Free Republic

In a vote that GOP leaders fought hard to avoid, a half dozen Republicans sent a blunt message to President Donald Trump that they do not support the tariff regime that he has made the centerpiece of his second term. Six Republicans joined with Democrats in a vote to effectively repeal the president’s tariffs on Canada, the culmination of months of consternation in the GOP over the president’s trade war that has quietly rattled even some of his staunchest loyalists in Congress. And it won’t be the last tough tariffs vote for Trump: Democrats have successfully unlocked a procedural power...

Casey Wasserman's job as chair of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics organizing committee is safe after the LA28 board's executive committee met Wednesday to discuss his appearance in recently released government files on Jeffrey Epstein. Wasserman has not been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, but documents released by the Justice Department revealed that in 2003 he exchanged flirtatious emails with Ghislaine Maxwell, who years later would be accused of helping Epstein recruit and sexually abuse his victims. IOC won't pressure L.A. Games chair Wasserman LA28 said that, with help from an outside legal firm, it conducted a...

An 18-year-old has been named as the suspect in a shooting that killed eight people and injured dozens more in British Columbia, Canada.Police said Jesse Van Rootselaar was found dead at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot injury. The motive for the attack is not yet known.Six people were killed and at least 25 others were injured at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School. Two others - the suspect's mother, 39, and step-brother, 11 - were found dead at a nearby home. Authorities said Van Rootselaar was born a biological male but identified as a woman. "I can say that Jesse was...

The Pebble Beach Pro-Am starts Thursday, and the official professional and amateur pairings sheet has been released. These pairings will be played on Thursday and Friday. The event uses a pro-am format, meaning each professional golfer is paired with an amateur partner. Two pro-am teams are grouped to form each tee time group, so fans will see four players at a time on the course: two pros and two amateurs. Below are the full group pairings, along with their Thursday and Friday starting courses and tee times: (The asterisks (*) mark groups that start on the 10th tee (hole 10)...

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans rushed to approve legislation on Wednesday that would impose strict new proof-of-citizenship requirements ahead of the midterm elections, a long shot Trump administration priority that faces sharp blowback in the Senate.The bill, called the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility, or SAVE America Act, would require Americans to prove they are citizens when they register to vote, mostly through a valid U.S. passport or birth certificate. It would also require a valid photo identification before voters can cast ballots, which some states already demand. It was approved on a mostly party-line vote, 218-213.Republicans said the legislation is...

WASHINGTON — The Republican-controlled House voted Wednesday to pass the SAVE America Act, a sweeping election bill that President Donald Trump is pushing Congress to enact. The vote was 218-213, with Republicans unanimously voting in favor and all but one Democrat voting against it. The one Democrat voting yes was Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas. The 32-page legislation would require states to obtain documentary proof-of-citizenship “in person,” such as an American passport or birth certificate, from someone in order to register them to vote in a federal election. The bill, which was revised from an earlier version to include new demands...

On X there are a great many genuine posts and truth be known, the news tends to show up on X before it does on television. The problem is you need to sort out the truth from the nonsense, and there is a great deal of nonsense. In vetting with that nonsense, Grok is a treasure. Liberals, AWFULs in particular, are well known for their trafficking in untruths. For example- In her profile Suzie Rizzio describes herself this wayI’m a small town beach girl that loves politics & fostering animals! She posted this yesterday: Fact Check by Mike NetterThe incident...

All those many many months focused on one primary task at Politico. Get Trump via the Epstein files. It is hard to underestimate the insane lengths Politico employed to somehow implicate President Donald Trump with the foibles of Jeffrey Epstein via the Epstein files. Politico acted if they just kept focusing on those files, damaging material just had to be found about Trump. The pathetic spectacle of Politico madly pursuing their political White Whale culminated last July when Politico was flooded with SIX Epstein stories in just one 24 hour period.So what was the end result of Politico's absurd Epstein-Trump...

Bad Bunny’s halftime performance at Super Bowl LX is the subject of many hot takes on Monday. Despite appearances from Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin, many fans online were upset about the predominantly Spanish performance. This ongoing social media outrage is why Roc Nation, who books the Super Bowl halftime show, has to do something more universally beloved next season. Listen, Bad Bunny’s performance objectively was not awful. Even if you couldn’t understand the lyrics, the stagework, choreography, and overall video production was first class. The special guests and Easter eggs were able to be identified by fans that weren’t...

President Donald Trump went off on Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) on Wednesday, branding him a “RINO” — Republican In Name Only — who got it all “WRONG” when he claimed the president was only inviting Republican governors to an upcoming annual meeting. Trump’s searing response came after the Associated Press reported the bipartisan meeting was “unraveling” on Monday. Stitt — who chairs the National Governors Association — said the group was ditching the annual meeting because Trump had not invited his Democratic colleagues, who are equal members of the group. Trump posted on Truth Social that he was only...

