Free Republic

The special election in Texas’s Thirty-fourth Congressional District, slated to happen on June 14 to fill the vacant House seat left by U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela’s (D-TX) retirement, is rated as a “toss-up” by the Cook Political Report, meaning the race could go either to the Democrat or the Republican. The Cook Political Report rated the “toss-up,” noting that Vela’s retirement did not help the Democrats, especially since Democrat Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX), who ditched his district, was hoping to slide into this congressional seat.

In a shocking twist, a gaggle of white men accused of conspiring to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in the weeks before the 2020 presidential election dodged convictions on Friday. After five days of deliberations, a Michigan jury acquitted Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta of several charges, including conspiracy, for what prosecutors said was a depraved scheme born out of anti-government anger at the Democratic leader’s COVID-19 restrictions. The jury, however, could not come to a consensus on the other two defendants and alleged ring leaders of the plot—Adam Fox and Barry Croft—and thus their cases may end in a...

“The philosophy of the schoolroom in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next.” - Abraham LincolnIt is often said that when something controversial is being pounded into the public via media headlines, there is something else that is going on behind the scenes that the public is being distracted from. This is certainly the case with America’s education system. While the public has been hammered with a full-frontal assault by activists pushing Critical Race Theory and gender ideology in the schools overtly, there has also been a covert assault from the flank called Social-Emotional Learning or...

The fight for eastern Ukraine will be a "knife fight," as both sides are familiar with the terrain, population centers and access routes, a senior defense official said today. Russia invaded the area in 2014, and Ukrainian and Russian forces have been confronting each other there ever since. It is becoming the main scene of battle in the country after Russian President Vladimir Putin's failed attempt to take the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. "The Russians and the Ukrainians have been focused on the Donbas for eight years, and [it's been] for eight years that the Ukrainians have been able to...

Pictures feature in Images of War: The Nazis' winter warfare on the Eastern Front, 1941-1945, by Ian Baxter They show the plight of German troops unaccustomed and ill-equipped for the fierce weather conditions Operation Barbarossa began in June 1941 and ultimately ended with Soviet troops' offensive on Berlin Wrapped up against the bitter cold with looks of grim resignation on their faces as they faced a resolute enemy, German troops are seen battling through the harsh Russian winter during their invasion of the Soviet Union. The rare image, taken in the cold months of 1941, is among hundreds which feature...

“She hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine; she hath also furnished her table” (Proverbs 9:2 KJV).

CEDAR COUNTY, Mo. (KY3) - Several more former students of a boy’s Christian boarding school in Cedar County are filing lawsuits. The group claims a wide range of abuse, from starvation to physical and emotional abuse. ”For nearly three decades, students at Agape Boarding School have experienced emotional, mental, physical and sexual abuse,” the group’s attorney, Ryan Frazier, said in a statement to KY3 on Friday. “Today, we filed petitions in Cedar County for nine of those victims, to pursue justice for the trauma they endured and to have their voices heard.” Robert Bucklin went to the school from age...

In a Chicago dumpster one year ago, Angel Williams said she found a piece of pop culture history: the very first issue of Rolling Stone magazine, published in Nov. 1967 with a cover image of John Lennon from the film “How I Won the War.” “I had no idea who this guy was and so I posted it and I had so many people saying, ‘Oh my goodness, that’s John Lennon!’” Williams said. “So when I looked it up, it was worth a nice amount of money, so I kept it.” If authentic, the magazine could fetch more than $600,...

When the invasion started in late February, Volzhanin’s parents began frantically trying to arrange travel for their son out of Ukraine. Then, Igor told them he wasn’t leaving. “I was shocked,” said his father, Sergei Volzhanin, who lives in Ontario. “It didn’t even seem like there was a moment of hesitation,” remembers his 30-year-old sister, Nina Volzhanina. Eira told almost no one she’d decided to join the fight. She’s braced for her parents’ reaction when she finally speaks to them. “I don’t have my phone on for a reason,” she said. Both Volzhanin and Eira signed on at a time...

The last time Yaw, who declined to give his full name, was fully employed was two years ago. But this law graduate is not really bothered by his current jobless status. He told AsiaOne that he is particular about his future employer and he'll want to have a good work-life balance. Yaw, a Malaysian who graduated in 2019, is preparing for the Malaysian Bar examination and teaches violin part-time. "I think that there is a need for adjustment on the work-life balance offered by companies," he added. "Some of us do look forward to getting a job and learning new...

