Free Republic

A Seattle school district is being forced to lay off employees amid financial turmoil that was caused by plummeting student enrollments. Seattle Public Schools announced on Tuesday that some staff members have been notified they may lose their jobs to address a budget deficit. "This week...we've issued some notifications to employees about they're being considered for 'RIF' and displacement so that is happening," said Dr. Brent Jones, SPS superintendent, at a school board meeting on Tuesday night.

A viral video shows a dog caring for a toddler after the child gets kicked by a cat he is playing with. In the video, the child is seen crawling across the family cat's face and seemingly hurting the feline. To protect itself, the annoyed cat unceremoniously kicked the toddler off of its face, resulting in the child falling and landing on his back.

California Sen. Dianne Feinstein is receiving treatment for shingles in a California hospital, Fox News Digital has confirmed. "I was diagnosed over the February recess with a case of shingles. I have been hospitalized and am receiving treatment in San Francisco." Feinstein's office shared. "I hope to return to the Senate later this month."

The Diocese of San Cristobal, in southern Mexico, will send Pope Francis a proposal to include indigenous Mayan rites such as dance, music and the participation of women in Catholic masses. This is the second such proposal to come from the Catholic church community, the first being the Zairean rite.

Sunday’s Post exclusive revealing that nearly half of all city public high school graduates need remedial classes when they enroll at CUNY community colleges is fresh evidence that the city Department of Education isn’t getting the job done. Public-school grads are forced into remedial classes to survive their first semester thanks to years of lowered standards, grade inflation, grade-fixing, fraudulent credit-bearing make-up classes and outright cheating on exit exams. It got worse during the pandemic, as remote learning, chronic absenteeism and the suspension of normal graduation standards handed diplomas to countless ill-prepared students. Shamelessly, then-Mayor Bill de Blasio and his...

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Senator Rick Scott are demanding answers from the Orlando prosecutor whose office failed to keep the 19-year-old gangster who killed a journalist and nine-year-old girl off the streets despite his long rap sheet. ... Moses had been arrested 19 times in the past on suspicion of an array of crimes including grand theft, burglary and attempted murder. Most of the offenses occurred when he was a juvenile, so the outcome of the arrests is unknown.

A group of Donald Trump supporters was booted from a Ron DeSantis book signing event after he allegedly ordered security to kick out fans of the former president. The Florida governor was at a Books-a-Million store in Leesburg, Florida, on Tuesday, when Trump supporters attempted to take part in the event. The group, however, was not allowed in, with video of the incident showing a security guard telling them: 'They told me to say anyone wearing Trump has to go right now.' The group then booed at the order, calling DeSantis out for not supporting 'free speech' as tensions rise...

A Florida man with "an extremely violent past" is accused of fatally shooting four family members, including his own 15-year-old daughter, at a home early Wednesday, authorities said.

The number of births registered in Japan plummeted to another record low last year -- the latest worrying statistic in a decades-long decline that the country's authorities have failed to reverse despite their extensive efforts. The country saw 799,728 births in 2022, the lowest number on record and the first ever dip below 800,000, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Health on Tuesday. That number has nearly halved in the past 40 years; by contrast, Japan recorded more than 1.5 million births in 1982. Japan also reported a record high for post-war deaths last year, at more than...

At the peak of the pandemic, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) was censored by Big Tech. He was insulted, ridiculed, mocked, and scorned for many of his claims regarding COVID-19. Whether it was the efficacy of masks or the virus's origins, the Left's Big Tech henchmen did everything possible to suppress Paul's voice because they disagreed with his assertions. They were wrong, as we now know, and they owe Paul an apology. The U.S. Energy Department and the FBI now agree that a lab leak is probably to blame for the spread of the COVID-19 virus, according to reports. The disclosure...

What is going on at Sen. John Fetterman’s (D-PA) office? I ask because the senator, who hospitalized and under medical observation, is apparently joining legislative efforts and co-signing legislation. Someone the people of Pennsylvania didn’t elect is acting in Fetterman’s capacity. It’s not shocking that Democrats are pushing a new framework to enhance train safety after the horrific derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, which could devolve into an environmental fiasco. What is eyebrow-raising is Fetterman saying he’s joined this effort while being sidelined for possibly a month due to clinical depression. And if you ask his staff on Twitter about...

