Free Republic

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) is trailing her Republican opponent, Adam Laxalt, by 2 points in her bid for reelection, according to a new CNN poll released on Thursday. With just over four weeks left until Election Day, 48 percent of likely voters said they support Laxalt, compared to the 46 percent that said they back Cortez Masto, according to the poll.

The White House is urging governors to take similar action. Administration officials told reporters the move could benefit about 6,500 people, though they noted there are far more people who have been convicted under state law. Nobody is currently in federal prison on a simple possession charge, officials said.

New York Republican gubernatorial candidate Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) appears to be closing in on Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) in the final stretch of the gubernatorial race, a Trafalgar Group survey released this week revealed. The survey asked respondents, “If the election for Governor were held today, for whom would you vote?”

Two Russians who said they fled the country to avoid compulsory military service have requested asylum in the U.S. after landing on a remote Alaskan island in the Bering Sea, Alaska U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s office said Thursday. Karina Borger, a spokesperson for Murkowski, said by email that the office has been in communication with the U.S. Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection and that “the Russian nationals reported that they fled one of the coastal communities on the east coast of Russia to avoid compulsory military service.” Spokespersons with the Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection each...

Federal agents investigating President Biden’s son Hunter have gathered what they believe is sufficient evidence to charge him with tax crimes and a false statement related to a gun purchase, according to people familiar with the case. The next step is for the U.S. Attorney in Delaware, a Trump administration holdover, to decide on whether to file such charges, these people said. The investigation into Hunter Biden began in 2018, and became a central focus for then-president Donald Trump during his unsuccessful 2020 reelection effort. Initially, the investigation centered around Hunter Biden’s finances related to overseas business ties and consulting...

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that NATO countries should launch preventive strikes against Russia to prevent Moscow from using nuclear weapons. “What should NATO do? Eliminate the possibility of Russia using nuclear weapons ... Preemptive strikes, so that they know what will happen to them if they use it. And not vice versa - wait for Russian nuclear strikes, ”he said, speaking via video link at the Lowy Institute (Australia). The Kremlin has repeatedly noted that Russia can use nuclear weapons only in accordance with the provisions of its nuclear doctrine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the...

A new super PAC backed by Donald Trump is placing its first ad buys, as the ex-president invests in Republican candidates in the final stretch of the midterm election. MAGA Inc., made an initial ad buy in the Columbus and Cleveland media markets and has also placed ads in Pittsburgh, according to AdImpact, a media tracking firm. Ohio and Pennsylvania have key Senate races where Trump endorsed earlier this year. AdImpact reported $135,650 worth of ads placed in Pittsburgh and another $276,000 in Columbus and Cleveland so far, although those numbers are expected to rise as more stations report buys.

The US intelligence community believes that the car bombing that killed Darya Dugina, the daughter of prominent Russian political figure Alexander Dugin, was authorized by elements within the Ukrainian government, sources briefed on the intelligence told CNN. The US was not aware of the plan beforehand, according to the sources, and it is still unclear who exactly the US believes signed off on the assassination. It is also not clear whether the US intelligence community believes that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was aware of the plot or authorized it. But the intelligence finding, first reported by the New York Times,...

A top leader in a national school psychologists’ association is participating in a group that funds efforts to rehome gay youth to new parents, internal materials obtained by The Daily Wire reveal. Amy Cannava, chair of the National Association Of School Psychologists’ (NASP) LGBTQI2-S Committee, participated in discussions on the internal message board for the Pride Liberation Project (PLP). The group’s “Resources For Outed Students” section advised “students who are facing familial rejection or need to leave their home for another reason” to “[r]each out to Amy (she/her) immediately. They work with Safe Space NOVA, are an adult, and can...

AN FRANCISCO (AP) — A baby girl, her parents and uncle were found dead in a central California orchard two days after they were kidnapped at gunpoint from their business, police said.

Former Republican Party of Florida Chair Al Cardenas endorsed Democratic Senator Annette Taddeo for Congress in Florida’s 27th congressional district against the Republican incumbent, footage released on October 5 shows. “It’s the first time in four decades where I am actually endorsing a Democrat,” Cárdenas says in his announcement, adding that he had never seen the US “face such dire straits as it’s facing now.” “I’ve decided that loyalty to my country and loyalty to what’s right is really more important than the loyalty that I’ve had for my party for over 40 years,” he says. Taddeo is challenging Republican...

