Free Republic

The FDA is drawing up plans to put a 'black box' warning on Covid vaccines, the agency's most serious warning over potential side effects, reports suggest. The move was revealed to CNN by two people familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. A black box warning, which appears at the top of prescribing information, is placed on drugs or vaccines to highlight major risks such as serious side effects or restrictions. Sources did not specify what the warning would contain, or whether it would apply to only...

Since January 2025, over 250 attorneys—roughly 70%—have left, been reassigned, or accepted deferred resignation offers from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, signaling an unprecedented weakening of the agency responsible for enforcing federal civil rights law. This mass exodus follows the appointment of Trump ally Harmeet Dhillon, who has refocused the division’s priorities toward conservative causes such as voter fraud investigations and curbing transgender rights, while sidelining traditional civil rights enforcement in areas like housing discrimination, education, and police oversight. Entire sections, including Voting Rights and Title VI enforcement, have been reduced to fewer than five attorneys—or none...

WASHINGTON — Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy threatened Friday to yank $73 million in federal highway funding meant for New York after an audit found more than half of the Empire State’s commercial trucking licenses were issued to foreign-born drivers in the US illegally. “What New York does is if an applicant comes in and they have a work authorization — for 30 days, 60 days, one year — New York automatically issues them an eight-year commercial driver’s license,” Duffy said during a press conference at DOT headquarters in DC Friday. “That’s contrary to the law.” “But we also found that...

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Sherrone Moore, the lauded head coach of the University of Michigan’s storied football program, threw away his $30 million career when his affair with his assistant came to light — a scandal that was capped by his stunning arrest over allegations of assault. The 39-year-old married dad of three’s promising career quickly came to a crashing end Wednesday. He was booted as Michigan’s head coach that afternoon and, within the same hour, he was busted on criminal charges for allegedly breaking into the home of his executive assistant, Paige Shiver, with a knife in hand. Moore...

Cannabis stocks jumped on Friday as the White House prepared to significantly ease federal restrictions on marijuana. President Donald Trump is expected to issue an executive order as soon as Monday that would allow for reclassification of weed, a source familiar with the matter told CNBC. Such a move would allow cannabis companies to fall under different tax regulations and encourage investment.Cannabis stocks took a leg up in Friday’s midday trading following CNBC’s report. The Washington Post first reported on Thursday that Trump was expected to use an executive order to instruct federal agencies to reclassify marijuana as a less...

Democratic Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson asserted on Friday that he made a mistake when he referred to the Nov. 26 murder of a National Guardsman as an “unfortunate accident.” Thompson’s remarks downplaying the attack, which caused West Virginia National Guard Specialist Sarah Beckstrom’s death, took place during a Thursday House Homeland Security Committee hearing. When “CNN News Central” host Kate Bolduan asked him about the phrase he used, he denied it reflected his sentiment. “[Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem], in the back-and-forth with you, she called you out when you were speaking and asking her question, and you called the...

Barry Loudermilk, Chairman of the new House Republican-led Select Subcommittee on January 6, claims that key surveillance footage showing areas near the RNC and DNC where pipe bombs were placed the prior evening was not preserved. Republican Rep. Loudermilk (GA-11) made the jaw-dropping accusation in a recent interview. "There's still so many questions regarding this, because one of the things that has raised our eyebrows is as we go and we look for video on January 6th, because we want early morning video on January 6th to see, did anybody go back to these locations?" he said. "Unfortunately, that video...

Representative Delia Ramirez, an Illinois Democrat, demanded on Thursday that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem either resign or face impeachment. The congresswoman requested that House Judiciary chairman Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, and Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat, carry out an investigation into Noem’s leadership of DHS, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the agencies spearheading the Trump administration’s mass deportation policy. “Under Secretary Kristi Noem’s leadership, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has done irreversible harm to our constituents, trampling the rights of all people and disregarding...

WTF? BlackRock CEO Larry Fink is now directly involved in Ukraine negotiations alongside Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Source: Bloomberg. We’ve gone from a moneyproxy war to a privatized reconstruction racket, and now to global asset managers and Trump’s inner-circle real-estate cronies literally inserting themselves into diplomatic negotiations over a live war zone. BlackRock has already positioned itself to manage Ukraine’s postwar “rebuilding” aka a $400+ billion fire-sale of national assets. Now Fink is reportedly sitting at the table with Twink Kushner and Real Estate Agent Witkoff, because to them Ukraine’s fate is a business venture, not a sovereign crisis....

The shocking cause of death for the California-based food influencer Michael Duarte has been revealed more than a month after he was shot and killed by a Texas sheriff’s deputy. Duarte — known online as FoodWithBearHands — died from a gunshot wound, a spokesperson for the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office told People on Wednesday. The full autopsy report remains pending, the spokesperson said.

