Free Republic

Taylor Swift’s concerts at Wembley Stadium in London later this month are set to go ahead as planned – with probable added security measures specifically deployed to foil potential terrorists. The move comes after the cancellation of her three Eras Tour concerts in Vienna, which were targeted by an Islamic state-connected terrorist plot and foiled by U.S. and Austrian officials, as Breitbart News reported.

A small town has never elected a mayor with opposable thumbs. But is it ready for a new kind of four-legged leader? Eric Spitznagel reports from Omena, Michigan. Welcome to Omena’s triennial animal election. Above (L to R) Kanda McKee holds Porsche McKee, the deputy vice mayor, Schatzi Putnam, and Rosie Disch, the incumbent mayor of Omena. (Nic Antaya for The Free Press)On July 20 in Omena, a small town in the “little finger” of northern Michigan, a crowd of about a hundred locals gathered in a church parking lot for the inauguration of their new mayor. A brass band...

Legal battles over President Biden’s various schemes to forgive student debt continue. In July, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals indefinitely blocked the administration’s ultra-generous new student-loan repayment plan, which could have cost taxpayers $475 billion. Additional loan-cancelation initiatives—also certain to face legal challenges—are in the works. But the high drama of loan cancelation has drawn attention away from a more pressing issue in the student-loan system. After the pandemic-induced student-loan payment pause ended last year, the Education Department implemented a one-year transition period to allow borrowers time to ease back into the habit of paying their loans. That so-called...

Sectarian violence was rekindled in Northern Ireland on Saturday night as police were attacked with petrol bombs following a pro-unionist demonstration that took place in the city. At least 10 police officers were injured in Londonderry on Saturday evening after they came under assault by a reported group of Irish nationalist youths during “several hours of disorder” on Nailors Row.

For Cristina Hineman, the situation felt urgent: the 17-year-old needed treatment at Planned Parenthood, where she knew she wouldn’t be subjected to humiliating questions, or an unnecessary waiting period, or lectures, or prying about her certainty. But it wasn’t an abortion she sought. It was testosterone. Planned Parenthood was founded a century ago to promote birth control. Today, its nearly 600 clinics nationwide make it the largest single provider of abortion, contraception, reproductive care, and sex education in the U.S. It has also, in less than a decade, become the country’s leading provider of gender transition hormones for young adults,...

How do you solve a problem like Kamala Harris? If you criticize or attack her, you’ll be seen as a “racist” by the powerful people on the Left, which fuels their momentum and reminds them of their collective sense of purpose. Why is she ahead in the polls now? Because it feels good to vote for her, it’s as simple as that. It’s time for a woman, they proclaim, especially a woman of color. Kamala Harris has now made history four times as the first woman and first woman of color District Attorney, Attorney General, Senator, and Vice President. She...

..we don’t allow hate speech on Facebook, Instagram, or Threads.... We define hate speech as direct attacks against people — rather than concepts or institutions— on the basis of what we call protected characteristics (PCs): race, ethnicity, national origin, disability, religious affiliation, caste, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, and serious disease. Additionally, we consider age a protected characteristic when referenced along with another protected characteristic. We also protect refugees, migrants, immigrants, and asylum seekers from the most severe attacks, though we do allow commentary on and criticism of immigration policies. Similarly, we provide some protections for non- protected characteristics, such...

Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem (8/11/24)[Prayer]Names and Titles of God the Holy Spirit ( The Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding) Isaiah 11: 1-311 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:2 And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight...

The three surviving members of Jimi Hendrix’s Woodstock band, Gypsy Sun & Rainbows, recently reunited for the first time since 1988. Bassist Billy Cox and percussionists Gerardo Velez and Juma Sultan, along with Hendrix stand-in guitarist Jimy Bleu, graced The Suffolk Theater in Riverhead, New York, on August 1 and paid homage to Hendrix's impactful legacy. The special appearances didn't end there, however, as former Noel Redding and Spin Doctors guitarist Anthony Krizan and ex-Buddy Miles Express drummer Kenn Moutenot also joined the lineup. From L to R - Billy Cox, Juma Sultan and Gerardo Velez(Image credit: Jerry Imbro) Speaking...

Thousands of Ukrainian troops are taking part in an incursion aiming to destabilise Russia by showing up the country’s weaknesses, a top official from Ukraine has said as the assault entered its sixth day. “We are on the offensive. The aim is to stretch the positions of the enemy, to inflict maximum losses and to destabilise the situation in Russia as they are unable to protect their own border,” the security official said on condition of anonymity. Russia’s army had said about 1,000 Ukrainian troops were deployed in the cross-border incursion that began on Tuesday and appeared to catch the...

