Free Republic

The threat of “ghost students” has become so prevalent at Minnesota’s largest community college that administrators now say nearly a third of all applications to the school are potentially fraudulent. That revelation recently came from Dara Hagen, vice president of Student Affairs at Normandale Community College in Bloomington. Enrollment fraud — using stolen identities of real people with the goal of stealing taxpayer-funded student aid — has become a nationwide problem over the last few years. “Since then, we’ve had about 29,000 fraudulent or potentially fraudulent applications that we’ve processed,” Hagen said. “We were seeing probably 42% of our applications...

SAN DIEGO — NASCAR San Diego announced today that it is re-enlisting for another tour of duty in 2027. After a successful, sold-out debut in 2026, NASCAR San Diego Weekend presented by Anduril will return with the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series on July 30-Aug. 1 at Naval Base Coronado. NASCAR’s finest will once again answer the call of the 16-turn, 3.4-mile Qualcomm Circuit at Naval Air Station North Island. The street course, nestled inside the Birthplace of Naval Aviation, became one of the most challenging and picturesque in the history of motorsports, and in 2027,...

A federal appellate court has rejected the Biden Department of Energy’s attempt to bypass public advance notice in instituting regulations on gas stoves in 2024. Several states, including Texas, had filed comments objecting to the regulations, which the department rejected. The states sought judicial review and won—with a court concluding that the rules should have been dismissed. The matter is being remanded to the department for further proceedings consistent with the court’s opinion. A Direct Final Rule (DFR) A federal appellate court has rejected the Biden Department of Energy’s attempt to bypass public advance notice in instituting regulations on gas...

SpaceX has just officially announced Starbase, Louisiana, a new $100+ billion spaceport in South Louisiana near Pecan Island. Construction starts in 2027, with the first Starship launch from the new site planned for 2029. Starbase, Louisiana will be built to support thousands of Starship flights a year. This self-sustaining spaceport will have propellant production, power generation, deep-water shipping capabilities, vehicle processing facilities, and an airport. SpaceX is committed to investing at least $100 billion and creating more than 3,000 new jobs at Starbase, Louisana hiring heavily from nearby communities and utilizing Louisiana workers’ extensive experience of building complex infrastructure in...

“Though he did not offer many details about the third film, Turteltaub predicted that it would inevitably have to address modern politics,” reports the New York Post. “We have to be very careful, but I don’t feel we are allowed to ignore it,” Turteltaub said. “I think we have to include that idea in the story somehow without making someone feel put off.” Expect gay stuff, the DACA chick to show the white guy Nic Cage how it’s done, and lectures about slavery and colonialism. Yep, that’s how much they hate us.

It has been amusing to watch mainstream journalists (who’ve largely ignored the national debt crisis until it hit a nice round number of $40 trillion) try to explain how it’s all the fault of Middle East wars and tax cuts. Somehow, the fact that federal spending has increased by nearly 300% over the past 25 years never enters the picture. Instead, we get endless accounts about how President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act will add $4 trillion to the national debt, and how previous tax cuts by Trump and George W. Bush are supposedly responsible for more than...

Iran, Oman propose 'temporary navigational corridor' through Strait of Hormuz, demining operation Iran and Oman issued a joint statement announcing a proposal to open a "temporary navigational corridor" through the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday. The statement, published by Oman's foreign ministry, said the two countries also agreed to a joint effort to clear the strait of mines. "The proposed framework includes the establishment of a joint temporary navigational corridor through the Strait of Hormuz and an agreement to implement a joint project to clear the Strait of mines. Technical negotiations between the two sides would continue with a view...

Dolly Parton the country music icon behind some of the biggest songs ever recorded -- has died.Her head of security announced her death Tuesday on Instagram.

SEVERAL VIDEOS AT LINK................. Abdul El-Sayed completely misunderstood the swipe JD Vance recently took at him and his beloved Sharia law. Either that, or El-Sayed has so normalized blurring the lines that he thinks EVERYTHING is a racial white supremacy issue. Should I mention that both options may be in play? Here’s what happened. JD Vance gave a speech at a Steel Mill where his ‘Papaw’ previously spent decades working hard to earn a living. During the speech, the Vice President took a swipe at El-Sayed for supporting Islamic Sharia law. Vance imagined a scenario in which he told his...

A Washington state public school district is facing a federal lawsuit after officials allegedly searched a Christian child’s backpack for religious materials, confiscated her Bible and later told her she had “no choice” but to participate in school programming that violated her family’s faith. The American Center for Law and Justice says the dispute involving Highline Public Schools began in 2022, when J.H. was a second grader at North Hill Elementary School. School officials repeatedly searched the girl’s backpack and confiscated her Bible and Gospel tracts because she had been talking about her Christian faith with classmates, according to the...

