Free Republic

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Friday signed a $1.2 billion tax relief package, the largest tax relief package in the state’s history, which, in part, makes key baby items tax free for one year. The governor signed what he described as the “largest tax relief in the history of the state of Florida,” giving relief to millions of Floridians on key items that have skyrocketed over the course of Biden’s presidency. That includes “really critical needs like gas, diapers, disaster supplies, tools for skilled trades, [and] recreational activities.” “Families are going to be able to save for things that...

An 83-year-old American nun has been kidnapped by armed men during a nighttime raid in Burkina Faso in West Africa, the bishop of the local diocese said Tuesday. Sister Suellen Tennyson, a nun from a parish in Yalgo in the country’s north, was taken by the unidentified men on Monday night. Tennyson, who belongs to the Catholic congregation Marianites of Holy Cross, has served in a community of nuns in Yalgo since 2014, according to the diocese.

Feminine products, including tampons and pads, will be placed in all boy’s restrooms at Oregon Public Schools starting in the 2022-2023 school year to comply with the state’s 2021 “Menstrual Dignity Act” law. The law requires “that both tampons and sanitary pads are available at no cost to students through dispensers located” in all student bathrooms, including boys’ rooms at elementary, middle, and high schools and every other public school building in the state. Currently, the law requires that tampon and pad dispensers are placed “in at least two student bathrooms of every public school building.” “Student bathrooms” in the...

EXCLUSIVE: Disney is severing ties with Fred Savage following multiple complaints of misconduct in his role as executive producer and director on the freshman ABC comedy series The Wonder Years, produced by 20th Television, part of Disney Television Studios. The allegations were investigated, leading to Savage’s dismissal. The Wonder Years, a reboot of the beloved 1988 series, which starred Savage, has not been renewed for a second season yet but remains in contention. “Recently, we were made aware of allegations of inappropriate conduct by Fred Savage, and as is policy, an investigation was launched. Upon its completion, the decision was...

Amid intense focus on abortion rights, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) has decided to withhold the $3.5 million that state lawmakers designated for training new providers, his spokesman said. The decision effectively delays the state’s new abortion provider training program for a year and comes as the popular governor winds down his time in office and sharpens his national ambitions. The money is part of the state’s biggest expansion of abortion access in three decades. Hogan vetoed the plans this spring but was overruled by Democratic supermajorities in Annapolis who worried that what they see as Maryland’s already insufficient provider...

“Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee. I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon” (Proverbs 7:15-17 KJV).

EFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A big topic across the nation this week and in Missouri the initial draft of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Depending on the outcome, Missouri could be one of the most impacted states because of a bill passed back in 2019. The General Assembly approved legislation three years ago that would ban abortions after eight weeks with no exception to rape or incest. A day before the law was set to go into effect it was blocked by a federal judge. That bill signed by Gov. Mike Parson includes a “trigger law”...

If the Supreme Court rules to overturn Roe v. Wade this summer, which it is poised to do according to a draft opinion leaked Monday, at least 26 states would likely ban abortion entirely with 13 of those prepared with “trigger laws.” That’s according to the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive health-policy institute that has been tracking states’ anti-abortion legislation — ranging from all-out bans to multiple restrictions. The leaked draft opinion, first reported by Politico, has stirred the country into imagining a post-Roe v. Wade society, one where the constitutional right to choose whether to have an abortion without government...

...Maria Vyushkova uses open-source information to track how many Russian soldiers from the Siberian republic of Buryatia have been killed in the invasion of Ukraine. An ethnic Buryat born in Russia and member of the anti-war Free Buryatia Foundation, Vyushkova analyzes social media posts, official statements and media reports about funerals to estimate the number of Buryat deaths in Ukraine. “At the moment, activists have gathered information about 1,700 killed Russian soldiers of which 48 or 49 are Buryat. That is 2.8%. In comparison, Buryats only make up 0.3% of the Russian population,” said Vyushkova. The disproportionately high death toll...

Russia has unleashed heavy artillery barrages against multiple Ukrainian positions in the south and east of the country, amid conflicting claims over whether Russian forces were attempting to storm the last Ukrainian positions in the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol. (snip) While it is difficult to assess accurate casualty numbers, senior western officials who have briefed journalists recently suggested that Russian losses may have declined somewhat since the heavy casualties incurred during the failed campaign to take Kyiv. There are also suggestions that Ukrainian losses may be mounting under intense Russian artillery bombardments that have marked Moscow’s conduct of the latest...

