Free Republic

The Biden administration on Friday cleared New York’s congestion pricing plan to move forward, approving an environmental review that suffered such significant delays many doubted the first-in-the-nation tolling system would ever happen. The Federal Highway Administration issued a letter approving the New York Metropolitan Transportation’s Authority environmental assessment and issued a draft “Finding of No Significant Impact” that will now be up for public review for 30 days, according to a copy of the letter obtained by POLITICO. The news means the agency has been given the green light to start charging drivers entering central Manhattan at peak times in...

Hollywood star Richard Dreyfuss, an Academy Award–winning actor best known for his role in the Jaws, said in an interview that the new diversity rules imposed by the Oscars for films to be eligible for the “Best Picture” award “make me vomit.” “They make me vomit,” Dreyfuss told Margaret Hoover on Firing Line which aired Friday night on PBS. “This is an art form. No one should be telling me as an artist that I have to give in to the latest, most current idea of what morality is.” New policies enacted by the Oscrars in 2024 will see film...

The bill to raise America’s debt ceiling passed by Republicans in the House of Representatives on April 27th caps spending in 2024 at its level in 2022, and then raises budgets by 1% a year. That may sound reasonable but it excludes mandatory spending on pensions and health care and ignores inflation. China’s increasing indebtedness is kept off the books in opaque “financing vehicles” used by local governments. Include everything and China’s total public debts are over 120% of gdp, and will rise to nearly 150% by 2027, on imf forecasts. Such levels of debt are affordable only because China...

The Pontifical Marian Academy inaugurated an “Observatory for Marian Apparitions and Mystical Phenomena” in mid-April.Father Stefano Cecchin, President of the Academy, told AlfaYOmega.es (April 30), that [the stupid] bishops are "not prepared" to deal with apparitions.So, his academy will do it. The bishop will then rubber-stamp ("decide") Cecchin's decision, which means: more Vatican centralism. Previously, each bishop was responsible for apparitions in his diocese.Cecchin says that there are "warning signs" which show that an apparition is false, “Would a mother want to punish her children by sending them illness, death...?" he sentimentalises. His answer, "Not at all." According to him,...

The Oakland Athletics said they are "working to address the situation" after play-by-play announcer Glen Kuiper apologized on the air for appearing to use a racial slur during a pregame segment before Friday's game at the Kansas City Royals. Kuiper appeared to say the slur on NBC Sports California when he referred to a visit to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri. Before the start of the sixth inning, Kuiper apologized. "Welcome back to Kauffman Stadium. I just want to ... a little earlier in the show, I said something, didn't come out quite the way I...

He understands our faithBritain today celebrates the crowning of a new king, but the coronation will be watched and celebrated by millions across the Commonwealth. To an extent that is often not appreciated abroad, the Queen – who was Defender of the Faith – was revered by her subjects of all faiths. In our often sectarian world, she exerted a unifying force: one that her son recognised and exemplifies. King Charles is deeply informed of Muslim beliefs, culture and mores Muslims in Britain and the world over will recognise, in King Charles, a monarch who is deeply Islamophilic. He has...

King Charles III and Camilla, the queen consort, were officially crowned king and queen during a coronation ceremony Saturday at Westminster Abbey, the first coronation there since that of Charles' mother, Queen Elizabeth II, back in 1953. Massive crowds lined the royals' route to and from the ceremony over the course of several hours. Charles and Camilla began their procession toward the coronation from Buckingham Palace through Central London in a golden carriage led by eight horses. About 200 members of the British military were mounted on horses as part of the procession, largely drawn from what's known as the...

The American economy is headed toward a “trainwreck” as out-of-control money printing and government spending collide with reality, warned former director of Ronald Reagan’s Office of Management and Budget, David Stockman, in this interview on Conversations That Matter with The New American magazine’s Alex Newman. The question now is how many collisions, how bad it ricochets, and how bad it hits average Americans, he said. Among other concerns, Stockman noted that living standards are going down as inflation far above what the feds admit is happening eats away savings, and wages fail to keep up. Expect that to continue getting...

n his rousing keynote address at The Heritage Foundation’s 50th anniversary gala last month, then-Fox News host Tucker Carlson offered an unexpected piece of advice: “Don’t throw away your hard-copy books.” Unlike digitized books, films, and albums that can be canceled, rewritten, or vanished altogether, physical copies are “the enduring repository that cannot be disappeared.” With their resurrection of poetry recitation requirements, educators in Georgia and Arkansas are protecting that repository in more ways than one, steeping students in a reality they can affirm, trust, and love. Both states’ departments of education recently proposed revised K-12 English language arts standards...

