Free Republic

BFFs in D.C.? Apparently not U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris of California. According to reports, Feinstein, the senior senator from the Golden State, will throw a fundraiser next month for Democratic 2020 presidential frontrunner Joe Biden -- and not for Harris, another White House contender whose poll numbers suggest she could probably use some high-profile help. Feinstein and husband Richard Blum will co-host the Biden event Oct. 3 in San Francisco, according to a copy of the invitation obtained by CNBC. Feinstein first gave her backing to Biden in January, months before the former vice president made his...

On Thursday, 10 Democratic candidates took the stage for the third debate in the 2020 race for the White House. And let’s just say, crazy town is at full capacity with this crew and the policies they support. You name the problem—genuine or overblown—and they have a big government program or initiative that will fix it. At least, that’s what they claim. The candidates had many opportunities to highlight them during the three-hour primetime spectacle. First up on the docket was healthcare—a topic that continues to be a focus of policy discussions in the primary, and rightly so. Healthcare in...

We study history to learn from it. If we can discover what worked and what didn’t work, we can use this knowledge wisely to create a better future. Studying the triumph of American industry, for example, is important because it is the story of how the United States became the world’s leading economic power. Free markets worked well; government intervention usually failed. The years when this happened, from 1865 to the early 1900s, saw the U.S. encourage entrepreneurs indirectly by limiting government. Slavery was abolished and so was the income tax. Federal spending was slashed and federal budgets had surpluses...

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) isn’t taking another presidential run off the table — at least for 2024. The Republican lawmaker — who dropped his 2016 presidential bid after trying to win over voters against now-President Donald Trump in the Republican primary — is open to a future presidential run. In hopes of becoming the Republican nominee in 2016, Cruz fell short, as his support among voters declined in comparison to those backing then-front-runner Trump. A Gallup poll conducted in late April of 2016 shows Cruz at a 45% unfavorability rating among Republican voters, jumping from an unfavorability rating in the...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates—Drones claimed by Yemen’s Houthi rebels attacked the world’s largest oil processing facility in Saudi Arabia and a major oilfield operated by Saudi Aramco early Saturday, sparking a huge fire at a processor crucial to global energy supplies.

The chief executives of major US companies sent Senate leaders a letter on Thursday, urging Congress to expand background checks on all gun sales and issue stronger “red flag” laws. The letter, first shared by the New York Times, is backed by 145 CEOs of well-known retailers, technology companies, and financial institutions, including Dick’s Sporting Goods, Levi Strauss, Reddit, Twitter, and Uber. The move demonstrates how top corporate leaders are taking a united stance toward gun violence in the wake of recent mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. Gun violence is “a public health crisis that demands...

Lots of people—including Congress—are worried about fake videos and imagery distorting the truth, purporting to show people saying and doing things they never said or did. I’m part of a larger U.S. government project that is working on developing ways to detect images and videos that have been manipulated. My team’s work, though, is to play the role of the bad guy. We develop increasingly devious, and convincing, ways to generate fakes...

This week, the California legislature passed Assembly Bill 5, which defines so-called gig economy workers as employees instead of independent contractors. Though aimed at transportation-network companies (TNCs) Uber and Lyft, the bill, taking effect in 2020, could have wide-ranging effects on California’s economy—and the nation’s. By forcing new-economy companies to adopt rules developed for twentieth-century employees, California is missing an opportunity to create a new class of worker, a hybrid of independent consultants and traditional employees. AB5 is intended to ensure that TNC drivers receive minimum-wage and overtime protections and that companies pay workers’ compensation and other payroll taxes. Unlike...

The Pentagon’s emerging secret space defense programs are being developed in large part to counter a rising threat to U.S. orbital assets from both Russia and China, though the latter poses the more significant risk, according to Defense Department officials. Writing at Forbes, senior aerospace and defense contributor Loren Thompson reported that a recent briefing to Trump Cabinet members by a top Air Force commander was highly classified and covered threats to American space-based military and civilian assets posed by Moscow and Beijing, both of whom are building counter-space capabilities aimed at blinding the U.S. military in a conflict and...

*This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos. On Thursday morning, Republican Senator Ted Cruz attended a breakfast gathering for the Christian Science Monitor where he warned, the Texas could absolutely be in play in 2020 now there’s a couple of quotes from Ted Cruz at that breakfast meeting that I want to read, and again, I have to go ahead and admit wholeheartedly I agree with most of what Ted Cruz says here and here it is. I think the Texas election in 2018 is powerful foreshadowing for what to expect across...

