Free Republic

A coalition of eight attorneys general has launched an investigation into Facebook over potential antitrust violations, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced Friday. The group of bipartisan group of state attorneys general, led by New York, is probing Facebook's dominance in social media and any potential "anticompetitive conduct" stemming from that position. The probe heightens the stakes for the embattled social media platform, which is already weathering antitrust investigations from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Department of Justice (DOJ) and lawmakers on Capitol Hill. SNIP "Even the largest social media platform in the world must follow the law...

A series of 'death pits' containing 300 bodies have been discovered in Russia. The grisly site, which was found in the city of Yaroslavl, northeast of Moscow, likely dates back to the Mongol invasion of Europe in 1238. During this time, Genghis Khan's grandson, Batu Khan, decimated entire communities in his brutal - and bloodthirsty - bid for power. Now, thanks to scientific advances, DNA evidence has revealed that three of the victims were related and killed together: a grandmother, a mother and a grandson.

... ~"Will & Grace" was a hugely successful sitcom around the turn of the century, and apparently is still around today, although much diminished: its recent run on NBC attracted lower ratings than, say, a certain Canadian guest-host's brief reign as last month's King of Cable. Nevertheless, one must respect a hit, which the weekly capers of a gay lawyer and his non-gay interior-designer lady friend, undoubtedly were. These days, alas, "Will & Grace" is all will and little grace, both of its stars leading the way in Hollywood's ever more naked enforcement of what is, if not yet a...

Former ESPN host Jemele Hill is being slammed as 'racist' and 'pro-segregationist' for urging African-American athletes to spurn predominantly white colleges in favor of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). In her first magazine piece for The Atlantic, Hill contends that black athletes are helping the fortunes of major universities like Michigan, Alabama, and Miami, while HBCUs have struggled to compete financially, both in the athletic department and in terms of overall endowment. HBCUs were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in order to provide African-Americans a college education during an age of rampant segregation. There are more...

Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwean independence icon turned authoritarian leader, has died aged 95. Mr Mugabe had been receiving treatment in a hospital in Singapore since April. He was ousted in a military coup in 2017 after 37 years in power. The former president was praised for broadening access to health and education for the black majority. But later years were marked by violent repression of his political opponents and Zimbabwe's economic ruin. His successor, Emmerson Mnangagwa, expressed his "utmost sadness", calling Mr Mugabe "an icon of liberation". Skip Twitter post by @edmnangagwa It is with the utmost sadness that I...

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said that European nations should consider funding projects in their countries after the Pentagon diverted money to pay for a border wall with Mexico... “The message that I’ve been carrying, since when I was acting secretary to today, has been about the increase in burden sharing,” Esper told reporters in London late on Thursday. “So part of the message will be ‘Look, if you’re really concerned then maybe you should look to cover those projects for us’ because that’s going to build infrastructure in many cases in their countries,” he added. “Part of the message...

(CNN)A mechanic for American Airlines was arrested Thursday and accused of trying to sabotage a commercial airliner shortly before it was set to take off from Miami International Airport for the Bahamas with 150 people on board. Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani has been charged with "willfully damaging, destroying, disabling, or wrecking an aircraft, and attempting to do so," according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court. Alani allegedly tried to damage or disable the aircraft's air data module (ADM) system, which reports aircraft speed, pitch and other critical data, on July 17.

Greetings from the Mark Steyn Cruise, currently sailing the beautiful Inside Passage of Alaska. Across the continent and an ocean, Westminster continues to be roiled by Brexiteers and Remoaners locked, like the latter seasons of Dynasty, locked in ever more demented plot twists. Today Her Majesty's Government suffered its first resignation since Boris Johnson took over as Prime Minister. The Minister for Universities and Science quit, and is leaving Parliament. His name is Jo Johnson. Any relation? Why, yes. He's Boris' brother. In the normal course of events, no normal person knows who the Minister for Universities is, or indeed...

Republican political strategist Rick Wilson predicted that Donald Trump Jr., the president's eldest son, will run for office in 2024 and is likely to secure the GOP nomination in a Daily Beast op-ed published Thursday. "There are three 2024 scenarios that Republicans pretend they won't face, but that represent the further decline and fall of a once-great party of conservative ideas," Wilson wrote. "First, the clues have been there all along that the real 2024 primary will be between Donald J. Trump, Jr. and everyone else." "It's becoming more obvious by the day," he said. Trump Jr. — who's currently...

The Duchess of Sussex flew on a commercial plane to New York today to watch her friend Serena Williams play in the final of the US Open. Meghan is believed to be flying solo across the Atlantic - leaving Harry and their four-month-old son Archie in Windsor - although a security team is said to be with her. She will cheer on the 37-year-old against Bianca Andreescu in Queens tomorrow as the former world number one again tries to equal the all-time grand slam record. The Duchess, who also watched Williams at Wimbledon in July, flew out following the row...

