Free Republic

A woman in Norway is facing up to 3 years in prison on criminal hate-speech charges after saying that a man cannot become a lesbian. Tonje Gjevjon, a lesbian filmmaker and actress, was informed on November 17 that she was under investigation for speaking out against prominent Norwegian activist Christine Jentoft on Facebook. Jentoft is a transgender female that often refers to herself as a lesbian mother. Jentoft previously accused another woman, Christina Ellingsen, of transphobia for a similar claim. Ellingsen is also under investigation and faces three years in jail if found guilty. The post on Gjevjon’s Facebook page...

The Miami-Dade School Board on Wednesday approved a measure to ensure the American and Florida flags are properly displayed in classrooms and district buildings, only after agreeing that “federally protected flags and classes may be visible” throughout the year.

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Vegemite, loved by Australians, celebrates 100 years in 2023. To mark the occasion, the Royal Australian Mint has released a Vegemite edition of the $1 coin. The coloured coin will feature a piece of toast with Vegemite smeared on it, which is “surely Australia’s national dish”, the Mint said. “As an Aussie icon and a rite of passage, Vegemite celebrates everything unique and fun about Australia, and what it means to be Happy Little Vegemites!” the Royal Australian Mint said. The Queen’s face will be on the flip side of Vegemite coin. The Queen’s portrait has been on Australian coins...

As Joe Bankman and Barbara Fried sat in a Bahamian courtroom Tuesday, the popular Stanford law professors had to be worried about more than whether their FTX founder son, Sam Bankman-Fried, will go to prison for orchestrating what a federal prosecutor described as “one of the biggest financial frauds in American history.” The couple also have to be concerned about their own legal jeopardy, a criminal law expert said, given reports that they were involved, at some level, in their son’s efforts to build his allegedly fraudulent cryptocurrency exchange into a $32 billion business. They face scrutiny on multiple fronts...

A black California businessman demanded $600,000 from California taxpayers during the first meeting of the state's reparations task force on Wednesday. Deliberations began on how to quantify how financial compensation might be calculated and what might be required to prove eligibility. One of those who spoke at the public hearing was 35-year-old entrepreneur and the first black professional tri-athlete, Max Fennell...He concluded his remarks by saying: 'The tangibles of what I'm asking for is $350,000 per black American in California that's tangible, small business grant $250,000 and land 15-20 acres.' ... ...California senate candidate Deon Jenkins spoke at the hearing...

President Joe Biden told dozens of African leaders gathered in Washington that the United States is “all in on Africa’s future," laying out billions in promised government funding and private investment Wednesday to help the growing continent in health, infrastructure, business and technology. Biden on Wednesday presented his vision during the three-day U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, an effort to narrow a trust gap with Africa that has widened over years of frustration about America's commitment to the continent. The Biden administration is pitching the U.S. as a reliable and quality partner to help promote fair and democratic elections and push critical...

Chris Redd is opening up about his brutal attack outside a comedy club in New York City back in October and the former Saturday Night Live star feels that it was planned out. The comedian made an appearance on SiriusXM’s The Bennington Show where he shared he saw surveillance footage of his attacker hanging around the area before the assault. “People called it a random attack. I don’t believe that. He waited for me for an hour before I got there,” he said. “He was on the phone, he had a lookout dude and everything. All I’m saying is this,...

Though Representative Celia Israel garnered the most votes in November, she fell to Senator Kirk Watson Tuesday night in the runoff election by just 886 votes. It’s the slimmest margin in an Austin mayoral race in decades. “People will always say my vote doesn’t matter. But last night, it proved that your vote certainly matters because the gap between the candidates was so close,” Brian Smith, a political science professor at St. Edward’s University, said. In the runoff, Watson won by a small margin — just 886 votes, or 0.78% of all votes. He did not, however, win Travis County....

According to Bring Me The News on October 31, video surveillance captured the image of a man dressed like a witch wearing a large black hat and entering the closed Piercing Pagoda Kiosk in the West End of the Mall of America around 9 pm. He was holding an empty duffle bag that was obviously full when he left. Cameras also caught the suspect putting the duffle bag in his car. According to a search warrant affidavit, the theft was not reported until three days later when a new employee saw that the cases were all completely empty. Since they...

A man charged with attacking comedian Dave Chappelle while he was on stage back in May at the Hollywood Bowl has pleaded no contest. Isaiah Lee was charged with one misdemeanor count each of battery and entering a restricted area during a live event. The 24-year-old was sentenced to 270 days in county jail, according to Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office. The plea came about 1 1/2 months after a judge rejected the defense’s request for a diversion program that could have eventually resulted in the dismissal of the charges against Lee, who remains behind bars in connection with an...

