Free Republic

“D.C. Public Schools Spent $31,843 Per Pupil; But D.C. 8th Graders Had Lowest Math and Reading Scores in Nation,” reports CNS News. Washington, DC spent more per student than any of the 50 states: The public schools in Washington. D.C., spent a total of $31,843 per pupil in fiscal year 2020…Meanwhile, the National Assessment of Educational Progress tests administered in 2019 showed that only 23 percent of the eight graders in D.C. public schools were proficient or better in reading and only 23 percent were proficient or better in mathematics. The average reading test score for D.C. eighth graders was...

The various factions big and small moving towards the two rounds of voting for the National Assembly (June 12th and 19th). "Left" leader Jean-Luc Melenchon riding high in polls for the first round of voting leading other factions but after the consolidation of support in the second round his united "Left" faction will best get 165 of the 577 seats according to the polling. The National Rally of Marine Le Pen trails both the "Left" faction and the faction supporting President Emmanuel Macron. Her best outcome in the second round polling data is 80 seats. The polling data as it...

ANTIOCH, IL—Former President Donald J. Trump was crowned MAGA King shortly after pulling the legendary rifle of Kyle Rittenhouse from a stone. According to legend, the AR-15 rifle had been placed in the stone by Rittenhouse himself where it could lay dormant until a hero worthy of ruling America could pry it from its slumber.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell took three Republican senators along on a surprise trip to Kyiv Saturday for a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky — where he called on the US to designate Russia as a “terrorist state.” “I believe that this visit once again demonstrates … the strength of ties between the Ukrainian and American nations,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address, even as a bipartisan bill to send $40 billion in additional aid remained stalled in Congress — while both Finland and Sweden inched closer to joining NATO.

Former first lady Melania Trump has slammed Vogue editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour, for never putting her on the cover when her husband was president, in her first interview since leaving the White House. Fox Nation host Pete Hegseth raised the topic in his sit down with Melania, noting that first ladies Jill Biden, Michelle Obama, and Hillary Clinton have all appeared on the cover of Vogue and that Vice President Kamala Harris got the honor even before she was sworn in. “They’re biased and they have likes and dislikes, and it’s so obvious. And I think American people and everyone sees...

Bishop Rey Evangelista says God never meant Leni Robredo to win as her mission was to wake Filipinos up Church people have expressed disbelief and despair over the Philippine presidential election after the son of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos easily defeated their pick — Vice President Leonor “Leni” Robredo. With about 98 percent of the ballots counted, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr had 31 million votes while Robredo had less than half that number with about 15 million. Many within the Church had publicly backed Robredo as Marcos was seen as a throwback to the martial law years when his father...

Please pray for my mother. She fell Thurs/Fri night and broke the ball of her thigh. She is to have surgery TOMORROW, @ 10 am Eastern.

A man bites dog moment happened on Friday in the White House, as the lion laid down with the lamb, at least for a photo. Outgoing White House press secretary Jen Psaki posed with Fox News White House reporter Peter Doocy on her last day of work, as the two frequent combatants let bygones be bygones. “End of an era in the Brady briefing room!” Doocy captioned the picture posted on his Twitter feed. “Good luck, @jrpsaki.” The truce was noted by broadcaster Piers Morgan, who weighed in with his own tweet. “What a partnership,” he wrote. “You both did...

Admiral Igor Osipov 'not been seen alive' since Moskva sinking, say Kyiv sources Suspicions are growing that Vladimir Putin's Black Fleet chief was on warship Osipov, 49, was conspicuously absent from the Red Square Victory Day parade Mystery is growing over the fate of Vladimir Putin's Black Fleet chief, Admiral Igor Osipov, who has 'not been seen alive' since the sinking of the Moskva warship one month ago. There are now suspicions that the commander was on board the vessel when it was hit by Ukrainian Neptune missiles, say Kyiv sources. Initially Ukraine claimed that the admiral was detained amid...

Nearly 20 parish churches on the eastern edge of North America face the prospect of closure, as the properties have gone up for sale in bankruptcy proceedings for the Archdiocese of St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada. The parish church properties - at 18 of the 34 parishes in the archdiocese - were included in a March notice of sale, part of an effort to resolve an archdiocesan bankruptcy filing and a court order to compensate victims of sexual abuse at a closed Catholic orphanage in Newfoundland. The Newfoundland archdiocese was in 2021 found liable for a religious community which operated Mount...

