gavel, calling Republicans "cowards" and questioning their faith. State Sen. Chris Kapenga, R-Oconomowoc, chairman of the Wisconsin Senate's State and Federal Affairs Committee, told Fox News Digital the video of the episode broadcast by WisconsinEye is important because it shows how quickly discourse can spiral when lawmakers abandon decorum. The flashpoint came as ranking member Tim Carpenter, D-Milwaukee, opposed legislation that would bar public funds from paying for healthcare for illegal immigrants. Carpenter highlighted a story told moments prior by...

OPINION The following was posted Sunday on Facebook by Trevor Tomesh, assistant professor of Computer, Information and Data Science (CIDS) at the University of Wisconsin – River Falls. It is reprinted in its entirety with permission. I’m a University professor here in Wisconsin. Obligatory disclaimer: these views are mine alone and do not reflect the views of the University of Wisconsin. The fact that Charlie was killed on a college campus for expressing his opinions and ideas — the one place in society what’s sole purpose is to express opinions and ideas — should be a watershed moment for all...

Former employees at Minocqua Brewing Company's Madison tap room question how the brewery's political Super PAC, Minocqua Brewing Company Super PAC, uses donations, saying employees were paid from the PAC despite doing no work for it. Brewery owner Kirk Bangstad, has raised more than $2 million since the PACs creation to support liberal political causes. The $2 million raised by the Minocqua Brewing Super PAC represents a small fraction of Super PAC spending in Wisconsin, where such organizations spent $49 million on the state's most recent Supreme Court race alone. However, former employees say some of those funds went toward...

An immigrant who allegedly evaded federal agents with the help of a Milwaukee County judge pleaded guilty Thursday to being in the U.S. illegally. Federal prosecutors charged Eduardo Flores-Ruiz in April with reentering the country illegally after being deported. He faces up to two years in prison when he's sentenced and agreed to be deported whenever he is released, according to a summary of the plea deal he reached with prosecutors. Online court records did not list a sentencing date. His attorney, Martin J. Pruhs, didn't immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press on Thursday afternoon seeking comment....

Even a far-left federal judge isn’t buying Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan’s claim she’s immune from criminal prosecution. Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan claims she’s immune from being prosecuted over federal charges she helped a violent illegal immigrant elude Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. But Dugan learned on Tuesday that no man — or woman — is higher than the law. Apparently, Dugan’s alleged conduct was so egregious that even one of the more notoriously leftist federal judges in the country couldn’t look the other way. U.S. District Court Judge Lynn Adelman agreed with a U.S. Magistrate’s previous recommendation that...

- A Dane County judge on Friday ruled to increase the cash bond for a woman charged in a wrong-way crash that killed two teens last month, and ordered. Noelia Martinez-Avila, 30, saw her bond increased from $250,000 to $5 million following a ruling by Judge Diane Schlipper. Martinez-Avila is charged with two counts of homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle, two counts of homicide by use of a vehicle with a prohibited alcohol content, two counts of knowingly operating while revoked causing death, second-offense OWI, operating with a prohibited alcohol content and failure to install an ignition interlock...

Luismar Liendo and Edwin Perez arrived in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, in January. They are political dissidents from Venezuela. They were granted refugee status by the U.S. President Donald Trump suspended the Refugee Admissions Program and cut off federal funds for nonprofit groups helping refugees. World Relief had expected each refugee to receive $1,325 for the first 90 days. Dive Deeper: Luismar Liendo and Edwin Perez, a married couple from Venezuela, experienced a shocking change in climate when they arrived in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, facing temperatures much colder than they were used to. Having been granted refugee status in the U.S.,...

JANESVILLE, Wis. -- The mother of the 15-year-old girl, who killed two and injured six at Abundant Life Christian School on Dec. 16, 2024, was found dead on Aug. 1 in an "apparent suicide," the Janesville Police Department confirmed to News 3 Now. Melissa Rupnow, who resided at the 1100 block of Matheson Street in Janesville, was found dead last week in what seemed to have "appeared a suicide," according to a Janesville police lieutenant. The lieutenant who confirmed the act could not elaborate because of an ongoing investigation. According to online court records, Melissa and Jeffrey Rupnow had been...

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’ transition advisory team enlisted two Chinese intelligence-tied bankers who have fundraised for her and a nonprofit she helps lead, a Daily Caller News Foundation investigation discovered. Bass appointed Dominic Ng, CEO of East West Bank, and Simon Pang, co-founder of Royal Business Bank, to her mayoral transition advisory team in December 2022, according to the City of Los Angeles. In total, Ng, East West Bank and Pang have donated upwards of $1 million to Bass’ mayoral campaign and the Mayor’s Fund For Los Angeles, where Bass serves as an advisor to the board of directors,...

The latest records provide more details about the internal Homeland Security discussions of Walz’s history with China. Newly released internal memos confirm the Department of Homeland Security and FBI had longstanding concerns about Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and his connections to the Chinese Communist Party, especially after he was selected by Vice President Kamala Harris as her presidential running mate last year. Homeland Security turned over the documents to watchdog group Judicial Watch, which had filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request and sued the government earlier this year, seeking communications in an agency group chat that allegedly referenced...