Free Republic

RED RIVER — For the second straight year, New Mexico lawmakers will likely have a mountain of money available for spending on public schools, roads, health care and other programs. The state will have an estimated $907 million in “new” money available in the coming budget year due primarily to unprecedented oil production levels and related economic growth in southeast New Mexico, according to new revenue figures released Wednesday by legislative and executive economists. Overall, the state is on track to spend more than $7 billion in year-over-year spending this budget year, while revenues are expected to reach an all-time...

SNIP The senators in the letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan question the legality and impact on U.S. interests and migrant safety of the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), also known as the Remain in Mexico policy. "Under the Remain in Mexico policy, the United States has turned its back on its domestic and international legal obligations by forcing men, women, and children to await resolution of their U.S. asylum cases in parts of Mexico plagued by violence," the senators wrote. "While in Mexico, these asylum seekers have limited access to lawyers and...

This Wednesday marks the 56th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech. It was as historic as it was inspiring for all Americans to look to a future where our society would be one. While there’s certainly more work to be done on that front, there’s much to celebrate today about the great new opportunities for black Americans to achieve the American dream. I know that my uncle would have been proud of everything that President Trump has done to make those opportunities possible for our community. For instance, for the past two and...

Sandy from the Bronx took to Instagram last night while making mac and cheese and warned the planet could be overcome by ancient diseases, sun scorching, and starvation if the United States does not overhaul its entire economy.“There are a lot of diseases that are frozen in some of these glaciers that scientists fear that there is a potential that a lot of diseases could escape these melted glaciers. Things that were frozen for thousands of years, and that they’re going to get into our water, and that humans could contract them, and there are going to be diseases that...

Self-defense items, including brass knuckles and hard plastic kitty keychains, will be legal for Texans to carry starting September 1. House Bill 446, which overturns the ban on brass knuckles, self-defense keychains, and clubs, was signed into law by Texas Governor Greg Abbott in May. It passed unanimously in both the House and the Senate. It removed "knuckles" and "clubs" from a group of weapons banned by a previous law that was passed in 1918.

Morning segment on Oklahoma City's KOCO-TV turns inappropriate(Newser) – Things got awkward during a morning show segment on Oklahoma City's KOCO-TV Thursday as co-hosts Alex Housden and Jason Hackett chatted about a gorilla at the Oklahoma City Zoo. "Kind of looks like you," Housden said jokingly to Hackett at the end of the segment. "He kind of does, actually, yeah," Hackett replied in a tone USA Today describes as "hesitant." He laughed, too, notes Jay Connor at The Root: "The kind of laughter that black folks in white spaces know all too well. The kind of laughter that dissuades our...

Replaces 'free and always will be' with 'quick and easy'(Newser) – "Hello everyone, it seems that all the warnings were real, facebook use will cost money. If you send this string to 18 different people from your list, your icon will be blue and it will be free for you." Surely you've seen that scam going around Facebook for years ... but now there might be something to the idea. The social network has, since 2008, said "It's free and always will be" on its signup page, right underneath the words "Create an account." The new language since around Aug....

Mark Razzoli, Democrat Councilman for Old Bridge New Jersey exploded with an impassioned Pro-America, Anti-Socialism, Pro-Law Enforcement speech at a council meeting. This Democrat Councilman Is Fed Up With His Party

Archaeologists in Peru have unearthed what is believed to be the largest single mass child sacrifice in history. The bodies of 227 victims, aged between five and 14, were found near the coastal town of Huanchaco, north of Peru's capital Lima. The children were believed to have been sacrificed over 500 years ago. The discovery comes barely a year after 200 child victims of human sacrifice were found at two other sites in the country. Archaeologists told AFP news agency that some of the bodies in this latest collection still had hair and skin when they were dug up. The...

The triple murder victims were all related to Blake Bivens, a minor league player on a Tampa Bay Rays affiliate, according to ESPN. I Aug. 28, 2019, 4:00 AM CDT / Updated Aug. 28, 2019, 10:29 AM CDT By Phil Helsel The wife, child and mother-in-law of a minor league baseball player were allegedly killed in southern Virginia on Tuesday by the player's brother-in-law, according to a report. Matthew Bernard, 19, was apprehended while running around naked following an hourslong manhunt after police discovered the bodies of Emily Bivens, her son Cullen and her mother, who sources told ESPN were...

