Free Republic

President Trump has made lowering prescription drug prices a clear priority, repeatedly arguing that Americans should not be forced to pay more for medicine than patients in other developed countries. Drugmakers have publicly welcomed that message. But their actions tell a more complicated story.First reported by Reuters this week, pharmaceutical companies are raising list prices on more than 350 drugs for 2026. Many of the increases were small, but others were not, including sharp hikes on certain hospital-administered and specialty medicines that patients and providers rely on every day.Among the steepest increases were those for Demerol, a painkiller used in...

The final text of the proposed death penalty bill for terrorists, advanced by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, was published for the first time on Tuesday morning by KAN News.According to the formulated text, the death penalty would be carried out by hanging. The sentence would be executed by a prison guard appointed for that purpose by the Commissioner of the Israel Prison Service.The bill stipulates that the identities of the executing guards will remain confidential and that they will be granted full criminal immunity.Convicted terrorists would be incarcerated in a separate detention facility and would not be allowed...

Consider the claim that the United States imported not just tens of thousands of Somali pirates and fraudsters, but hundreds of deadly killers as refugees. This notion demands careful unpacking, for it touches on matters of immigration policy, national security, and moral accountability. One might wonder how such a large-scale influx could occur without proper vetting, much like the hasty resettlement of Afghan refugees after the 2021 withdrawal. The answer lies in a pattern of lax procedures that prioritized volume over scrutiny, leading to unforeseen consequences in communities like those in Minnesota. Neither the residents of Minneapolis nor the...

Soon after Eric Holder was confirmed as Barack Obama’s attorney general in February 2009 he gave a speech to his new employees in honor of Black History Month. It proved memorable. “Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot,” said Holder, “in things racial we have always been and continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards.” In February 2023 Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams showed that not all white Americans were afraid to speak about race. On his podcast, “Real Coffee with Scott Adams,” the soft-spoken Adams delivered a droll, only...

The overlooked value of social media is how it provides people with a global platform for broadcasting rank stupidity. This week’s first contestant in the race to the bottom is Ken Martin, Chair of the Democratic National Committee, who plowed new ground by comparing events in Minnesota to those in -- wait for it -- Iran. That’s right; thousands of Iranians being slaughtered because they want to be free of the mullahs is exactly like one American being killed for trying to run down an ICE agent. "From Tehran to my birthplace of Minneapolis,” wrote Martin, “people are rising up...

Charlie Kirk stood up for many causes but as Dick Morris pointed out recently in his book about Charlie, the primary cornerstone of his public advocacy was the right to life of the unborn. He insisted that every human life deserves protection, and he loved to support the pregnancy center movement. “It’s not enough to be against abortion,” he said at an event in 2023. “We have to actually help women choose life.” The life and legacy of the founder of Turning Point USA, killed by an assassin’s bullet as he spoke to students at Utah Valley University last September,...

BLUE BELL, Pa. -- An 11-year-old Eagles fan from Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, has become a social media sensation after a video of his passionate reaction to the team's wild-card loss to the San Francisco 49ers spread widely online with millions of views. The clip shows Sam Salvo expressing frustration after Sunday night's game. "I want A.J. Brown packing his bags and going somewhere else that is not here," he says in the video. He adds, "I want Kevin Patullo flipping burgers at the local McDonald's or something. Whenever he's an offensive coordinator, it's like he's flipping burgers. One side, he's...

Brussels doubles down on gender, diversity, and decarbonisation while Europe’s strategic and social problems are pushed aside. The European Commission has just made public its political priorities for 2026, and the result is hard to justify from any minimally realistic perspective. In an international context marked by war, geopolitical competition, energy insecurity, and internal social deterioration, Brussels has chosen to double down on an ideological agenda that appears utterly detached from the material reality facing Europeans. While much of the world is moving towards more pragmatic positions on foreign policy, defence, and economic sovereignty, the European Union insists on turning...

President Donald Trump declared that he will be cutting off federal funds to sanctuary jurisdictions across the country beginning in February. The White House will cease all federal payments to city and state governments that restrict cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities, Trump said Tuesday while addressing the Detroit Economic Club. The declaration follows intense national focus on immigration policy, with multiple lawsuits against enforcement surges racking up and Democrats demanding the Department of Homeland Security scale back activities.

The Daily Wire’s newest host Matt Fradd is launching the “new era” of his show “Pints With Aquinas” on The Daily Wire on Monday. The first episode of Fradd’s long-form interview show features Dr. Brant Pitre for a conversation about the historical evidence that supports the Bible. Fradd invited his followers to share the episode with “everybody who is not yet convinced of the reliability of the Bible and the divinity of the Lord Jesus,” and predicted it “will be life-changing for many.” Fradd’s show has been running since 2016 and his catalogue features more than 500 episodes, many of...

