Free Republic

The US is on target to eclipse previous economic forecasts and add a staggering $19 trillion to the national debt in the next 10 years, according to the nation’s budget scorekeeper. In a report released on Wednesday, the Congressional Budget Office warned that one way or another, through tax hikes or spending cuts, the country’s fiscal course needs to be corrected. “Over the long term, our projections suggest that changes in fiscal policy must be made to address the rising costs of interest and mitigate other adverse consequences of high and rising debt,” CBO Director Phillip Swagel wrote in a...

California used to be the dream destination for Americans from all over the country and people from around the world. Now, for the first time, the state is shrinking. I’m old enough to remember when the California Dream was just like the American Dream, only better, because it was in California. Glorious beaches, a Mediterranian climate, redwoods, the Pacific Coast Highway, a world-class education system, and room and liberty enough for everyone to find a home there. It was an almost magical kingdom, to coin a phrase. [SNIP] There were 28.5 million people in the Land of Sunshine and Opportunity...

YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki says she’s stepping down

Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry's family quietly sold their private jet to a New York-based hedge fund following intense criticism of the plane's carbon footprint in light of Kerry's work fighting global warming. The Kerry family's private jet, a Gulfstream GIV-SP, is no longer owned by his family's charter firm Flying Squirrel LLC., according to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) registration information reviewed by Fox News Digital. In financial filings submitted since joining the Biden administration, Kerry had reported that his wife Teresa Heinz-Kerry owned a stake worth more than $1 million in the firm. The plane's registered owner...

When Norfolk Southern train 32N derailed in Ohio earlier this month, it was not the first time it had experienced problems on the route. The train, which originated from Madison, Illinois, on the evening of Feb. 1, broke down at least once before derailing in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 3, according to employees familiar with the matter. The employees say there were concerns among those working on the train over what they believed was the train's excessive length and weight — 151 cars, 9,300 feet long, 18,000 tons — before it reached East Palestine, which contributed to both the...

A man who was photographed marching in the violent "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017 killed himself last week, according to a coroner's report, just as he was scheduled to face trial on federal drug charges. Teddy Joseph Von Nukem, 35, lived north of Mountain View, Missouri, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on January 30, according to a report from the Texas County Coroner's Office. That is the same day Von Nukem was scheduled to be in court in Arizona, facing four counts relating to illegal import and sale of fentanyl. He is a native of...

The Florida Department of Health fined WESH-2, an Orlando television station, $10,000 for not allowing Scotty Moore, the Republican candidate for a Florida Congressional District to participate in a televised debate last October because he had not received the covid vaccine. State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo explained that "since the covid vaccines are neither safe nor effective and state law explicitly prohibits using a person's vaccination status as an excuse to deny him the right to enter a business' premises, the fine is warranted." Station manager Martin Crook shrugged off what he called "a piffling irritation. Mr. Moore went...

ATLANTA - Fulton County has released portions of the findings of a special grand jury investigating whether then-President Donald Trump and his allies illegally tried to overturn his defeat in Georgia's presidential 2020 election. The report’s introduction and conclusion, along with a section in which the grand jurors expressed concerns that some witnesses may have lied under oath were released Thursday. But any recommendations on potential criminal charges will remain under wraps for now For nearly eight months, the grand jury has considered evidence and heard testimony from dozens of witnesses, including high-profile Trump associates and top state officials. While...

James Biden secretly negotiated a $140 million settlement deal in 2012 between a U.S. company and the Saudi Arabian government due to his relationship with then-Vice President Joe Biden, court documents reveal. The revelation represents one more instance of the Biden family business peddling influence while President Joe Biden was an elected official. House Oversight Committee James Comer (R-KY) reportedly already has copies of the court documents and is investigating the scandal as a part of his probe into the Biden family for nine violations, including wire fraud, tax evasion, and money laundering. In 2011, upon the Saudi’s refusal to...

A high-ranking Russian defense official in the war against Ukraine was found dead Wednesday after falling from a 16th-floor window in an apartment building. Marina Yankina, 58, was discovered by a passerby at the entrance of a high-rise on Zamshina Street in St. Petersburg, Russian news Telegram channel Mash reported. She is believed to have fallen 160 feet to her death. Her personal belongings and documents were found on a 16th-floor balcony in the building. According to a preliminary investigation, it is believed Yankina committed suicide. Mash reported that a few minutes before allegedly taking her own life, Yankina called...

