Free Republic

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK, Jan 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. securities regulator on Wednesday approved the first U.S.-listed exchange traded funds (ETFs) to track bitcoin, its Chair Gary Gensler said, in a watershed for the world's largest cryptocurrency and the broader crypto industry. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved 11 applications, including from BlackRock (BLK.N), Ark Investments/21Shares (ABTC.S), Fidelity, Invesco (IVZ.N) and VanEck, among others, according to a notice on its website. Some products are expected to begin trading as early as Thursday, kicking off a fierce competition for market share.

Connecticut’s Office of the Secretary of the State warned voters Monday about election fraud concerns and encouraged residents to vote in person. According to a press release from the office, Democratic Secretary of State Stephanie Thomas is urging voters to head to their polling stations instead of filling out an absentee ballot in the upcoming January primary in Bridgeport. Thomas noted that the state is working to increase presence at City Hall but that it has only two officials slated to monitor Bridgeport elections, the CT Examiner reported. She stated that they “cannot do it all.” “We encourage anyone who...

A Chicago woman accused of vandalizing multiple buildings with antisemitic graffiti was arrested on Thursday, police say. Mariana Lynch, 30, was charged with three felony counts of committing a hate crime and one felony count of committing a hate crime at a school. The suspect was also charged with two felony counts of criminal damage to government property, and four misdemeanor counts of criminal defacement of property. According to FOX 32 Chicago, the graffiti was antisemitic and located on various businesses. The station told Fox News Digital that it included a swastika. In a statement to Fox News Digital,...

Isaiah 6 gives us a grand vision of the holiness of God and reminds us that He is “holy, holy, holy.” When the prophet Isaiah saw this grand vision, he cried out because he was a man of “unclean lips.” Because of Isaiah’s sinfulness, a seraphim promptly flew to him, touched his lips with a coal, and pronounced him clean. Like Isaiah, we need cleansing to dwell with God in His supreme holiness. In this session, Dr. John MacArthur considers God’s holiness and why it matters both now and forever, explaining that God is holy and that He has made...

While the Biden administration still can’t say that the mismanaged U.S.-Mexico border is a “crisis,” more than 6-in-10 voters have already jumped past that description and now believe illegal immigrants are invading the country. In the latest Rasmussen Reports survey shared with Secrets, 65% said the situation is an “invasion” from Mexico. Some 43% said that calling it an invasion is “very accurate.” Just 31% said the word is wrong. The results echo several other recent surveys as the immigration crisis moves up the list of what voters are most concerned about. In some of those, illegal immigration is second...

Ball of Fire is a 1941 screwball comedy directed by Howard Hawks and starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck. It concerns a group of professors laboring to write an encyclopedia. The youngest, Cooper, is a grammarian who is researching modern American slang. They encounter a nightclub performer who provides her own unique knowledge. Ball of Fire’s narrative has obvious parallels to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and it has now become common to view Hawks’ film as a modernization of Walt Disney 1937 picture. Ball of Fire (1941) -- Sugarpuss arrives at the Totten Foundation.

Fox News “Special Report” anchor Bret Baier said the network is “ready to deal with it” if former President Donald Trump raises issues regarding the integrity of the 2020 election during his town hall slated for Wednesday night in Iowa. The Republican presidential primary town hall event, airing at 9 p.m. Eastern, is the third that Fox will host this week in Des Moines, with the previous two featuring former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley on Monday and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday. ,,,,, Trump characterized his June interview with the Fox personality as “nasty,” The Hill reported. “Then...

A man arrested for car burglary in San Francisco was caught on video by a YouTuber who set up an elaborate prank, but an investigation found that he had been recently been released by a judge on previous charges related to car burglary. YouTuber and former NASA engineer Mark Rober baited car burglars by setting up cameras on a car that had a rigged backpack inside. When burglars cracked the car window and stole the backpack, it would later emit a foul odor and announce a countdown to scare the robbers. He also installed bulletproof glass in one car just...

In August, The Gateway Pundit shared a bombshell report that was taken completely by an up-to-then-buried Michigan State Police report. The report, which outlined a statewide investigation that turned into a nationwide investigation of a potentially massive voter registration scheme, was shared with us by the MIGOP Director of Election Integrity, Phil O’Halloran. After publishing the report that exposed a massive cover-up by Michigan’s Democrat Attorney General Dana Nessel and Democrat Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson of an explosive, statewide investigation by the MI State Police, Muskegon, MI Police Department, we began to receive tips from individuals who read our...

An artist's impression of Gigantopithecus blacki, the giant ape from southern China. Illustration: Garcia/Joannes-Boyau (Southern Cross University) An ancient mega ape's massive size — clocking in at 10 feet tall and around 550 pounds — turned into an evolutionary disadvantage as it went extinct more than 200,000 years ago, according to new study published in Nature on Wednesday. Why it matters: The new research helps scientists resolve a longstanding mystery surrounding the legendary Gigantopithecus blacki's disappearance from what's now China. What's happening: Gigantopithecus blacki, the largest known primate to roam Earth, went extinct between 295,000 and 215,000 years ago because...