Drugs prescribed for diabetes and chronic obesity such as Ozempic are increasingly sought after for quick, cosmetic weight loss, a life choice pharmacists warn can lead to serious health risks. “We have seen thin people try to come in and get it,” Dr. Carrie Leske, a licensed pharmacist in Minnesota, recently told Just the News. “As pharmacists we are supposed to use our judgment and, if need be, call the physician and try to understand what's going on, because it's supposed to only be used for obese people.” Such prescription medications, known under such popular brand names as Ozempic and...

[Catholic Caucus] An Interview with Don Pietro Leone in which he discusses his latest book: Vatican II and the Eclipse of God - A Critique of the Council 'In this final version I have been forced to level the charge of atheism against the Council'.CARL HEINRICH BLOCH - THE MOCKING OF CHRIST, 1880"Our Lord is attacked; eternal life is endangered. We have seen the consequences in these postconciliar years. An entirely reprehensible spirit of insubordination has entered the Vatican, a “fertility goddess” is venerated in St. Peter's. This belongs to a context and cannot be passed over in silence."Interview with...

A Smithsonian-affiliated museum features programming minimizing the 2,977 Americans killed by Muslim terrorists and instead says Arabs were also victims in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Off target. A popular chain store released it’s modern version of what some shoppers describe as the modern Jim Crow Halloween outfit. Target has spent the last several years learning an uncomfortable lesson about corporate activism: once a company decides to enter the culture war, there may not be an easy way out. The retail giant is once again facing controversy after pulling a Halloween costume that critics reportedly complained was offensive to black Americans, making only the latest political headache for a company that has repeatedly found itself caught between progressive activists demanding that it embrace ‘social justice’ and...

Artificial intelligence (AI) is not some distant experiment reserved for Silicon Valley giants. It already reshapes Main Street. Far from ushering in Armageddon, AI gives small business owners the power to cut costs, serve customers better, and compete against anyone in the world. Republicans who recoil from this reality are handing the future to Beijing. They also embolden a Democrat party now captured by hard-left forces that despise the very foundations of this country. Roger Williams, congressional Republican from Texas, is chairman of the House Committee on Small Business. He recently convened a hearing titled “AI on Main Street” that...

Glenda Douglas of Shungnak, in the Northwest Arctic Borough, shared this photo on social media of a gasoline purchase she made on Friday, Aug. 21, 2026. (Glenda Douglas photo)It’s not a typo. The price of a gallon of gasoline in the northwest Alaska village of Shungnak was $26.82 on Friday, local residents and regional officials said, likely giving the community the dubious honor of having the most expensive gasoline in the United States.“It is very much real,” said Glenda Douglas, who manages the store in Shungnak and posted a picture of the price on Facebook.Across the United States, the average...

Christian apologist William Lane Craig questioned the Nicene Creed’s doctrine of eternal generation in a recent video clip The Nicene Creed affirms Jesus Christ is “eternally begotten of the Father,” a foundational doctrine established in AD 325 The controversy has sparked debate among Christian scholars and defenders of historic orthodoxy A recent video clip featuring renowned Christian apologist and professor William Lane Craig has ignited controversy within the Christian community after he appeared to question fundamental language in the Nicene Creed. The clip shows Craig raising concerns about the ancient creed’s assertion that Jesus Christ is “eternally begotten of the...

It’s life, Jim – but very much not as we know it. In fact, when it comes to the latest episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, the life forms in question are less flesh-and-blood and more fabric-and-felt – as the series becomes the latest sci-fi show to embrace the magic of puppetry. Level-Five Transporter Accident follows in a longstanding Trek tradition that sees crew members undergo unfortunate transformations while beaming up to the ship. This time, the crew suffers an even greater indignity: thanks to a spot of boldly sewing from the legendary Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, the Enterprise...

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has filed a lawsuit against the ‘Mormon Stories’ Podcast and its creator, alleging that it unlawfully uses trademarked and copyrighted material. On April the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints filed a lawsuit against Open Stories Foundation and John P. Dehlin, who operates the podcast ‘Mormon Stories’. The Church argues that they have used the name Mormon since its founding nearly 200 years ago and that Dehlin’s branding will cause some people to believe ‘Mormon Stories’ is associated with or endorsed by the Church. “Defendants adopted a blue MORMON STORIES logo...

Financelot@FinanceLancelotScott Bessent is choosing to fight the WW3 currency battle now because the 2020 lockdowns forced the entire world to enter the same 5 year debt cycle.Global debt is financed in Dollars.Every home, business and nation loan that was taken out in 2021-2022 now must be rolled over at significantly higher rates.This will compound the Dollar shortage at the precise moment Scott Bessent is threatening to cut off financial institutions and nations from the supply of Dollars.Starving a nation of Dollars forces them to liquidate their forex reserves, including U.S. treasuries significantly below the face value as they face sovereign...