Free Republic

WASHINGTON—In the parking lot of the Smithsonian’s smallest museum, 18 of 29 spots were full. But inside, there were no couples on first dates or hordes of tourists milling about the exhibits. In fact, there were no visitors there at all. Just 18 employees waiting for something to do. On a sunny, late-summer day, this reporter stood outside the museum — located in a Washington, D.C., slum, far from any tourists — from noon to 3:00 p.m., ready to count visitors. But there was no one to count. At 12:28 p.m., one woman entered while screaming into her cell phone,...

Remove the noise, and it’s a nightmare. The Democrats know this issue makes them vulnerable, so they’re leaning on the legacy press to convey their point. It’s not going to work. No doubt, the Democrat-media complex is making an aggressive push, with numerous hosts trying to checkmate Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republicans on the matter of illegal aliens getting health care. It’s an easy talking point to slap down, since Democrats have it in their list of hostage demands. Democrats opted to shut down the government to get $1.5 trillion for illegal alien health care and National Public Radio....

Last weekend’s memorial may show the way home.There is a through line that connects several recent news headlines: the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the Luigi Mangione murder trial, and Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral candidacy. It is the crisis of meaning in modern American life. Mamdani — an avowed Democratic Socialist — cruising to a surprise victory in the New York City Democratic primary (and maintaining a durable polling lead for the general election since) spotlights the decline of secular materialism. New York, once thought to be ungovernable, became a playground for the rich and increasingly livable for the middle and...

Ms. Jong-Fast is the host of the “Fast Politics” podcast and the author of “How to Lose Your Mother: A Daughter’s Memoir.”Nobody thinks the N.F.L. is run by a bunch of woke libs. Or for that matter, that most N.F.L. fans fit that description. In fact, the team owners, many of whom trend MAGA oligarch, donated $23 million to Republicans in the 2024 election, versus $2.5 million to Democrats. And of course there’s a reason Colin Kaepernick’s career was so resolutely benched. Many woke libs won’t even let their kids play football, not wanting to risk that their meritocratic brains...

For decades, the “American Dream” has inspired people from around the globe. But the reality of chasing it often turns out to be far more complicated. That struggle recently came into sharp focus after an emotional farewell video by an Indian woman went viral, resonating deeply with international students and professionals who face similar challenges. Ananya Joshi, who completed her master’s in Biotechnology from Northwestern University in 2024, started her career in the US on an F-1 OPT visa at a biotech start-up. But when the company downsized, she lost her job. With her visa period running out and the...

Leading U.S. practitioners of gender-transition techniques knew all along that their treatments were based on “weak evidence” and “consensus” among like-minded doctors, recently unearthed emails reveal.University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) medical directors Madeline Deutsch and Stephen Rosenthal are co-authors of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health’s (WPATH) Standards of Care version 8 (SOC 8). Rosenthal also founded the UCSF Child and Adolescent Gender Center (CAGC).Judicial Watch sued to obtain Deutsch and Rosenthal’s emails after a public-records request for them from the Daily Caller was denied in 2023. Two years later, the group finally got them — all 2,491...

She’s never spoke of Charlie Kirk but learned to hate him at school She’s had enough, “They’re teaching this in school — My Turning Point was when I realized they're influencing my children for real — This is actual influence on my child, for my child to turn to me and say, "I hate him," for no reason, she couldn't back it up, that was my turning point.”

Mark Sanchez has been arrested in the hospital after allegedly being stabbed in the chest, Indianapolis police have announced.Sanchez, 38, was rushed to the hospital with critical injuries on Saturday morning after allegedly being stabbed during a dispute with a food delivery driver around 12:30 am.However, it was later alleged that the delivery driver acted in self-defense, and Indianapolis police have now arrested Sanchez for battery with injury, unlawful entry of a motor vehicle and public intoxication.Cops have said that Sanchez is still in the hospital and has not yet been booked into jail. The former Jets quarterback was in...

“Jon Harrison will no longer serve as Chief of Staff to the Secretary of the Navy," the Pentagon told Politico. "We are grateful for his service to the Department." Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday reportedly fired chief of staff to the Navy Secretary Jon Harrison, who helped pull off the reshuffle of the service’s bureaucracy.The Pentagon did not state why Harrison was fired, but it comes after the Trump administration warned of major trimming of the federal government amid the shutdown, and the same week the Senate confirmed Navy Undersecretary Hung Cao. “Jon Harrison will no longer serve...

WASHINGTON, Oct 3 (Reuters) - An FBI agent was relieved of duty for declining to arrange a "perp walk" of the bureau's former director, James Comey, in front of news media cameras after Comey was federally charged last month, four people briefed on the matter said on Friday.Comey was charged on September 25 with making false statements and obstructing a congressional investigation, in a dramatic escalation of President Donald Trump's retribution campaign against his political enemies.An FBI spokeswoman declined to comment on personnel matters.Reuters could not immediately determine how or when senior FBI officials wanted to stage bringing Comey into...