The 2024 GOP presidential primary is in full swing in Iowa this week, as candidates squeeze in final campaign stops ahead of the state's caucuses on Jan. 15. Why it matters: While former President Trump has dominated polling, many will be watching how his main rivals, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, perform. Iowa's Republican caucus will be the star of this year's show, due to no significant challengers to President Biden on the Democratic side. When and where do the caucuses take place? On Jan. 15, Iowa Republican primary voters will gather in locations like...

Here is Judge Engoron’s order refusing Trump to argue at his own trialAs the New York civil fraud trial concludes against Donald Trump, Judge Arthur Engoron has withdrawn permission for the former president to make a closing argument. He had previously agreed and required Mr. Trump to jump through numerous hoops to be able to address the court with his arguments. Reports indicate when Trump’s counsel did not reply to the Judge’s satisfaction by his deadline, Engoron ordered Trump silenced.Liberty Nation believes you should have all the facts without the spin. As such, we republish the text of Judge Engoron’s...

SEATTLE -- After 14 seasons, 10 playoff appearances and the franchise's lone Super Bowl championship, Pete Carroll is out as the Seattle Seahawks' coach. Team owner Jody Allen said in a statement Wednesday that the decision was made "after thoughtful meetings and careful consideration for the best interest of the franchise." Carroll will remain with the team in an unspecified advisory role. In an emotional farewell news conference Wednesday, Carroll, reading from a prepared statement, said he and ownership have "mutually agreed to set a new course." However, he said he "competed pretty hard" to remain Seattle's coach and that...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed for more air defence systems on Wednesday and appeared to get his wish with NATO countries agreeing to additional support in the face of Russia's invasion."Air defence systems are primarily among the things we lack," Zelensky said after a meeting with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda in Vilnius, on the first of a two-day trip to the Baltics.Zelensky said Russia fired at least 500 missiles and drones at Ukraine in the final days of 2023 and the first days of 2024 in a clear escalation of the near two-year war. Some 70% of these were intercepted...

A Florida campaign to make abortion a constitutional “right” in the state has announced that it has gathered enough signatures to potentially put the measure on the ballot in November. The Florida Division of Elections has verified over 911,000 signatures, which is more than the 891,500 required by the state to put the ballot measure before voters. The signatures were gathered by Floridians Protecting Freedom, a political committee supported by the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates, the American Civil Liberties Union, and other pro-abortion groups. The constitutional amendment reads: “No law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before...

A Texas man who filed over two dozen challenges to former President Trump’s ballot eligibility was arrested Tuesday on charges alleging he filed 17 sets of false tax documents to the IRS. John Anthony Castro was indicted last week on 33 counts of aiding the preparation of false tax returns. Prosecutors claim he ran a virtual tax preparation business that provided customers with tax returns beyond what they were actually owed, defrauding the government. “Castro would promise a significantly higher refund than taxpayers could receive from other preparers and on many occasions, offered to split the additional refund with taxpayers,”...

Planned Parenthood of Illinois held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday for its new abortion facility, the Carbondale Health Center. The center boasts that in addition to four rooms in which abortions will be carried out by abortion pill, it has a playroom for children. The Southern Illinoisan reported that the facility, which will be the third abortion facility in Carbondale (a location of Southern Illinois University), has “five education rooms, four procedure rooms, three exam/ultrasound rooms and a kids playroom…” It also noted, “[T]he health center expands access to reproductive health care services for Illinoisans and out-of-state-patients.” Carbondale’s City Council...

Cary, North Carolina — a town of 176,000 people located in suburban Raleigh — has had an ordinance on the books for more than half a century requiring all domestic pets, including cats, to be leashed whenever off their owner’s property. Similar rules exist in other Wake County towns and cities throughout the state. But Cary’s leash law caused a stir on social media earlier this week after the town’s Animal Services reminded residents on its Facebook page that “cats must be leashed when not on their owner’s property.” The local agency listed some of the risks of allowing cats...

Americans have just days left to weigh in on the Biden administration’s plan to adopt a dangerous international accord that gives the World Health Organization (WHO) greater control over the way the U.S. responds to global health pandemics like COVID-19. As this article will demonstrate, the WHO Pandemic Agreement: Threatens national sovereignty; Equates the health of humans with animals and plants; Calls on nations to “combat” any “misinformation” that reduces “trust” in the government or its measures, such as social distancing; Would empower private-sector forces such as social media companies to ramp up censorship of disfavored viewpoints; Worries citizens will...

Muslims nationwide are shunning two famous American brands for apparent pro-Israeli acts, but are only causing collateral damage to fellow Malaysians.In Malaysia, the move to boycott US-based companies – perceived as aiding the Israeli military in its campaign against the Palestinian people – has centred on two of the most well-known American brands: McDonald’s and Starbucks. If recent media reports on the problems facing the two companies are to be believed, these boycotts appear to be working, financially at least. Starbucks’ revenues have plummeted, while McDonald’s is suing the boycott movement for loss of income. Yet, why have boycotters...