Free Republic

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said on Monday that he warned President Trump against targeting Iranian cultural sites — a step the president has repeatedly threatened if Iran retaliates over the death of a top general killed in a U.S. strike. “I talked to him today. I said we’re not at war with the culture of the Iranian people. ... Cultural sites, religious sites are not lawful targets,” Graham said. “Putting cultural sites on the table as a military target, I think, undercuts what we're trying to do,” Graham added, recounting his conversation with Trump.

Mark Ronchetti, a meteorologist in Albuquerque and one of the most popular television figures in the state, is joining the race for U.S. Senate in New Mexico, adding more drama to a contest some Democrats had believed was a safe seat. Ronchetti, 46, announced Tuesday he is jumping into the fight for the GOP nomination after stepping down for his job Monday as chief meteorologist for the CBS affiliate in Albuquerque. ... Ronchetti said he was jumping into the race because he was “fed up” with politicians in Washington not solving problems. He called himself a “proud conservative New Mexican”...

We’ve all heard about the impact of “fake news,” but there’s something even more dangerous: teaching “fake history.” “If you think that it is outrageous that Democratic presidential candidates want to eliminate the southern border and that Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calls our detention facilities there ‘concentration camps,’ then you haven’t been reading and believing Howard Zinn’s best-selling ‘A People’s History of the United States,’” writes Mary Grabar, Ph.D. First published in 1980, “A People’s History” has sold more than 2.5 million copies and is in virtually every school district, university and local library. Zinn (1922-2010) chaired the history and social...

FBI gun background checks, linked closely to weapons sales, recorded the second-highest month ever in December, propelling 2019’s count to the most since the National Instant Criminal Background Check System began in 1998. The agency said Monday morning that it recorded 28,369,750 background checks in 2019, a 3% jump over the last record set in 2016. In December, there were 2,936,894 NICS checks, the second-highest month ever. The 2016 record, pushed high in part because gun control advocate Hillary Rodham Clinton was expected to beat President Trump, was not expected to be steamrolled this year. But gun shops around the...

Officials will kill thousands of camels in Australia as they drink too much water amid the wildfires. Leaders in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands in northwest Australia will send helicopters to kill up to 10,000 camels in a five-day campaign starting Wednesday, The Australian reported. The order to kill comes as a drought makes the camels more desperate for water, causing chaos in local communities. Marita Baker, an APY executive board member, told the newspaper that the camels were causing problems in her community of Kanypi. "We have been stuck in stinking hot and uncomfortable conditions, feeling unwell, because...

Australia’s rampant and destructive wildfires were started by arson, and fueled by dry conditions and high temperatures, but you’d never know it from the Golden Globes or mainstream media outlets. In November, a teenage volunteer firefighter from New South Wales was charged with setting 7 bushfires in the region, and then returning with his brigade to fight them. Apparently, he has set 17 fires, and the pyromaniac has now been barred from access to any firefighting equipment. ... Police arrested 183 people for lighting bushfires across Queensland, NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania in the past few months. NSW police...

President Donald Trump’s Department of State, under Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, continues operating an Obama-era program, known as TechCamp, designed to fight “misinformation and propaganda” as well as “fake news” across the globe. Since TechCamp was founded under President Barack Obama’s State Department during the tenure of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the opaque group has led dozens of events across the planet, and since the election of President Trump a disproportionate number of the events focus on fighting “fake news.”While TechCamp’s purpose was vague at its inception, it was allegedly first used to foment dissent and eventually civil...

(Meredith) - Two dozen people are facing charges for deliberately setting blazes in Australia during the country's devastating wildfire season. Since early November, the New South Wales Police Force has arrested 24 people for deliberately setting bushfires. This offense can result in up to 21 years imprisonment, according to the agency. In addition to those charged with starting fires intentionally, police have taken legal action against another 159 people for bushfire-related offenses. Among them are 52 people who allegedly did not comply with the state's fire ban and 43 people accused of discarding a lit cigarette or match on land....

I’m not an economic expert by any means. IMHO, the primary economic policy of the Trump administration is and should be economic growth and I think he takes this seriously. The problem we have is this government is overloaded with debt. And because of this debt, the Fed accelerated the printing money. The problem with this is that it causes inflation. The problem with inflation is that if it is too high, it suppresses economic growth. It looks to me that this is what is happening, thanks to a substantial amount of debt Trump inherited from Obama and past presidents...

“Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye. Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart” (Proverbs 7:2-3 KJV).

Former Baylor head coach Matt Rhule is finalizing a deal to become the next Carolina Panthers head coach, according to Yahoo Sports' Pete Thamel. He succeeds Ron Rivera, who went 76–63 in nine years with the team. Rhule was was expected to interview with the New York Giants for their respective vacancy but never met with the team's front office. The Cleveland Browns were also interested in Rhule.

TEHRAN—Colin Kaepernick sent his workout video to Iran after learning they may have recently opened up a position but has yet to receive a phone call. Kaepernick condemned American attacks on Iranian terrorists last week, inciting rumors that he may have found a team interested in him in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. But Iranian officials have dispelled the rumors, stating clearly and unequivocally that "we have no interest in signing Kaepernick at this time, but we wish him well in his future endeavors." "It's disappointing to see that Iran is as hateful as America," a downcast Kaepernick said in...

The 18-year-old actress will play Lexi, "a beautiful, sharp-tongued cheerleader and the most popular girl at Bayside High who is both admired and feared by her fellow students"

Mona Zabihian, an Iranian American, attempted to return to Washington state from Canada late Saturday after attending a concert — a trip she said she makes several times a year with no issues. This time was different, Zabihian said, as she and dozens of others were questioned and held for hours. “We went inside, we saw a bunch of other Iranians, pregnant woman, children. I saw one of my friends from Seattle,” she told NBC News. Immigration authorities asked her about her social media accounts and the last time she had been to Iran. “They asked if I was in...

Did you ever stop to wonder who granted moral authority to famous actors and actresses? Did you ever ask yourself why their opinions should carry extra weight? After all, it’s one thing to be a certain person, such as a political leader or an athlete or a cancer survivor and to speak from your experience. It’s another thing to make believe you were that person. How does making believe qualify you to speak? At the moment, Ricky Gervais’ scathing takedown of woke Hollywood at the Golden Globes Sunday night is getting all the attention it deserves. And, according to the...

The news media has been playing up the Iraqi request for the U.S. military to leave as if it's some sort of giant victory for the Iranian, parroting obediently the Iranian terrorist regime. But the Iraqi parliament voted to oust ALL foreign militaries and militias. This means the Iranians, too. This should be considered a monumental win for the U.S.! The U.S. was in Iraq chiefly to defeat ISIS, a goal that has already been accomplished. Presently, they're merely extinguishing smoldering embers. If Iraq does more than a mere resolution, and takes concrete steps to actually refuse any foreign military,...

A stunning new panoramic image of the Milky Way is revealing all sorts of fresh insight. The image shows the center of our Milky Way Galaxy, stretching about 600 light-years across, and reveals never-before-seen details of the Arches cluster, which is densest star cluster in our galaxy. And that bright white splotch in the middle of the image? That's the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy, which is illuminated on all sides.

CORDOVA, Tenn. — Do you remember “Chauncys Chance?” It’s a story about a good Samaritan who helped a young teenager raise hundreds of thousands of dollars through GoFundMe. WHBQ shared Chauncy Black’s story in 2016. Over the weekend, deputies said, that same teen was arrested for a shooting that killed a man in Cordova, Tennessee. We found out a home is owned by Black’s trust fund and it’s where the money from the GoFundMe was placed years ago. Deputies said Black and his brother, Timothy Black, were firing shots at people inside a car but shot their neighbor instead. “I...

NEW YORK — A little freedom goes a long way, especially when it comes to reducing poverty. The Atlas Network recently recognized several free-market think tanks that have helped move people dramatically from disadvantage to entrepreneurship to employment and toward prosperity.The Atlas Network supports and/or collaborates with some 500 pro-liberty organizations in the USA and 95 countries. On principle, Atlas Network does this with strictly private funds. These three think tanks have distinguished themselves in combating poverty and improving the atmosphere for human flourishing in developing nations.The Atlas Network bestowed the $100,000 Templeton Freedom Award for 2019 to the Foundation...

I'm having the first of three needed surgeries today and am leaving for the outpatient surgery facility in about an hour. Two surgeries are to correct circulation issues I've been having and the third is to correct an irregular heartbeat condition I can no longer ignore as it's affecting my quality of life and requires an ablation. None of these are life threatening by any stretch of the imagination and still I worry (because that's what I do better than anything ....) about having them. May I ask for some prayers that I remain calm and don't panic/freak out today?...