Free Republic

The Biden administration plans to move forward with new border wall construction along the U.S.-Mexico border, a policy that Democrats have viewed as a "racist" and "ineffective" solution to flaws in the immigration system. resident Biden, speaking after his administration announced border wall construction in Texas, said at the White House on Thursday that he tried to "redirect" the money for the project and denied that border walls work. Biden's comments contrast those made on Wednesday by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who cited an "acute and immediate need" to waive 26 federal laws to construct border walls...

“We’ve conflated politics and bad mental health until they are indistinguishable.” — Scott Adams. By some hidden working of unseen forces, legions of ghouls and demons are bursting out of the ground in every other front yard of small-town America. Supposedly hard-up working-class people go all-out constructing Halloween shrines to the totem figures of decay and death, as in some depraved cargo cult competition aimed at hastening our country’s descent into chaos. The end can’t come soon enough, seems to be the message. Something in the zeitgeist is prompting us to do this. Year to year, these morbid displays of...

At least 22 people have been killed and hundreds more wounded after thousands of rockets were fired into Israel from the Gaza Strip in a surprise attack by the Hamas militant group. Large plumes of black smoke could be seen rising from a number of Israeli towns on Saturday morning. -snip- Palestine's President Mahmoud Abbas said the Palestinian people have the right to defend themselves against the "terror of settlers and occupation of troops". 545 Israelis have been wounded, Israel's health ministry said. This, combined with the number of fatalities so far, make the attack the deadliest in Israeli territory...

In Chicago, the price of illegal guns soared during the pandemic, but gangs were able to pay for them with COVID-19 relief money obtained fraudulently, agents say. When COVID-19 struck in 2020, the government quickly put together massive aid programs to help struggling businesses, along with the people who lost their jobs. But other kinds of enterprises with names like the Traveling Vice Lords and the Wild 100s — criminal street gangs in Chicago and across the country — soon figured out how to take advantage of that safety net. They defrauded those programs of millions of dollars that they...

Chicago on Friday became the largest American city to independently require that tipped employees make a full minimum wage, following a relatively easy City Council vote that delivered one of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s biggest political wins for his progressive agenda. In a 36-10 vote, aldermen approved the measure that advocates said was direly needed for the lowest-paid service workers and that opponents countered would backfire, causing some employees in the service industry to be paid less and lead to higher menu prices and staff cuts. The ordinance becomes law immediately but the full impact won’t take effect for five years....

Social-media users have blamed the Biden administration's move to free up frozen Iranian funds in a prisoner-exchange for playing a role in the Hamas attacks in Israel. On Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared in a video address that "we are at war" after gunmen from the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack, infiltrating southern Israel from the Gaza Strip. Videos appeared to show Palestinian militants shooting at passersby in the streets of the Israeli town of Sderot, and Palestinian rocket fire from Gaza has killed one Israeli woman. Amid the most-serious escalation in the country since...

SHANGHAI, Oct 7 (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer arrived in China on Saturday leading a bipartisan congressional delegation and starting a series of meetings in the world's second-largest economy amid rising tension between Washington and Beijing. The goal of the trip to Asia, which includes stops in South Korea and Japan, is to advance U.S. economic and national security interests, and in China, the group hopes to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, U.S. officials said. After passing a sweeping bill last year to boost competition with China in semiconductors and other technology, Schumer and Democratic committee leaders...

Israel has vowed to exact revenge on Palestinian militants after they launched a surprise attack on the country on Saturday, warning Hamas that they had made a 'grave mistake'. Residents living close to Israel's border with Gaza have been ordered to stay inside and others have been evacuated after Hamas militants infiltrated the country by land, sea and air and launched a fusillade of missile strikes. The Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed that the militants will pay an 'unprecedented price' after their attacks killed at least 22 Israelis, with unconfirmed further casualties reported on both sides. Speaking in...

Conservative commentator Candace Owens, who was suspended from YouTube last month for hate speech against the LGBTQ community, had dished out some blunt advice to students at a university in upstate New York. Speaking during the Turning Point USA Live Free Tour in Albany, a pregnant Owens addressed concerns that her very presence had made transgender students feel vulnerable. During a Q&A session, a student asked Owens, 'What do you have to say to the trans students on this campus who feel actively victimized by your presence here?' Owens swiftly replied, 'Life's tough, get a helmet, man, I'm too pregnant...

