Free Republic

A graph of the U.S. fertility rate since 1909 recently appeared under the headline, “The U.S. fertility rate reached an all-time low in 2023.” While that statement is true, it understates what is most striking about the data. At a glance, the graph shows that fertility has been relatively stable since about 1970. Before that, however, the pattern was far more dramatic: a steep decline from roughly 1920 to 1933, a strong rebound from about 1941 to 1960, and then another sharp fall from 1960 to 1975, after which the rate leveled off (see figure below). The question is what...

President Donald Trump on April 14 directly addressed Pope Leo XIV in another Truth Social post, drawing attention to the Iranian regime’s reported killing of thousands of protesters in the past two months. “Will someone please tell Pope Leo that Iran has killed at least 42,000 innocent, completely unarmed, protesters in the last two months, and that for Iran to have a Nuclear Bomb is absolutely unacceptable,” he wrote.Protests in Iran erupted in late December 2025 over economic hardships and quickly turned into broader anti-government demonstrations, Zeale News previously reported. Iranian security forces reportedly responded with live ammunition against the...

Police in Fairfax County, Virginia, confirmed Thursday that they found former Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax dead in his home in an apparent murder-suicide.“I’m here to confirm the identity of our shooter in this murder-suicide that happened several hours ago as former Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax,” Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said in a press conference Thursday morning. “Fairfax shot and killed his wife inside of their home and then shot and killed himself.”“This has been an ongoing domestic dispute surrounding what seems to be a complicated or messy divorce,” he added.Fairfax reportedly shot and killed his wife in the...

There’s a new forecast of the Social Security boost retirees should expect in 2027 - and it’s a huge disappointment for the millions of Americans who depend on their bi-monthly benefit checks... Older Americans absolutely rely on this so-called ‘cost of living adjustment’ or COLA, since more than 40 percent of them depend on Social Security alone for all of their retirement income. The new estimate of the forthcoming official 2027 cost-of-living adjustment shows the average Social Security benefit check will only rise by $56, or roughly 2.8 percent. The average benefits check for retired workers would increase to $2,081...

War Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday said the U.S. military is "locked and loaded" and prepared to escalate against Iran if negotiations fail. "We are locked and loaded on your critical dual-use infrastructure, on your remaining power generation, and on your energy industry," Hegseth said during his weekly press conference at the Pentagon, *** "We'd rather not have to do it, but we're ready to go at the command of our president and at the push of a button," Hegseth told reporters*** Hegseth issued a direct warning to Iran's military leadership, saying the imbalance in capabilities is decisive. "Our capabilities...

President Trump’s 2020 election lawyer John Eastman was officially disbarred in Californian on Wednesday. The California Supreme Court affirmed that Eastman was disbarred after a two-year battle with the state bar.

NEW YORK, NY — Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced that the city was going to spend a whopping $30 million on his city-run supermarket, with the project expected to take three years to build. Still, he urged the citizens of New York not to wait for his experiment with Communism but to go ahead and get in line for bread now. "Remember, we're not using evil capitalism for this," Mamdani told the press. "We're going to give goods like bread at a reasonable price. We just have to know how many people want that, so if everyone lined up now for...

The gang kidnapped and tied up the victim in a Chicago apartment as they physically tortured and racially abused him on the livestream. They could be heard shouting 'f*** white people' and 'f*** Trump' during the ordeal. During the days-long torture campaign, Hill also called the victim's mother and demanded $300 in ransom for his return. The victim was kidnapped on New Year's Eve after telling his parents he was meeting Hill at a McDonald's and staying at his home. Instead, Hill drove the victim around in a stolen van for a couple of days, ending up at a home...

I was never one to make a big deal out of call center prompts that state "Press 1 for English ... blah blah blah Espanol". My assumption was that a large company wants to be able to assist customers by being able to communicate with them. So in a room with 20 operators, maybe 15 would be native English speakers, and five would be native Spanish speakers. That used to be the case. Not any more. My wife had to call Capital One. She selected English, and the person on the other end could barely speak English, and had a...

Stanford researchers and their European colleagues drew on ancient DNA to construct the first genetic history of Rome...Those genetic data reveal at least two major migrations into Rome, as well as several smaller but significant population shifts over just the last few thousand years...Notably, DNA analysis revealed that as the Roman Empire expanded around the Mediterranean Sea, immigrants from the Near East, Europe and North Africa pulled up their roots and moved to Rome...An analysis of some of the earliest samples more or less comports with what has been found around Europe -- they represent an influx of farmers primarily...

