Free Republic

Dr. Mehmet Oz, President Donald Trump’s point man for Medicare and Medicaid, says the billions of entitlement fraud being uncovered in Democrat states may be intentionally driven by politics rather than incompetence. “I do think it's a feature for some of these states,” Oz told Just the News in a wide-ranging interview Thursday night in which he detailed why the administration led by Vice President JD Vance temporarily pulled $1.3 billion in Medicaid funding from California and uncovered foreign fraudsters stealing taxpayer welfare monies. “Republicans always suspected there was fraud of this magnitude. Democrats feel embarrassed that it's gotten this...

The National Rifle Association is suing Virginia Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger for her signing of a measure to make illegal the buying, selling, importing, manufacturing and/or the transfer of assault weapons in the state. The NRA filed lawsuits in both federal and state courts, arguing the law is unconstitutional. Supporters argue the legislation removes "weapons of war" from the streets, making Virginia safer from violence, but opponents argue the law punishes law-abiding citizens, WRIC reported. “As promised, we are taking Abigail Spanberger to court," the NRA, the Second Amendment rights group said in a statement. "Throughout the legislative session, the...

Surging Treasury yields sent the stock market a warning on Friday amid a sell-off in global bonds.The 30-year Treasury yield (^TYX) rose 10 basis points to reach 5.12%, its highest level since June 2007. The 10-year benchmark yield (^TNX), meanwhile, climbed 11 basis points to 4.57%, its highest level since May 2025. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions, meaning that when yields rise, prices fall.Both bonds broke above the key psychological levels of 5% and 4.5%, respectively. As Yahoo Finance’s Jared Blikre has written before, the 5% zone for the so-called long bond represents a danger zone that...

Why do modern Christians instinctively assume that Christianity depends so heavily upon their own ability to preserve it? That assumption says more than people realize. Beneath much of modern religious culture lies a quiet distrust that the Church can truly carry and preserve the faith through history. The burden therefore falls upon the pastor, the scholar, the movement, the denomination, or eventually the individual believer to rescue Christianity from corruption.

Hi ya'll, I have beeen here since 1998...actually before that and I changed my user name to Positive, and the prior history disappeared. Shame faced promo. I have examined life for 29,220 days...my ThatOldGranddadDube podcast is a rear view mirror observations basicically to offer tips on leading a preductive life with access to a Grandad. The fathers of my parents died while they were adalesents so I never knew either of my grandfathers...now I have been a grandfather for 25 years and a ggf for a few months. I've had millions of experiences...maybe you might be of the opportunity to...

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., introduced legislation to improve menopausal and mid-life health care for women, featuring AI for better diagnostics. The Advancing Menopause Care and Mid-Life Women’s Health Act calls for a strengthened public health apparatus for women’s midlife care, including public outreach campaigns, research programs and treatment. It specifically calls for more government oversight efforts to gauge the safety and efficacy of AI-powered devices for new treatments and diagnostic tools designed for addressing midlife, perimenopause or menopausal symptoms.

SNIP The governor revealed the secret contingency plan to prevent two Republicans from advancing in the governor election — as polls show Trump-endorsed Steve Hilton near the top of the field in the packed race. Newsom alluded to “action efforts” behind the scenes to make sure Democrats aren’t locked out of the governor’s race, saying he “making my case” to “encourage that doesn’t happen.” Recent surveys show Democratic frontrunner Xavier Becerra and Hilton as favorites among registered voters, with billionaire Tom Steyer, Republican Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco and Democrat Katie Porter trailing a few points behind.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is working to increase the retirement age for U.S. Capitol Police officers as the number of threats to lawmakers continues to climb and the department struggles to recruit and retain enough officers. Legislation passed unanimously by the Senate on Thursday would allow Capitol Police officers to apply to extend their service until age 62, while a bill passed by the House earlier this year would allow them to serve until age 65. That would raise the current age from 60 for officers who apply for waivers to work beyond the legal forced retirement age of 57...

California is pulling the plug on the wildly recognizable Kars4Kids jingle after a judge ruled the charity’s ads misled donors about who actually benefits from their money. Orange County Superior Court Judge Gassia Apkarian found that the organization violated California false advertising and unfair competition laws by failing to disclose that donations primarily fund Orthodox Jewish programs tied to Oorah Inc., a New York- and New Jersey-based outreach organization. The ruling was published May 8 and comes after California resident Bruce Puterbaugh sued the charity in 2021, claiming he donated his car after repeatedly hearing the famous ad and believed...

The federal government last week revealed it intended to use eminent domain to wrest a 1.3-mile stretch of New Mexico borderland from the Catholic diocese for a border barrier, but church officials in federal court filings Friday argued that doing so would violate their religious freedom. The U.S. Customs and Border Patrol first announced last summer that it intended to build a border wall along the southern skirt of Mount Cristo Rey in Sunland Park, which the Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces owns. Officials told Source NM at the time that site “was a major human smuggling infiltration site...

