Free Republic

Some of the world's biggest banks, including JP Morgan, Bank of America and US Bancorp, are withdrawing from the student loan market. That's according to a series of reports over the past couple years.It couldn't come at a worse time.That is because it coincides with a rise in students who want student loans.And, the amount of money those students want to borrow is also going up because the price of of a college education keeps rising.This chart tells the story: Federal Reserve Bank of New York -- Staff Reports April 2014 NY Federal Reserve report shows borrowers, and their average...

Andrew started his college graduation day at 6 a.m. with a wakefulness agent called modafinil, sometimes known as Provigil—it was the first time he remembers nootropic brain drugs having such a startling effect. He was juggling family and celebrations along with two ceremonies, engineering in the morning and economics in the afternoon, with a band competition in between, which he won. For 22 waking hours he was happy, alert, firing on all cylinders, oblivious to any fatigue. “At that point, it was like, ‘Holy crap, this stuff can be very powerful,’ ” Andrew told the Observer. Now that he’s a...

The Islamic State’s lightning offensive through Iraq and Syria last year has dominated the headlines, but the jihadist group that has won the most territory in the Arab world over the past six months is Al Qaeda. On balance, the Islamic State has lost territory during this period—though it still controls more overall than Al Qaeda—most prominently, Tikrit and the southern half of the Salah al-Din province. What we are likely to see now is a titanic war of ideology and tactics between two vicious, radical groups that together probably command more prestige among Arab peoples than the weak, often...

BBC bosses have sparked outrage by broadcasting a historic film presented by a notorious child sex campaigner – and have refused requests to remove it from the internet. The documentary is presented by Ian Dunn, one of the founders of the Paedophile Information Exchange (PIE), which campaigned to legalise sex with children. It is one of 30 archive films on the BBC’s website telling the history of the gay rights movement. The 30-minute documentary – Glad To Be Gay? – portrays Dunn as a legitimate gay rights activist and makes no reference to his role in setting up the reviled...

A new poll published by Public Policy Polling shows Florida Republicans Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio need to do a lot of work to become competitive in New Hampshire, the site of the first Republican Presidential Primary election next January. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is looking very strong, leading with 24 percent support. That’s 10 percentage points higher than the second-place Republican, Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. And what’s most impressive is that Walker was only at 3 percent when PPP surveyed New Hampshire voters back in January. Rand Paul is third with 12 percent, and Jeb Bush comes in...

On Monday, I wrote about how Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) is the foreign policy antithesis to Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) in the 2016 GOP presidential field, frequently sparring directly with his fellow member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. To collect some of Rubio's foreign-policy uber-hawkery in one place, I've compiled a list of seven highly questionable judgments by the Cuban-American freshman senator. 1) Supported regime change in Libya. March 30, 2011: [T]his resolution should also state that removing Muammar Qaddafi from power is in our national interest and therefore should authorize the President to accomplish this goal. […]For more...

The CH-53 Super Stallion chopper may have been leaking fuel Source: http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Marine-Helicopter-Lands-Near-Del-Mar-Shores-Beach-299883281.html#ixzz3XV9PVAbB Follow us: @nbcsandiego on Twitter | NBCSanDiego on FacebookA marine helicopter made an unexpected landing near a beach in north San Diego Wednesday, officials confirmed. San Diego lifeguards said a CH-53 Super Stallion marine helicopter landed near Del Mar Shores Beach south of Fletcher Cove at around 11:40 a.m. Firefighters were called to the scene to investigate the chopper for a possible fuel leak. No injuries were reported. Check back for updates on this developing story.

In news only slightly more surprising than this morning's sunrise, Hillary Rodham Clinton announced she is running for president again. The announcement came in the form of a clever video in which Clinton says she wants to be a champion for "everyday Americans" -- an obviously focus-grouped term intended to replace "middle class." I like it, but unless they're very careful, "everyday" has a condescending tinge that could backfire (synonyms include: "dull," "unexceptional" and "commonplace"). One can already imagine a "Saturday Night Live" version of Clinton looking out the window of her private jet: "Wow, those everyday Americans look like...

The administration has granted about 541,000 Social Security numbers to illegal immigrants under President Obama’s original 2012 deportation amnesty for Dreamers, officials told Congress in a letter made public Wednesday. That means almost all of the illegal immigrants approved for the amnesty are being granted work permits and Social Security numbers, opening the door to government benefits ranging from tax credits to driver’s licenses. Social Security officials, in the April 10 letter to Sens. Jeff Sessions and Ben Sasse, said they don’t keep track of how many illegal immigrants have been denied numbers, and defended their process for granting the...