Even while gangs increasingly mug, carjack, and gun people down on the streets of many major cities, fentanyl poisoning deaths take 100,000 American lives, and mass murder incidents happen with unsettling regularity, perceptions of crime are highly influenced by partisanship. Gallup finds that when a Democrat is president, Republicans see crime as more of a problem than do Democrats, with the reverse happening when a Republican is in the White House.

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Priest charged after praying outside abortion clinic decries criminalization of thoughtsHis lawyer calls the situation 'sinister'A U.K. priest charged after praying outside of an abortion clinic said free speech is being threatened in his country. "Nobody should be criminalized for the thoughts that they're having in their own head, and this is what I was threatened with arrest for," Father Sean Gough told "Tucker Carlson Tonight" on Wednesday. "I wasn't actually arrested, but I was interrogated for it and questioned about the thoughts that I was having in my own head, my prayers to God, and then I was charged...

Emergency personnel are responding to a warehouse fire that started on Thursday in Kissimmee, Florida, that is causing massive plumes of black smoke to rise into the sky. Fire crews from Osceola County, Orange County, and Kissimmee Fire Department are working to subdue the blaze, which started after five acres of plastic planters caught fire at a nursery supply company, according to a report from WFTV, which added that authorities are tracking air quality in the area. Phylicia Ashley, a reporter with WFTV, shared footage depicting a massive amount of black smoke visible from two miles away.

President Joe Biden signed a new executive order to address racial inequity on Thursday. The Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government is designed to address systemic barriers that hold communities of color back from prospering. The order is Biden’s second racial equity executive order. On his first day in office two years ago, Biden signed Executive Order 13985, which saw funding go to places like Historically Black Colleges and Universities and indigenous tribes and new programs to help close racial disparities in job and housing opportunities. Biden also a pardoned all federal offenses...

Biden will use his address to explain how the administration intends to deal with aerial balloons and other objects spotted in the future, based on a study conducted by a series of government agencies. The exact timing of Biden’s remarks has not yet been settled. The president is due to take a physical exam Thursday that could last several hours.

Data from the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) reveal that Total Snow Mass for the Northern Hemisphere has comfortably held above 1982-2012 average ALL season and is now also punching above the standard deviation. Feel free to shovel this fact down the throats of those mindless, unquestioning and narrative-trusting fools that still believe the world is burning up and that snowfall is a thing of the past: ... this trend of growth appears to have commenced back in 2017. ... Clear for all to see–and for all climate alarmists to ignore–Northern Hemisphere snow mass is on the uptick, consistently running well-above...

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) is reintroducing legislation to require background checks on all commercial gun purchases in the aftermath of the Michigan State University shooting that left three students dead. Murphy has pushed for stronger gun control legislation throughout his time in Congress, and is now once again calling for mandatory background checks for every firearm sale. If the measure became law, prospective gun buyers would need to undergo a background check for the sale or transfer of guns, including online sales, purchases at gun shows and through unlicensed sellers, according to the bill. Murphy told Poppy Harlow on “CNN...

While most of the world lost ground in defense spending in 2022—mainly due to inflation—both China and many nations in Europe achieved real growth, and China’s spending level set a record, according to analysis by the independent, London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies. China’s spending and “military modernization remains the principal area of concern for Washington,” the IISS said in a summary of its findings. The seven percent increase in China’s defense spending from 2021 to 2022 is its largest in “absolute terms” going back 30 years, according to the report. In real terms—accounting for inflation—China spent $16 billion more...

President Joe Biden's demands for a ban on assault weapons were called irresponsible and unconstitutional by 16 state attorneys. The coalition of attorneys general, led by Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, sent a letter to the president saying his reasons for banning assault weapons have many "flaws" and could create a potential danger. "The right to keep and bear arms in self-defense guards and protects the right to life, the first and most fundamental God-given right recognized in the Declaration of Independence," the letter stated. "And, needless to say, your repeated attempts to deprive law-abiding Americans of guns that are...