Free Republic

Three vulnerable Virginia Democrat incumbents are gearing up for likely difficult general election battles in November as they raise millions before their Republican opponents have been decided. Democrat Reps. Elaine Luria, Abigail Spanberger, and Jennifer Wexton have all raised big campaign war chests to prepare for the November general election.

California woman plunged head-first into a filthy vault toilet at a national forest after dropping her phone in, then falling as she tried to retrieve it. The unidentified woman lost her handset while visiting Mount Walker in Washington Tuesday during a trip to the Olympic National Forest. She then decided to fashion a makeshift harness out of a dog leash to try lowering herself into the toilet, only for it to collapse under her weight - and send her flying head-first into the hole filled with human waste. After 20 minutes, the woman managed to retrieve her device, then used...

NEW YORK (AP) — CNN is shutting down its CNN+ streaming service less than a month after its launch, a spectacular flameout for a venture that had attracted stars like Chris Wallace and Alison Roman and was seen as a way to attract a new generation of news consumers. In a memo to employees on Thursday, incoming CNN Chief Executive Chris Licht said consumers wanted “simplicity and an all-in service” rather than stand-alone offerings. The CNN+ service’s flagship was arguably [Chris] Wallace’s daily interview show, for which he left his previous job as “Fox News Sunday” host. Wallace did not...

Former President Donald Trump leads President Joe Biden in a hypothetical 2024 matchup, a Redfield & Wilton Strategies survey released Thursday found. The survey found Biden with a souring approval rating across the board, as 47 percent disapprove and 38 percent approve.

An ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin has been found dead alongside members of his family in his multi-million dollar apartment in Moscow.... Avayev was previously employed at Gazprombank, which is a key part of Putin's gas-for-roubles scheme to hit back at Western sanctions.....

The handyman lover charged Thursday in the vicious stabbing of Queens mom Orsolya Gaal is also married with two children, police sources told The Post. David Bonola — who carried out an on-and-off affair with his alleged victim for the last two years — is separated from his wife, who also lives in Queens, the sources said. The 44-year-old Richmond Hills resident — who bears a striking resemblance to Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash — works as a heating and air conditioning repairman. He took up with the also-married Gaal, 51, after doing several jobs at her family’s comfortable Tudor-Style...

President Biden on Thursday confused his administration’s effort to restore a mass transit mask mandate with an expiring policy used to turn away most illegal immigrants when a reporter asked about the Title 42 border measure. Biden’s press team once again had to issue a written statement afterwards that claimed the president misspoke and meant to comment only about masks. “I want to clarify that, in comments at the conclusion of my remarks this morning, I was referring to the CDC’s mask mandate and there is no Department of Justice action on Title 42,” read the statement, attributed to Biden.

PORTLAND, Ore. — President Joe Biden is making his first visit to the Pacific Northwest since his election, arriving in Portland on Thursday afternoon where he’s expected to talk about the impacts of his infrastructure spending bill. The president left Joint Base Andrews on Thursday morning and is expected to arrive at PDX at 12:40 p.m. Thursday. Governor Kate Brown, senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, and Congressman Kurt Schraeder will meet with Biden at PDX. The president is expected to speak at 2:10 p.m. At about 3:30 p.m., Biden will participate in a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee...

Let’s discuss plans to bring down inflation. Who has one and who doesn’t.No Plan to Deal With InflationAccording to Eugene Daniels, a White House correspondent for Politico, Biden will go after Republicans for not having a plan to deal with inflation. "Expect Biden to step up his attacks on the GOP. An administration official told Eugene this weekend that we can expect to see Biden be a bit tougher on Republicans for taking credit for an infrastructure bill that some voted against, and for not having a plan to bring down inflation." Hoot of the DayThat wins my hoot of...

