Free Republic

As the number of states banning ranked-choice voting (RCV) is increasing, some are facing ballot measures this November that would implement the voting system. While 10 states have banned RCV and more may join them this November if voters vote for the ballot measures, six other states will have ballot measures to switch their elections to RCV. RCV is an election process whereby if no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, then a runoff system is triggered. When voters cast their ballots, they rank each candidate in order of first-to-last. RCV is being introduced in states across the...

French President Emmanuel Macron was pulverized in the national election today. According to exit polling, Marine LePen’s National Rally party will win around 32% of the vote, while Macron’s Renaissance party will win around 15%. A massive rebuke of the leftist government in France.PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron dissolved parliament and called a fresh election on Sunday, following his party’s crushing defeat at the hands of far-right candidates in the European Union election.The first round of the French Parliamentary election will take place on June 30. The second will be on July 7.“France needs a clear majority in serenity...

A world-historical societal transformation is taking place before our very eyes, and yet few have taken notice. Britain, the erstwhile leader of the Western world and the foundation and source of English-speaking civilization, is in its last days as a free society, and will soon become an Islamic state. Yet despite the mountains of evidence that this transformation is taking place, many will still deny that it is happening at all. They may not even admit it when it overtakes them personally. The English actor-turned-political-activist Lawrence Fox recently noted what was happening: "The Mayor of London is a Muslim. The...

We’re going to be hearing a lot about sabotage in the coming months. Specifically, Russian acts of sabotage against the West. All part of Russia’s hybrid war, because remember: Even if we don’t think we are at war with Russia, Russia is at war with us. Several Western intelligence agencies have publicized recently that Russia is suspected of carrying out a number of acts of sabotage and warned that these will continue. Poland has arrested a dozen individuals for their connections to acts of sabotage in that country on behalf of Russian security services. The acts included beatings, arson, and...

Fred (George Peppard) hears Holly (Audrey Hepburn) singing on the fire escape below his apartment and goes out to listen.

A top cancer charity has apologized for using the word 'cervix' instead of trans-friendly 'front hole.' The Canadian Cancer Society, which is run by philanthropist Andrea Seale, acknowledged the LGBTQ+ community on a webpage dedicated to cervical cancer, under the page's 'words matter' section. The non-profit said that 'many' non-binary people and transgender men have 'mixed feelings' or 'feel distanced' from the term cervix. 'We recognize that many trans men and non-binary people may have mixed feelings about or feel distanced from words like "cervix",' the statement said. 'You may prefer other words, such as “front hole.” We recognize the...

Belgium Prime Minister Alexander De Croo announced his resignation on Sunday night, in the wake of the results of the elections for the local parliament as well as the elections for the European Parliament. In both cases, the right-wing and extreme right-wing parties achieved great success, defeating the liberal camp led by De Croo. “For us it was a particularly difficult evening, we lost. From tomorrow, I will be a resigning Prime Minister,” told supporters at a rally, according to Politico. De Croo will stay on as caretaker prime minister until a new government is in place. “I am convinced...

Elections in 27 countries for the European Parliament ended on Sunday with early projections giving far-right parties a strong showing, a result that, if confirmed, would amount to a powerful gauge of voter dissatisfaction and a stinging rebuke for the political mainstream.The balloting indicated that the prevailing winds had grown decidedly chill for Europe’s political establishment. The results are likely to make it harder for the European Parliament to form majorities to pass laws, and would render negotiations over divisive issues even tougher. More broadly, they underscored that the momentum of the far-right forces that have been expanding their challenge...

A months-long Airbnb rental has become a nightmare for the North Carolina host, because the renters refuse to leave. A single parent in the Triangle is out money and now is having to fight to get her property back. "Now they're refusing to leave until there's an eviction order. I think they're just trying to gain time to stay there for free because they haven't paid," Farzana Rahman said. This all started when Rahman's most recent Airbnb guests made a long-term rental reservation through Airbnb. They checked in on October 25 with a check out date of May 24. When...

A new study suggests that people who take a few common drugs may have a decreased risk of having a bleeding stroke due to a ruptured brain aneurysm. The results do not prove that these drugs reduce the risk of this type of aneurysm; they only show an association. Said Jos Peter Kanning, MSc, "Our current surgical treatments for brain aneurysms have a risk of permanent disability and death that often outweighs the potential benefits, so preventing rupture with a non-invasive drug would be very beneficial." Researchers looked at 4,879 people who had ruptured brain aneurysms, called aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhages....

