Free Republic

The Supreme Court on Thursday established a more stringent test to determine whether the Clean Water Act applies to a wetland. The ruling was a setback for the Environmental Protection Agency and a victory for an Idaho couple, Michael and Chantell Sackett, who have been battling with the federal government for over 15 years in their efforts to build a house on an empty lot near a large lake.

PSA: RON DESANTIS CANNOT HIDE FROM HIS RECORD—Ron DeSantis is flailing on the eve of his “big” day. No wonder his billionaire backers are running for the hills—and into the arms of his 2nd place competition. He just isn’t ready for the moment. https://t.co/ne7Mlv4vYR pic.twitter.com/6mlir0QMPF— Taylor Budowich (@TayFromCA) May 23, 2023

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Thursday urged Latino voters not to back Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in the next U.S. presidential election, accusing the Republican politician of trying to win votes at the expense of migrants. DeSantis said Wednesday he would seek the 2024 Republican nomination for president and vowed to build a wall on the Mexico border, the latest in a series of hardline comments on immigration that he says resonate with Latino voters who want strong enforcement.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton teetered on the brink of impeachment Thursday after years of scandal, criminal charges and corruption accusations that the state’s Republican majority had largely met with silence until now. In an unanimous decision, a Republican-led House investigative committee that spent months quietly looking into Paxton recommended impeaching the state’s top lawyer. The House could vote on the recommendation as soon as Friday. If it impeaches Paxton, he would be forced to leave office immediately. The move sets set up what could be a remarkably sudden downfall for one of the GOP’s most prominent legal combatants, who...

A blockchain analytics firm called Chainalysis estimated on Wednesday that suspected producers of the lethal drug fentanyl, largely located in China, have collected some $38 million in payments using cryptocurrency since 2018. The Chainalysis report, entitled “Crypto and the Opioid Crisis: What Blockchain Analysis Reveals About Global Fentanyl Sales,” noted that China “has been home to the largest chemical industry by revenue in the world since 2011” and was cited by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as the largest producer of precursor chemicals for fentanyl in 2019.

Scientists found that microbe fragments called endotoxin enter the blood stream and directly impact how well fat cells function, including their capacity to be metabolically active. The normal gut contains microorganisms that have essential roles in human health. In obesity, however, the wall of the gut can become impaired and leaky, allowing release of these bacterial fragments into the blood, where they go on to travel through the body to different tissues. Dysfunctional body fat is known to contribute to metabolic disease, including type 2 diabetes. Using a series of experiments they found that fat cells are significantly damaged by...

Budweiser is giving away its beer for free with new promotions after the Dylan Mulvaney backlash wiped almost $16 billion off parent company Anheuser-Busch's market value. Anheuser-Busch has seen its market value plunge $15.7billion since the disastrous campaign with Mulvaney began on April 1. In the latest scramble to return to the good graces of customers, Bud Light revealed a new promotion called the US Budweiser Family Memorial Day Rebate online. The rebate promises an amount 'equivalent to the purchase price of one 15-pack or larger, up to $15' of Bud Light, Budweiser, Budweiser Select or Budweiser Select 55 paid...

Pro Football Hall of Famer Troy Aikman has mocked Bud Light during the promotion of his own light beer product. The Anheuser-Busch brand has suffered severe damage - both fiscally and reputationally - after using transgender woman Dylan Mulvaney in a recent marketing campaign. Aikman released a video to Twitter this week ostensibly taking aim at the descending beer brand -- so much so, it is now being given away for free. 'AUTHENTICITY MATTERS,' Aikman wrote alongside the video. 'Lately there's been a lot of talk about beer companies and not nearly enough conversation about what really matters - the...

In a phone interview with radio host Glenn Beck for the Thursday edition of The Glenn Beck Program, DeSantis finally punched back against those claims. A clip from their exchange began circulating Twitter via Citizen Free Press. “I think he did great for three years, but when he turned the country over to Fauci in March of 2020, that destroyed millions of people’s lives,” DeSantis said. “In Florida, we were one of the few that stood up, cut against the grain, took incoming fire from media, bureaucracy, the left, even a lot of Republicans, had schools open, preserved businesses.”

Election integrity advocates have been warning that the trend of light sentences for those convicted of election fraud will not result in any actual deterrence from further election fraud crimes being committed in upcoming elections. As reported by Just The News, while prosecutors have been going after those accused of perpetuating voter fraud, the final sentences are often produced as a result of plea deals, and thus often lead to little or no jail time. “The good news is [prosecutors] seem to be more aggressive about going against these kinds of cases,” said Ned Jones, deputy director of the Election...

