Free Republic

VA pulls the plug on Biden’s $77M EV-charger earmarkVA will instead ensure money is used to improve care and services for VeteransWASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs today announced it has terminated a Biden-Administration mandate to spend $77 million on electric vehicle charging stations at VA facilities. The money will instead be redirected to critical health care construction projects. In fiscal year 2023, the Biden White House forced VA to divert $77 million from its construction and technology budget to build solar powered electric vehicle charging stations at VA facilities. The Democrat-controlled Congress approved this funding diversion, but the...

Siena men's lacrosse coach Liam Gleason has died, the school announced Wednesday, three days after he suffered a traumatic brain injury in a fall at his home. He was 41. Gleason led the Saints to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship and a berth in the NCAA tournament this past season, which was his seventh at the Loudonville, New York, school. "A sudden, senseless loss carries a kind of pain that defies understanding," Siena president Chuck Seifert said. "It's hard to imagine anyone more universally loved and admired than Liam. Our community was blessed by Coach Gleason's life."

Guitarist Steve Cropper, who left an indelible impression on Memphis soul music as an instrumentalist, producer and songwriter at Stax Records, has died, his son Cameron confirmed to Variety on Wednesday. He was 84. Cropper was best known to the public for his distinctive, economical lead/rhythm work in the hit-making interracial instrumental combo Booker T. & the MG’s, but his playing also fired dozens of tracks – some of which he produced or engineered — cut at Stax Records’ studio by such soul greats as Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Sam & Dave, Rufus and Carla Thomas and Eddie Floyd. In...

A convicted cryptocurrency fraudster and his wife watched each other being tortured to death after kidnappers failed to gain access to their £380million fortune, according to Russian investigators. Roman Novak and his wife Anna vanished on October 2 after being lured to the Hatta resort area, around 80 miles from Dubai, by criminals pretending to be potential investors. Their mobile phones last pinged near the barren Hajar mountains on the border with Oman, where police later uncovered the couple's remains during a large-scale search across a 500-by-500-metre stretch of sand. Russian media have revealed fresh details about what happened after...

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) has a marketing problem. Everyone knows we have too much of it in the atmosphere but it also has a number of uses in everyday society. Currently the US Southeast is readying to cope with or already in the throes of an acute CO₂ shortage, exacerbated by the temporary shutdown of a plant critical to the CO₂ supply in the region. The Hopewell plant in Virginia is scheduled to undergo maintenance from late September, potentially causing a massive impact on CO₂ supply for up to eight weeks. The shortage has far-reaching implications: disrupting supply chains, increasing product...

There were signs that heroin from Myanmar is reaching markets in Europe previously supplied by Afghanistan, with several seizures over the past year that involved passengers travelling from Southeast Asia to Europe. Opium poppy cultivation in Myanmar surged to its highest level in a decade this year as the nation crippled by civil war remains one of the world's primary suppliers of illicit drugs, according to a new United Nations report. The growth solidifies Myanmar's position as the world’s main known source of illicit opium, particularly following a sharp decline in production in Afghanistan after the Taliban imposed a ban...

(snip) All you need to do is buy the right product, and you'll be experiencing top-shelf tastes at a bottom-shelf cost. To make sure you're getting the best of the best without overpaying, we turned to a slew of experienced bartenders from across the country to get their choices for the best whiskeys that not only won't break the bank, but that are also readily available for anyone to find. Evan Williams Bottled In Bond Evan Williams bottled-in-bond has both the glowing endorsements of numerous bartenders, and an authentication from the U.S. government to boot. The government supervised requirements for...

Despite the steady rise of contactless payments and mobile wallets, cash still plays a major role in everyday life across Spain. Whether it’s for small purchases, tips or local shops, many people continue to rely on banknotes — which means ATMs remain more important than ever. And unfortunately, that also makes them an easy target for criminals looking for quick and discreet opportunities. While we often imagine ATM crime involving complicated hacking or technical attacks, the reality is that some of the most effective scams are surprisingly simple. One of them, known as the so-called “banknote scam,” has been catching...

RNC dream scenario: Democrats hire Audie Cornish as their campaign consultant—and heed her advice. Because on today's CNN This Morning, which she hosts, Cornish claimed that Democrats can win in places like Tennessee by running to the left of Zohran Mamdani, the radical socialist mayor-elect of NYC! Get the rest of the story and view the video here.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (TCN) -- A popular YouTube personality known as “Mr. Crafty Pants” for his online arts and crafts tutorials was arrested Oct. 22 for allegedly possessing and trading explicit images of minors on Kik, a messaging app. Michael David Booth, 39, was charged with 29 felony counts related to possessing and distributing matter portraying sexual performances by minors. He appeared in Jefferson County District Court on Oct. 23 and pleaded not guilty to all charges. According to WDRB, court docs say the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children tipped police off about Booth’s Kik account. A subpoena and...