A new poll suggests more Republicans don’t want to see Jeb Bush as the Republican presidential nominee than those that do.According to a Suffolk University/USA Today poll, Bush was the GOP contender that received the most disapproval, followed by former Sen. Rick Santorum and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal who both had zero favorability shown in the poll.

Republican Edward "Ted" Cruz was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2012. He is the first Cuban-American to serve in that role for the state of Texas. Cruz announced his candidacy for the 2016 presidential primary on March 23, 2015. (You can watch the video of his announcement at the bottom of the page.) Cruz is a graduate of Harvard Law School. While in private practice, he worked on the legal team of President George W. Bush during Bush vs. Gore, the Supreme Court case that stopped the recount of disputed ballots in Florida, securing the 2000 election for Bush....

Just asking a question. I never go to Infowars, I think Alex Jones is a nut.  And I hate it when Drudge links to his site, and you never know you are redirected to Inforwars until it’s too late. However, since I know that the staff over there seem to be Putin sympathizers, and have often praised and defended Putin, and Putin just lifted the ban on missiles to Iran, I figured I’d go have a look at what they had to say about it. All they had was a repost of an article by The Telegraph, but the comments...

Capitol building, Visitor's Center placed on lockdownU.S. Capitol Police have detained a man who flew over and landed a gyrocopter on Capitol grounds, causing the building and visitor center to be locked down Wednesday afternoon. The pilot landed around 1:30 p.m. was taken into custody after he landed on the West Front grounds. Police have described the aircraft as a gyrocopter, which is similar to a helicopter in appearance, but uses a different type of propulsion and lift. The USCP Hazardous Devices Section (bomb squad) is continuing to investigate the gyrocopter. The following temporary street closures are in effect, affecting...

BRANDON FL (WFLA) - Walmart customers can't understand what's plaguing the "plumbing problems" of Walmart stores from Brandon to California. "Must be a major plumbing problem is all I can say," would-be customer Dale White said as security guards turned him away from the Supercenter on Brandon Boulevard in Brandon. The retail chain announced Monday that five stores are shutting down - one in Brandon, two in Texas, one in Oklahoma and one in California - due to clogging and drainage problems. ... The shutdown blindsided about 400 Brandon Walmart workers who must now find another store to transfer to...

Bob Trout CBS World News Today

Incredible viral footage (to view, click on image above) shows the moment an Islamic State group suicide bomber’s car was sent flying into the air after a bomb detonated on the ground, and as it hovered in the sky, it suddenly exploded itself.Reports say Islamic State group members were attempting to launch an attack on Kurdish peshmerga forces near Kirkuk in northern Iraq when a car hit a roadside bomb. The vehicle was quickly launched at least 100 feet into the air, and just as gravity is about to take it back down to the ground, what could either...

DES MOINES, Iowa — This week you may notice extra emergency vehicles and public safety officers running around in tactical gear, Hazmat suits, and bomb suits. It’s a part of a statewide drill Des Moines is hosting Tuesday and Wednesday to prepare emergency personnel for dealing with weapons of mass destruction. Brian O’Keefe with the Des Moines Fire Department said emergency officials in Iowa need to be prepared for anything.

Dear Harry, I want to be the first person to apologize to you for assuming "your brother" was part of the mob. The fact of the matter is you still got your ass kicked...period! I mean, a knuckle sammie is a knuckle sammie right? What difference does it make who delivered the pummeling to your face right? Mob, brother, whoever...the end result was the same...you got your ass kicked and it still felt the same right? You were the lucky recipient. Now that I've apologized, I think you owe me (and the exercise equip manufacturer) a sincere apology now for...

Fifteen years ago, Indiana couple Denise Jones and her husband purchased two missing in action bracelets to help veterans. Over the years the name Bunyan Price Jr. became part of their lives. Often wearing the bracelet, Jones couldn't help but wonder about him. She even sought out his name. "We had seen his name on the traveling wall." Jones said. News of the emotional homecoming last week traveled all over the world through the internet. Jones and her husband watched the news report on WCNC.com. "The name was just ringing a bell with me. And I told my husband go...

High school students in Wisconsin were asked to pretend that they were Muslims for a 10th grade World History writing assignment. Union Grove High School teacher Beth Urban asked students to write a five paragraph essay in which they pretend they are a Muslim male or female in the U.S. "Give three examples of what you do daily for your religion and any struggles you face," Urban instructed.