Moderna Inc said on Friday it was recalling 764,900 doses of its COVID-19 vaccine made by its contract manufacturer Rovi after a vial was found contaminated by a foreign body. No safety issues have been identified, Moderna said about the lots that were distributed in Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden in January. The drugmaker said the contamination was found in just one vial, and it was recalling the whole lot out of “an abundance of caution”. It did not disclose what was found in the vial.

The James Webb Space Telescope continues to cool down out at its location at Lagrange Point 2, about 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. Since JWST is an infrared telescope, it needs to operate at extremely low temperatures, less than 40 K (-223 degrees Celsius, -369.4 degrees Fahrenheit). But one instrument needs to be even colder. To operate at peak efficiency, Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) must be cooled to a chilly 7 K (-266 C, -447 F). And it will need a little help to reach those frigid temps.Most of the telescope and its instruments rely on JWST’s massive sunshield as...

"I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world." "As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world." "Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." John, Chapter 17 1 These words spake Jesus,...

The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), a London-based non-governmental organization, this week published a report on the destructive, largely unregulated, and often illegal operations of China’s immense deep-water fishing fleet. An especially disturbing chapter of the report dealt with the harmful impact of Chinese fishing on West African nations, where entire coastal communities tremble on the verge of economic collapse thanks to China’s rapacious practices.The report, titled The Ever-Widening Net: Mapping the Scale, Nature, and Corporate Structures of Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing by the Chinese Distant-Water Fleet, accused China of creating a huge fleet to fish outside China’s own depleted...

When seeing America’s we’ll-fight-to-the-last-Ukrainian approach to Russian aggression, many Arabs conclude that the U.S. can’t be counted as a security guarantor, and that nuclear weapons—which Russia has, Iraq didn’t and Ukraine gave up—make all the difference. To be sure, many of my Arab interlocutors have perfected the art of expressing grievance through historical cherry-picking: highlighting America’s inadequacies while sidestepping their own governments’ follies and self-inflicted wounds. The reality is more complicated, and no critique of American policy can justify indulgence of Russia’s criminal behavior or reluctance to lend assistance to the Ukrainian people. These Arabs have a point, however. If...

Photos of a strange, worm-like cloud taken over Alaska's Lazy Mountain prompted an investigation by Alaska State Troopers amid fears it could be a plane crash, a UFO or top secret Russian weapon. Pictures posted to Facebook of the incident show a massive cloud plume on Thursday. The photos sparked debate online as people questioned whether it could be a meteor, a crashed UFO or satellite, an eruption, and even a Russian weapon connected to the conflict in Ukraine. The cloud garnered so much attention that Alaska State Troopers and the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center began investigating for a possible...

So what was the world’s best performing currency of the past month? You guessed it: the Russian ruble. After plunging to 139 rubles to the dollar on March 7, the ruble staged a dramatic comeback to around 80 rubles to the dollar. That’s only slightly weaker than where it was for almost all of last year. The recovery is equally impressive when compared with the euro. At the end of February, it took 89 rubles to buy a euro. In early March, that climbed to around 145 rubles. Now it is down to 87.32. On Friday, the joke among foreign...

Mark R. Levin @marklevinshow This is a great song by John Ondrasik Can One Man Save The World? Like so many of you, I am inspired and in awe of President Zelensky, his wife Olena, and the Ukrainian people. Their courage and determination in the face of... www.youtube.com

A dear friend sighed & told me is there no positive news anywhere? Then, I saw this video of a Ukrainian soldier & thought you might enjoy as well. https://www.facebook.com/montrealpressclub/posts/time-out-with-a-soldier-in-ukraine/1832536553619429/

On Friday, Abbott said that his team had received multiple calls from communities in the Rio Grande Valley requesting buses to transport the migrants. 'Overnight there were multiple communities in the Rio Grande Valley asking us to provide buses for them, maybe even planes,' said Abbott. He told Fox News hosts Dana Perino and Bill Hemmer: 'When they come across the border, it's not like they want to stay in the Rio Grande Valley. 'They are moving across the entire country. 'What better place to go to than the steps of the United States Capitol - they get to see...