Free Republic

Two Republicans joined Democrats in blocking legislation that would have stopped transgender athletes from competing in girls’ sports in K-12 schools in Nebraska. A bill that would stop student athletes from participating on sports teams for the opposite sex, as well as using locker rooms and bathrooms for the opposite sex, was blocked by a filibuster on Friday in Nebraska, according to a report by Nebraska Public Media. After four hours of debate, 31 state senators voted for the legislation (LB575), but the bill needed 33 votes in order to end the filibuster.

Israel and Hamas on Tuesday were considering a new U.S. proposal for a cease-fire in the war in Gaza and the freeing of some hostages still held by the militant group, but mediators cautioned that the two sides remained far from a deal. The plan, presented by Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns to officials from Israel, Hamas, Qatar and Egypt in Cairo on Sunday, calls for a six-week cease-fire in Gaza, which has faced an intense Israeli military campaign in the aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks. During the pause in fighting, according to the plan, Hamas would release...

President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice is dragging its feet in prosecuting Nicholas Roske, the man accused of trying to assassinate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, leaving legal experts perplexed about the slow-moving pace of the case. Roske was indicted for attempted murder of a Supreme Court justice nearly two years ago in June 2022, after allegedly traveling from his parent’s home in California to the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C., with the intent to kill Kavanaugh. Roske, a biological male who identified in some online posts as a transgender woman, was upset over the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion...

Angus Deaton is doing some rethinking. Specifically, the 78-year-old Nobel Memorial Prize-winning economist is re-examining his views on major topics like unions, immigration, and global trade. It's a big statement from someone who's spent over 50 years studying inequality, welfare, poverty, and "deaths of despair," and it comes as he sees economics in disarray. His most recent book, "Economics in America: An Immigrant Economist Explores the Land of Inequality," came out in 2023 — it catalogs, among other topics, the role of economists in the US and tackles some of the problems he's identified. When I asked Deaton what prompted...

CNN just reported the following:For nearly 50 years, only Black men caddied The Masters. One day, they all but vanishedFor Jariah “Jerry” Beard, caddie for 1979 Masters champion Fuzzy Zoeller, it meant he could earn as much in a day as his parents could in a week working at the city’s John P. King mill.So here’s my question: Is it a good thing, or a bad thing, that black people today no longer have these high paying jobs?

A CIA Officer/former FBI official is on an undercover video boasting about using the might of the federal government to ‘jail anyone’ by ‘setting them up.’ Gavin O’Blennis, a Contracting Officer for the CIA told an undercover journalist with Sound Investigations that the FBI “can put anyone in jail…set ’em up!” “We call it a nudge,” O’Blennis said, adding the FBI can put “problematic” right-wing journalists like Tucker Carlson and Alex Jones in jail. O’Blennis said of Infowars founder Alex Jones: The FBI “took his money away,” and ‘chopped his legs off.’ Gavin O’Blennis said at least 20 undercover FBI...

It's at 35°53'23"N 117°40'15"W 2022 and 2023 images had different colorings.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 9, 2024 Phoenix, AZ – Following today’s Arizona Supreme Court’s abortion ruling, Kari Lake released the following statement: “In addition to covering the state of Arizona as a fair and honest journalist for 27 years, I have traveled to every corner of this state on the campaign trail. I speak to more Arizonans than anyone and it is abundantly clear that the pre-statehood law is out of step with Arizonans. I am the only woman and mother in this race. I understand the fear and anxiety of pregnancy, and the joy of motherhood. I wholeheartedly agree...

Despite the countless number of rock songs about lust, this one seems to stand out the most among critics and fans alike. Known for its timeless riff (which Keith Richards literally wrote in his sleep), this song placed #2 on the Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Released in 1965, “Satisfaction” is the song that cemented the already popular Rolling Stones as superstars.

Biden’s policy and treatment of Israel since October 7 demonstrate clearly that despite his words of support for Israel, his administration continues to support Iranian interests over the Jewish state, America’s most important Middle Eastern ally.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) says the articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas are “absurd” and that he will “resolve this as quickly as possible.” As reports circulate that Schumer is readying a motion to dismiss articles of impeachment against Mayorkas, the majority leader suggested to the media on Tuesday that he is looking to “resolve” the matter quickly. “We’re going to try and resolve this issue as quickly as possible,” Schumer said. “Impeachment should never be used to settle policy disagreements.”