France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, has said he intends to dissolve parliament and call snap legislative elections in the wake of his allies’ crushing defeat to the far right National Rally (RN) in Sunday’s European parliament elections. ...Macron’s centrist list was on course to score between 14.8% and 15.2% of the vote, less than half of RN’s tally of 31.5%-33% and only just ahead of the Socialist list on 14%. “At the end of this day, therefore, I will not be able to act as if nothing has happened,that is why … I have decided to give you the choice of...

The house always wins. That’s what matters—fairness, impartiality, the very idea of a non-partisan application of the law be damned. Welcome to the end of the republic. I think that it was the great Miranda Devine, she of the “laptop from hell” fame, who first called the world’s attention to the latest wrinkle in the long-running “Get Trump” extravaganza in New York. Anyway, I first heard about it from her post on X Friday. “If this is legit,” she wrote, commenting on a letter purportedly from Acting Justice Juan Merchan to Donald Trump’s Counsel and the Manhattan DA’s office, “it...

"7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death." Revelation 12 1 And there...

As humans age, hematopoietic stem cells—the immature precursor cells that give rise to all blood and immune cells—accumulate mutations. Some of the mutations allow these stem cells to self-renew and expand more effectively than their non-mutated counterparts. This relatively poorly understood condition, known as clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP), is detectable in more than 10% of people older than 65 and is linked to increased risks of various inflammation-related diseases. "These mutations change the character of the progeny cells, making them more inflammatory," says George Hajishengallis. "When a large fraction of your immune cells are derived from these mutant...

The amount of planet-warming carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere has hit a new record, as humanity struggles to rein in emissions of greenhouse gasses from burning fossil fuels. The new record comes as tens of millions of people are grappling with extreme weather in the United States. Much of the western U.S. is experiencing the first major heat wave of the year, which is driving temperatures 20 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than what is normal for June. In the Southwest, temperatures are lingering well above 100 degrees. Such extreme, prolonged heat is directly related to human-caused climate change,...

The race to determine who will be Donald Trump’s running mate this November took a major step forward last week with the acceleration of vetting multiple potential candidates, but political insiders with deep knowledge of presidential campaigns say there is one possible name on the former president’s shortlist Democrats “fear” the most. Trump’s campaign recently entered the next phase of the running mate search by requesting documents from several prospective contenders, including Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who has grown to be a staunch ally of the former president since running against him in the 2016 Republican presidential primaries. “Rubio is...

A high sodium diet may increase the risk of eczema, according to researchers, who found that eating just one extra gram of sodium per day—the amount in a Big Mac—increases the likelihood of flares by 22%. Eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis, is a chronic disease that causes dry, itchy skin. It has become increasingly common in recent years, especially in industrialized countries, implicating environmental and lifestyle factors like diet. Sodium, which most people consume in the form of salt, increases the risk of hypertension and heart disease. And scientists recently discovered that sodium is stored in the skin, where...

Merrick Garland is no “by-the-book” attorney general. Even now, Garland is refusing to hand over audio recordings of President Joe Biden’s interviews with former special counsel Robert Hur over the president’s hoarding of classified documents, despite a congressional subpoena. As the Department of Justice stonewalls Congress, it is also prosecuting the Republican Party’s presidential candidate for the very crimes the Hur tape supposedly “exonerates” Biden from. Considering the Hur transcript has already been released — and we know that Biden lied about it — there is even less justification for withholding the audio. And considering the DOJ has apparently cleaned...

Dartmouth councillor says trees ‘spread a little joy,’ but could not withstand Maritime wintersIt appears, perhaps predictably, that palm trees cannot survive in Nova Scotia. In 2018, Halifax Regional Municipality experimented with planting seven palm trees across Dartmouth, a community of just under 100,000 people that borders the eastern shore of Halifax harbour. The trees normally associated with sandy beaches and coconuts stood out in the landscape, drawing the curiosity of locals. Municipal spokesperson Ryan Nearing said the intent of the project was to see if the tropical trees could adapt to the province's Maritime climate, known for its wild...

A Minnesota transgender high school student had her jaw broken in two places after she used the men's bathroom. Cobalt Sovereign, 17, says she was assaulted by a fellow student as she left the bathroom at Hopkins High School on May 30. She said the student looked over the stall and called her a '******' and then punched her in the face as she was leaving. Sovereign, who uses she/her pronouns, told KARE: 'I was hit in the jaw and at the time one of my teeth exploded, pieces in my mouth.' She was rushed to hospital and had three...