Syracuse police are under fire for their response to a call of an 8-year-old accused of stealing a bag of chips from a store in the city's Northside neighborhood, according to multiple reports. A bystander caught the Sunday encounter in a now-viral video that's garnered millions of views on Twitter and has been viewed over 50,000 times on Facebook. The clip shows three Syracuse police officers appear to apprehend a Black boy who allegedly stole a bag of Doritos from a Syracuse, N.Y., shop. The boy is visibly shaken up and sobbing as one of the officers grabs the boy...

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson imposed a two-night curfew for individuals under the age of 21 within the city's entertainment district on Saturday. The curfew is from 11 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Police will be enforcing the curfew and individuals found in violation will be arrested and fined $691, according to police.

Moscow, May 8, Interfax - Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia has conducted a liturgy on the eve of Victory Day at the main church of the Russian Armed Forces in Kubinka, Moscow Region, after which he responded to Western reproaches against Russia over its special operation in Ukraine. "Russia does not wish to harm anyone, does not want to invade and occupy anyone, does not want to pump resources from anyone, as most rich and powerful countries of the world do, economically occupying weak and helpless countries. We do not need all this, we are self-sufficient," the patriarch...

‘God’s law was more important to me than Man’s.’DONAMON, Ireland (LifeSiteNews) – A Catholic couple has said that they would rather go to jail than pay a fine for breaking COVID-19 restrictions by going to Mass. Catholic couple Jim Ryan, 64, and his wife Ann, 59, broke COVID-19 regulations on Palm Sunday, March 28, 2021, by driving over 5 km from their home. In April, the couple was charged for this alleged offense by Judge Raymond Finnegan at Cavan District Court. According to Independant.ie, the judge ruled that they must each pay a €300 fine. “I will go to jail...

Vice President Harris hauled in nearly half a million dollars in book royalties during her first year in office, ethics disclosure forms show. Harris reported $325,000 in royalty earnings from her 2019 book “The Truths We Hold,” and another $130,000 for her children’s book “Superheroes Are Everywhere,” Bloomberg reported Friday. The cash far outstripped President Biden’s, who reported between $15,001 and $50,000 in royalties for “Promise Me, Dad,” — a heartfelt 2018 memoir about his late son Beau Biden, who died of brain cancer in 2015.

A former US intelligence official warned of a likely bid by Russia to stir "political violence." Two Russian groups currently fighting in Ukraine have ties to far-right groups in the US and Western Europe. "They've done that before in much of Europe and I would not be surprised if they are doing that today — trying to get their intelligence services at the right moment to get these groups agitated," Chris Chivvis, who served as the National Security Council's intelligence officer for Europe from 2018 to 2021, told Insider.

It's not the gun, it's the person with the gun that don't know how to act

According to the criminal complaint, authorities seized 70,000 fentanyl pills, 34 pounds of heroin, 10 pounds of methamphetamine, two guns and $20,000 in cash from Moreno Olivas on May 5.

AbstractProblem/Condition: CDC conducts abortion surveillance to document the number and characteristics of women obtaining legal induced abortions and number of abortion-related deaths in the United States.Period Covered: 2019.Description of System: Each year, CDC requests abortion data from the central health agencies for 50 states, the District of Columbia, and New York City. For 2019, 49 reporting areas voluntarily provided aggregate abortion data to CDC. Of these, 48 reporting areas provided data each year during 2010–2019. Census and natality data were used to calculate abortion rates (number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44 years) and ratios (number of abortions per...

Kathy Barnette, a Republican Senate candidate in Pennsylvania, has a social media history packed with anti-Muslim and anti-LGBTQ sentiments, as well as conspiracy theories about former President Obama. (snip) Driving the news: Former President Donald Trump warned Republicans Thursday that Barnette's history will preclude her from winning a general election in Pennsylvania. Trump has endorsed celebrity TV doctor Mehmet Oz in the race. (snip) In one of the tweets, Barnette said "pedophilia is a cornerstone of Islam." (snip) Worth noting: Barnette talked derogatorily about Muslims, Islam and Obama in speeches as well, CNN reports.