Free Republic

HOUSTON — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Tuesday agreed to pay nearly $300,000 in restitution under a deal that ends criminal securities fraud charges that have shadowed the Republican since he took office nearly a decade ago. The announcement by special prosecutors in a Houston courtroom came less than three weeks before Paxton was set to stand trial on felony charges that carried a possible prison sentence if convicted. It was the closest Paxton - who was indicted in 2015 - has ever come to trial over accusations that he duped investors in a tech startup near Dallas. Under...

A Chicago veterinarian and dog breeder was busted in an FBI sting for sharing child pornography and making disturbing comments about his soon-to-be-born son. Adam Stafford King, a veterinary ophthalmologist from Elburn, was charged with one count of knowingly distributing child pornography following a months-long investigation. The Elburn man has a history of viewing explicit images of children dating back to at least 2017, according to court documents. The charges stem from an incident beginning in September 2023, when King began communicating with a New York man through the gay dating app Scruff. He and the man spoke interchangeably on...

New York weed shops are stocking their shelves with Mike Tyson-branded edibles shaped like an ear with a bite mark – a callback to Iron Mike’s heavyweight showdown with Evander Holyfield. The 57-year-old Brooklyn native — who’s planning a comeback fight against Jake Paul in July — is rolling out his Tyson 2.0 brand “Mike Bites” and he’s planning a promotional blitz at shops next month, including an event in Times Square, a spokesperson told The Post. But the gummies have already appeared at dispensaries Strain Stars in Farmingdale, Housing Works in Greenwich Village, Grow Together in Brooklyn, Flynnstoned in...

Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) said Tuesday on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” that the election in November was about electing lawmakers “to codify Roe v. Wade into law.” Klobuchar said, “This all came out of Dobbs. We wouldn’t be having these arguments right now. This came out of Dobbs. We used to have protections for the women of this country. That was called Roe v. Wade. That Dobbs decision turned it on its head. now we are seeing a patchwork. If the judges went the other way on this, it wouldn’t just be states where abortion is banned, it would be...

Gospel is a term used over 75 times in the New Testament. While it has various nuances of meaning, it's most fundamental meaning from the Greek is "good news." But good news of what? According to the Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, "The gospel is the joyous proclamation of God's redemptive activity in Christ Jesus on behalf of man enslaved by sin." The importance of the gospel cannot be overstated. Indeed, it is the culminating concept of the entire Bible. As it says in the most famous of all Bible passages: “For God so loved the world that he gave his...

Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner responded to criticism over controversial remarks that he made about Jewish people during a live stream over the weekend. The incident happened while Gardner had been appearing with popular streamer Adin Ross – who is Jewish – and as part of a conversation about Ross’ ability to get a Tesla Cybertruck from another Jewish man, Gardner said “ya’ll run the world.” After receiving backlash online, Gardner tried to clarify the remarks with two separate but similar comments on X, which included him claiming what he had said “was meant to be a good thing.” “I love...

James Carville etched his name into the Democratic Party Hall of Fame for his 1992 win over George H.W. Bush. It’s also why he can say whatever he wants, reactions be damned. Carville is one of the elders of the Democratic Party strategists, and what he said about female voters shouldn’t shock anyone who’s been paying attention to him. Carville has been ripping his party, though he has also been saying Democrats are what’s keeping this country from falling into the abyss. The Ragin’ Cajun is no fan of the woke lexicon or influence in the party, likening them to...

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Gov. DeSantis said he had directed the Florida Division of Emergency Management "to offer assistance to the State of Maryland, if needed, following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge."

The skeptics who brushed off the “Great Replacement Theory” as nothing more than fearmongering and a baseless conspiracy are having to eat a lot of crow today. Now, this isn’t a moment for us to take a victory lap. Instead, it’s a chilling wake-up call that our government seems hell-bent on sidelining white, working-class voters in favor of illegal immigrants.And there’s no clearer evidence of this agenda at play than what’s happening right now in Michigan. The state’s “Newcomer Renter Subsidy” policy is unfolding as a textbook case of the “Replacement Theory” turning into a stark reality.This whole setup is...