Target's market capitalization has shed more than $8 billion in the past week as investors weigh the impact of conservative backlash to the retailer's LGBT collection for Pride Month. On May 17, before the controversy exploded, Target shares closed at $160.96, giving the retailer a market valuation of roughly $74.3 billion. On Wednesday the stock closed at $143.10, down 11.1 percent from a week earlier, for a market cap of $66.1 billion, down $8.2 billion from a week earlier. The shares dropped a further 2 percent in early trading on Thursday and sat near a 52-week low. Meanwhile, presidential candidate...

The heartbroken fiancée of a father who was murdered while protecting his 14-year-old son outside his home has recalled horrific details leading to his death. Tracy Karopchinsky, 44, described how Christopher Wright, 43, was killed on his doorstep by five bullies after being dragged into a fight that started at Brooklyn Park Middle School and moved to his house in Anne Arundel County. The attackers - comprising of three teenagers and two adults - continued to punch Wright, who was already unconscious and bleeding out, before they fled the scene. They told his 12-year-old son: 'I'm sorry, call 911.' Remnants...

INDIANAPOLIS — In what has been termed an “update to the City’s gun violence reduction strategy,” Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett is prepared to challenge the Indiana General Assembly in its next session to curb access to firearms in Marion County. During an address at the IMPD Academy this afternoon, Hogsett said that an ordinance will be introduced before the City-County Council June 5 that would ban semi-automatic rifles in Marion County, raise the age to purchase a firearm to 21 and rollback the 2022 law banning gun permits. A city ordinance in of itself would not affect change overnight, however,...

MO police chief said the law is outside the department's jurisdiction due to not pertaining to criminal conduct. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey on Wednesday vowed to take "any legal action necessary" against Kansas City if its police department does not enforce a law banning transgender transition procedures for minors. Bailey, a Republican, said in a letter to the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners that the board has a constitutional duty to enforce the law, which was passed by the Missouri Legislature this month. Republican Gov. Mike Parson has not yet signed the bill but is expected to do...

Different methods of giving patients the same drug to prevent severe complications after a type of stroke lead to different outcomes. Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage, a type of stroke, has an average mortality rate of 30 to 50 percent. A drug called nimodipine is the only treatment proven to prevent this complication. It's recommended that all patients receive nimodipine for 21 days. However, there are different ways to administer the drug. Patients who are able to swallow tablets or capsules receive a consistent dose. The issue arises with patients who are unable to swallow the medication. In areas where nimodipine tablets...

New York legislators are vowing to terminate a lucrative state tax break for film and TV productions if they replace humans with artificial intelligence. “With the advent of AI, we want to make sure that we continue to protect workers and create jobs for New Yorkers,” state Sen. Lea Webb (D-Binghamton) said in a statement about the bill she introduced Wednesday. “It is important to ensure that the money we invest in economic development is actually being spent here.” The legislation is the latest state-level proposal aimed at reining in AI as emerging technology becomes more embedded in government programs,...

Whoopi Goldberg slammed American Idol as the 'downfall of society' before sheepishly backtracking in an awkward blunder on Thursday's The View. The actress, 67, was forced into a groveling explanation after she slated the ABC show -leading a producer reminding her The View is on the same network in a excruciating exchange. The drama began when Goldberg was talking about Netflix documentary Anna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me, which she claimed 'dwelled' on the star's final days. She said: 'You have Basketball Wives, you have the Housewives of whatever, all the Bravo shows, giving you the impression that you’re...

An ex-con on lifetime parole for the rape and murder of a 10-year-old Queens girl was allowed to remain on the streets despite getting arrested again last year — and is now charged with another sexual assault, The Post has learned. Charles Rowe, 56, was able to cash in on the state’s controversial “Less is More” act, which made it easier to keep him out of jail even after he was hit with a felony stolen car rap in December, according to law enforcement sources. -snip “Thanks to the governor’s ‘Less is More’ it is almost impossible to violate someone,”...

After Bud Light and Target, The North Face has become the latest American brand to face a boycott for promoting Pride. The company's Summer of Pride ad was released yesterday on its Instagram page and has already drawn ire from conservative consumers. The commercial features drag queen 'Pattie Gonia' telling consumers to 'come out... in nature with us!' and declaring themselves a 'real life homosexual!' 'Hi it's me Patti Gonia - a real life homosexual. Today I'm here with the North Face and we are here to invite you to come out... in nature with us!' Pattie - who lists...

"And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death." "Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power: That the name of our Lord...