Free Republic

The US issued an unusual announcement that an Ohio-type nuclear submarine had arrived in the operational area of the US Central Command, and the command published a photo of it passing through the Suez Canal, on Monday. The identity of the submarine was not disclosed and it is not known whether it is one of the four submarines that carry Tomahawk cruise missiles or of the 14 submarines that carry the Trident-II ballistic missiles, but it is still a significant addition to the American deterrence force in the region, and the ability to attack if necessary.

Illinois state education administrators celebrated academic progress in 2023, but student achievement is still behind where it was before COVID-19 hit. Chronic absenteeism remained high. Enrollment dropped again. Illinois state education administrators are celebrating “strong progress” for Illinois students as proficiency in both reading and math increased between 2022 and 2023... But what remained consistent was fewer students were performing at or above grade level in 2023 than prior to the pandemic. The data shows only 35% of students could read at grade level in 2023. Only 27% met proficiency in math. Illinois Superintendent of Education Tony Sanders said the...

Surveillance video captured the appalling moment a St. Louis teenager attempted to grab a baby from a mother’s arms as she crossed the street with her husband. The incident happened in the Central West End neighborhood Sunday, as a family of crossed the street at around 8.30am. The mother - wearing a blue jacket - is seen holding her 11-month-old baby as the father walks beside them. A man in a gray hoodie, identified as 19-year-old Anthony McGee, begins to move towards the family. Suddenly, McGee grabs the infant. The father manages to fight him off before chasing him out...

Over $33,000 in real wealth is what the average middle-class household has lost in just the past year, tweets @GOP. The average middle-class household has lost over $33,000 in real wealth in just the past year. — GOP (@GOP) November 5, 2023 Prices are rising. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the inflation rate, which measures price increases of goods and services, increased by 3.7 percent from September 2022 to September 2023. That recording is more than 1.5 percent higher than what the Federal Reserve has stated is the "goal" for year-over-year inflation, 2 percent. Prices have been rising....

Soft touch California lawmakers boasted about their success in slashing child removals just days before a newborn baby died from a fentanyl and methamphetamine overdose in the care of her drug-addicted dad. Baby Phoenix was too young to eat solid food when she was poisoned by the drugs found alongside her bottle in May at the San Jose home of David Castro, despite repeated warnings from neighbors. Older children had previously been removed from a man with eight earlier drug convictions, but Santa Clara County had recently changed its 'threshold' for removal, citing a commitment to 'racial justice.' Officials insisted...

In Israel, protesters gathered in large numbers outside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence on November 4. In view of failures of the government to address the situation, that led to previous month's deadly attack by Hamas gunmen on communities around the Gaza Strip, protestors raised slogans in front of Netanyahu's house, reported Reuters. Hundreds of Hamas gunmen stormed into southern Israel on October 7, killed over 1,400 people and took more than 240 hostage. Israeli PM Netanyahu has not accepted personal responsibility so far for the failures of the government under whose reign such surprise assault took place.

U.S. food company Tyson Foods (TSN.N) has said it was voluntarily recalling approximately 30,000 pounds of frozen, fully cooked dinosaur-shaped chicken “Fun Nuggets” or Dino Chicken Nuggets. A limited number of consumers have reported they found small, pliable metal pieces in the product, and out of an abundance of caution, the company said in a release on Saturday that it was recalling this product. The company said the recall includes Tyson brand fully cooked “Fun Nuggets” sold to retailers in 29-ounce packages. No other Tyson brand products are affected, the company said.

Our Troops Rock! Thank you for all you do! For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday... Thank the Veterans who served in The United States Armed Forces. Looking forward to tomorrow's freedom? Support The United States Armed Forces Today! ~ Hall of Heroes ~ Mary Edwards Walker Info from here. Thank you to mountainlion for alerting us to this hero! Mary Edwards Walker (November 26, 1832 - February 21, 1919) was an American feminist, abolitionist, prohibitionist, alleged spy, prisoner of war and surgeon. As of 2014, she is the only woman ever to receive the Medal of Honor. Prior to...

In the coming winter phase of the Russian offensive in the Ukraine, the electric war will be run quite differently from the way the first electric war was directed last winter. The impact on the Ukrainian grid and on the country’s and military’s capacities to cope will be more destructive than a year ago. -The reason for this, Ukrainian sources have been saying publicly and Russian military assessments now confirm, is that most of the money which the US, the European Union, and the World Bank have provided Kiev officials over the past nine months to repair, reconstruct, and prepare...

There are many reasons for any sane person to regret the existence of Hamas, the savage Sunni Muslim militia that controls the Gaza Strip in Southern Israel. Founded in 1987, the group has specialized in terror attacks against Israelis while maintaining vigorous side-concessions fomenting anti-Western sentiment and keeping their own populace in a state of wretched poverty.Such are the convoluted workings of providence, however, that the world may eventually find itself grimly grateful for what one percipient observer called “the Sabbath Massacres”: the barbaric slaughter perpetrated by Hamas on October 7, 2023, which left some 1,400 dead, thousands wounded, and...