Black culture is ubiquitous, and it has caused other races to try and poach certain aspects of how they move. Lizzo recently called out white people for “talking like Black people.” The “About Damn Time” singer jumped on TikTok on Wednesday (March 6) to respond to a white woman speaking about her suitors using the phrase “type sh*t.” This prompted her to go into a full rant. “Why don’t we bring back gatekeeping?” she asked. “So that AAVE is reserved for the people who created it and grew up speaking it. So that all these people that are now talking...

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign accused Nevada’s Democrat secretary of state of “corruption” Monday, claiming that the elections official and the Democratic National Committee are in cahoots and “inventing a new requirement” for ballot access in the state that has “zero legal basis.”

New York just got rid of its right to shelter rules, but now the people it's been caring for have nowhere to go. Apartments in NYC cost a fortune and many asylum seekers do not have work authorization. What will happen next?

With car thefts at an all-time high in Toronto, some people are resorting to installing retractable bollards in their driveways — vertical posts to physically prevent their vehicles from being stolen. According to the Toronto Police Service’s major crimes indicators dashboard, car thefts increased by 25.4 per cent in 2022. Insp. Paul Rinkoff described it as a “dramatic surge” in the city’s auto theft crisis over the past few years, with the number of vehicles stolen this year already skyrocketing. “When you compare 2020 to 2023, we saw an increase of 54 per cent in relation to auto theft,” he...

It's not long now until the 2024 total solar eclipse and, weather permitting, it should be a spectacular celestial event. As exciting as it is, there are a number of safety concerns, particularly in the parts of the US that will be in the path of totality, with some now announcing the deployment of the National Guard. The 2017 total solar eclipse, gorgeous as it was, took place during the solar minimum, the part of the Sun's 11-year cycle where activity is at its minimum. This year's eclipse coincides with the solar maximum, meaning not only should we get a...

The stock market rollercoaster just hit another wild loop, and it’s sending shivers down investors’ spines. Let’s break it down: the top 10 stocks in the S&P 500 now carry more weight than ever before, comprising a whopping 33% of the index’s value. That’s right, the big guns are calling the shots like never before. And if that’s not enough to make you clutch your pearls, consider this: the market cap of these giants compared to the rest of the pack is a staggering 700 times higher than the 75th percentile. We’re talking record-breaking numbers reminiscent of the tumultuous times...

In a clinical guideline issued by the American College of Gastroenterology, evidence-based recommendations are presented for the management of patients with acute pancreatitis (AP). Scott Tenner, M.D., M.P.H., from the and colleagues discussed management of AP, defined as acute inflammation of the pancreas. The authors note that AP is heterogeneous and progresses differently among patients. Most patients experience symptoms lasting a few days, but about 20 percent will experience complications including pancreatic necrosis and/or organ failure. To assess for biliary pancreatitis, transabdominal ultrasound is suggested for patients with AP; additional diagnostic evaluation is suggested for patients with idiopathic AP. Moderately...

New research looking at the benefits of a Mediterranean diet for people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) has yielded surprising results. Not only did the diet, rich in fruits, vegetables and legumes, improve the mental health of the study participants, but their gastrointestinal symptoms improved, as well. Dr. Heidi Staudacher said it was common for people with IBS to avoid some of the foods important in a Mediterranean diet as they are known to trigger a worsening of symptoms. "Previously we had an understanding that foods such as legumes, certain whole grains and onion, can worsen gut symptoms in some...

The illegal migrant suspected of killing a 25-year-old Michigan woman was deported during the Trump administration and subsequently re-entered the country again illegally. Brandon Ortiz-Vite, 25, is alleged to have shot and killed Ruby Garcia, 25, whose body was left at the side of highway U.S. 131 in downtown Grand Rapids on Friday night. Michigan State Police are still carrying out an investigation into her death but believe she may have been the victim of a car-jacking at around 11:38pm on Friday. Ortiz-Vite is awaiting arraignment on an open murder charge. He was booked on Sunday and is expected to...

Outraged community members in San Francisco rallied Friday morning outside the Hall of Justice to oppose the probation sentence of a man who pleaded guilty to assaulting a 94-year-old woman in 2021. The case of Anh “Peng” Taylor’s stabbing got a lot of attention as it was one of many unprovoked attacks on Asian American Pacific Islander seniors during the pandemic. The suspect, 35-year-old Daniel Cauich, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to probation. But the sentence cannot be imposed until both parties sign an agreement as to the details of the sentence. District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, and those gathered to...

"Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. "But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. "And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: 42 But one thing is needful:...