Free Republic

The Mexican military captured more than a ton of fentanyl pills, one of the biggest seizures of the synthetic opioid in the country's history, during two raids on Tuesday, officials said. The raids came after a sharp drop in fentanyl seizures in Mexico this year and days after President-elect Trump threatened to impose 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods. Trump said the taxes were in response to the lackluster prevention of illegal immigration and drugs flowing into the United States from its neighbors. Mexican authorities said soldiers and marines spotted two men Tuesday carrying guns in Sinaloa, the state...

... Last week, the NLRB ruled against Starbucks’ dress code policy at its New York City Roastery Reserve cafe, finding it violates labor law. The Board panel unanimously determined that the policy—which bans most personal, political, or religious pins and limits workers to the display of just one labor-related pin—is unlawfully broad and limits workers’ rights to organize. The dress code also barred workers from wearing shirts with graphics, including union insignia. In 2022, Starbucks Workers United filed the initial complaint, alleging that managers threatened employees with disciplinary action for wearing union-related apparel. The Board ordered Starbucks to rescind or...

At the close of the 19th century, thousands of spectators gathered in secrecy to watch two heavyweight Irish fighters slug it out for 75 rounds. John L. Sullivan, boxing's first modern heavyweight world champion and the first to earn more than $1 million, took on challenger Jake Kilrain in a makeshift boxing ring on a farm in Richburg, Mississippi on July 8, 1889. Almost 3,000 people secretly traveled to the makeshift venue to watch the fight, paying as much as $15 for ringside tickets. Fans had traveled under cover of darkness the night before the fight, while their train tickets...

The counterrevolution begins now. First, a map of the territory. Left-wing thinking is pervasive in the federal bureaucracy, shaping the behavior of federal agencies and operating unaffected by electoral politics. Most employees of the administrative state, especially those concerned with justice, education, arts, and health, are overwhelmingly left-wing, and partisans of fashionable ideologies. The data are striking. During the 2020 presidential cycle, Department of Justice employees directed 86 percent of their political contributions to Democrats; at Labor, it was 88 percent; Health and Human Services, 92 percent; and Education, 97 percent. Overall, 84 percent of donations from nondefense federal employees...

democrats have repeatedly accused Trump of planning to seek revenge. Ever ask yourself why and for what? Ever ask yourself for the definition of revenge? What is the definition of "revenge"? Merriam-Webster: How about vengeance? These all have a common theme- get even, retaliate, retribution.... And they are all responses to acts against someone. They're not first-strike. This is a seriously important point. Politico gives us a pretty good roadmap: Donald Trump ran a campaign based on retribution. Now he is perfectly positioned to carry it out.Here are the alleged targets Biden“I will appoint a real special prosecutor to go...

A 10-year-old transgender girl had a devastating reaction when asked what her biggest fear was amid a fierce public debate over trans rights. The child was speaking to CNN's Lucy Kafanov as Supreme Court hears a case over the constitutionality of a Tennessee law denying transgender minors gender-affirming care. Kafanov asked what concerns she had about speaking out for her rights. 'That I'm going to be like, murdered,' 10-year-old Violet DuMont replied. 'That one I'm going to be walking down the street and somebody's going to come up and, like, shoot me or something.' Kafanov commented how a fear of...

Jordan Neely’s father is suing Daniel Penny over his son’s chokehold death on a New York City subway car as the jury still deliberates whether or not to convict Penny of manslaughter. The suit, filed in New York Supreme Court on Wednesday, accuses the Long Island Marine veteran of negligent contact, assault and battery that caused injuries and Neely’s death last year. Neely’s father, Andre Zachary, “demands judgment awarding damages in a sum which exceeds the jurisdictional limits of all lower Courts which would otherwise have jurisdiction,” according to the lawsuit. It was filed Wednesday as jurors in Penny’s four-week-long...

BALTIMORE, Sunday, Dec. 4. The special correspondent of the American at Annapolis telegraphs this morning the arrival of the steamship Baltic in Annapolis Roads, from Savannah, with 520 officers. Fifty-seven died on the passage, and more than two-thirds, it is thought, will never recover. The latest news from SHERMAN was that he was within forty miles of Savannah. All Georgia is in alarm. The Savannah papers, of the 30th ult., while admitting this, say that his progress has been stopped. LATER. BALTIMORE, Sunday, Dec. 4. The American's Annapolis correspondent says: "The Savannah Republican, of the 30th ult., states that Gen....

Syrian rebels captured the key city of Hama on Thursday, bringing the insurgents a major victory after a lightning advance across northern Syria and dealing a new blow to President Bashar al-Assad and his Russian and Iranian allies. The Syrian army said it was redeploying outside the city "to preserve civilians lives and prevent urban combat" after what it called intense clashes. Rebels said they were preparing to keep marching south towards Homs, Syria's great crossroads city that links the capital Damascus to the north and coast. "Your time has come," said a rebel operations room in an online post,...

