Free Republic

In a startling revelation, the Chinese government disclosed that last year, deaths surpassed births for the first time since the disastrous Great Leap Forward in the 1960s. With 9.56 million births and 10.41 million deaths, the ominous imbalance signals a deepening demographic crisis. China’s birth rate has collapsed completely, marking a stark contrast from the 19.7 million births registered in 2012 to a mere 7.8 million births in 2023. This alarming decline accentuates the severity of the situation.

High home prices and even higher mortgage rates; that’s how most people would describe last year’s housing market—one that by some estimates was the least affordable since the 1980s.It’s simple: Home prices skyrocketed during the pandemic and rose steadily last year despite mortgage rates more than doubling. Those high mortgage rates, having risen from historic lows, kept homeowners from selling, which further exacerbated already tight supply and kept home prices up—all while chilling the housing market. The situation was so dire, and still may be aside from slight improvements in affordability, that Zillow’s chief economist, Skylar Olsen, released her own...

David Lopez, 44, weighs over 400 pounds, has diabetes, hypertension, asthma, and has trouble walking or standing for prolonged periods of time, but Lopez started attending Wayne State University with the hefty goal of being a high school gym teacher. When Lopez got his doctor to sign a medical waiver for him during the student-teaching requirement of the program, he demanded that the university let him conduct his student teaching virtually. Wayne State University refused

In the bustling streets of Mexico City, two dogs named Terry and his brother endured a life of neglect and suffering. Chained to a rooftop for over two years, they were left exposed to the harsh elements and barely resembled the lively animals they once were. However, fate had other plans in store for them. A concerned neighbor noticed their plight and took action, leading to a heartwarming dog rescue story that touched the hearts of many.

On Wednesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas stated that there are record numbers of people coming to the southern border because there has been “the greatest number of displaced people, not only at our southern border, not only in the Western Hemisphere, but across the globe” And “the effects of climate change, poverty, increasing level[s] of authoritarianism” are the root causes of this. Co-host Willie Geist asked, “As you know, Mr. Secretary, Border Patrol, in the month of December, processed more migrants entering the United States illegally than any month in the history of that...

SNIP Rodgers criticized Kimmel on “The Pat McAfee Show,” saying, “There’s a lot of people, including Jimmy Kimmel, who are really hoping [the list of unsealed names] doesn’t come out,” adding, “If that list comes out, [I] definitely will be popping some sort of bottle.” Kimmel responded to Rodgers on Tuesday, tweeting, “Dear (PROFANITY)[sic] : for the record, I’ve not met, flown with, visited, or had any contact whatsoever with Epstein, nor will you find my name on any ‘list’ other than the clearly-phony nonsense that soft-brained wackos like yourself can’t seem to distinguish from reality.” The late night host...

On the back of COVID-related production delays and massive Hollywood strikes, the next 12 months will be a strange mix of long-awaited content and out-of-the-blue oddities. More than half of last year’s list has yet to appear, so there is likely to be a lot of interesting film and TV to come. I’m ignoring most of the big franchise stuff as it has recently proved to be utterly disappointing. Instead, we have lots of strange, creative and original work to look forward to including an apocalypse musical, an android exploring human emotions, and a story about a clone who lives...

How The Associated Press could admit to being financed by eco-extremist donors and yet still claim to be neutral when it comes to its climate change reporting defies common sense. The AP website lists as one of its “current philanthropic supporters” the “KR Foundation,” which boasts of how it’s “[s]upporting a rapid phase-out of fossil fuels.” The organization, which is based in Denmark, is financing the equivalent of roughly $300,000 USD to AP spread out between the years 2022 and 2024 for its Global Scholars Network. The Washington Free Beacon, which first broke the news, noted that despite AP’s false...

The man arrested last week for carrying a machete at the U.S. Capitol is an illegal immigrant from Venezuela who was caught and released in 2022 under the Biden administration‘s lenient border policies. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Tuesday it has custody of Jose Leonardo Marquez-Marquez, 23. He was arrested the day after Christmas by police after he was found with a machete, knife and brick at the Capitol. ICE officers apprehended him on immigration charges the next day.

The African Matabele ants are often injured in fights with termites. Their conspecifics recognise when the wounds become infected and initiate antibiotic treatment. A Matabele ant tends to the wound of a fellow ant whose legs were bitten off in a fight with termites. (Image: Erik Frank / Universität Würzburg) The Matabele ants (Megaponera analis), which are widespread south of the Sahara, have a narrow diet: They only eat termites. Their hunting expeditions are dangerous because termite soldiers defend their conspecifics – and use their powerful mandibles to do so. It is therefore common for the ants to be injured...

