Free Republic

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) is breaking with President Joe Biden on the debt ceiling, calling for Democrats to work with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) on a compromise to lift the nation’s borrowing limit. “Well, we have to work together. It’s going to take — it’s bipartisan. It’s always been bipartisan as far as the debt ceiling,” Manchin said in an interview on Fox Business. ”I think what we have to do is realize that we have a problem. We have a debt problem. Manchin said he's already spoken with McCarthy on the issue. House Republicans are expected to use...

Explanation: Gravitational lensing by the galaxy cluster MACS0647 -- in which the massive foreground cluster distorts and lenses the light emitted by distant background galaxies along the line of sight — is on vivid display here in this recent multi-color infrared image from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). In particular, the background source MACS0647-JD is seen to be lensed three times by the cluster. When first discovered with the Hubble Space Telescope, MACS0647-JD was observed as an amorphous blob. With Webb though, this single source is revealed to be a pair or small group of galaxies. The colors of...

A Virginia couple sharing their home with a pack of 30 dogs has revealed the reactions of people who visit them. Toni and Lydia Enright own 30 dogs of different breeds, ranging from Chihuahuas to Dobermans. In addition, the couple owns other domestic animals, including ducks, chickens, a pig, and a cat. This couple is seemingly equal to the task, despite the responsibilities that come with owning just one dog, and they say they "wouldn't have it any other way."

A three-foot-long alligator was recently found abandoned in a small town in New Jersey. On Sunday, Jan. 15, the reptile was found in a plastic storage container that was left in an empty lot in Neptune, New Jersey, according to the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MCSPCA). The MCSPCA was able to locate the hidden alligator after a "good Samaritan" by the name of Angel Rosario called law enforcement when he saw the abandoned container in the lot next to his home, the animal welfare organization wrote in a press release on Monday, Jan. 16.

Former President Donald Trump claimed Wednesday that the government documents the FBI recovered from Mar-a-Lago last summer were just empty folders marked "classified" or "confidential." "When I was in the Oval Office, or elsewhere, * 'papers' were distributed to groups of people & me, they would often be in a striped paper folder with 'Classified' or 'Confidential' or another word on them," he wrote on his Twitter-esque social media site Truth Social. "When the session was over, they would collect the paper(s), but not the folders, & I saved hundreds of them." He added: "Remember, these were just ordinary, inexpensive...

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Wednesday rejected praise from fellow Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz for her new committee assignments and instead criticized him over the days-long House speaker battle to elect Rep. Kevin McCarthy earlier this month. Gaetz commended Greene after she landed seats on the Homeland Security Committee and Oversight Committee, having previously been stripped of serving on congressional panels two years ago over her past inflammatory statements and promotion of conspiracy theories. "She's going to do amazing work for the people on these key committees she has EARNED," Gaetz tweeted Wednesday. "Too bad we're weeks behind after you...

The lengths Democrats and the media will go to to discredit the Hunter Biden scandal continue to astound. Douglas Wise, former Defense Intelligence Agency deputy director, admitted this week that when he saw the Hunter laptop story, he knew “a significant portion of the content had to be real.” Yet he still signed a letter, along with 49 other officials, casting doubt on the laptop just before the 2020 election because there “could” have been disinformation inserted by the Russians. Wise defends the letter, noting the experts said they had no proof it was a Russian plot. But these deep...

President Biden would easily beat former President Donald Trump in a hypothetical 2024 election matchup — but would lose if he faced off against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, according to a recent poll. In a rematch of the 2020 presidential contest, the 80-year-old Biden would prevail over his 76-year-old predecessor by eight percentage points in the popular vote — 49% to 41% — but would fall to the Sunshine State’s Republican governor by 45% to 42% in a head-to-head contest, the WPA Intelligence survey released Jan. 13 found. Trump announced Nov. 15 that he would mount a third consecutive run...

The Illinois State Rifle Association has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the state’s newly enacted assault weapons ban, saying the week-old law violates the Second Amendment “right of the people to keep and bear arms.” Plaintiffs also include: St. Clair County resident Dane Harrel; C4 Gun Store LLC; Marengo Guns Inc.; Firearms Policy Coalition, Inc.; and the Second Amendment Foundation. The lawsuit appears to be the first in federal court to challenge Illinois’ new weapons ban, but it is part of a burgeoning legal effort aimed at undoing the new law. Other lawsuits have been filed in state court. More...