The Joe Biden campaign is calling out President Trump's reelection campaign for diverting online search traffic that can potentially take campaign donations from the Democratic presidential candidate. “Trump is squatting on Biden and he’s not answering,” said Marty Weintraub, founder of Aimclear. Biden’s campaign is missing an opportunity. “I don’t see any pay-per-click ads or search marketing for joebiden.com,” Weintraub said. “There’s no pay per click history for Joe Biden.” Apparently the search battle is between donaldtrump.com and actblue.com, the preferred Democratic fundraising engine tool. Weintraub estimates actblue.com is spending between $3,000 and $5,000 monthly, focused mostly on candidates and...

The FBI launched a series of raids in four states on Wednesday — including the home of Gary Jones, president of the United Auto Workers Union — as part of an expanding corruption probe. So far, nine people have been charged, with eight convicted, in a case that involved illegal payments to union officials. The case initially centered around payoffs to union officials by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, with labor leaders showered with cash, as well as trips, expensive dinners, and even $1,000 pairs of Christian Louboutin shoes. The raids appear to signal that the corruption may be more far-reaching. And...

Joe Biden was as sure a thing to win the Democratic Party’s nomination to go up against Donald Trump in 2020 as Alabama is to beat Western Carolina later this season. But Biden has fumbled more often than a rookie running back with hands of butter and has opened the floodgates for Crazy (if it’s not his first name it should be) Bernie Sanders’ chances. Kamala Harris has done next to nothing to move up in the polls, and Elizabeth Warren and Beto O’Rourke have less a chance than the Catamounts do in Tuscaloosa on Nov. 23. If there was...

EXCLUSIVE: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has barred Democratic staffers from the House Oversight Committee from visiting Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facilities at the U.S.-Mexico border as part of a planned trip this week after committee staff allegedly were “disruptive” and refused to follow instructions during their last trip, Fox News has learned. Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Md., had sent his staff to visit border facilities for “oversight inspections” last week and planned to send staff again to view Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and CBP centers. ICE OFFICES, WORKERS HIT BY WAVE OF VIOLENCE AND THREATS But...

Jeb Bush has emerged a winner from the sale of his townhome in Florida, the state where he served two terms as governor. The politician sold the two-story residence for $1.625 million — or $325,000 more than what he paid for it in 2011, records show. The townhouse in the city of Coral Gables southwest of downtown Miami features oak floors, impact windows and high-end finishes across 3,485 square feet. Stone columns frame the entry, leading directly into a living room topped with dual chandeliers.

Hurricane Dorian battered St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and brushing Puerto Rico. Taking aim at the Florida Atlantic Coastline, Hurricane Dorian is projected to be a major hurricane (Category 3) at landfall. Satellite Imagery Dorian NHC Public Advisories NHC Discussions Florida Radar Loop (with storm track overlay) Buoy Data with Storm Track overlay

An pro-government commander in Afghanistan has been killed in a battle against a group of Taliban fighters that included his own son. The battle also involved two Afghan brothers who fought on opposite sides – a pro-government militia fighter who was killed and his brother, a Taliban militant, who was wounded and escaped from the battlefield. The overnight battle in Afghanistan's northern province of Jowzjan took place just hours after the slain commander, Baz Muhammad, spoke to RFE/RL about the need to end a war which pits "sons against fathers and brothers and against brothers." Baz Muhammad's involvement in the...

The president's personal attorney tells NBCU brass that legal proceedings could be pursued if there's no retraction or apology for stating that "Russian oligarchs" co-signed loans to Trump. President Donald Trump is ratcheting up his war with the media, as if such thing was conceivable. On Wednesday, his personal attorney Charles Harder threatened NBCUniversal with a defamation suit over what was broadcast the previous night on MSNBC's The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell. A missive sent to NBCU headquarters, obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, also addresses a related tweet. According to Harder's demand letter, "The Program and Tweet make the...

President Trump is so eager to complete hundreds of miles of border fence ahead of the 2020 presidential election that he has directed aides to fast-track billions of dollars’ worth of construction contracts, aggressively seize private land and disregard environmental rules, according to current and former officials involved with the project. He also has told worried subordinates that he will pardon them of any potential wrongdoing should they have to break laws to get the barriers built quickly, those officials said.

. Apollo 11 Astronaut Michael Collins Opens Up About Aliens 23:01 28.08.2019 NASA veteran and legendary astronaut Michael Collins, 88, who operated the Command Module during the historic Apollo 11 moon mission in 1969, shared his views on the possibility of alien life during an online question and answer session on Twitter. A netizen asked Collins if he believes that there is "life outside of Earth" under the hashtag #AskMichaelCollins. In a laconic but stunning answer, the veteran astronaut said: "Yes".