At least five possible hate crime incidents at Stanford University since the Israel-Hamas war’s onset are under investigation, including an apparent hit-and-run crash involving an Arab Muslim student, according to the university’s public safety department.

Ukraine fired 15 cruise missiles at a Russian shipyard in occupied Crimea, hitting a warship in an attack that could further undermine Moscow’s offensive capabilities.French-supplied SCALP missiles struck the Russian vessel stationed at the Zalyv dockyard in the port city of Kerch on Saturday, Lt Gen Mykola Oleshchuk, the commander of Ukraine’s air force said.The warship was armed with Kalibr cruise missiles that have frequently been used by Russia to strike targets inside Ukraine, he added.“I confirm,” Gen Oleshchuk said on Sunday morning after posting a message the evening before which said the Ukrainian attack had probably hit its target.Ukrainian...

"I have great respect for President Zelenskyy, but think it would be inappropriate to go to Ukraine at this time," Trump wrote in a statement responding to Zelenskyy's invite made on NBC's "Meet the Press.""The Biden administration is currently dealing with him, and I would not...

A man's convincing decal job was a dis-ass-ter A FLORIDA man's decal job on his truck had officers puckered as a clever joke was considered 'impersonating law enforcement.' He also added a very convincing federal agency logo on his white Chevrolet Silverado, as well as a diagonal green stripe. Aside from the 'BOOTY PATROL' decals, he fitted his Silverado with additional stickers that read 'National Booty Behavior Protection.' The kicker for local law enforcement was his addition of flashing red and blue lights to the rims of his truck. In an interview with NBC 2, the 18-year-old said that he...

The crashed plane’s wing jetted out of the alligator and python-invested swamps of the Everglades just long enough for the pilot to survive. . OKEECHOBEE, FLORIDA — After nine hours waiting on the wing of his downed plane in the Florida Everglades, a pilot was rescued by Miami-Dade Fire and Rescue. He was the only person aboard. The plane was registered to a flight school in Homestead, Florida but the school called 911 after they lost contact with the pilot. The plane was a single-engine Cessna Skyhawk 172M that began experiencing trouble close to I-75 in South Broward County. A...

CAMBRIDGE, MA — Harvard President Claudine Gay has unveiled a brand-new U-boat that will be used by the university's heavyweight rowing team to decimate their competitors."Our rowing team is one of the best collegiate teams in the world," said Gay, "but no one will be able to stop us with our new U-boat! Not even the Jews! Wenn die Diplomatie endet, beginnt der Krieg! HA HA HA HA HA!"Sources were unable to report the remainder of her statement, which was delivered in angry-sounding German.Harvard's board, comprised of Palestinians, Leftists, and other antisemites, has expressed confidence that Harvard's U-boat fleet will...

Prosecutors say a South Chicago man sold seven firearms, including a rifle and two ghost guns, to an undercover federal agent during four separate meetings on a Walgreens parking lot. Judge Ankur Srivastava ordered Jermaine Minor, 23, detained to await trial. The sales took place between May and September last year, according to court records, but police did not arrest Minor until a few days ago. No reason for the delay is given in the court file. An undercover agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives bought the guns from Minor during meet-ups at Walgreens, 9148 South...

In many elections, the suspense comes from wondering which candidate is going to win. In Shasta County, the question everyone is hanging on is: Will the local election next Tuesday bring unrest or even violence?The county of about 200,000 people on the northern rim of the Central Valley made national news last spring when a far-right majority on the Board of Supervisors, swept up in unproven voter fraud claims, decided to dump Dominion voting machines and hand-count its ballots instead. Gov. Newsom and other state officials then stepped in to stop the plan. On Oct. 4, Newsom signed a law...

The Jordanian Air Force has airdropped urgent medical and pharmaceutical aid to a Jordanian field hospital in the Gaza Strip, King Abdullah II announced early Monday. “Our fearless Air Force personnel air-dropped at midnight urgent medical aid to the Jordanian field hospital in Gaza,” Abdullah said on X. "This is our duty to aid our brothers and sisters injured in the war on Gaza. We will always be there for our Palestinian brethren,” he added.

Israel Is Planning an ‘Inland Suez Canal’ Across Its Desert. At What Cost? Israel's planned high-speed train to Eilat: dream or potential environmental train wreck? In theory, it sounds amazing: a high-speed train to Eilat, the country’s southernmost city on the shores of the Red Sea. This was attested to by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his recent Knesset speech enumerating the new government’s goals, in which he described it as a major national project: “The mission is to develop the country’s infrastructures, including developing a high-speed rail that will travel hundreds of kilometers per hour and connect the country...