The man who became known as the “South Hill Rapist” is being released Thursday and is reportedly headed for an adult family home in Federal Way, Wash. As reported previously, Kevin Coe was accused of committing dozens of sexual assaults from the late 1970s to early 1980s in the Spokane area, crimes that terrorized the community for many years. Several convictions were thrown out due to inadmissible evidence, including victims being hypnotized to recall alleged rapes, such that Coe only ended up serving time for one rape conviction. He was sent to McNeil Island after civil proceedings in 2006, when...

The California FAIR Plan, the state’s home insurer of last resort, is seeking an average 35.8% rate hike, its largest in years, following billions of dollars of losses incurred in the January fire storms.The Los Angeles-based insurance pool, operated and backed by the state’s licensed home insurers, filed this week for the dwelling policy rate hike, which must be reviewed and could be reduced by the state insurance commissioner.“By statute, FAIR Plan rates must be sufficient to pay anticipated claims and expenses,” said FAIR Plan spokesperson Hilary McLean in a statement. “The FAIR Plan is working closely with the California...

An Antifa whistleblower going by the name Eric said Thursday on Fox News’ “Jesse Watters Primetime” that he left the now-designated terrorist organization after a decade due to “pressure” and “ostracization” from other members. On Sept. 17, President Donald Trump announced the designation of militant far-left network Antifa as a terrorist organization and called for investigations into its financial backers. Fox’s Jesse Watters asked Eric, who wore a face mask to protect his identity, whether the organization’s ideology was “full blown communism.” “I mean, a lot of it is. So a lot of it is — these are accelerationism. It’s...

The video explores the alarming demographic trends affecting Russia, leading to a potential population collapse. Using census data and population statistics, it draws parallels to the decline of the USSR and examines the current birth rate crisis.

Two teenage girls were found dead atop a subway train in Brooklyn, New York, early Saturday in an apparent subway surfing incident, reports the New York Times. The girls were found unconscious on the roof of a train at the Marcy Avenue station in Williamsburg that had just crossed the Williamsburg Bridge from Manhattan. "It's heartbreaking that two young girls are gone because they somehow thought riding outside a subway train was an acceptable game," Demetrius Crichlow, the president of New York City Transit, told the Times. "Parents, teachers, and friends need to be clear with loved ones: getting on...

fter barely six months in office, President Donald Trump has gone from peacemaker to warmonger. He attacked Iran and is threatening more strikes, bombarded Yemen’s Ansar Allah militants on behalf of Israel and Europe, is encouraging the former to conquer Gaza, and is increasing U.S. involvement in the Russia-Ukraine cataclysm.War with Russia is the most immediate danger. Its invasion of its neighbor was a tragedy, but requires U.S. avoidance, not involvement. Throughout most of America’s history, Ukraine has been ruled from Moscow. The Ukrainian people have long suffered under that relationship, but Washington never considered going to war on Kiev’s...

Zohran Mamdani treads on dangerous ground by putting equity ahead of educational opportunity.Who could have guessed that Zohran Mamdani (D), the leading candidate to become the next New York mayor, would provoke a firestorm by announcing this week that he intends to phase out the city’s early elementary school programs for gifted students in the name of equity? Parents of bright children want access to schooling that meets their needs? Shocking.Mamdani’s plan, first revealed in response to a questionnaire from the New York Times, would eliminate gifted programs for all children in public schools until they enter third grade. Currently,...

Progressives’ whacky speech is a symptom of the disease. Remember when Vanilla Ice punctuated statements with “Word to your birthing person”? No? Okay, well, yes, his catchphrase sounded slightly catchier thirty-five years ago. But it’s 2025, and people use more words (to say less) than they did in the early 1990s. Back then, resident assistants with diplomas in sensitivity training monitored speech in academic enclaves. (At Cornell, they surveilled facial reactions to gay pornography, a test that did not, thankfully, catch on.) They graduated and took their experiments to scale. Anthony Comstock and Carrie A. Nation doppelgangers increasingly wielded...

Summary Army memo highlights security issues in NGC2 platform Anduril says memo reflects outdated program state Palantir stock drops over 7% WASHINGTON, Oct 3 (Reuters) - The much-needed modernization of the U.S. Army's battlefield communications network being undertaken by Anduril, Palantir (PLTR.O) , opens new tab and others is rife with "fundamental security" problems and vulnerabilities, and should be treated as a "very high risk," according to a recent internal Army memo. The two Silicon Valley companies, led by allies of U.S. President Donald Trump, have gained access to the Pentagon's lucrative flow of contracts on the promise of quickly...

While President Donald Trump has stopped short of sending National Guard troops into Chicago, the Department of Homeland Security is doing some major damage against illegal aliens being harbored in the area. DHS law enforcement has made OVER 900 ARRESTS during Operation Midway Blitz in Illinois.To every criminal illegal alien: Darkness is no longer your ally. We will find you. pic.twitter.com/m9PxbuK5Ua— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) October 2, 2025The work has been dangerous for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, who have been under siege by local activists and criminal aliens. "U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers were targets of two separate...