Identical twins Nathan and Nick Roberts, the former a dedicated MAGA supporter and the latter a Democratic Indianapolis city council member, demonstrated that profound political disagreement need not fracture personal relationships during a candid appearance on The Unknowns, hosted by Charlie Stone.

With American warships tightening a naval blockade off Iran and global attention fixed on the Persian Gulf, the Pentagon this week quietly executed a significant move in the Indo-Pacific, announcing a Major Defense Cooperation Partnership with Indonesia that underscores its and the Trump administration's focus on counterbalancing future Chinese aggression. The partnership will elevate bilateral military ties between the two countries in the Strait of Malacca as American forces enforce a naval blockade in the Persian Gulf. When asked about the deal’s impact on the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific, a Department of War official told RedState the agreement...

Idaho Gov. Brad Little has signed into law a measure prohibiting public schools from using taxpayer-funded resources to support teachers’ unions, a move supporters say restores government neutrality while critics argue it limits educators’ ability to organize. The legislation, House Bill 516, bars school districts from facilitating payroll deductions for union dues and restricts the use of public resources to assist union activities. The law is set to take effect July 1. Supporters of the measure, including the Freedom Foundation, which prompted the report, argue that allowing payroll deductions amounts to indirect taxpayer support because public employees and systems are...

Four Democrat-led states that rejected President Donald Trump's policy of no taxes on tips and overtime pay are getting called out by Republicans for going against efforts to increase affordability.

Gallup finds U.S. women’s religiosity falling sharply, with older and middle‑aged women showing the steepest declines in importance and attendance. New Gallup polling shows a sudden rise in religiosity among young men, who are now far more likely than young women to say religion is an important part of their lives. Data released Tuesday, compiled in 2024 and 2025, found that 42% of men ages 18 to 29 say religion is a very important part of their lives — up from 28% in the previous poll and the highest level since 2000‑01. By comparison, 29% of women ages 18 to...

DIGNIDAD Act introduced for the third time in six years by Rep. Maria Salazar (R-Fla.). Excellent written summary - plus - a 39 minute podcast. Key Points - Scope of Amnesty - Enforcement and Legal Concerns - Economic and Labor Market Impact

According to a Greek Reporter article, archaeologists led by Panayiota Galiatsatou of Greece's Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities have investigated a submerged harbor complex off the eastern coast of the Peloponnese. The platform had been built in shallow water in order to take advantage of the natural harbor and nearby defensive hill. Pottery recovered from within the platform suggests that it dates to the Roman period. This year, the research team examined structures that had been built on top of the platform. These features have roughly square shapes and are made of stones. The team members now think that the stones...

Lebanon this week remembered the outbreak of its civil war 51 years ago. If anything, April 13, 2026, ironically looked no different to the days of civil tension in the prelude to the breakdown of law and order among the Lebanese in 1975, between those who wanted to peel Lebanon away from regional discord and foreign agendas and those who wanted to see the country and its people used as cannon fodder. Half a century has passed but the similarities are striking. Lebanon is again facing its demons and the curse of division, as the majority of its people want...

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem delivered a defiant speech on Monday evening, making it clear that the terrorist organization has no intention of retreating from its positions despite heavy military and political pressure. Qassem directly attacked Lebanon’s top leadership, including President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, claiming that US support for the Lebanese army is intended to drag the country into a civil war in order to destroy Hezbollah. Ahead of a new round of ambassador-level talks scheduled to begin on Tuesday in the United States, Qassem stated unequivocally that Hezbollah opposes any negotiations with Israel. “We have decided...

Carnival Cruise Line must pay $300,000 to a former passenger after a federal jury in South Florida found that the company was negligent in serving the woman more than a dozen shots of tequila before she fell down some stairs and suffered a possible traumatic brain injury. The Miami federal jury decided last Friday in favor of Diana Sanders, a 45-year-old nurse from Vacaville, California. ... According to the lawsuit, Sanders was a passenger aboard the Carnival Radiance on Jan. 5, 2024, when was served at least 14 shots between approximately 2:58 p.m. and 11:37 p.m. She experienced a fall...