Gov. Greg Abbott is pushing a sweeping criminal justice package next legislative session that would expand state oversight of local prosecutors, create a governor-appointed state prosecutor, and make district attorneys subject to impeachment. During a Thursday press conference with law enforcement officials and Republican lawmakers, Abbott framed the proposals as necessary to protect victims and keep repeat offenders off the streets. “Our top priority must be public safety,” Abbott said. “We want to protect communities and prosecute criminals.” Abbott argued that too many dangerous offenders are being released back onto the streets because of decisions made by judges and prosecutors....

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker had a "minor complication" from a recent procedure and was taken to a Springfield hospital earlier this week, a spokesperson for the governor confirmed to NBC Chicago Friday. The complication stemmed from an earlier urology procedure, with Pritzker going to a Springfield hospital overnight Wednesday and into Thursday morning.

Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee announced on Friday that he signed a document requesting not to be included on the ballot in Tennessee's 9th Congressional District. The congressman described the district determined by "new lines" as "nothing like the 9th district that I've represented." The Democratic primary in the district is scheduled to take place in August. Speaking after his announcement, Cohen described President Donald Trump as "the greatest threat to democracy, and to … decorum … and grace, that we've ever seen."

At the direction of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has ordered the Texas American Muslim University at Dallas (TexAM) to halt its operations, stating that the organization is not a recognized university and thus “prohibited by law from granting or offering to grant degrees.” But there are other reasons for state agencies to be concerned: TexAM directors maintain ties to domestic radicals and foreign extremists. One of its founders is an overt supporter of foreign terror operatives, while seemingly accused of stalking and distributing “revenge porn” against a former mistress. Terror-Aligned Extremism Despite four different...

The San Francisco Police Department Organized Retail Crime Task Force on Thursday announced the arrests of and charges against five individuals accused of prolific retail thievery in the city. The most prolific of the accused group is 24-year-old Tyrese Boswell, who according to police targeted two Walgreens locations, in North Beach and Noe Valley, on 27 separate occasions, stealing nearly $40,000 in cosmetics and other merchandise. Boswell's initial arrest came on December 24, 2025, at which point he was accused of burglarizing the Walgreens at 1175 Columbus Avenue in North Beach a total of 18 times. Following his release, Boswell...

If you want to know how far some liberals are willing to go to register their fear and loathing of President Trump, just read the recent opinion piece by Frank Bruni in the New York Times. (...) Platner has said he is a communist. He said cops are bastards. He called people who post online “retarded.” He said war was “the most enjoyable experience of my life.” Working as a bartender, he wondered “Why don’t black people tip?” And speaking about women who are concerned about sexual assault, he wrote that “Rape is a real thing. If you’re so worried...

[Catholic Caucus] On Sanctifying SodomyIs sodomy no longer a sin? Are instances of same-sex attraction among those inclined to commit it no longer to be viewed as a disorder? Will the sacrament of marriage soon be administered to couples in committed homosexual relationships? Has the Church, in other words, changed her mind on the subject of sexual perversion, no longer insisting sodomites cease and desist from a practice that, until quite recently, she had unequivocally condemned? One might certainly think so, judging from the latest document coming out of the Office of the Synod of Bishops, in which the Church’s...

RFK Jr. is caught between his MAHA supporters who want him to do more to advance their priorities and a White House trying to combat Trump's unpopularity. Kennedy's draw weakens beyond MAHA circles. 1,600 attendees at the Conservative Political Action Conference found nearly zero support for him as a presidential candidate.

Multiple Democrat lawmakers in the Minnesota House of Representatives yelled “go ******* shoot yourself” at Republican Rep. Elliott Engen as they staged a dramatic sit-in on the House floor to force a vote on one of the most aggressive gun control packages in the country. The meltdown took place on Thursday, after the House deadlocked 67-67 along party lines on a procedural vote to bring the Senate-passed gun control omnibus bill, House File 5140, to the floor for debate. Democrats responded by refusing to leave the chamber and staging a sit-in, demanding an immediate vote on the sweeping legislation that...

[Catholic Caucus] Pro-LGBT cardinal slams Church teaching on homosexuality in preface to heterodox bookCardinal Jean-Paul Vesco of Algiers, Algeria, writing in 'Gays and Catholics: The Church Put to the Test of Reality,' praised Pope Francis' efforts to end the 'judgment' of homosexuals.Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco, O.P., the French-born archbishop of Algiers, Algeria, in a preface for the newly released heterodox book Gays and Catholics: The Church Put to the Test of Reality, lamented that the Church is still struggling to accept homosexuals as they are and praised the efforts of Pope Francis to end the “judgment” of homosexuals.In his preface, published...