Free Republic

Fueled by tremendous creative output by groundbreaking artists and now more than 50 million paid subscriptions, the U.S. music industry experienced its third year of consecutive growth in 2018 with retail revenues up 12% to $9.8 billion. Streaming now comprises 75% of total industry revenues. Vinyl continues to be a bright spot for the physical market, up 8% to $419 million, the highest revenue level since 1988.

Pope Francis said Sweden is a model of good immigration policy and is “full of Latin Americans.”The issue of immigration is “a priority in the world today,” the pope said in an extensive interview released Tuesday by Vatican News, and in his mind Sweden is an example of immigration done right. “I always put forward the example of Sweden, which I know very well,” Francis said, since they took in many Latin Americans and Argentinians in the 1970s and later. “Sweden is full of Latin Americans,” he said. “They received them all; they had the organization and in two days...

If Congress doesn’t act, Americans’ taxes will automatically increase in the coming years. The 2017 tax cuts are temporary, and some of those taxes are scheduled to start increasing in three years’ time. Last year, American families of four saw their taxes cut by an average of $3,000. The typical taxpayers benefited from getting to keep about $1,400 more of their hard-earned money. One of the most important parts of the tax cuts, which support new business investments for workers and jobs, begins to expire after 2022. Three years after that, taxes increase on personal income. As deficits increase to...

ORLANDO, Fla. - President Donald Trump plans to officially announce that he's seeking re-election in 2020 at a rally at the Amway Center on June 18. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer's press secretary, Cassandra Lafser, confirmed to News 6 that the Trump campaign signed an agreement Friday afternoon with the Orlando Venues Department to rent the Amway Center for $145,000. The Amway Center can hold 20,000 people. "I will be announcing my Second Term Presidential Run with First Lady Melania, Vice President Mike Pence, and Second Lady Karen Pence on June 18th in Orlando, Florida, at the 20,000 seat Amway Center....

Lampedusa, Francis’ Great Symbol, Has Fallen The 6000 inhabitants of the Italian island of Lampedusa, between Malta and the Tunisia, have turned their back to Pope Francis. They overwhelmingly voted for the Catholic Matteo Salvini and his Lega which is fighting illegal immigration. The Lega received 45%, Salvini 410 personal votes, his leftwing opponent 250. Francis and his spin-machine have worked hard against the Lega, simultaneously promoting the pro-decadence ex-Communists who are pushed by the oligarchs. Since the early 2000s, Lampedusa, has become a prime destination for human traffickers Importing illegal immigrants from Africa, Arabia and Asia into Italy. In...

Aubrey Garcia, a 7-year-old girl from Plainville, Kansas, had a crowd of people in tears of joy as she pushed her way through her first-ever track race, a 50-meter dash, on May 14. Her mom, Chelsea Garcia, watched as Aubrey stumbled at one point, but kept going, her determined grit shining through as she pushed forward in her leg braces one step at a time. “I don’t even know how to describe how we felt to watch her accomplish something like this,” she told Runner’s World. “It was just breathtaking to see something happen that you never thought you would...

May 31, 2019 8:26 p.m. ET Breaking News : *Justice Department Is Preparing Antitrust Investigation of Google, Sources Say *Justice Department Antitrust Investigation Expected to Examine Google Practices Related to Search and Other Businesses, Sources Say *Federal Trade Commission Investigated Google Several Years Ago, Will Defer to Justice Department This Time, Sources Say (More to come)

Daredevils looking to get a mesmerizing view over Paris could have the lucky chance to take a zip line off of the second floor of the Eiffel Tower. Perrier is back with its popular attraction, Smash Perrier, inviting people to whizz from the monumental tower to the 18thcentury École Militaire, this June. The attraction is opening to align with both the French Open, which takes place through June 9, and the 130th anniversary of the Eiffel Tower this year, inviting lucky winners to take a ride at speeds of 90 km (about 56 miles per hour). The zip line, which...

There's room for all types in a newly described fossil that shows 259 baby fish swimming together in a school, approximately 50 million years ago. According to the authors of a new study published Wednesday (May 29) in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, this ex-school may be the earliest known fossil evidence that prehistoric fish swam in unison, just as modern fish do today. A team of Arizona researchers stumbled upon this remarkable rock during a visit to the Oishi Fossils Gallery of Mizuta Memorial Museum in Japan. Working with the museum, the researchers determined that the...

The Count is no foreigner to lace. This original piece is his tribute to the labyrinth of lace, the intricacies and design from countless generations of women who work to weave a cobweb of shrouds and mystery. If you like the music please subscribe to the Count's channel.

President Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani met with a former Ukrainian diplomat in New York last week, according to a new report. Giuliani spent the afternoon with Andrii Telizhenko, 28, who has accused the Democratic National Committee of conspiring with Kiev to find damaging information on former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort. The DNC has rejected his allegations. “He was in Washington and he came up to New York, and we spent most of the afternoon together,” Giuliani told the Washington Post. But Giuliani was tight-lipped when asked for details. “I can’t tell you a thing about the meeting,” he said....

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez declared war on whiskey sour mix — and somehow turned it into a political point about the struggles of being a woman in politics. The Queens bartender-turned-lefty lawmaker reminded folks of her recent working past by warning cocktail-lovers to stick to natural juices when making spritzer drinks. She also trumpeted the attributes of the “underrated” Garibaldi cocktail, which includes Campari and orange juice, sometimes with a spritz or prosecco sparkling wine. All this might sound a little yuppie. But the self-proclaimed woman of the people spun her mixology know-how as evidence of her ability to speak for...

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler said Friday “there certainly is” justification for Congress to begin impeachment proceedings against President Trump, but said it was critical for the American public to agree before launching the process.During an interview on WNYC, Nadler, whose committee would leadimpeachment proceedings, cautioned the move, noting the importance of having the American public on board first.“Impeachment is a political act, and you cannot impeach a president if the American people will not support it,” said Nadler, D-N.Y. “The American people, right now, do not support it because they do not know the story. They don’t know the facts.”Nadler added:...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Hillary Clinton has been hired to give a keynote speech. The topic? Winning elections.The Election Victory Conference is held every year, and they hire experts who have all won elections. This year they've picked Hillary Clinton. Although she hasn't actually won elections, she does feel like she won. She did win the popular vote, though unfortunately, that's not how you win the overall election. "We want our conference attendees to hear from the expert on this," said one organizer. "Who better than Hillary Clinton? She's a real winner."

Science does not know exactly how these phenomena occur on the moon. But it has attempted to explain them: the impact of a meteor, for example, should cause a brief glow. Such flashes could also occur when electrically charged particles of the solar wind react with moon dust. "Seismic activities...would explain the luminous phenomena, some of which last for hours," says Hakan Kayal, Professor of Space Technology...in Bavaria, Germany. Kayal's team built a lunar telescope and put it into operation in April 2019. It is located in a private observatory in Spain, about 100 kilometres north of Seville in a...

A chapel named for retired Episcopal Church Bishop Gene Robinson was dedicated Thursday as part of the consecration of a newly redeveloped Washington, D.C. church building. St. Thomas’ Episcopal Parish chose to honor the former New Hampshire bishop who was the first openly partnered gay man to be consecrated a bishop in the Episcopal Church and the wider Anglican Communion. The chapel is envisioned as a pilgrimage site for youth who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT). Robinson’s 2003 consecration as bishop was one of several contested actions fueling a broader Anglican realignment in North America and beyond....

Despite the rise to prominence of openly socialist politicians like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), many Americans say they cannot define socialism, according to a new poll. In a May 29-30 Hill-HarrisX survey of registered voters, 20 percent said they were unsure what socialism was. The study also found that respondents gravitated toward both positive and negative definitions of the term much more than toward its academic meaning. Only 13 percent described socialism as government ownership of some parts of the economy. Twenty-eight percent said they believed socialism was fulfilling basic needs like healthcare, housing, and...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is welcoming women across the country who are seeking abortions to come have the procedure done in his home state. In a Friday letter, Newsom joined Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee in urging states "to review their laws and enact their own protections" after states such as Alabama, Georgia, Missouri and Mississippi recently passed stringent laws that would curb access to abortion. "In the absence of federal leadership on this issue, states must step up and put in place their own protections – both in statute and in their state constitutions, and...

Businesses continue to drop their sponsorship deals with the Fresno Grizzlies this week in the wake of a misleading video suggesting Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was an “enemy of freedom” to America. The Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals aired the video between games of a Memorial Day doubleheader in an effort to honor fallen soldiers for their sacrifice and courage. They apologized for Ocasio-Cortez’ inclusion, which resulted in more death threats for the Democratic New York representative, and spent the week watching sponsors pull away.

JACKSON – A prior requirement calling for additional fingerprinting for firearm applicants after a two year period is no longer being enforced by the township’s police department. Council President Rob Nixon clarified the issue during a May 28 Council meeting where a firearms organization took aim at Township Police Chief Matthew Kunz for requiring multiple fingerprinting for firearm applicants. Hightstown resident Alex “Aljandro” Roubian, the president and managing editor of the New Jersey Second Amendment Society (NJ2AS) questioned Nixon before and during the evening’s session concerning what the chief’s policy was. According to the organization’s website, the NJ2AS is a...