When my daughter turned 1, we gave her a stuffed-lamb toy to try to coax her away from her pacifier. Fortunately, it worked like a charm and Lambchop became a member of the family. Lambchop now joins us during family meals, family vacations, and even family photo shoots. As my daughter has grown, I’ve had to convince her that sometimes Lambchop has to stay in the car while she’s at school or on a playdate so it won’t go missing. While she’s gone and I’m running errands, Lambchop rides shotgun. And when my daughter gets back in the car, she...

The doll was expected to be available at Mattel's online shop and at Target stores starting Monday for a suggested retail price of $11.87.Mattel Inc. is introducing an autistic Barbie on Monday as the newest member of its line intended to celebrate diversity, joining a collection that already includes Barbies with Down syndrome, a blind Barbie, a Barbie and a Ken with vitiligo, and other models the toymaker added to make its fashion dolls more inclusive. Mattel said it developed the autistic doll over more than 18 months in partnership with the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, a nonprofit organization that...

Since coming into the league, Kelsey Plum has been one of the most popular players among WNBA fans, not just because of her skills but also her look. Between her scoring ability and her public profile, she’s always found herself at the center of online conversations — some more unserious than others. This week, one of those discussions took a strange turn on X. A post from @nikas2points sparked chatter after it read, “I feel like Kelsey Plum was meant to be gay. Devastating loss to the lesbian community that this mistake hasn’t been corrected yet.” That single tweet opened...

Speaking during an hour-long conversation with 22-year-old evangelist Bryce Crawford on the "Bryce Crawford Podcast," Carlson argued that the political debates in the U.S. often distract from deeper spiritual problems. "To make it Republican versus Democrat is completely false, and it also ignores the deeper truth, which is our problems start within us," he said. "And I honestly think that one of the biggest problems — sorry to shock your viewers — is pornography on the internet." Carlson went on to suggest self-destructive sexual depravity is a result of "the last 80 years of prosperity," which he said "has driven...

Adams told podcast listeners this month his odds of recovery are 'essentially zero' after cancer diagnosis. Dilbert" creator Scott Adams is in hospice care at his Northern California home as his health declines "rapidly" amid his battle with prostate cancer, his ex-wife said. Shelly Miles, who was married to the cartoonist from 2006 to 2014, told TMZ that Adams had begun receiving "end-of-life care" at his home last week. Miles said that she, her sister and Adams' stepdaughter Savannah, along with nurses, have been caring for him.

Lately, I’ve been noticing behavior from adults that would’ve been considered unusual — or even unacceptable — not that long ago. This video isn’t about politics, sides, or beliefs. It’s about behavior, accountability, and how adults are responding to stress, conflict, and frustration in public spaces. Public outbursts, emotional escalation, lack of self-control, and performative behavior used to be rare. Now, they’re becoming common — and that should concern all of us. This isn’t a judgment. It’s an observation. And it raises an important question: When did this become normal?

Mattel is expanding its push for inclusion with the launch of its first autistic Barbie, developed in partnership with autism advocates to reflect how some people on the spectrum experience the world. Mattel spent more than 18 months developing the autistic Barbie in partnership with the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN), a nonprofit that works to advance the rights and media representation of autistic people. The aim, the company said, was to design a doll that reflects some of the ways autistic individuals experience and navigate the world around them. The doll includes articulated elbows and wrists to allow for...

Do you think that the U.S. federal government might be a good place to seek reasonable guidance on matters involving science? If so, I question your sanity. In recent years the part of the federal enterprise masquerading as “science” has suffered one debacle after another resulting from acceptance and promotion of pseudoscience, examples being Covid lockdowns and school closures, let alone the entire catastrophic climate change fiasco. Do you remember the CDC ordering (on no authority) a nationwide eviction moratorium (until struck down by the Supreme Court)? And of course, the acceptance of pseudoscience by a federal bureaucracy is somehow...

Contrary to what non-Deadheads might expect, conservatives across the country were saddened last Saturday to hear of the death of Bob Weir, Grateful Dead rhythm guitarist and the cute, preppie one. Although a psychedelic, tie-dyed rock band out of Haight-Ashbury doesn’t seem synonymous with right-wing sensibilities, it was—a lot more than people probably think. The Grateful Dead was supremely American. No other nation on earth could have produced music like this, a synthesis of blues, R&B, country, folk, rock, even a little jazz. Nowhere else would a band origin story be the following: The 16-year-old Weir and friends were bumming...

Here’s a wild one: rumors asserting that Delta Force troops used a “sonic weapon” against Maduro’s bodyguard troops while picking him up last week have been confirmed by Karoline Leavitt. While sonic weapons such as the LRAD (Long Range Acoustic Device) and sound cannons have been used for years against targets such as Somalian pirates (what a pleasure it is to write that) and rioters, this weapon appears to operate on an entirely new level of effectiveness. Eyewitness reports of the raid on Caracas describe troops falling to their knees with their noses and mouths spurting blood, a level of...