China has removed six diplomats from the UK, including its consul-general in Manchester, after they were accused of assaulting a Hong Kong protester in the northern English city, Britain said on Wednesday (Dec 14). UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said the six envoys had left the country by a Wednesday deadline imposed by London for them to waive their diplomatic immunity and be questioned by police over the October incident. Greater Manchester Police launched a criminal probe after Hong Konger Bob Chan alleged Chinese diplomats subjected him to "barbaric" treatment - dragging him inside their compound to assault him -...

A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck off Taiwan's eastern coast on Thursday (Dec 15) followed by multiple lighter aftershocks, the island's weather bureau said, with shaking felt in the capital Taipei. The quake hit just after midday (12pm, Singapore time) about 30km off the coast of Hualien County at a shallow depth of 6km. The US Geological Survey reported a lower 5.9-magnitude reading and a depth of 12km.

Vadim Yermolenko helped smuggle tech used in nuclear weapons into Russia, according to court documents. DailyMail.com can reveal his double life after it emerged co-defendant Alexey Brayman runs an online craft store in New Hampshire with his wife. They are allegedly part of the 'Serniya Network', run by Russia's security service...Yarmolenko and Brayman, who were indicted on Tuesday then released after posting bail, allegedly helped supply Russia with technology that can be used in nuclear and hypersonic weapons.

More than 400 congregations in Texas have voted to leave The United Methodist Church amid the mainline Protestant denomination's ongoing schism over LGBT issues. Over the weekend, UMC regional bodies in Texas voted to approve the disaffiliation votes of hundreds of churches, with most planning to join the recently created Global Methodist Church. The total number of departing congregations includes 294 of the 598 churches belonging to the Houston-based Central Texas Conference and 145 of the 201 churches belonging to the Lubbock-based Northwest Texas Conference, reported The Dallas Morning News. The departing congregations constitute nearly half of all UMC congregations...

A city in Central Texas held separate Christmas parades this year after an LGBT group featured a man dressed in drag at last year's parade unbeknownst to the Christian group that once organized the annual festive event. The city of Taylor, a “progressive, growing city” of roughly 15,000 residents about 30 miles northeast of Austin, decided to host its own separate parade last week following controversy over a decision by the Taylor Area Ministerial Alliance (TAMA) to ban the LGBT group Taylor Pride from its Christmas Parade of Lights following last year's display that offended some families. Last month, TAMA...

A pastor and his son have been arrested after claiming $8.4million in COVID relief funds for a family-run Christian ministry they claimed employed 486 people. Evan Edwards and his son Joshua, 30, were arrested at their family home in New Smyrna Beach in Florida at about 7am on Wednesday. The arrest came more than two years after the family - including Edward's wife Mary Jane Evans and daughter Joy, 36 - were stopped by Florida highway patrol trying to flee the country in a Mercedes SUV, according to a federal complaint. Federal agents found bags of shredded paper in the...

The first openly transgender woman set to be executed in the U.S. is asking Missouri's governor for mercy for the rape and murder of her ex-girlfriend, citing mental health issues. Lawyers for Amber McLaughlin, now 49, on Monday asked Republican Gov. Mike Parson to spare her. McLaughlin was convicted of killing 45-year-old Beverly Guenther on November 20, 2003. Then known by the name Scott McLaughlin, she had been terrorizing and stalking her ex-girlfriend Guenther before she raped her and then stabbed and strangled her to death. McLaughlin dumped Guenther's body in St. Louis near the Mississippi River, according to STLToday....

An Arizona mother went viral after she showed up to a school board meeting in a cat costume and makeup to mock what she says is the school's 'woke agenda.' Lindsey Graham, a conservative and published author who hosts the 'Patriot Barbie' podcast, made headlines after video showed her in the feline getup, inspired by board member, Paul Bixler. Bixler, 72, a retired teacher and principal, identifies as transgender woman. She was appointed to the Liberty School Board, which covers eight schools on the outskirts of metropolitan Phoenix, in 2021 after the election was canceled and is slated to serve...

Back in 2010, RNC Chair Michael Steele was heavily criticized and eventually lost his position because donors were angry about what they believed was luxurious spending on private jets, floral arrangements, chauffeur services, and member meetings in expensive tropical locales. Donors were used to frugality from the RNC under the George W. Bush administration, when “Karl Rove would bitch if there were flowers on the tables” and staff holiday parties were catered by Chick-fil-A.Despite Joe Biden’s economy and three straight cycles of election losses, the RNC’s big-spending days are back with a vengeance. Perhaps because of these losses both RNC...