Former President Trump holds at 17-point lead over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in a hypothetical GOP primary match-up, according to a new poll. A Morning Consult poll released Wednesday showed Trump with 48 percent support among potential Republican primary voters, followed by DeSantis with 31 percent. Trump’s front-runner position differs from some polls since the November midterm elections, which have shown DeSantis closing the gap with Trump or taking a lead in some cases.

Have you been wondering why so many people are suddenly collapsing? Well, it's definitely not in any way related to that one thing, that's for sure! The world's top experts have been hard at work studying what could cause this uptick in deaths. Here's the most up-to-date list of everything that's causing everyone to suddenly die: 1, Climate change: Starting with the most obvious here. 2, Standing up too quickly: You have to stand up slower! 3, Standing up too slowly: You have to stand up faster! 4. Excitement from watching She-Hulk: Try pausing the show and slowly breathing into...

A Japanese woman on death row for killing two men died behind bars when she choked while eating prison chow in her cell. Miyuki Ueta, 49, a former bar employee, lost consciousness during her meal at the Hiroshima lockup on Saturday afternoon, the Japan Times reported. Guards tried to remove the food from her throat and performed other rescue measures, but Ueta was declared dead at a hospital less than three hours later, according to the outlet. The prisoner had reportedly been on medication for a variety of ailments and had already collapsed a week earlier while eating.

SIX people were horrifically sliced to death by glass-encrusted kite strings after a blood-drenched festival in India. Three children, including a baby, are among the dead after the day of celebration in Gujarat turned sinister on Saturday.

The “Tiger King” star’s ex-husband, Don Lewis, has been found alive in Costa Rica, but the discovery is just now going viral — over a year later. During a November 2021 interview with ITV’s “This Morning” talk show, Baskin, 61, revealed that her ex, who was declared legally dead in 2002 after disappearing a few years before, is actually alive and well. The Big Cat Rescue owner alleged that the Department of Homeland Security has been in touch with her former lover. “One of the really exciting things that came out of ‘Tiger King 2’ is that they produced a...

On this date in 1573, Gilles Garnier was burned at the stake as a lycanthrope. The “Werewolf of Dole” was a scavenging hermit resident on the outskirts of that Burgundian town when a little girl was strangled and partially eaten in October of 1572. Townsfolk feared a maneating wolf but a subsequent pattern of attacks would point at something even more frightful. As kitsch as it becomes for us in modernity, it is not difficult to discern in the werewolf legend the shadow of a truly terrifying era when predatory wolves and predatory men alike prowled the dangerous byways in...

Pope Francis warned Jesus Christ followers not to convince someone to become a Christian, insisting it is a “pagan” activity. “To evangelize is not to proselytize,” the Pope told crowds gathered in the Vatican for his weekly general audience. “To proselytize is something pagan; it is neither religious nor evangelical,” the Pope said.

An Ohio woman was recently surprised by the rescue dog she is fostering. According to a report, Kaitlin Devoto, of Cincinnati, Ohio, knew virtually nothing about the pup she had agreed to foster. All she knew was that the dog was rescued from a puppy mill.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Wednesday referred to Kamala Harris as “the President” amid the Biden documents scandal. Is this a sign? “This Sunday the President will speak about the fight to secure women’s fundamental to reproductive healthcare in the face of these attacks,” Karine Jean-Pierre said referring to Kamala Harris. “She will talk about what’s at stake for millions of women across the country and most importantly the need for Congress to codify the protections of Roe into law. Not happening with a GOP-controlled House. WATCH:

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday turned away a challenge by a group of firearms dealers in New York to numerous Democratic-backed measures adopted by the state last year regulating gun purchases that the businesses said hurt their businesses. The justices, with no public dissents, denied a request by the dealers to block the laws, some of which imposed gun safety requirements on retailers, while their appeal of a lower court's decision in favor of New York proceeds. The state's Democratic-led legislature passed some of the laws last June. Others were adopted in July after the Supreme Court the prior...

Richard Blodgett, a single father, was jailed on a drug charge when a worker from Arizona’s child welfare agency delivered the news: His son was brain dead and on life support — just days after being taken into state custody. Blodgett screamed, cried and screamed some more. Jakob was his only son, a “darn cute,” curious 9-year-old who loved remote control cars and video games. Blodgett is now struggling to understand how it happened. A medical examiner listed Jakob’s death in late December as natural with complications from diabetes, a condition he was diagnosed with as a toddler. Specifically, Type...