Free Republic

WASHINGTON (AP) — With Donald Trump listening intently in the courtroom, federal appeals court judges in Washington expressed deep skepticism Tuesday that the former president was immune from prosecution on charges that he plotted to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The panel of three judges, two of whom were appointed by President Joe Biden, also questioned whether they had jurisdiction to consider the appeal at this point in the case, raising the prospect that Trump's appeal could be dismissed. During lengthy arguments, the judges repeatedly pressed Trump's lawyer to defend claims that Trump was shielded from criminal charges...

The rush to replace diesel buses with electric buses is not faring well in colder climates. The city of Skellefteå in Sweden has had to drastically cut short its electric bus service due to sub-zero temperatures. Marie Larsson, chief of the city's bus operations, explained, "at minus 40 degrees it is too cold for the electric buses. In hindsight its seems like we should've taken this factor into consideration before we invested so much time and money converting from diesel buses." In Minnesota, the cities of Duluth, Minneapolis and St. Paul are having similar problems. Metro Transit spokesperson Drew Kerr...

Life may not be like a box of chocolates, but a shakedown is what you’re always gonna get from trial attorneys. Consider the class-action lawsuit filed late last month against Hershey Co. over its Reese’s candy. At issue is whether Hershey fudged on the packaging of seasonal treats. Recent wrappers showed tiny eyes and mouths on chocolate pumpkins and ghosts, but the candy inside was faceless. Similarly, the chocolate football inside “contains no carving for the laces” as depicted on the wrapper. Anthony Russo of the Florida-based Russo Firm says this has caused untold hardship to his client Cynthia Kelly...

A new migrant caravan of approximately 2,000 people formed in southern Mexico on Monday, largely made up of people that have been on the move since Christmas Eve who say the Mexican government's promises of transit visas last week never materialized. The migrants, including some carrying young children, are walking to the southern Oaxaca town of Tapanatepec, about 800 kilometers (480 miles) south of Mexico City by road. They hope to reach Tapanatepec by nightfall. The group of mostly Central American and Caribbean migrants are ultimately headed for the U.S. border, the caravan's leader Luis Villagran said. Last week, the...

We're already familiar with Haley, the preferred candidate of the Vichy Republicans. A one time rising star among us Normals, she found a way to latch herself onto every Establishment position. I won't recap them all here, but when you're siding with Disney's support for having sexually explicit conversations with Kindergartners behind their parents' backs you're part of the problem. And we've also seen her recent implosions, such as her fumbling through the Civil War question or insulting every voter in Iowa. With the Virginia primary coming up the other day I got my first presidential primary mailer. What you...

Pro-Palestine march organisers could be charged to help cover the costs of policing under proposals being looked at by the Home Office. An official review by Lord Walney, the Government’s independent adviser on political violence and disruption, has said there is a case for charging because of the “great amount of police resource” being absorbed by the protests. Since the Oct 7 attack by Hamas and Israel’s military response in Gaza, London and many other UK cities have been convulsed by pro-Palestine marches. The total cost of policing the protests is estimated to have reached more than £20 million. Appearing...

Democrats have spent years lecturing Americans about the risks former President Donald Trump’s return would pose to “democracy.” Now, the Democrat Party is out to destroy democracy in the name of saving it by attempting to prevent Republicans from appearing on ballots across the country.On Tuesday, the Democrats’ ad hoc spokeswoman on NBC, Kristen Welker, pressed House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik of New York over whether she would vote to certify the upcoming election. Stefanik refused to offer a blind commitment.“We will see if this is a legal and valid election,” she said. The comment came after the New...

Ohio’s 2023 election integrity law requiring residents to present a form of ID when casting their ballots is constitutional, a federal court ruled on Monday. Writing for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Judge Donald Nugent, a Clinton appointee, ruled that Democrat-backed groups provided no evidence to justify their claims that HB 458 places an undue “burden” on Ohioans and their ability to vote. Specifically, plaintiffs — a coalition of left-leaning groups like the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless, the Ohio Federation of Teachers, the Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans, the Union Veterans Council, and...

It’s time to stop debating history and facts with people who only care about the exercise of raw political power.div class="article-content"> The news that the Biden administration planned to remove a statue of William Penn in a federal park in Philadelphia that commemorates the founding of Pennsylvania, and that the purpose of the removal was to “provide a more welcoming, accurate, and inclusive experience for visitors,” should at this point not come as a surprise.Once the removals and destruction of Confederate statues and memorials began a few years ago, it was inevitable that all historical figures from America’s past, even...