U.S. congressional investigators have identified possible failures in Deutsche Bank AG’s (DBKGn.D) money laundering controls in its dealings with Russian oligarchs, after the lender handed over a trove of transaction records, emails and other documents, three people familiar with the matter said. The congressional inquiry found instances where Deutsche Bank staff in the United States and elsewhere flagged concerns about new Russian clients and transactions involving existing ones, but were ignored by managers, two of the people said. Lawmakers are also examining whether Deutsche Bank facilitated the funneling of illegal funds into the United States as a correspondent bank, where...

As a population, it’s exotic to the point of extinction, vanishing in plain sight: the American adult. As a trend, this has been gestating for at least the past decade, from Judd Apatow’s glorified man-babies to Lena Dunham’s ostensibly grown “Girls” to the acceptance of “adulting” into the lexicon. But it truly, alarmingly calcified this summer. Take prime-time TV. This summer was awash in game shows, major stars — including Justin Timberlake, Jimmy Kimmel, Rob Lowe, Ellen DeGeneres, Alec Baldwin, Tiffany Haddish, Elizabeth Banks, Duane “The Rock” Johnson, Melissa McCarthy (recent Oscar nominee) and Jamie Foxx (Oscar winner) — producing...

Swedish behavioural scientist Magnus Söderlund has suggested that eating other people after they die could be a means of combatting climate change. The scientist mentioned the possibility of cannibalism during a broadcast on Swedish television channel TV4 this week about a fair in Stockholm regarding “food of the future”. Söderlund is set to hold seminars at the event, entitled “Gastro Summit — about the future of food” where he intends to discuss the possibility of eating people in the name of cutting down greenhouse emissions. According to his research, the main problem with the idea is the widespread taboo of...

Earlier today there was a FOX report about a girl that was attacked by 5 dogs and killed. Why was this report and thread pulled? Is if not news? Are we too fragile to know about it? I do not understand the criteria used here at FR to censor our site. I use the word "our" because although Mr. Robinson is the owner, it is nothing without us.

“Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority” (Matthew 10:1). When Jesus summoned His twelve disciples, He was making more than a casual request. The word Matthew used is an intense term that means to call someone to oneself in order to confront him face-to-face. It is used of God’s calling the Gentiles to Himself through the gospel (Acts 2:39) and of His calling His chosen men and entrusting them to proclaim the gospel (Acts 13:2; 16:10). The vocabulary implies that this summoning was connected to an official commissioning to the Lord’s service. Behind Jesus’ commissioning and training of...

Texas Republicans are sounding the alarm as Democratic presidential candidates get ready for their debate next week in Houston, warning that the Lone Star State could become more purple if the party doesn’t treat it as a 2020 battleground. Most in the GOP are confident President Trump will win Texas and its 38 electoral votes next year, and they think Texas GOP Sen. John Cornyn will turn aside his Democratic challenger. But they are worried they will lose more House seats a cycle after Democrats clawed back two districts as they retook their majority. Five House Republicans have retired, including...

The city of Sacramento has agreed to pay out $2.4 million to the children of Stephon Clark to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by his family after police shot the unarmed black man in March 2018, according to newly filed court documents.

When I was a boy, every truck you saw in Texas (even in urban areas) seemed to have a gun rack in the back window with two or three different long guns proudly displayed on it. A rifle or two and a shotgun were not at all uncommon to see inside vehicle windows, but that definitely is now quite rare. While not illegal, people are more conscious of concealing their firearms in vehicles due to theft and urbanization (people aren't as used to seeing firearms in plain sight these days). That said, just because you can't see them doesn't mean...

Seattle City Council will soon weigh a complete ban on natural gas in newly-built homes and buildings.Legislation for the ban will be introduced by Seattle City Councilmember Mike O’Brien. The measure would take effect on July 1, 2020 should it pass. “The science is very clear — (Puget Sound Energy is) selling a fossil fuel that is destroying our planet, and my hope is that they recognize they need to get out of that business,” O’Brien said. According to the bill, natural gas in buildings accounts for a fourth of Seattle’s greenhouse gas emissions. Just over half of the city’s...

The man who claims he is the last living relative of Adolf Hitler says his last name is holding him back from getting a good job. Not surprising. But he is in the news for other more nefarious reasons – he was just convicted of child pedophilia. Romano-Lukas Hitler claims he is related to Adolf through Hitler’s father Alois and he is the only person alive still using the Hitler name. Romano-Lukas Hitler, from the East German city of Goerlitz and has been convicted of a sex act for trying to kiss and otherwise assault a 13-year-old girl.