According to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, a former Conroe Independent School District teacher who had inappropriate contact with a student received a 10-year jail term. The 37-year-old Bonnie Guess Mazock was convicted of indecency with a student. Detectives from the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office started looking into claims that Mazock had inappropriate contact with one of her students on January 12. ------------- According to officials, the student allegedly admitted to having sex with Mazock several times, including in her car and at his house. According to court documents, he added that Mazock claimed: “her husband was not satisfying...

It’s by now a commonplace story: State universities in “red” states, where most of the voters and legislators dislike progressive ideology, are being infiltrated by administrators and faculty who insist on implementing radically leftist policies and courses. Earlier this year, for example, the Martin Center published this article by Jonathan Small on the ways that “wokeness” was gaining a foothold at the University of Oklahoma. Another state where this battle is being waged is Tennessee. The ideological skirmishing began back in 2016, as detailed in this article in the Tennessean. Fed up with a host of programs and policies instituted...

Democratic Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman has pointed to his work as the state's current lieutenant governor as he campaigns for a job in Washington, D.C., but an Associated Press review of his time in that position shows a noticeably light workload. The examination – which focused exclusively on the time prior to Fetterman's stroke in May 2022 – showed that for nearly one-third of his workdays, he had an empty schedule. An AP report said that days that had activity in Fetterman's schedule showed that the lieutenant governor only had four to five hours of work in a typical...

Oregon may be on the verge of electing its first Republican governor in a generation next month. It would be a heavy blow for Democrats, an indictment of the party’s brand in what has been one of the most progressive states in the country. Portland, its largest city, has been an epicenter of left-wing activism in support of causes like defunding the police and drug decriminalization. But by all accounts, Portland is struggling. Crime is up, the city is facing a homelessness crisis and residents are worried. Democratic Rep. Earl Blumenauer, a Portland native who has represented much of the...

Even though the Democrats enjoyed an unexpected feeling of optimism over their election prospects during the past few months, midterm polls have swung back to the right, the Washington Post admitted earlier this week. "Assuming the Democrats have not found an effective way to rig the looming 2022 elections (which may not be a safe assumption), I believe they are facing an epic defeat, akin to losses suffered by Bill Clinton in the 1996 election and by Barack Obama in the 2010 election," argued Charles Ortel, a Wall Street analyst and investigative journalist. snip Not only are Democrats likely to...

Hurricane Ian “rapidly transformed from a relatively weak storm into a strong one, [a] phenomenon that has become more common” due to climate change. So reported the New York Times in its daily email newsletter. It also said, “Ian embodies several of the major hurricane trends in recent years, as the world copes with the effects of climate change. It’s a strong storm -- and strong storms are becoming more common in the Atlantic Ocean, as its surface water has warmed. . . . Unfortunately, the tragedy is compounded by climate-change activists who are using it for political purposes. They...

"Activists" in Jenin shoot at IDF forces and then flee into a school, so that the children will act as a human shield. [journalist covering the Middle East .Makor Rishon]

[…]Here are a few facts about the sabotage: 1. Biden said we were going to do it2. It happened “overnight” on the 26th of September3. We have a US Navy P8 fly from the United States to a refueling rendezvous point over Grudziądz Poland at 0210 hrs GMT4. The two aircraft, Callsign N/A, and BART12 sync up at 26,400 ft for an extended 1:20 minute refueling, disconnecting at 0328 hrs GMT5. The BART12 air refueler RTB’d to Spangdahlem Air Base Germany and one should note the flight record has been wiped6. The Navy P8 then continues onto the Nord Stream...

In his campaign for a crucial U.S. Senate seat, Democrat John Fetterman takes credit for reinventing Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor’s office, transforming it from a political pit stop into a “bully pulpit” from which he’s advanced progressive causes. Records from Fetterman’s four years in office, however, offer a different portrait of his time in the $179,000-a-year elected job. They show Fetterman typically kept a light work schedule and was often absent from state business, including presiding over the state Senate, which is one of his chief duties, according to an Associated Press review of his daily calendars and attendance records. The...