House Democrats this week advanced a new measure to encourage states to pass “red flag” laws, known as extreme risk protection orders, that authorize removing guns and ammunition from dangerous individuals. Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee amended the measure during a Wednesday mark-up to authorize the federal government to issue extreme risk protection orders in some instances, but they rejected an amendment that would have red-flagged anyone who law enforcement lists as a gang member. “The majority of violent crime, including gun violence, in the United States is linked to gangs,” Rep. Ken Buck, a Colorado Republican who sponsored...

More than 2,000 medically preserved fetal remains were found at a deceased abortion provider’s Illinois home Thursday while his family sorted through his belongings, authorities said. *** The macabre discovery of fetal remains contains echoes of the case of Kermit Gosnell, a Philadelphia doctor who is serving a life sentence after a jury in 2013 convicted him of murder for snipping the spinal cords of three babies who lived for a few moments outside the womb. Investigators found dismembered remains in milk jugs and glass jars inside Gosnell’s clinic. The remains allegedly found at Klopfer’s home also resonate because of...

De Mattei: A Schismatic Synod on the Amazon? De Mattei: A Schismatic Synod on the Amazon? Roberto de Mattei Corrispondenza Romana September  11, 2019 On September 6th and 7th the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM) and the ecclesial Pan-Amazon Network (REPAM), held a meeting in the city of Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, to discuss the upcoming Synod of Bishops which will take place in the Vatican from Sunday, October 6th to Sunday, October 27th 2019, on the topic “The Amazon: new paths for the Church and integral ecology.” In the final communiqué of the meeting, the President of...

Whole Foods, the grocery chain owned by Amazon, is cutting health care benefits for its part-time workers, a move that could leave about 1,900 of its employees without medical coverage. Starting next year, Whole Foods employees have to work at least 30 hours a week to qualify for its health care benefits, up from the 20 hours a week it currently requires. The grocer, which has about 95,000 workers, said it is making the change "to better meet the needs of" its business. Whole Foods said it is helping worker explore full-time jobs at its stores or find other ways...

“So let’s do it” is representative of the common response from gun control advocates when their political opponents condemn acts of gun violence. While this may not have been Mr. Guttenberg’s intention, the fact is that the Left cannot see the difference between agreeing with a problem and agreeing with their proposed solution. For them, if you agree that mass shootings are morally abhorrent, then you must therefore agree with their gun control proposals. Ted Cruz agreed with the problem, but until we agree on the “it,” we will not move forward together. The second moment came during one of...

Donald Trump blamed energy-saving light bulbs for the bright orange hue of his face on Thursday night. In his speech at a Republican retreat in Baltimore, Trump explained the reason behind his strong feelings about the bulbs, which he apparently hates so much that he’s planning to significantly weaken federal rules that would have made Americans use them. “The light bulb,” the president began. “People said what’s with the light bulb. I said here’s the story, and I looked at it. The bulb that we’re being forced to use. No. 1, to me, most importantly, the light’s no good. I...

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AUSTIN, Texas — It could cost nearly $1 million to install 10 new drinking fountains throughout Downtown Austin as part of an effort by some council members to make free drinking water more accessible for everyone. In a city memo released on Thursday, Austin Water identified 10 proposed locations for these fountains. At least two of them would be in the vicinity of the ARCH shelter on Seventh Street. The ADA-compliant fountains would be free to use 24/7 and would be located in well-lit areas, according to the City. Each fountain would contain three components: a drinking fountain, a bottle-filling...

Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) responded on Thursday after the chief executives of more than 100 companies wrote a letter to the U.S. Senate urging Congress to pass various anti-gun measures. “Now look, here’s my starting point: I want to see facts. I believe love is the answer, but I also own a handgun just in case, and that’s my right as an American citizen,” Kennedy told Fox Business host Stuart Varney. “The Bill of Rights is not an a la carte menu — the Second [Amendment] is just as important as the First or the Fourth.” “Some of my colleagues...

President Donald Trump confirmed Saturday a son of Osama bin Laden was killed during a U.S.-led counterterrorism operation along the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan. “The loss of Hamza bin Ladin not only deprives al-Qa’ida of important leadership skills and the symbolic connection to his father, but undermines important operational activities of the group. Hamza bin Ladin was responsible for planning and dealing with various terrorist groups,” he continued. It is unclear when Hamza bin Laden died, though it has been reported it was between 2017 and 2019. The State Department put out a $1 million reward for information on...