Free Republic

A contentious bill that would end Connecticut’s long-standing religious exemption from immunization requirements for schools, beginning with the 2022-23 school year, now awaits action in the state Senate. The legislation passed on a 90-53 vote in the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives just before 3 a.m. on Tuesday, following more than 16 hours of sometimes combative debate. No date has been set yet for when the Senate, which is also controlled by Democrats, will vote on the same bill. The House vote marked the furthest the legislation has progressed in Connecticut, where lawmakers have debated the concept over the past several...

Planned Parenthood stated Friday that, while the Biden-Harris administration is “on the right track” in making policy it considers essential, the organization is looking for even “bolder” moves in the days ahead. As President Joe Biden marks his first 100 days in office, Planned Parenthood, both the largest provider of abortions in the nation and now the second largest provider of transgender hormone treatments, said in a press announcement “there are increasing signs that the country is on the right track.” “Planned Parenthood and our supporters have been paying close attention to the Biden-Harris administration’s actions in its first 100...

Chloé Zhao’s history-making Oscars sweep, winning best director and best picture, is being met with a muted response in her country of birth, and even censorship. Zhao’s “Nomadland” is the second film directed by a woman to win a best picture Oscar. She is the first woman of color and second woman ever to win the Oscars for best director. Yet, in China, where Zhao was born, her history-making success has not been trumpeted or celebrated. State media in China remained silent as of Monday afternoon, with no mention of her win by either CCTV and Xinhua, the two main...

Two influencers in Bali recorded themselves going to new extremes in order to avoid complying with COVID-19 mask guidelines—all under the pretense of creating entertaining content for their followers. Now, however, they're facing the harsh consequences of their actions, including the possibility of deportation. Josh Paler Lin and Leia Se are the two influencers behind the video, which appears to have been taken down from their social media accounts but has since been reposted elsewhere. Clips of the video show the pair attempting to enter a Bali supermarket, where they are refused entrance because Se is not wearing a mask....

Meriden, CT – At least five police officers were sent to hospitals with various injuries Monday after a suspect intentionally drove his car into them, police say. A team of officers attempted to stop the vehicle as it fit the description of suspect car in a recent shooting. “As officers approached the vehicle, the people inside the car allegedly drove into two marked police cruisers and into a third undercover vehicle,” NBC Connecticut reported. “Officers who approached the vehicle on foot were hit as the car proceeded to ram both cruisers and the unmarked car a second time, according to...

Join together with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Au-thority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, and the Media.I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for everyone: for kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. ~ 1 Timothy 2:1-2Religion Forum Threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind.

Bernie Sanders incessantly whines (lies) on Twitter 24×7 about the travesty visited on America’s minimum wage workers by the evil, wealth-hoarding Republican Party, with the rest of the Democrat Party standing behind him sneering, in unison: “What Bernie said!”Yup, in the politically predisposed eyes of the left, raising the minimum wage to $15 is the magic elixir for all that ails minimum wage workers. Yeah, no. Not even close.As I reported earlier today, despite protestations to the contrary from the left, the Congressional Budget Office has estimated that doubling the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15.00 an hour would...

The debate over the 2020 election has been granted new life, as Arizona state senate republicans have successfully managed to secure an audit that will recount all the ballots cast in Maricopa County, as well as forensically auditing the voting machines.The audit began Friday and in short order Arizona Democrats filed a lawsuit to pause it, citing concerns it would cause “irreparable harm to the integrity of Arizona’s election systems” by revealing private voting information.The judge in the case — a Republican appointee who has since recused himself due to a professional relationship in his office by one of the...

A teen in Western’s Australia’s capital has been given two funerals.The 15-year-old female — who identified as a boy — died tragically by suicide.The child’s mother and father are estranged.Given the terrible situation, they had to decide: Would she be laid to rest as female? Or would the identity of a boy be reflected by the burial?Mom and dad couldn’t come to a consensus.The mother insisted her child — born a girl — find a final resting place as a guy.In fact, as reported by 7News, she vowed to employ the full power of the court system if necessary:The boy’s...

OPEN Republican-led states Texas and Florida are reporting fewer Covid-19 cases than the likes of New York, Michigan, and Pennsylvania - which all still have restrictions and mask mandates in place. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott faced fierce scrutiny for reversing the Lone Star State's mask mandate on March 10 and completely reopening its economy, with President Biden calling the move "neanderthal thinking". Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also faced criticism for "endangering" his state's most vulnerable residents when he permitted businesses to reopen in September without enforcing mask-wearing. However, each of the two Republican-led states has managed to keep case positivity...