Bangor Daily News Susan Collins says Maine should be ‘transparent’ with SNAP data amid Trump’s threat by Billy Kobin December 3, 2025 U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said Maine should be “transparent” with data on food stamp recipients and their immigration status but expected a threat from President Donald Trump’s administration to withhold aid to states over the issue to be blocked in court. The president initially asked states earlier in the year to provide the data on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Most Republican-led states did so. Maine was among the 21 Democratic-led states that partnered on a lawsuit that...

Texas researchers have now definitively dated a distinctive rock art tradition, a profound discovery shared across multiple ancient Mesoamerican cultures.For thousands of years, ancient forager societies across southwest Texas and northern Mexico painted these stunning murals, known as the "Pecos River Style," inside remote limestone rock shelters.These colossal murals stretch up to 100 feet long and soar 20 feet tall...Though the desert climate perfectly preserved these significant American works, researchers only recently attempted to date the tradition...To pinpoint the art's origin, researchers employed 57 radiocarbon dating analyses across 12 sites, utilizing plasma oxidation and accelerator mass spectrometry, which firmly placed...

MyPillow founder Mike Lindell, a controversial election denier and supporter of President Trump, has taken steps toward trying to become the governor of Minnesota in next year's midterm elections. State records show paperwork has been filed signaling Lindell may soon announce a statewide run. Lindell told CBS News in a phone call that he has not 100% decided on a gubernatorial run but wanted to file paperwork in case he does commit. He said earlier this year that he would run as a Republican. He said he will further discuss his potential run at a press conference scheduled for next...

President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Michael Whatley in North Carolina’s U.S. Senate race isn’t deterring other Republicans from the race. Whatley, the former Republican National Committee chairman who Trump endorsed this summer, is expected to face Waxhaw lawyer Don Brown and teacher Elizabeth Temple of Smithfield in the GOP primary to replace outgoing Republican U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, who isn’t seeking reelection in next year’s midterms. Whatley filed candidacy paperwork Tuesday, a day after Brown and Temple filed. The Republican field could grow; candidates can file to run until Dec. 19. *** A competitive GOP primary could affect the party’s...

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump will eliminate fuel standard regulations imposed by President Joe Biden when he signs an executive order on Dec. 3 in the Oval Office. His directive will reduce the number of miles a vehicle must travel on a mile of gasoline, a move that will mitigate car price increases of about $1,000 and save Americans approximately $109 billion, according to administration officials. Representatives from Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis are expected to join the president for the signing ceremony. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a division of the Department of Transportation, oversees the Corporate Average Fuel Economy...

Explanation: What would it look like to plunge into a monster black hole? This image from a supercomputer visualization shows the entire sky as seen from a simulated camera plunging toward a 4-million-solar-mass black hole, similar to the one at the center of our galaxy. The camera lies about 16 million kilometers from the black hole’s event horizon and is moving inward at 62% the speed of light. Thanks to gravity’s funhouse effects, the starry band of the Milky Way appears both as a compact loop at the top of this view and as a secondary image stretching across the...

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed to cover two-thirds of Ukraine’s financing needs for the next two yearsBRUSSELS, December 3. /TASS/. The European Commission has come up with an alternative financing plan to cover Ukraine's military and civilian needs for the next two years, one that doesn't involve the use of frozen Russian assets, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced. "We are proposing to cover two-thirds of Ukraine’s financing needs for the next two years - this is 90 bln euros. The remainder will be for international partners to cover. The first option is to raise...

Aga Khan Studs' Calandagan, Europe's newly minted Horse of the Year and world's top-rated racehorse, became the first foreign-based runner in 20 years to win the Japan Cup (G1) Sunday at Tokyo Racecourse and did so in record time. Ridden by Mickael Barzalona for trainer Francis-Henri Graffard, the 4-year-old Gleneagles gelding unleashed a stout late rally and outbattled favorite Masquerade Ball by a head. In the process, he set course record of 2:20.3 for the 2,400 meters (about 1 1/2 miles), eclipsing the former record 2:20.6 set by Almond Eye in the 2018 Japan Cup. His victory is the first...

A bill to end federal benefits including Medicaid, housing assistance, student financial aid, and food stamps for noncitizens has been introduced by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) in an effort to “put American citizens first,” Breitbart News has learned. The proposal was released on Wednesday morning, with the third-ranking Senate Republican writing in an authorization to denaturalize naturalized citizens who “undermine domestic tranquility” by participating in unlawful protests involving violence or property destruction, and to “expand expedited removal authority.” Cotton’s bill also addresses concerns regarding Afghan nationals living in the U.S. after it was determined that the suspected shooter who attacked...

A worship center for evangelical churches has commenced construction in Qatar, marking a significant spiritual milestone in the history of evangelicals in the country. The project, costing $33.35 million, is expected to be completed in April 2028. Evangelical Churches Alliance Qatar (ECAQ) made this announcement at the General Assembly of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) held at the end of October in Seoul... The ECAQ stated that the worship center is not merely a building but a base for spreading Christ's message in the Middle East. It will serve as a place for spiritual formation, denominational unity, and worship, testifying...