Who exactly is the 59-year-old woman aspiring to be the world’s most powerful person? That’s the beauty of the Kamala Harris campaign. Who knows? The Democratic nominee has already become the political equivalent of the “Choose Your Own Adventure” books. As in those 1980s sensations, readers have been provided the basic plotline—and an obvious conflict. We know Ms. Harris is a San Francisco prosecutor, with a Senate voting record and 2020 presidential bid that proposed a radical progressive agenda. We also know she’s spent the past four years as partner to Joe Biden, who at least officially still disavows some...

A man shouting “free Palestine!” stabbed and wounded a religious Jews near the headquarters of the Chabad Lubavitch movement in Brooklyn, New York. Yaacov Behrman, a spokesman for Chabad Lubavitch, said Saturday night: I can confirm that a hate crime stabbing occurred early this morning in Crown Heights, around 2 a.m., near Eastern Parkway and Kingston Avenue, close to Chabad Headquarters. The perpetrator, a Black male in his early 20s, shouted “Free Palestine” and, after an exchange of words with the victim, allegedly asked, “Do you want to die?” before stabbing him.

The Australian who has gone viral for her shocking Olympic routine has lashed the IOC for axing the new sport of breaking without giving it a chance to succeed. Rachael 'Raygun' Gunn sent the internet into hysterics with her debut Olympic Games performance overnight that failed to reap a single point in three rounds of heats. She hopped like a kangaroo, resembled a T-Rex at times and rolled around the floor in a disjointed way that confused and amused Aussies back home watching the sport for the first time. There will be no second act, though, with breaking already cut...

A federal judge has ordered the Justice Department to “answer” charges in a $30 million wrongful death suit on behalf of Ashli Babbitt, the 35-year-old Trump supporter shot dead as she entered a lobby just off the House floor during the Jan. 6 Capitol riots. In a sign that the case filed by Babbitt’s estate and Washington-based Judicial Watch has been greenlighted, U.S. District Court Judge Ana C. Reyes gave the government a month to address four of the seven counts in the lawsuit. Those four include the “wrongful” death count as well as negligence and assault and battery claims...

The riots and looting that took place over the summer of 2020 aren’t easily forgotten–especially by Minnesota residents who watched their cities burn for weeks on end. While many would like to leave the riots in the past, these events remain inseparably connected to Democratic presidential frontrunners Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. GOP Vice Presidential nominee J.D. Vance was one of the first to address what’s being called the “burn-and-bail” team of politicians who allowed Minnesota to be burned and looted for days on end and who helped to bail the rioters out...

Being “first” isn’t always the flex that you think it is. A Tesla Model S owner in Mexico recently earned the distinction of being the first reported Tesla EV fire in Tijuana. But they also burned down a neighbor’s house in the process. Oops, my bad. According to Carscoops, the Model S was plugged directly into a utility pole via an illegal hookup. Referred to as diablito, or “little devil,” these unauthorized connections and other avenues of electricity theft cost Mexico’s Federal Electricity Commission about $2.5 billion annually. Sometimes it works, and sometimes, well, one’s potential savings go up in...

The blistering rash on 7-month-old Sobhia’s skin is the result of bacteria from polluted water, doctors told her mother. The infant, who was born a few months after the start of the Israel-Hamas war, is one of many young children in Gaza coming down with ailments associated with drinking or bathing in contaminated water, according to families, doctors and humanitarian groups in the area. Common issues include hepatitis and skin infections. Humanitarian groups have tried to help repair infrastructure, install septic tanks and distribute clean water and chlorine tablets, but their access to the enclave is extremely limited. So inhabitants...

Is Truth Social Down? I've tried at different times for several days to access the website and all I see is the pinwheel of death grinding away in the middle of the screen.

British bobbies nab yobs for watching parade. Transcript link below video.

HARVEY, Ill. (WLS) -- The former food service director for a south suburban school district pleaded guilty to stealing $1.5 million worth of chicken wings over a 19-month period, court records show. Vera Liddell, 66, who worked for Harvey School District 152 for more than 10 years, has been sentenced to nine years in prison. Liddell was responsible for placing orders with Gordon Food Services, a main supplier for the district, according to prosecutors. She placed orders for the chicken wings from July 2020 to February 2022, billing the district but keep the food, prosecutors said. An audit last year...