Republican-led states are pushing back against the radical LGBT movement with a wave of new laws restricting devastating transgender surgeries and drugs for children.2023 has been a breakthrough year in the fight to stop LGBT ideology and protect children from its harms. Since January, 14 states have approved laws to ban or limit “gender transitions” for minors, which have exploded in popularity in recent years as gender confusion has surged among youth.

The newly introduced Los Angeles 'mansion tax' has frozen luxury home sales with just two properties above $5 million sold in April which is down from 126 in March. The policy, which came into effect April 1, sees the city take a four percent cut of all home sales between $5 million and $10 million. And for mega mansions that break the $10 million threshold, homeowners lose 5.5 percent of their sale price if they decide to cash in on their estate. There were just two homes sold for more than $5 million once the new policy was introduced in...

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said Friday he would send troops to fight in Bakhmut if the Wagner Group pulls out of the Ukrainian city. Kadyrov, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, made the pledge in a statement he posted on his official Telegram channel. Earlier in the day, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner Group of Russian mercenaries, announced he would be removing his fighters from Bakhmut on May 10 because of an ammunition shortage. Prior to his announcement, Prigozhin published a video in which he angrily blamed top Russian officials for the deaths of Wagner fighters...

"We have a son named Jesus Ernesto. The first name is for Jesus Christ and the second for Ernesto Che Guevara…an exemplary revolutionary who gave his life for his ideals.” (Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez-Obrador, May 17, 2017.) “For the Chicano Movement …the Cuban Revolution of 1959 stood as a Latino revolutionary influence that told Chicanos that they could also struggle against their own internal colonized status within the U.S. and to achieve their own self-determination. Images of Fidel Castro and especially those of Che Guevara became standard for the Chicano Movement.” “Mexicans are mostly a rabble of illiterate Indians”...

Moscow media mouthpieces often refer to history books when they talk about Russia's invasion of Ukraine but one Kremlin propagandist decided to turn to the Bible. During a monologue on Solovyov Live, host Roman Golovanov said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is among those who have used the Old Testament story of David versus Goliath as a parallel for the war in Ukraine, in which Russia is portrayed as the larger adversary. However, Golovanov said that the perennial tale of the underdog triumphing should be flipped around and that Russia "was in fact the David" because "at least 50 countries are...

With new rules requiring IRS disclosure for all sales over $600, and in view of the fact that eBay dealers were specifically mentioned, does anyone have any idea of what buyers and sellers are doing for sales over $600 privately? How about a seller to a jewelry store or gold dealer?

A DNA test has confirmed the identity of a Texan woman who was reunited with her family last year after being abducted as a toddler 51 years ago. Melissa Highsmith, now 53, was taken from her parents' Fort Worth home in 1971 by a babysitter when she was just 22 months old She was miraculously reunited with her biological parents - Jeffrie Higshmith, 72; Alta Alpantenco, 73 and siblings - Rebecca Del Bosque, 48; Vicitoria Highsmith, 47; Sharon Highsmith, 45 and Jeffrey Highsmith, 42 - on November 26.

It pains me to get my hands dirty with this mess. Feel like I need a shower. Ugh. Video of MSNBC interview at link. Back in Feb 28, 2023 the NYP ran a story: Biden says he cut national debt by $1.7T — when he actually increased it by $3.84T. Well...he did it again yesterday in a sit down interview with MSNBC host (whatshername). *newb warning...if this thread gets pulled again...can you please explain what it is that I'm doing wrong and how to fix it? Thank you.

Tennessee Republican Rep. Andy Ogles on Friday became the latest congressional Republican to endorse former President Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign. The freshman representative praised Trump’s “strong leadership” and highlighted his economic and foreign policies in his endorsement. Ogles said:America has been in a downward spiral since Biden took office just over two years ago. He has embarrassed the U.S. time and time again on the international stage, created economic hardship for millions, and pushed woke agendas ahead of education and national security. Joe Biden has demonstrated his complete disregard for the well-being of Americans.We need to restore strong leadership...

Ever since we pointed out the branding and image consultants hired by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in April, 2022 as part of his national rebranding launch, we have faced some criticism from non-believers. [Go Deep] However, the truth has no agenda. The reality of the situation exists regardless of our comfort level.ABC News is now reporting that Ron DeSantis will skip the exploratory committee phase and go straight into full campaign mode. However, the best part of the information provided from within the DeSantis operation is this, “the team has been paying close attention to how to help manage the...

New York City teachers, cops and firefighters lost nearly $30 million in pension funds tied to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Critics accuse Comptroller Brad Lander, who is custodian of the pension systems, of favoring the “woke” bank over shareholders. Five city pension funds had a total of $41,867,214 invested in the doomed bank as of Jan. 31, according to data provided by the comptroller’s office under a Freedom of Information request by The Post. The comptroller’s Bureau of Asset Management oversees the investment portfolios. Among the largest funds left holding the bag were the Teachers Retirement System, which...