The National Park Service on Monday suddenly withdrew its plan to remove the statue of William Penn from the site of his home during a "rehabilitation" of Welcome Park in Philadelphia. NPS had opened a public comment period on Monday but by 6:30 p.m., it was closed. "The preliminary draft proposal, which was released prematurely and had not been subject to a complete internal agency review, is being retracted. No changes to the William Penn statue are planned," the NPS said in a statement. The NPS faced widespread backlash after announcing its plans to update the park to "provide a...

Richard Baxter (1615–1691), a Puritan minister of the 17th century, penned his thoughts on the covenant of marriage, writing, “It is a mercy to have a faithful friend that loveth you entirely to whom you may open your mind and communicate your affairs. And it is a mercy to have so near a friend to be a helper to your soul and to stir up in you the grace of God.”Unlike Baxter in his time, today, the covenant of marriage is not held in as high regard. Many women remain single longer, seeking independence and pursuing the same career goals...

Israel is considering launching a major military operation against Hezbollah after months of harassment and threats from the terror group, alarming some U.S. officials. Hezbollah has threatened Israel on its northern border from Lebanon for months since Hamas terrorists invaded Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7, murdering roughly 1,200 people and taking hostage hundreds more. Warnings from Israel that it intends to put a stop to Hezbollah’s threats have alarmed the Biden administration, which fears a growing Middle East conflict, according to The Washington Post. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has warned in recent days that Israel’s patience...

300 Christians Killed in Nigerian Christmas MassacresWhile we were sitting down to Christmas dinner with our loved ones, Islamist militants launched a wave of coordinated attacks against Christian villages in Plateau State in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region.Between the evening of December 23 and Christmas Day morning, the militants killed an estimated 295 Christians across 25 villages in Bokkos and Barkin Ladi Local Government Areas, according to Britain-based international aid organization Barnabas Aid, which reported the following:The dead were mostly women and children including physically challenged people who were unable to run and were burnt alive.…In total more than 1,500 homes...

It’s interesting how much Democrat New York City Mayor Eric Adams sounds like a Republican when he talks about the effects of illegal immigration on his city. Unfortunately, he still sounds like a leftist when talking about how to deal with the problem. Recently, he did it in such a way that if he had been a white Republican, he would have been publicly crucified. During a news conference where he was asked about rising crime in the Big Apple, he blamed the illegal immigrants who are coming into the city and are unable to work here legally. “When I...

Electric buses are just like electric passenger vehicles: they’re not ready for prime time, only more so. Proterra buses are a case in point. Cities that wasted money on them found they had far less range then advertised. They commonly couldn’t complete even short, flat routes specifically designed for them. The enormous weight of their batteries cracked frames, and getting parts from the factory was virtually impossible. But to make up for their failures, they were far more expensive than reliable diesel buses. Proterra went bankrupt in August of 2023.President Biden gave Proterra at least $10 million, and lauded it...

The 2024 Chevrolet Equinox represents the seventh model year of the compact crossover’s third (and final) generation, for which it receives a handful of small changes. Here’s everything that’s new and different about the 2024 Equinox. GM made no changes to the Equinox’s model line, as the vehicle continues to be offered as a compact crossover in FWD or AWD across the following trim levels: LS 1FL LT 2FL RS Premier

The parents of Iowa school shooter Dylan Butler — who killed a sixth-grader and wounded several others before turning the gun on himself — said they had “no inkling he intended the horrible violence” when they dropped him off at school last Thursday. Jack and Erin Butler, whose 17-year-old son opened fire inside Perry High School just before 8 a.m., expressed their sorrows over the shooting in a statement released by their attorney on Monday. The Butlers said they talked about the future with their son on the drive to school that morning and that “it felt like he was...

For a long time now, the debate has raged as to whether it’s worth going to college anymore. The libertarian view on this question has typically been along the lines of… if people are foolish enough to waste money on worthless degrees, the world will soon enough teach them another lesson. While valid, that view ran aground on the Democrat vote-buying scheme to insulate those with useless degrees from the consequences of their poor choices and indebtedness, with our tax money. The cynical motives behind this ploy aside, I very much doubt many students enroll in college with the intention...

Canada finds itself perched on the edge of a substantial housing bubble, sustained by an open immigration policy straining the nation’s infrastructure. As the housing market remains inflated, experts warn of an imminent Minsky Moment, signaling potential economic instability. The situation is exacerbated by alarming statistics on household debt, which has surged past the country’s GDP and holds the highest percentage among G7 nations.

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