A Las Cruces woman is behind bars after police say she gave birth to a baby girl inside a portable toilet and left the newborn in the holding tank, resulting in the child’s death. According to authorities, 38-year-old Sonia Jimenez was arrested following an investigation that began late Saturday night. Around 10:30 p.m., staff at Memorial Medical Center contacted law enforcement after Jimenez arrived at the hospital appearing to have recently delivered a baby. Medical personnel quickly realized the newborn was not with her and alerted police. Officers began questioning those connected to Jimenez, including her boyfriend, who told investigators...

Former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker and assistant coach Joey Porter Sr. said quarterback Ben Roethlisberger wasn't a good teammate or person in a podcast recorded during the week of the Super Bowl. He also said Roethlisberger and linebacker James Harrison "broke the brotherhood" by discussing team business and criticizing former head coach Mike Tomlin on their own podcasts. "[Harrison] broke the brotherhood," Porter said. "Then seven [Roethlisberger] definitely broke the brotherhood. Out of anybody that should talk, he should never grab a microphone and really talk Steeler business. Because if we talk Steelers' business, his a-- is foul of all foul....

When President Donald Trump signed a law that allowed for the National School Lunch Program to distribute whole milk again, he was actually sending out a signal to neo-Nazis, so says a New York University professor. In January, President Trump celebrated the bipartisan “Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025,” which will allow the federally subsidized school lunch program to offer the higher-fat content dairy once against. President Obama removed the option in 2010 over fears it was contributing to childhood obesity. The legislation passed by a voice vote in the U.S. House and unanimously in the U.S. Senate,...

The St. Paul Police Department said a multi-car crash on Wednesday was caused by federal agents pursuing a person in a vehicle. The person being pursued had non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to the hospital. The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that it was a targeted stop of a person from Honduras who “tried to evade law enforcement and began driving recklessly and ran red lights, endangering public safety and law enforcement.” At least three cars had damage from the crash, which happened outside Nina’s Coffee Cafe at the intersection of Western Avenue North and Selby Avenue....

An anti-ICE agitator has been found guilty of committing a series of federal criminal offenses at the ICE facility in Portland last summer. David Pearl, 35, of Portland, Oregon, was convicted Tuesday for creating a disturbance at the ICE facility and failing to obey a lawful order. He was found guilty during a four-hour bench trial before US District Court Judge Jolie A. Russo. Pearl has been sentenced to one year of probation and must complete 10 hours of community service. He is the first of dozens of protesters to take his case to trial over alleged offenses committed at...

It’s that time of year that some people forget about, until it happens: A young girl wearing a badge or tie appears at your door or in the grocery store sporting a cheerful smile and offering the treat you suddenly crave: Girl Scout Cookies. Yes, it is indeed Girl Scout Cookie season, but this year will look different as many scouts will be selling cookies online rather than knocking door-to-door. “Given the community unrest and the instability in our communities, many of our Girl Scouts are choosing not to sell cookies in person,” Girl Scouts River Valley chief experience officer...

Rulings could mean easier paths to reelection for some New Mexico incumbents. SANTA FE — If he rebuffs a primary challenge, U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján is set to avoid a Republican opponent in his bid for a second term, after a potential GOP opponent was disqualified Tuesday for failing to meet ballot requirements. The disqualification of Republican candidate Christopher Vanden Heuvel of Rio Rancho means that for the first time in modern state history the state's general election ballot for a U.S. Senate race will have only one major party candidate. In all, [Democrat] Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse...

Canada's major airlines have all suspended service to Cuba, with Air Transat announcing Monday evening it was joining Air Canada and WestJet in cancelling all flights, as the Caribbean island's major airport warns it will run out of jet fuel. All three airlines said they had plans to bring travellers home to Canada. Over the following days, Air Canada will fly empty planes to pick up approximately 3,000 customers already in Cuba and return them home, the airline said Monday in a statement. "Air Canada took the decision following advisories issued by governments (NOTAMs) regarding the unreliability of the aviation...

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot tells lawmaker the French government demands UN Rapporteur's resignation after her latest hateful rant against Israel. “France unreservedly condemns the outrageous and reprehensible remarks made by Ms. Francesca Albanese, which are directed not at the Israeli government, whose policies may be criticized, but at Israel as a people and as a nation, which is absolutely unacceptable," Barrot said. He stated that Albanese's remarks “target not the Israeli government, whose policies can be criticized, but Israel as a people and as a nation, which is absolutely unacceptable," and that they "add to a long list of...

WASHINGTON — The sudden and surprising airspace closure over El Paso, Texas, on Wednesday stemmed from the Pentagon's plans to test a laser for use in shooting down drones used by Mexican drug cartels, according to three people familiar with the situation who were granted anonymity to share sensitive details. That caused friction with the Federal Aviation Administration, which wanted to ensure commercial air safety and the two agencies sought to coordinate, according to two of the people. Despite a meeting scheduled later this month to discuss the issue, the Pentagon wanted to go ahead and test the laser, prompting...