People around the country gathered in protest of a recently leaked draft opinion from the US Supreme Court, which would overturn the federal precedent for abortion access. The opinion, written by Justice Samuel Alito, detailed the conservative majority view that Roe v. Wade is unconstitutional. The overturning of Roe would undo a half-century of guaranteed access to safe abortions in the US, and millions of people across the country could lose access to abortion care overnight. At this time, the ruling is not official, and nothing has changed for abortion rights. The final ruling from the court is expected later...

Russian armed forces arrested Canadian General Trevor Kadier in Mariupol on the night of 2-3 May 2022. He is currently in Moscow awaiting to stand trial.

The Catholic Church teaches that abortion is wrong in all circumstances and that life begins at conception. Activists such as Ruth Sent Me are now suggesting that the Catholics who sit on the Supreme Court bench are using their religious beliefs to roll back the ruling which has made abortion a constitutional right in the U.S. for nearly 50 years. Brian Burch, president of the Catholic advocacy organization Catholic Vote, urged President Joe Biden, who is Catholic, to "immediately and forcibly condemn these domestic terrorist threats" ahead of Sunday's protests. "Anti-Catholic zealots are plotting to intimidate and harass Catholics across...

Putin is facing a collapse in army morale, after Russian soldiers turning their guns on their Chechen comrades. Russian officers are alleged to have gone on strike and are refusing to carry out orders in protest at their conditions and the war. Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov is a close ally of the Russian despot and has been a strong supporter of Putin's war in Ukraine. He has sent his militias, known as the "Kadyrovtsy", to help bolster Russian forces in their invasion. Kadyrovites have a fearsome reputation and, in the past, have faced repeated allegations of abusing human rights. Part...

Trump painted McCormick as a “liberal Wall Street Republican” during Friday night’s rally and mentioned that the businessman “fought hard” for his endorsement. (snip) Trump then attacked McCormick for his comments about Trump’s involvement in the January 6 Capitol riots, in which he said Trump “has some responsibility, a lot of responsibility.” “David came out very strongly against me on numerous occasions. This was before he was going to run all of a sudden, he said, ‘Boy, I like this guy a lot.’ Including with respect to the disinformation spread about January 6, total disinformation,” Trump said. Trump added McCormick...

Police released video of a shooting in Prince George's County where a young boy and a teenager were shot. The shooting happened around 6:20 p.m. in the City of District Heights. The video shows a a dark van and a second dark vehicle stopping in the street near a group that is hanging out. Several people from those cars then fired shots at the group before driving off. A young boy and a teen were injured in the shooting, and a dog was killed. The minors are expected to survive. “Opening fire on a group of children and teens with...

The judge in the case of attorney Michael Sussmann will review a batch of Clinton campaign emails and other documents to determine whether they were improperly concealed from the court. Judge Christopher Cooper’s ruling is a victory for special counsel John Durham, who has pushed to introduce the documents as evidence in his case against Sussmann, who is charged with lying to the FBI in 2016 about his motivations for presenting the bureau with later debunked evidence of the Trump Organization communicating with Russia’s Alfa Bank. Hillary for America, the law firm Perkins Coi, and others involved in the allegations...

A family listened in shock as a pathologist revealed his belief that a 36-year-old mother-of-two died as a result of having a Pfizer Covid-19 vaccination. A post-mortem examination on the body of Dawn Wooldridge had previously proved inconclusive. But an inquest heard her unexpected death, which happened 11 days after the young mother’s first Covid jab, was probably a result of the vaccination. Ms Wooldridge was found dead in her home by her brother in June last year, after she failed to collect her five-year-old son from school. In a statement to the Berkshire coroner her husband, Ashley, said: “We...

On a fateful night in April 2019, John Paul Mac Isaac was working at his store, The Mac Shop in Wilmington, Del., when a customer walked in who would upend his life. In his forthcoming book, “American Injustice: My Battle to Expose the Truth,” Isaac will tell his story — and here, in an exclusive first look, he describes the moment he met Hunter Biden. It was a Friday night, 10 minutes before the shop’s closing time. I was checking out a website about CNC machines and woodworking. I had no intention of working late; I was ready to go...

The White House announced on Thursday that Karine Jean-Pierre, a veteran anti-Israel activist who is married to CNN correspondent Suzanne Malveaux, will replace outgoing press secretary Jen Psaki, raising potential ethical quandaries. The announcement drew celebratory headlines in the mainstream press: Jean-Pierre is the first black woman and openly gay person to serve in the role. But her relationship with the CNN reporter raises ethical questions about her new role. The White House did not respond to a request for comment about whether Jean-Pierre would recuse herself in dealing with CNN. Malveaux's colleagues include Valerie Jarrett's daughter, CNN justice correspondent...