Free Republic

A milestone in the development of the human race just occurred ... and no one else seems to have posted it to FR, so here it is: Starship has landed and been caught safely by Mechazilla. The world just changed a lot in the last few minutes.

Economy is doing great. MSM, Tucker, et al, greatly upset. War going good, too. Here are receipts.

Former Biden economic adviser Lael Brainard is proposing a new federal mortgage program that would let qualifying first-time buyers purchase a home with just $1,000 down, financed through higher mortgage insurance fees, Bloomberg reports. The Kitchen Table Project estimates the proposal could bring 2.2 million additional renter households into the homebuying market. The proposed Federal Housing Administration program would require "strong underwriting criteria," including a credit score of at least 660 and monthly debt payments below 50% of income. To cover the cost, the group proposes increasing the FHA's upfront mortgage insurance premium by about 30 basis points, or 0.3...

Passage of billionaire-funded ballot measure follows failure of high-profile billionaire taxCalifornia voters had a chance to impose the nation’s first-ever tax on billionaires’ assets. Instead, they voted to ban wealth taxes altogether.A ballot initiative to prohibit new state taxes on personal property is set to pass, the Associated Press said late Friday. Known as Proposition 42, the measure was leading by a 2.6-point margin with an estimated 96% of votes counted following the Nov. 3 election, AP said.AdvertisementThe outcome represents a coup de grâce for the one-time, 5% tax on California billionaires’ net assets that also appeared on the November...

EU leaders have agreed that Europe's team for Ukraine peace talks will comprise five major military powers - non-member Britain plus France, ‌Germany, Italy and Poland - and EU institutions, European Council President Antonio Costa said on Friday, after months of wavering over who will speak for the continent. "Europe must speak with one clear voice and united voice in all discussion that shape the future of Ukraine and the security of our continent. ​And this is ultimately a team effort," Costa, who chairs EU summits, told a press conference at the end of ​a leaders' meeting in Dublin. The...

After a 10-year marriage, Gayla Thompson got a fresh start — in a pigsty. Freshly divorced, the 33-year-old Nashville native traded in her messy husband for an even messier pig pen. In November 2025, Thompson welcomed eight-week-old Daisy — a tiny nine-pound piglet. “I traded one pig for another,” Thompson said. The divorcee says finalizing the split was the moment she decided to do something just for herself — securing the baby pig. Rolling in the mud, Daisy quickly grew into the center of her world. “My ex-husband always told me I couldn’t have a pet pig,” Thompson said. “So...

14 November 2026 Saturday of week 32 in Ordinary TimeSt. Lawrence O'Toole, Brewster, NYReadings at MassThis is a preview of Universalis. The Universalis app gives you every day of every year, not just the single week you’re seeing now, and it doesn’t need the Internet. It gives you the official New American Bible version for the readings at Mass. As well as the Mass, it gives you the Liturgy of the Hours. It costs $9.99-12.99 on your phone, or £19.99 (about $26.50) on your computer. Get it now.Liturgical Colour: Green. Year: A(II).First reading3 John 5-8It is our duty to...

Work at a single location caused instability that led authorities to order groundstop; airlines rush to reset Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Saturday blamed Friday’s air-travel outage that caused havoc at airports nationwide on work being done to replace copper wires with fiber ones at a single remote facility.He pointed the finger at the work of contractor L3Harris, which either installed a faulty router or was “not doing great work for us,” Duffy told reporters on Saturday.“So what we’re working to determine was whether we had incompetence,” Duffy said. “Frankly, we’re going to hold people accountable.”L3Harris didn’t respond to a...

Just a week after a blue wave hit the Lone Star State, a Muslim state representative has filed multiple bills ahead of the 90th legislative session that would implement Islamic practices and holidays. Democrat state Rep. Suleman Lalani, an immigrant from Pakistan who represents Texas House District 76, which encompasses Fort Bend and Harris counties, filed several bills ranging from establishing a “Muslim Heritage Day” to ensuring halal food is provided in schools. Bill filing opened for Texas legislators on Monday. Lalani filed House Bill 236, which amends Chapter 662 of the Texas Government Code to recognize Feb. 4 as...