Multiple state capitols have received bomb threats that led to brief evacuations or lockdowns as police investigated, but no evidence of explosives has been found. Connecticut, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi and Montana and are among the states that evacuated statehouse offices or buildings on Wednesday morning. Lawmakers in Kentucky and Mississippi have begun meeting in legislative sessions. The warnings came after a spate of false reports of shootings at the homes of public officials in recent days.

Pat McAfee is clearing some things up after comments made by Aaron Rodgers on The Pat McAfee Show that linked Jimmy Kimmel to the Jeffrey Epstein list of associates. McAfee addressed the controversy at the top of his show on ESPN, noting that the ABC late-night talk show host had threatened legal action. The sports commentator said that he and his staff had been “free wheeling” after coverage of the Rose Bowl, taking note that his show doesn’t have a format and “there is an opportunity to talk about damn near everything for three and a half hours.”

GOP presidential primary candidate Nikki Haley said Wednesday she had assumed it was a “given” that the Civil War was about slavery when giving her controversial answer on the topic last week. “What I should have said immediately was that the Civil War was about slavery, but I just assumed that that was a given, and I went on and said it was also about the role of government and about the rights of people economically, socially and otherwise,” Haley said in a Fox News interview Wednesday. The former United Nations ambassador and South Carolina governor faced backlash for her...

Explanation: What is that unusual red halo surrounding this aurora? It is a Stable Auroral Red (SAR) arc. SAR arcs are rare and have only been acknowledged and studied since 1954. The featured wide-angle photograph, capturing nearly an entire SAR arc surrounding more common green and red aurora, was taken earlier this month from Poolburn, New Zealand, during an especially energetic geomagnetic storm. Why SAR arcs form remains a topic of research, but is likely related to Earth's protective magnetic field, a field created by molten iron flowing deep inside the Earth. This magnetic field usually redirects incoming charged particles...

Former President Donald Trump is vowing to shift 'massive proportions' of law enforcement to immigration enforcement – and said he will use a Federalist era to remove suspected gang members and drug dealers from the country. Trump, who ran his 2016 campaign on a pledge to build a border wall and a vow to kick out Mexican 'rapists,' touted his latest hardline proposals in an op-ed in the Des Moines Register. Trump has been stepping up his events there in the final weeks before the Iowa Caucuses, while sitting on a polling lead.

Contact: Communications Office NewsMedia@flhealth.gov 850-245-4111Tallahassee, Fla. — On December 6, 2023, State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo sent a letter to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Robert M. Califf and Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Mandy Cohen regarding questions pertaining to the safety assessments and the exit disclaimer icondiscovery of billions of DNA fragments per dose of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. The Surgeon General outlined concerns regarding nucleic acid contaminants in the approved Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, particularly in the presence of lipid nanoparticle complexes,...

After a record-breaking year for Taylor Swift, the pop star attended a Gaza fundraiser with celebrity friend Selena Gomez in December. The event was hosted by Ramy Youssef on his tour “Ramy Youssef: More Feelings.” While the comedian traveled to several major cities such as Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia during the standup tour, Swift’s and Gomez’s presence at his Brooklyn, N.Y., show stirred public controversy as tensions continue to rise in the Middle East. Partway through his tour, Youssef announced on Instagram that “100 percent of the proceeds for the remainder of the ramy youssef: more feelings standup tour will...

Former Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) said Wednesday on ABC’s “The View” that the Confederate President Jefferson Davis “had some class” because he didn’t attempt to run for office again unlike former President Donald Trump. Partial transcript as follows: WHOOPI GOLDBERG: I mean, you’ve seen what the lengths that the people have gone through to make sure his feet don’t touch the ground. Do you think that letting him get away with being an insurrectionist is the right way for us to let the country know how we — what are going to do it next time we get another one?...

Nearly 100 percent of political donations from self-identified fact checkers—including those whose employers claim journalistic neutrality—go to Democrats, a Washington Free Beacon analysis of federal campaign finance disclosures found. The Free Beacon reviewed political donations over the past four election cycles from those who identified their occupation as "fact checker." $22,580 of the $22,683 in political donations that came from self-identified fact checkers during that time—a whopping 99.5 percent—went to Democrats and liberal groups. Only three of the fact checker donations made during that period went to Republicans. Top recipients include socialist Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, who during the seven-year...

At least six state capitols across the country received bomb threats early Wednesday morning, prompting evacuations and lockdowns, though no dangerous items were immediately discovered. Evacuations and lockdowns were reported at state capitols in Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, Connecticut and Michigan due to apparent bomb threats. It’s not clear whether or how the incidents might be connected. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear posted on X, formerly Twitter, that the Kentucky State Police (KSP) was investigating a threat and had evacuated the state capitol in Frankfort. “While everyone is safe, KSP has asked everyone to evacuate the state Capitol and is investigating...