[Catholic Caucus] Poll: Most Catholic voters support Trump, deportations despite bishops’ concernA majority of Catholic voters in the United States have a favorable opinion of President Donald Trump and support the broad-scale deportation of immigrants who are in the country illegally, according to a poll published by EWTN News and RealClear Opinion Research on Dec. 11.The poll surveyed 1,000 self-identified Catholics from Nov. 9 through Nov. 11, nearly 10 months after Trump assumed office. Trump won the Catholic vote in the 2024 election last year, and one of his campaign promises was mass deportations — a policy strongly opposed by...

DALLAS — A Dallas judge has ordered Home Marketing Services (HMS) CEO Robert "Bob" Lovell, who is known for TV ads with the tagline "Bless your heart," to pay $5,740,095 in damages, fees and interest to a woman who sued him, alleging sexual harassment and sexual assault in the workplace, court records show. The lawsuit was filed in Dallas County in 2021 by a woman identified only as "Jane Doe," who alleged Lovell, the founder and longtime owner of HMS, required her to perform sexual acts on him in the workplace while she worked at HMS over the span of...

The kanji 熊 (kuma), meaning “bear,” came out on top in popular voting for the kanji of the year for 2025. Powerful wild animals encroaching into human settlements were an irresistible image propelling the character past 米 (kome, “rice”) in a closely contested race.

SCRANTON, Pa. (WNEP) - Two women were killed and another was hospitalized from a machete attack in Pennsylvania. Police in Scranton said they are still investigating the machete attack at the Hotel Jermyn apartments on Tuesday night. Two women and a service dog were killed, plus a third woman was critically wounded and in the hospital. “The vast majority of this incident, the vast majority is all on video surveillance and it is horrific to watch,” Lackawanna County District Attorney Brian Gallagher said. “The offender and victims were residents of the Jermyn Hotel, and the motive and reasons for his...

They decked the halls — and each other. A ritzy Nantucket Christmas celebration erupted into mayhem as men decked out in “Ralph Lauren and Burberry” traded blows just moments after Santa Claus made his appearance, according to shocking footage. The wild brawl broke out on Federal Street on Saturday afternoon during the Massachusetts island’s 51st Annual Christmas Stroll, where hundreds had gathered to visit local businesses in one of America’s priciest small towns, the Nantucket Current reported. In dramatic video shared with the outlet, about a dozen men — ranging in age from 20s to 60s — were seen arguing...

“We’re saying Merry Christmas again!” President Trump declared recently, referring to the politically correct social pressure Christians sometimes feel to downplay the holiday greeting in order to be more “inclusive” of non-Christians. For decades now, as the culture has become more secular, references to Christ have been gradually drained from the season celebrating His birth: schools have changed “Christmas break” to “winter break”; Christmas tree lighting ceremonies have become “Winter” or “Holiday” tree lightings; and most notoriously, “Happy Holidays” has replaced “Merry Christmas” in many chain stores, advertisements, and corporate settings. Some claim that the idea of a “war...

Daily Readings from the USCCBFeast of Our Lady of GuadalupeThen the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.” Luke 1:30–31Of all the saints throughout the ages, none has proved to be as powerful an evangelist as the Mother of God. While on Earth, she lived a mostly hidden life, demonstrating the perfection of virtue to those closest to her. As a young mother, she cared daily for the needs of her divine Son, constantly...

The City Club of Cleveland is defying LGBTQ+ activist pressure to cancel or substantially alter an event featuring a conservative Christian leader next month, and Ohio’s attorney general is standing with the venue. “We’re not canceling, and we have never had any intention of canceling this,” Dan Moulthrop, the City Club’s CEO, told The Daily Signal in an interview Wednesday. “We’re gonna continue to do what we always do, and have done for 113 years, which is convene conversations of consequence that help democracy thrive and do that with the leadership of relevant organizations who are shaping our communities.” Moulthrop...

A tourist viciously stabbed by a crazed homeless woman inside a bathroom at Macy’s Herald Square had been changing her 10-month-old daughter at the time, sources told The Post. The 38-year-old mom, who was visiting from California, was in the seventh-floor bathroom with her baby when she was repeatedly knifed Thursday afternoon, the sources said. The victim suffered knife wounds to her back, shoulder and arm in the unhinged attack that unfolded during the holiday shopping rush at the packed flagship store in Midtown. The alleged attacker, Kerri Aherne, 43, was arrested on charges of attempted murder, assault and weapon...

Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar’s second husband has emerged online, referring to himself as a "dirty dandy" on Instagram while showing off a fun-loving lifestyle in South Africa, according to reports.Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, 40, who spent time abroad after leaving the U.S., is now believed to be in Johannesburg, where he has been chronicling his time there, the New York Post reported.The outlet revealed social media posts showing him wearing a visitor’s badge at the University of the Witwatersrand and enjoying upscale venues as he documents his day-to-day life.Elmi's reappearance also coincided with President Trump pushing his allegation the Minnesota...