Filmmaker Amanda Milius told Breitbart News on Monday that Hollywood undermined its own influence over America by abandoning conservatives. Ambition within the entertainment industry blocks Hollywood insiders from publicly criticizing false orthodoxies espoused by their peers, Milius stated on SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Daily with host Alex Marlow, author of Breaking the News: Exposing the Establishment Media’s Hidden Deals and Secret Corruption. She noted Tinseltown’s decades of direct and indirect left-wing political advocacy. “What Hollywood is — and what it’s always been — is a bunch of people who seek relevance and influence more than anything,” she remarked. “Nobody’s going to...

It was a heck of a way to start a week as the evening newscasts of ABC, CBS, NBC, and Spanish language networks CNN en Español, Telemundo, and Univision completely blacked out the bombshell leaked audio that suggested former Secretary of State John Kerry backstabbed Israel and told secrets to Iran’s terrorist-backing regime. The audio of Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and an Iranian journalist was leaked to the New York Times and an Iranian outlet based in the U.K. And according to Zarif, Kerry had confirmed Israel’s involvement in operations against Iranian forces in Syria. If true, it constituted...

ARKANSAS, USA — The Arkansas State Senate has voted to override Gov. Asa Hutchinson's veto of legislation that would prohibit local police from enforcing federal gun laws. The bill now heads to the House of Representatives, where they also must decide if they want to override Hutchinson's veto. Hutchinson vetoed SB 298 last Friday, saying that the measure would jeopardize law enforcement and the public. On Monday, the Arkansas State Senate voted 21-12, with two Senators not voting, to overturn his decision, our content partner Talk Business & Politics reports. The law imposes criminal fines on local or state law...

Among the far-right groups whose members are suspected of planning the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol are the Proud Boys. In March, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s director told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he “absolutely” wished the agency had penetrated the group beforehand, or knew its plans. “I do not consider what happened on January 6th to be an acceptable result,” Director Christopher Wray said. “We are focused very, very hard on how can we get better sources, better information, better analysis.” The FBI had deeper insight into the group than Wray disclosed, however. Bureau agents maintained...

The Supreme Court said on April 26 it won’t hear a dispute between Texas and California over the latter’s ban on state-funded business travel. The nation’s top court delivered the decision in an unsigned order. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in February 2020 asked the Supreme Court to strike down California’s ban of state-funded travel from Texas, enacted in response to a law passed in Texas that allows foster care and adoption agencies to decline placements that don’t align with their religious beliefs. “The law California opposes does not prevent anyone from contributing to child-welfare; in fact, it allows our...

This may be California Governor Gavin Newsom’s #TimesUp moment. No, it’s not over a sex scandal. The voters of California have spoken and they want a recall election. This news comes from the Secretary of State who confirmed today that enough valid signatures were collected to force a recall election.According to FoxLA:This is only the second time in California history that a governor has been voted to be removed from office. It remains unclear when the election will be held. As of Monday, more than 1,495,709 verified voters signed the recall effort, meeting the minimum threshold to force a special...

Anyone who believes the “rich” and large corporations will pay for $28 trillion in debt or the $2 trillion in new deficit has a real problem with maths...Biden’s announcement of a massive tax increase on businesses and wealthier segments of the population simply makes no sense. The tax hikes will have a significant impact on economic growth, investment and job creation and do not even scratch the surface of the structural deficit. Even if we believe the Gross Domestic Product growth and revenue estimates announced by the Biden administration, the impact on debt and deficit is negligible. So, what is...

Hollywood star Rosanna Arquette is once again attacking U.S. law enforcement as racist, saying that police officers patrolling communities around the country resemble the “Gestapo.”

Now, simple AI-driven tools like chatbots, plagiarism-detecting software and apps to check spelling and grammar are being joined by new, more powerful – and controversial – applications that answer academic questions, grade assignments, recommend classes and even teach. The newest can evaluate and score applicants’ personality traits and perceived motivation, and colleges increasingly are using these tools to make admissions and financial aid decisions Hundreds of colleges subscribe to private platforms that do intensive data analysis about past classes and use it to score applicants for admission on factors such as the likelihood they will enroll, the amount of financial...