Free Republic

The other day my son Jasper asked me what sounded like a simple question: “Dad,” he said, “what is American food?” Jasper is six years old, and we live in Southern California, which meant that in the course of the preceding week he and his twin brother had encountered Sonoran-style tacos, Lebanese kebabs, Vietnamese spring rolls, and several iterations of pizza. It is customary for first-time visitors in Los Angeles to remark on the multicultural multitude of the city’s restaurant landscape, but only when you live here do you realize (as did the late California food critic Jonathan Gold) that...

BREAKING: Kash Patel just sent a legal notice to Mike Pence's advisor, Olivia Troye, to immediately retract the defamatory statements she made about him or face massive legal action.On Joyles Reid's segment, Troye said, "Kash Patel is a delusional liar. And he would lie about making things up on operations. I think Mark Esper has talked about that as well. Where he put the lives of Navy SEALs at risk in an operation when it came to Nigeria." In their letter, Patel's lawyers said, "Litigation will be filed against you if you fail to publicly retract defamatory statements you made...

Vladimir Putin has been branded a "psychopath" as he was seen in a video asking Russian soldiers who have lost their legs in the war with Ukraine whether they are "used to their new condition". -snip- In the footage, Putin is all smiles among the amputee soldiers, even asking one, "Are you used to your new condition? " The soldier responds affirmatively, answering "Yes sir, already new victories, achievements." In the chilling footage another mentions how some have been adapting for two years, still chasing victories and new goals. Putin nods approvingly, saying, "That's a very good thing. It's very...

The hunt for the assassin who shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson dead in Midtown Manhattan has stretched into its second day. Thompson, 50, was shot by a masked attacker at 6:45am on Wednesday morning outside the Hilton Hotel, and died later in hospital. Follow to stay up to date with the NYPD's city-wide manhunt for the assassin after he fled on a bike and remains at large.

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 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 Manhattan trial...

Can't make it up, folks. I dare you to even try. Breaking: newly tabulated provisional/other ballots in New York City significantly narrow Trump's popular vote margin. Added at certification: Harris 159,983 Trump 52,544 When you find out a major American state is still counting votes a month after the election.................

Thursday on FNC’s “America’s Newsroom,” Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) declined to support former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary. The Iowa Republican said that the vetting process needed to continue. “I did have a very long, lengthy discussion with Pete yesterday,” she said. “I appreciate his service to the nation. I, too, am also a combat veteran. So we talked about a number of those issues and will continue with the vetting process. I think that is incredibly important. So again, all I’m saying is we had a very frank and productive discussion. And...

The director of the U.S. Secret Service and a Texas congressman got into a screaming match Thursday during a hearing on the agency's failures leading to two assassination attempts against President-elect Trump. Acting Secret Service director Ronald Rowe shouted at Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, after the GOP lawmaker lambasted the service for security lapses that made Trump a target of two failed shooting attempts. "You're out of line, congressman!" Rowe yelled at Fallon.

All eyes in Washington, D.C. have turned to Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), the most emboldened holdout among Republican senators still hesitant to embrace Pete Hegseth after a series of stories about his alleged past behavior. Now, conservative allies of President-elect Donald Trump are ratcheting up the pressure on Ernst to fall in line or face the end of her political career. The Iowa senator, who is up for reelection in 2026, held her cards closely while telling Fox News about her recent meeting with Trump’s defense secretary nominee. “I did have a long, very lengthy discussion with Pete yesterday,...

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, has been leading an “aggressive” personal jihad against Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, multiple sources within Trump world with direct knowledge of her outreach to Trump told The Federalist on Wednesday.Ernst’s efforts included personal calls to Trump to urge him to dump Hegseth ahead of her meeting with the Army veteran on Wednesday afternoon. Ernst did not tell Hegseth during her meeting with him about her efforts to derail his nomination, sources told The Federalist.“She’s waging a campaign to replace Pete with herself,” a Trump source familiar with her phone calls with Trump...

VIDEORage over plunging ratings. Rage over likely salary cuts. Rage over possible/probable cancellation. Watch as Morning Joe goes on a wild RAGE rant over his audience plunge due to crawling to Mar-a-Lago to kiss the ring of President Donald Trump after spending years of calling him a dictatorial Fascist monster.The looooong rant you see in this video was actually the tail end of an extensive rant over what David Frum said (smeared) the previous day on Morning Joe about Pete Hegseth that Mika subsequently apologized for. Later that day, Frum wrote an article about the incident in "The Atlantic" magazine...

Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell is standing by California’s leaders in defying President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed mass deportations. This comes after Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) and Attorney General Rob Bonta have taken a defensive posture over the state’s immigrant population. Trump’s plan to deport would begin with criminally convicted illegal immigrants and then focus on immigrants who already have deportation orders. Still, Newsom and Bonta pledged to protect immigrants. McDonnell told the Associated Press that his department does not enforce immigration laws according to Special Order 40, a department policy prohibiting action related to immigration status established in...

"What's the best car?" Getting asked that question is an occupational hazard in this business. (And, yes, we realize that it's not actually hazardous, at least compared with the occupational dangers faced by, say, ironworkers who build skyscrapers or zookeepers who feed lions.) When you drive and test hundreds of cars every year—as our editorial team collectively does—it's a natural query. And our annual 10Best awards provide the answer. Since 1983, we've been conducting this exercise: We identify the very best of what's available, not merely our favorite new models introduced for a given year. An onslaught of new or...

For some time, I’ve been scratching my head over much of the opposition to Donald Trump. I weigh the good and the bad of him becoming President again, and, though I know that true objectivity is possibly impossible in this world, I think I’ve got a fairly objective view of the man. I’ve voted for Trump three times now. I had originally become a big admirer of his “story” when I read his classic The Art of the Deal back in my Twenties. Merely reading it brought me a strong sense of confidence–stronger than I can remember feeling after reading...

Daily Readings from the USCCB“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.” Matthew 7:21It’s frightening to think of those of whom Jesus is speaking. Imagine arriving before the throne of God upon your passing from this earthly life and you cry out to Him, “Lord, Lord!” And you expect Him to smile and welcome you, but instead you come face-to-face with the reality of your ongoing and obstinate disobedience to the will of God throughout your life. You suddenly realize that...

Police have sought a search warrant for a location in New York City where they believe the suspect may have been staying...

(CNN) Vivek Ramaswamy, the incoming co-chair of President-elect Donald Trump’s commission to cut government spending, has set his sights on money the Biden administration is dispersing in its final days in office, including a key loan to a rival company of his commission co-chair, Elon Musk. Last week, the Department of Energy announced a $6.6 billion conditional loan commitment to Rivian, the electric vehicle startup that is a nascent competitor to Tesla, Musk’s $1 trillion car company. Ramaswamy says that loan and others like it are “high on the list of items” that he will look to claw back once...

Spiders, as venomous creatures, rely on their chemical arsenal to capture prey or defend themselves. Their venom primarily contains small neurotoxins that attack the central nervous system of their targets. The venom cocktail of spiders – here the wolf spider Lycosa praegrandis – also contains enzymes that could be of interest for bioeconomic applications. Credit: Louis Roth Researchers at the LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics (TBG) have discovered a significant diversity of enzymes in spider venom, previously overshadowed by the focus on neurotoxins. These enzymes, found across 140 different families, could revolutionize industries by offering sustainable solutions in waste...

The mid-size luxury SUV segment is burgeoning with a wealth of choices, which can make it tough for shoppers to choose the right one for them. There are so many choices that come in all different sizes and shapes, but fortunately, they are all equipped with similar features, so it's hard to go wrong. Gone are the days when lackluster craftsmanship and questionable reliability were legitimate issues. Nowadays, luxury automakers imbue their cars with an impeccable quality that buyers are spoiled for choice. And if anyone is having trouble choosing, here are some of the best luxury mid-size SUVs in...

Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that new technologies like Bitcoin and digital currencies cannot be effectively banned and will continue to evolve and grow in popularity. “We see processes with the use of other instruments. For instance, Bitcoin. Who can prohibit the use of it? No one,” said Putin, speaking during a keynote speech at the 15th VTB ‘Russia Calling’ Investment Forum in Moscow on Wednesday. “Or the use of other electronic ways of settlement. No one can ban the use of them,” Putin stressed. “These instruments will continue to develop because everyone will try to reduce costs and make...