Free Republic

The Russian invasion of Ukraine recently passed the one-year mark and I fear the country is on the verge of losing to Russia. As someone who has visited Ukraine multiple times on humanitarian missions, my last trip convinced me that the country is at a pivotal moment. Morale is slipping. I could see it in the eyes of the children. More importantly, I could hear it in the voices of their leaders, who continue to say all the right things but lack the same conviction as before. …… While the Russian invasion of Ukraine is just a year old, the...

Technical foul on the first lady! A spokeswoman for Jill Biden walked back her public invitation Tuesday for the University of Iowa women’s basketball team to visit the White House following their NCAA championship loss to LSU — after Tigers star Angel Reese called the feel-good move a “joke.” “I know we’ll have the champions come to the White House; we always do,” Jill Biden, 71, told an audience in Denver Monday, one day after watching LSU beat Iowa 102-85 for the title in Dallas. “So, we hope LSU will come, but, you know, I’m going to tell Joe I...

A Lutheran pastor appeared to compare Jesus’ crucifixion with the transgender Nashville school shooter in a sermon delivered just days after the attack. Pastor Micah Louwagie, who leads the St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Fargo, North Dakota, delivered a sermon on Palm Sunday discussing Jesus’ crucifixion and how it was “baffling” that “someone’s existence can be so threatening” that they should be killed. Louwagie then claimed that those who point to 28-year-old Nashville school shooter Audrey Hale’s transgender identity as a potential motive for the shooting are calling for the “eradication of trans folks” just like those who called for...

Plant owners know just how difficult it can be to figure out what they need, especially when leaves start browning or wilting. But it turns out that plants may have been telling you all along. A new study found that when plants are stressed, they emit specific sounds that identify what's wrong. Previous studies had shown that plants vibrate when under stress, but for years, scientists have debated whether those vibrations become sound waves. By studying tomato and tobacco plants in an acoustic chamber inside a greenhouse, researchers at Tel Aviv University discovered that it's true – plants cry out...

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg makes his case after indictment and arrest of Trump.

Counts are AFTER Trump was sworn in as President, when he was running the country, not his business. What a joke.

From inside the courtroom: Next hearing in the case is not until December 4th. Prosecutors complained about Trump baseball bat photo. Judge warned Trump but did NOT impose gag order.

About five years ago, xylazine—a non-opioid sedative used in veterinary medicine—made its way to Philadelphia from Puerto Rico. Although not approved for human use, xylazine by itself is nowhere near as deadly as fentanyl or other strong opioids. However, when mixed with fentanyl as a low-cost cutting agent, the combination is particularly dangerous. Due to its use as a veterinary tranquilizer, xylazine is easily accessible. Also known as “tranq,” the sedative causes depressed breathing, lower blood pressure and heart rate, unconsciousness and necrosis that may lead to amputation—hence its “zombie drug” nickname. In 2021, researchers linked xylazine to 1 in...

Lovers Point Beach in Pacific Grove was closed on Friday by the Monterey County Bomb Squad due to a suspicious device found by a diver. According to Pacific Grove police Chief Cathy Madalone, a diver found a device she says resembled a pipe bomb. The bomb squad was called and responded and Lover's Point Beach was closed to the public. The device was detonated to render it safe and there were no injuries to either the public or investigators. There was also no damage to property.

Two members of Maine’s congressional delegation have stated that, despite the high-profile nature of Donald Trump’s indictment on Thursday, the former president is entitled to a fair trial. Maine Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, said that, like any other case, the burden is on the prosecution. “An indictment by a grand jury is the very beginning of the criminal justice process and does not determine guilt or innocence,” King said. “Under our system, the next steps place a heavy burden on the prosecution — to prove the charges (whatever they may be) beyond a reasonable...

The last Democrat occupying a statewide office in Montana may have an even tighter path to re-election in 2024, under legislation advanced by Republican state lawmakers Monday night. Senate Bill 566 would establish a top-two primary election for U.S. Senate next year, when Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester is up for re-election. It passed an initial vote 27-23 with no Democratic support on Monday, and must clear a final vote in the Senate to move to the House. It would establish a version of a “jungle primary,” in which every candidate, regardless of party, runs in the same primary election....