April 9 (UPI) -- New York Attorney General Letitia James announced on Tuesday that two men will pay $1.25 million for robocalls targeting Black New Yorkers before the 2020 general election discouraging them from voting by mail. Conservative operatives Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman were found liable in March 2023 for transmitting false information to more than 5,000 Black voters in the New York area in a threatening manner meant to discourage them from voting by mail. Some of the claims made by the men, James said, suggested that voting information would be shared with law enforcement, debt collectors and...

The integrity of the American judicial system, predicated on the principle of a fair trial by an impartial jury, faces a monumental test in the upcoming hush-money trial of former President Donald Trump. As Judge Juan Merchan lays out the jury selection questionnaire, probing potential jurors on their political affiliations, rally attendances, and views on Trump, the challenge of assembling an unbiased jury in Manhattan—or anywhere, for that matter—becomes glaringly evident. The questionnaire, as reported, delves into whether prospective jurors have participated in Trump’s rallies, are members of politically charged groups like the Proud Boys or Antifa, or have engaged...

A group of anti-Israel protesters calling for Congress to support a ceasefire and end military aid to Israel shut down the Senate cafeteria. The group of protesters, Christians for a Free Palestine, was captured on video in the Dirksen Senate Office Building and could be heard chanting, “We are Christians for Free Palestine,” “We are here to pray for the food of Gaza,” and “Our Scriptures say, ‘Woe to you! To eat while others go hungry,’ and ‘Woe to you! For there is famine in Gaza.' “Congress and their staff will not eat today,” the protesters can be heard saying...

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee ( D-TX) once sat on the House Science Committee and the House Space Committee. But understanding astronomy seems to elude her. Jackson Lee attended an event at Booker T. Washington High School where the “Trust the Science” party member clearly does not understand the science. Jackson Lee explained to the crowd, “You have the energy of the moon at night.” What?

Explanation: Captured in this snapshot, the shadow of the Moon came to Lake Magog, Quebec, North America, planet Earth on April 8. For the lakeside eclipse chasers, the much anticipated total solar eclipse was a spectacle to behold in briefly dark, but clear skies. Of course Lake Magog was one of the last places to be visited by the Moon's shadow. The narrow path of totality for the 2024 total solar eclipse swept from Mexico's Pacific Coast north and eastward through the US and Canada. But a partial eclipse was visible across the entire North American continent.

It may not be to everyone's taste, but kombucha tea may be able to deliver the benefits of fasting, without the hardest part – the fasting itself. Researchers found that when the yeasts and bacteria from the fermented, sweetened tea colonized the gut, they altered fat metabolism, without any other dietary changes, resulting in lower fat stores. At the center of these findings is the flora found in kombucha tea's SCOBY (Symbiotic Cultures of Bacteria and Yeasts), the gelatinous starter, rich in microbes, found floating near the surface of the fermented liquid. The probiotic microbes, including species of Acetobacter, Lactobacillus...

There's a terrifying crime spree happening in New York that has most women in that city on edge.Women, mostly young and mostly pretty, are being punched in the face by anonymous attackers as they walk down the street minding their own business. The attacks happen in broad daylight, and the assailant comes at the woman from the front or the back. CNN reports that the attacks have been reported all over social media by dozens of women. While one attack is one too many, let's step back and take a breath before we make this the "next big thing" on...

The world’s tallest prison standing at 300-foot is being built in Chinatown, New York City, sending residents into an uproar. The 40-floor tower which will house 1,000 prisoners will be located on the grounds of the former Manhattan Detention Complex. Known to locals as The Tombs, the old prison will be demolished in order to make way for the “jail scraper”. The destruction of the detention complex has caused major disruption for nearby residents, with heavy dust and loud noise creating chaos.

This is what happens when you teach nothing but racism in school, and leave out anything actually, you know, educational. >p> During an event in Houston just before the eclipse Monday morning, Texas Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee told the audience gathered at the Mickey Leland Federal Building that the moon was made up “mostly of gasses” (it isn’t) and that it's "almost impossible to go near the sun" (we actually can't go near it at all) because it's a "mighty powerful heat" (you don't say!?). Democrat Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee: It's "almost impossible to go near the sun," but the...