The militant group Hamas launched attacks on Jerusalem and Tel Aviv early Saturday morning, prompting the Israeli government to declare a "state of war." The situation is chaotic: (snip) In a statement posted on Telegram, Hamas called on 'the resistance fighters in the West Bank' as well as 'our Arab and Islamic nations' to join the battle. Following the first attacks, Hamas commander Deif has urged Palestinians to engage in a civil uprising. In remarks reported by CNN, he said: 'If you have a gun, get it out. This is the time to use it – get out with trucks,...

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Vice President Kamala Harris swore in former Emily’s List President Laphonza Butler on Tuesday in a touching moment for the two Black women and political allies. Senator Butler is only the third Black woman to serve in the US Senate, and her appointment fills the vacancy left behind by Vice President Harris, whose ascendancy to the White House meant there were no Black women in the Senate. California Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Butler to fill the seat the seat of Senator Diane Feinstein, who passed away late last week. “For women and girls, for workers and unions, for struggling parents...

NATO has published an article by a retired American defense official, which calls on the bloc to fight and win a limited nuclear war against Russia. Should the US and China clash over Taiwan, the author claims that a full-scale war in Europe would likely follow. The article was written by Gregory Weaver, who served as the principal nuclear and missile defense advisor to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Former President Donald Trump’s lead over Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) has grown by 20 points nationally since July, according to the latest Marquette University poll. Trump 56% (+10), DeSantis 12% (-10) Haley 6% (=) Ramaswamy 4% (+3) Conversely, DeSantis has lost ten points of backing since July and now holds twelve percent of support. As the poll was conducted from September 18-25, this marks a 20-point swing away from DeSantis toward Trump in just over two months’ time.

After a year of remote algebra, Diego Fonseca struggled with advanced algebra. Despite a week at George Mason University's Math Boot Camp, the would-be computer science major failed the math placement test to qualify for calculus four times. He didn't know the basics. Across the country, more students are placing into pre-college math, reports AP's Collin Binkley. "At many universities, engineering and biology majors are struggling to grasp fractions and exponents." At George Mason in Northern Virginia, fewer would-be STEM majors are getting into calculus and more are failing, he writes. “We’re talking about college-level pre-calculus and calculus classes, and...

This week, Republicans and Democrats got together to avert a government shutdown. Too bad. There’s so much that ought to be shut down. Useless Cabinet departments, for example, like Housing and Urban Development, Labor, and Agriculture. Agriculture employs almost 100,000 people. Why? Independent farmers grow our food. They don’t need a giant department. Let’s get rid of the Department of Education, too. Why does it even exist? Education is a local responsibility and none of the federal government’s business. Yet its spending is up 300% over the past 10 years. The department didn’t even exist before 1979. Has education improved...

Advance ticket sales to the Taylor Swift concert film debuting in theaters globally next week have exceeded $100 million. AMC Theaters Distribution and AMC Entertainment said today that milestone was reached as of Wednesday, Oct. 4, for “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour.” The film will debut on Oct. 13 in 8,500 theaters in 100 countries. AMC said audience demand “has been incredible from the moment it was first announced.” The film, AMC, said break its United States record “for highest single-day ticket sales” in its 103-year history. “Advance ticket sales are strong across the United States, from the largest cities...

Pennsylvania police have named the 'armed and dangerous' 19-year-old suspect in the shooting murder of Philadelphia journalist and community advocate Josh Kruger. Kruger, 39, was shot seven times on Monday inside his two-story South Philadelphia townhouse by Robert Davis, according to homicide unit Lt. Hamilton Marshmond. A warrant is out for Davis' arrest, citing 'murder and related offenses.' Police said they were able to narrow in on Davis following multiple tips and a video of the 'incident prior to the murder,' but they did not provide additional details.

Former Fox News host Geraldo Rivera denounced former president Donald Trump for claiming migrants are 'poisoning the blood of our country,' expressing his shock at the 'extraordinary, hateful, Hitler-like quote.' Trump drew astonished backlash from critics after making the remark in a recent video interview, where he repeated his prior claims that migrants are criminals, insane, terrorists and diseased. 'Nobody has any idea where these people are coming from. We know they come from mental institutions and insane asylums. We know they're terrorists,' Trump said in the interview with The National Pulse, a right-leaning website.

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