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., took to Twitter on Tuesday to share his thoughts on the arraignment of Donald Trump in New York City, following the former president’s indictment last week. Rubio called Trump’s indictment and arraignment "a bad day for all of us" whether you like the former president or not. "Today, American politics crosses a line that it's never going to come back from," Rubio said. "After today, especially on the basis of how ridiculous these charges are." Rubio argued that the case will give the green light to every prosecutor in the U.S. – whether Republican or Democrat...

On Monday night, it was leaked that Donald Trump will be charged with 34 felony counts for allegedly falsifying business records. ***Trump quickly called out District Attorney Alvin Bragg for illegally leaking the details of the indictment. “Wow! District Attorney Bragg just illegally LEAKED the various points, and complete information, on the pathetic Indictment against me,” Trump wrote in a post shared on Truth Social. “I know the reporter and so, unfortunately, does he. This means that he MUST BE IMMEDIATELY INDICTED. Now, if he wants to really clean up his reputation, he will do the honorable thing and, as...

<p>In what is likely to be one of the vital well-timed rulings of all time, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Courtroom of Appeals awarded former President Donald Trump $121,962.56 in legal professional charges from grownup movie star Stormy Daniels.</p><p>The practically $122,00 is along with the roughly $500,000 that she was ordered to pay him final 12 months.</p>

Anheuser-Busch defended its decision to enlist trans activist and influencer Dylan Mulvaney as a Bud Light brand influencer Monday in the face of growing backlash from critics. In the Instagram footage, the content creator is dressed like Audrey Hepburn’s character in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” as she cracks open a Bud Light can and takes a sip. “This month I celebrated my 365 days of womanhood and Bud Light sent me possibly the best gift ever — a can with my face on it,” Another video featured the activist drinking a can in her bathtub as part of the campaign. “Anheuser-Busch...

On a day that Donald Trump gets arraigned and charged on frivolous charges in New York, that’s naturally going to dominate the news. But there are other stories out there of great importance taking place. For example, Wisconsin is holding a Supreme Court election on Tuesday that will largely decide the fate of that swing state. In North Carolina, though, things are a little less tenuous after a Democrat state representative decided to switch parties, becoming a Republican. More importantly, the move will give the GOP a super-majority in the chamber. This news comes via Axios. A North Carolina Democratic...

Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, and his team have arrested former President Donald Trump, while some of NYC's worst criminals still roam the streets. New Yorkers who survived the city during the pandemic remember the long months when Bragg's office became a revolving door for career criminals who hit up the streets in broad daylight and had many fearing the subways. In February 2022, Bragg walked back a little on his policies, sending out a memo that made it clear to all his staff that any crime involving a firearm would be prosecuted as a felony — reversing the stance...

A simple theory of when probes can be described as politicized — and whether the Manhattan DA’s case against Trump qualifies.As someone who’s been covering investigations into leading political figures for the past decade, I’ve thought a lot about the politicization of the rule of law. On the one hand, politicians shouldn’t be above the law — if they commit crimes, and there’s evidence to show that, they should be charged. But on the other hand, criminal law shouldn’t be weaponized for political reasons against the opposing party’s enemies. When that happens in other countries, we generally view it as...

Some staffers of Vice President Kamala Harris can’t stomach their job duties. And it’s not just the veep’s leadership style. It’s the food aboard Air Force Two — the vice president’s official aircraft. Harris staffers are calling the meals — served by military personnel — “horrible slop,” according to a Politico report Friday. “It’s a little more Southwest Airlines than Four Seasons,” one former staffer said. Harris staff and alumni have received soggy sandwiches, cold pasta salads, and unappetizing spinach breakfast burritos, Politico reported. Politico did not report what food is served to Harris herself, or whether it’s different from...

Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Ill.) announced Tuesday that his daughter Rosa had died the previous night. “Last night our beloved daughter, Rosa, passed away at the age of 28. Our family is completely heartbroken,” García said in a statement. “Rosa joined our family as a young girl who had been in the foster care system. We did our best to provide a stable, loving, and welcoming home for her,” he added. The cause of death was not immediately announced.