New information from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed that the top baby name for boys in 2023 has changed. Muhammad has become the most popular baby name in England and Wales. The name has been in the top 10 since 2016 before becoming the second most popular boy name in 2022. Now, the Arabic name, which means "praiseworthy" or "commendable", has overtaken Noah, which was the most popular name in 2021 and 2022. The data for the most popular names are compiled according to registered live births in England and Wales, and every year the data is...

There’s not much Donald Trump could ever do as president that will generate more resistance and hatred than bleeding the fetid capital swamp. It’s arguable that there’s nothing he could ever do as president that would be better for the republic. Trump’s decision to make administration appointments from figures who are outside of the establishment adds to the loathing that so many in the political-media establishment already directed toward him. Various grifters, vipers and unprincipled schemers from both parties have spent their adult lives seeking seats of power, comfort and endless tenure in the capital. To see the secretarial positions,...

Two golf governing bodies – the LPGA and the USGA – announced new guidelines Wednesday requiring golfers to be female at birth or to have transitioned pre-puberty to be eligible to compete in women’s events. Both policies will take effect in 2025. Athletes assigned female at birth are eligible to compete on the LPGA Tour, Epson Tour, Ladies European Tour and USGA championships and team events. Meanwhile, players assigned male at birth and who have gone through male puberty are not eligible. “Our policy is reflective of an extensive, science-based and inclusive approach,” said LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan in...

Aleida Guevara, daughter of communist mass murderer Ernesto “Che” Guevara, recently claimed that she would like to go to Lebanon and fight against Israel alongside the Shiite jihadist terrorist group Hezbollah. Guevara, a 64-year-old Cuban physician, made the assertions in remarks given to the pro-Hezbollah Lebanese outlet Al Mayadeen during her attendance at an “anti-fascist” far-left event organized last week by Venezuela’s socialist regime in Caracas.

Kentucky Bishop John Stowe has expressed his “dismay” over the overwhelming Catholic voter support for Donald Trump, insisting the U.S. Bishops should have warned Americans about the “danger” of the election. Stowe, a well-known liberal prelate, said the bishops should have issued a public statement of disagreement with Trump’s policies following the election, the way they did in the case of Joe Biden four years ago. There is the issue of Trump’s character, Stowe told Crux, an online Catholic news service, “and when somebody has such a flawed character that has been manifestly obvious throughout his previous presidency and the...

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — Those who use Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance will likely soon have to pay out of pocket for anesthesia services, should their surgeries fall outside a specific time limit. This applies to patients in New York State, Missouri and Connecticut. Officials with BCBS announced that this would begin with claims processed on or after Feb. 1, 2025. According to BCBS, “We will utilize the CMS Physician Work Time values to target the number of minutes reported for anesthesia services.” Any surgery that goes beyond the set limit, will no longer be covered. There are some...

While Americans on both sides of the political aisle debate whether President Joe Biden should have pardoned his son, one entry into the discourse made an astoundingly embarrassing error.The Esquire magazine article by Charles P. Pierce lambasted Republicans for criticizing Biden based on the historical precedent of Republican former President George H.W. Bush pardoning his own son Neil Bush. The problem is that this incident never happened. It's completely fabricated.

In a statement on Wednesday, Attorney General Rob Bonta announced updates to policies and recommendations to help guide public institutions in complying with California law limiting state and local participation in immigration enforcement activities, adding more to his attempt to block new tougher immigration policies next year.

The Good Book is the world’s most widely distributed book. It is also the world’s best seller. And now sales of the Judeo-Christian Scriptures are rising. The Wall Street Journal reports on this recent up-tick in sales. The headline declares: “Sales of Bibles Are Booming, Fueled by First-Time Buyers and New Versions.” And the subtitle notes: “Publishers attribute a 22% jump in Bible sales this year to rising anxiety, a search for hope, or highly focused marketing and designs.”

Kash Patel, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be the next director of the FBI, was recently targeted by an Iranian hacking campaign. According to the Washington Examiner, multiple sources claim that the FBI had informed both Patel and President-elect Trump of the cyberattack. The Trump transition team issued a statement that did not confirm such a hacking attempt, but nevertheless condemned Iran and praised Patel’s past work on counter-terrorism. “Kash Patel was a key part of the first Trump administration’s efforts against the terrorist Iranian regime and will implement President Trump’s policies to protect America from adversaries as the FBI...

Jeff Bezos said he was 'optimistic' about President-elect Donald Trump's second term on Wednesday and even plans to 'help him' achieve their shared goals. The Amazon founder was often seen as antagonistic toward Trump during his first go around in the White House. However, Bezos expressed some excitement about potential regulatory cutbacks in the coming years.