The White House on Thursday laid out its plan to target pandemic fraudsters and recapture stolen relief funds distributed under both the Trump and Biden administrations. A top White House official said the goal was to provide $600 million to investigate and prosecute systemic pandemic fraud, a similar amount to bolster fraud prevention and $400 million to help victims of identity theft...

First Week of Lent Matthew 7:7–12Friends, today’s Gospel urges us to persist in prayer. The Lord wants us to ask with persistence, even stubbornness.Now, we must not think of God as becoming exasperated by our prayer of petition, but the clear implication is that we will get what we want through persistence: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."How do we make sense of this? For me, the best explanation is offered by St. Augustine. He said that God doesn’t always give us immediately what...

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The Texas A&M University system will be removing its diversity, equity and inclusion statements from hiring and admission practices. This decision comes after a memo from Gov. Greg Abbott's office told state agency and public university leaders the use of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives — policies that support groups who have been historically underrepresented or discriminated against — is illegal in hiring. After receiving the Feb. 6 memo, Texas A&M Chancellor John Sharp immediately ordered all A&M System institutions to review their employment and admission practices and confirm their compliance, according to the university.

President Biden said Thursday he will visit East Palestine, Ohio, “at some point” in the wake of a train derailment that spilled toxic chemicals into the community. “I’ve spoken with every official in Ohio, Democrat and Republican, on a continuing basis, as in Pennsylvania,” Biden told reporters after leaving a lunch at the Capitol with Senate Democrats. ADMINISTRATION Biden says he will visit East Palestine ‘at some point’ BY BRETT SAMUELS - 03/02/23 4:13 PM ET SHARE TWEET President Biden Greg Nash President Biden answers questions during a press conference in the State Dining Room of the White House. President...

Is It Racist For Whites To Want To Live Away From Blacks? Cartoonist Scott Adams Says NO! Tommy on Rumble

Florida Sen. Jason Brodeur (R-Lake Mary) wants bloggers who write about Gov. Ron DeSantis, Attorney General Ashley Moody, and other members of the Florida executive cabinet or legislature to register with the state or face fines.Brodeur’s proposal, Senate Bill 1316: Information Dissemination, would require any blogger writing about government officials to register with the Florida Office of Legislative Services or the Commission on Ethics. In the bill, Brodeur wrote that those who write “an article, a story, or a series of stories,” about “the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, a Cabinet officer, or any member of the Legislature,” and receives or...

Scientists have uncovered why patients with a rare type of blood cancer suffer from ineffective red blood cell production, and how vitamin B5 could be combined with existing drugs to improve outcomes. Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a type of blood cancer characterized by a stem cell disorder where the production of healthy red blood cells goes wrong. There are no curative treatments for these patients, but some medications do help to slow the progression of the disease. People with this disease often go on to develop acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and around half of people become resistant to existing treatments...

The F130 engines in dual-pod configurationRolls-Royce VIEW 1 IMAGES At NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, Rolls-Royce has begun testing of the F130 jet dual-engine pods that will power the US Air Force's B-52H Stratofortress heavy bomber fleet for the remainder of its service life into the 2050s. Entering service in 1955, The B-52 is so venerable that the grandchildren of the original pilots may now be serving aboard the same aircraft. It's a testament to over-engineering that the 76 remaining B-52Hs and the 12 held in reserve will continue to serve for another 30 years until their basic airframe...

BUENOS AIRES — The young couple was determined to leave Russia. Alex Slepenkov, 36, knew he could be forced to join the military and fight in a war he had tried to protest. He and his wife, Natasha Slepenkova, 30, feared the country would turn into North Korea, closing its borders to the world. After they learned in September they were expecting their first child, they began looking up alternatives. The couple settled on a destination about as far from Moscow as possible, with a culture and language vastly different from their own. Argentina, unlike many countries, still allowed Russians...