The people who died in the Flatbush building collapse came from opposite ends of the world. But their loved ones said they shared the same hope: to make a new life in New York City. “We have no words,” Juan Carlos Zabala said of his lost family. “They were following the American dream.” His cousin, Juan Daniel Sabala, 31, had a 9-year-old daughter, Nicole. Both died in the wreckage. Another cousin of the same family, 10-year-old Kevin Santiago Reyes Gonzalez, was also found dead. The collapse killed five other New Yorkers and injured 18 more in what is among the...

A new legislative proposal seeks to expand Medicare coverage to those 50 years and older, in an effort to offer federal healthcare insurance to those facing high costs on the private market or who don’t have access to insurance at all. The proposal, called the Medicare at 50 Act, would give Americans between the ages of 50 and 64 the option to buy into Medicare or Medicare Advantage before reaching the traditional eligibility age of 65.

U.S. — All of the technology in the entire United States has failed within 48 hours of firing just one Asian guy. Jensen Huang was removed from his tech role on Thursday, leading to massive nationwide email network outages within minutes. By the next day, all telecommunications had gone down and every flight in the country had been canceled. "Oof. Really shouldn't have let that one Asian guy go," said local man Greg Hensley, surveying the departure board at the airport. "Our business can't function because of network outages, I can't send an email, and I'm stuck in some Ohio...

Brian L. Roberts, Chairman and Co-CEO Comcast Corporation Comcast Center 1701 John F. Kennedy Boulevard Philadelphia PA 19103By no coincidence Kate Smith first performed “God Bless America” the day before Veteran’s Day in 1938. She was a patriotic American, who wanted to encourage her fellow citizens as they suffered through a terrible depression and saw a world torn apart by Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. She wanted to reach Americans with the faith she felt for the future of the nation.As a leading performer in a radio market reaching nearly every household in the country, her way would be through...

Workday, a business software that handles payroll and human resources management for thousands of prominent companies, suffered a major outage Friday, joining Microsoft in experiencing a shutdown this week. The platform manages services for 11,500 companies. “Workday is currently unavailable,” the platform signaled when users tried to gain access. “We are experiencing a service interruption. Your service will be restored as quickly as possible.” “We apologize for the inconvenience. If you are a Workday customer and require additional assistance please contact the Workday Administrator within your organization. Otherwise, please check back later,” the message continued. Retail giants including Walmart and...

And what year was it?...

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy revealed investigators are looking into whether a contractor’s error or a faulty router triggered a nationwide ground stop that snarled air traffic and left thousands of travelers stranded Friday. Workers from federal contractor L3Harris were replacing old copper telecommunications wires with fiber optic lines at a “remote FAA location” when the system went down, Duffy said at a press conference Saturday. “What we’re working to determine was whether we had incompetence – meaning, was it user error or installator error from L3Harris — or did they install a faulty router? We haven’t determined what the fault...

With the “affordability” psyop on temporary pause, gasoline prices continue to plummet, down more than 3 cents/gallon yesterday, according to AAA. That’s down 20 cents in the past week and down 50 cents in the past month. At $3.84/gal., the current price is only 76 cents above the level from a year ago. The price for diesel is also down 27 cents in the past month. The affordability psyop is easy enough to understand: it tested well in focus groups and opinion polls, so it’s been pounded relentlessly by Democrats and their media allies since Trump returned to office (remember...

An AI-generated parody of the classic sitcom Seinfeld that pokes fun at the Democratic Socialists of America is circulating on X, posted on the same day the group’s New York City chapter held its biennial convention. The roughly two-and-a-half-minute video, posted Saturday by the account NYC Common Sense with the caption “yada yada yada,” had drawn more than 377,000 views within hours. The clip uses artificial intelligence to recreate the show’s four main characters, who gather in a New York diner as Jerry mocks the DSA crowd and its ideals. “Socialists don’t need jobs, Jerry!” one line in the clip...

President Trump has reportedly told senior aides he may hold off on resuming military strikes on Iran, despite repeatedly threatening to attack the country if it endangers US interests. Trump told senior advisers in recent days that he would refrain from launching new strikes as long as Iran or its Houthi proxies in Yemen don’t provoke the US, Reuters reported. *** The president on Thursday told Salem News Channel he would hit Iran to prevent it from threatening US allies and American vessels “without hesitation.” That same day, he told sports journalist Stephen A. Smith in an interview that he...