@GBNEWS 'There's only one way to describe that news headline, it's very simple...it is FAKE NEWS!' @Nigel_Farage reveals the truth about the row between Donald Trump and Piers Morgan, after The Sun newspaper claimed the former President stormed out of an interview with the broadcaster. Video...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Florida House passed legislation Thursday that would end Disney’s special taxing district, clearing the measure for Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who proposed an end to the perk after the theme park giant denounced him over a sex education bill. The House swiftly passed the measure in a party-line vote, skipping a formal debate after Democrats refused to stop loudly protesting in the chamber over an unrelated measure to redraw the state’s congressional map. The Senate passed the Disney measure on Tuesday in a vote that was also divided along party lines. Mr. DeSantis has not indicated...

On Tuesday CNN is introducing CNN+, a subscription streaming service that combines live news coverage, on-demand programming and interactive interviews. CNN's goal is to establish closer relationships with news consumers — the same way Netflix (NFLX) and HBO Max have done in entertainment. It has hired hundreds of people and developed dozens of shows for this new platform. Analysts say it is the most ambitious streaming news venture to date in the United States. "We are going to be the only global video-driven news subscription business," CNN chief digital officer and head of CNN+ Andrew Morse said in an interview....

1970 George Harrison ~ My Sweet Lord

... Sadly, though, the idea of “contract-grading” is now gaining prevalence in disciplines of critical academic importance–not only in high schools, but in many prominent colleges and universities. This development is only the latest front in a larger war on intellectual excellence, where the focus has now moved from lowering standards to eliminating them. Take, for example, my own field of English. I work at a university with a large population of first-generation college students. Many of them work full-time jobs, and a significant number of them speak English as a second language. Instruction at my institution is in English,...

After hanging on until the "bitter end," John Kasich cried when he ended his failed presidential bid, the former governor said in a new podcast.Kasich shared insights about the end of his 2016 campaign against former President Donald Trump during a Thursday episode of Kasich & Klepper, a podcast he launched this year with comedian Jordan Klepper. The show aims to bring together people with different views to discuss politics, pop culture and more.Kasich dropped out of the GOP presidential primary in May 2016 when it became clear Trump would secure the nomination, although he had long been mathematically eliminated...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shared on Thursday, addressing the World Bank Forum, that the country will need around $7 billion monthly, to be able to recover from the losses the Russian side caused during its special military operation. The head of Ukraine urged the international community to ban Russia from international financial institutions as soon as possible, as well as cut any other interactions with the latter.

Tesla reported Wednesday that its first-quarter net earnings were over seven times greater than a year ago, powered by strong sales despite global supply chain kinks and pandemic-related production cuts in China. The electric vehicle and solar panel company made $3.32 billion from January through March. Excluding special items such as stock-based compensation, the Austin, Texas, company made $3.22 per share. That soundly beat Wall Street estimates of $2.26 per share according to data provider FactSet. Revenue for the quarter was $18.76 billion, also beating estimates of $17.85 billion. It was boosted by multiple price hikes meant to offset rising...

Last summer, Quinn Ewers was a highly-rated senior quarterback at Southlake Carroll High in Texas who signed a deal with GT Sports Marketing for $1.4 million. But the governing body of Texas high schools ruled he would forfeit his high school eligibility if he signed the deal. So Ewers graduated early and enrolled at Ohio State in order to get the money. He spent last season on the Buckeyes roster and has since transferred to the University of Texas. As for Gallagher at Laurel Highlands, he has decided to play football in college and is considering Pitt, Penn State, West...

Anthony Fauci this week said it is “unfortunate” that a federal judge “superseded the authority of the CDC” by deeming the Biden administration’s federal mask mandate illegal. When asked about airlines quickly dropping their mask mandates following the Monday ruling of United States District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, who effectively nixed the federal mask mandate for public transportation, Fauci called it “unfortunate” and made it clear that he still continues to follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance.

The Federal Government Forces Social Media Companies to Censor AmericansIn May of 2021, the Biden Administration began a public, coordinated campaign to combat the dissemination of “health misinformation” related to Covid, especially across social media platforms. Members of the Administration, including Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and the President himself, often through White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, have made clear that they blame Big Tech for American deaths from the virus, and insist that these platforms have an obligation to censor those who articulate views that depart from the Government’s messaging on Covid-related matters. The Administration has stated that it...