Free Republic

San Francisco 49ers linebacker De’Vondre Campbell refused to enter Thursday’s game against the Rams, according to head coach Kyle Shanahan. Campbell was spotted heading into the locker room during the third quarter of the 12-6 home loss. When reporters asked Shanahan about this, he replied, “He said he didn’t want to play today.”The coach clarified that this conversation happened in the third quarter, when Campbell was asked to come in for Dre Greenlaw, who was dealing with Achilles fatigue and subbed out of the game. Shanahan added that this was the first time in his career that a player had...

In recent months, mysterious drone sightings have been sparking a surge of public outrage and fear across the globe. Whether it’s a small quadcopter hovering over a suburban neighborhood or a larger, more advanced drone seen near sensitive government facilities, these incidents are causing widespread alarm. The phenomenon, dubbed Drone Derangement Syndrome (DDS), refers to the irrational and often heightened fear that drones are being used for surveillance, control, or even sinister political and military objectives. As sightings increase, so does the intensity of public paranoia—leading many to question the government’s ability or willingness to address the problem. People are...

Citing his clash of values with incoming President Trump, FBI Director Christopher Wray announced he will vacate his position effective January 20 of next year. "I will dedicate the remaining 40 days and nights of my tenure to bolstering the agency for its coming four years of resistance against the changes that Trump intends to inflict on it," Wray said. "The loyal men, women, and trans agents who have worked so diligently to suppress our domestic enemies will be ensconced in civil service jobs that will give them effective lifetime jobs where they can continue the work of silencing misinformation,...

Is Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., having his Joni Ernst moment? It sure seems like it. On Wednesday, the Hoosier State’s senior senator told CNN mouthpiece Manu Raju he’s still undecided as to whether he will support Pete Hegseth’s nomination to become the next secretary of defense. The comments came after the two veterans met to discuss Hegseth’s potential promotion earlier that day. “I haven’t decided yet, as I’ve shared with him and happy to share with others…We had a good meeting. It was an extensive conversation, and he answered the questions I asked,” Young reportedly said. “We had a very...

VIDEOThe press swarming around Senator John Fetterman because he (GASP!) actually spoke to Pete Hegseth reminded me of the scenes of the press in "The Right Stuff" sounding like "root weevils" as the Chuck Yeager character described them. Watch the shock of the media thinking it is something incredible that a Democrat senator would want to speak to one of President Trump's nominees. Funny how there was NO such press concern when the utterly incompetent Lloyd Austin of triple Covid mask infamy was also nominated to be Defense Secretary.

The State of California, which is suffering from massive budget deficits, will spend $1.4 billion to expand a network of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations to assist drivers of the cars that Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to require by 2035. As Breitbart News noted earlier this week, Newsom’s EV mandate is in trouble, with sales falling far below targets. In addition, as the Los Angeles Times reported, Newsom is raising eyebrows by continuing to propose new spending — even though the state is suffering under massive budget deficits, despite lavish coronavirus relief from the federal government under President Joe Biden’s...

Luigi Mangione is officially the “suspect” in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, but he is plainly the culprit, and public discussion has moved on to his motives. Why would a young man possessed of intellectual gifts, friends, family, good looks, a winning personality and, apparently, lots of money, gun down a man he had never met? This isn’t the kind of question my organization, the National Association of Scholars, normally takes up. We concern ourselves more with academic standards and questions of state and federal policy. But I’ve been nudged several times with questions about Luigi’s academic background....

In a fascinating interview by Alarabia News on Youtube, Errol Musk, Elon Musk’s father, explains how Elon Musk moved from being a Democrat to being a fervent Trump supporter. Errol Musk lives in South Africa, where Elon was born and raised. In the video, Errol says that his son, Elon Musk, changed from a Democrat to a Trump supporter because he is rooted in reality. Errol says he lives in reality, not a leftist utopia. Errol says that in South Africa, he has to be armed all the time.“I live in a sort of real world. I’m not in America....

For many years, I've been describing what my first act would be should I ever be elected President of the United States. Granted that's unlikely in the extreme; as someone once said, "If nominated, I will not run, if elected, I will not serve." I don't want the job, but were I somehow thrust into it, my first act would be this: Visit every office, every agency, every anteroom that contained employees that report to the Executive Branch. I would ask every employee therein, from directors to janitors, two questions: "What is your purpose here?" "What are you doing right...

The Kremlin has appointed Lieutenant General Andrei Ivanayev as commander of the Vostok Battalion group of forces, which is leading the assault in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, according to state affiliated media. The popular Ukrainian military Telegram channel Country Politics, which has more than 290,000 followers, reported Ivanayev's appointment on Friday suggesting it was tied to a visit by Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov to the region. Over the past year, Russian forces have made grueling but steady advances in the Donbas, which President Putin formally annexed as part of Russia in September 2022 though his troops only partially control...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman warned of the transformative power of artificial intelligence (AI) and the rise of superintelligence during an appearance at the New York Times DealBook Summit last week. He said AI might perform tasks once exclusive to humans, raising important concerns about economic changes and job displacement. AGI represents a significant step toward achieving "superintelligence," where machines surpass human intellectual capabilities in virtually all fields. Altman said profound economic and societal changes could start as early as next year, Variety reported. The Economic Impact of Superintelligence Altman candidly addressed the disruptive potential of AGI and superintelligent AI and...

Council Bluffs Scanner on FB reported & attributed it to Eppley Airfield authority. What's concerning to me is the drones being spotted are exempt from geofencing. Not sure how difficult it is to block, but it is interesting.

Modern tractors rely on precise GPS coordinates to navigate fields. But with charged particles distorting radio signals from GPS satellites, some of them started acting erratically, stopping abruptly or weaving back and forth. "I would guess 80 percent or more of all farmers in the Midwest use at least basic GPS for something — whether it's auto-steer or yield mapping," John Deere service manager Ethan Smidt told SpaceWeather. "At least 50 percent of all farmers are VERY reliant on GPS and use it on every machine all year long." During particularly violent solar storms, charged particles fill the Earth's ionosphere,...

The California Department of Motor Vehicles issued an apology for an "unacceptable and disturbing" personalized license plate that the agency said displayed hate speech related to the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

“God highly exalted Him” (Philippians 2:9). Christ followed the path to glory so that we could follow Him. Because Christ humbled Himself, the Father wonderfully exalted Him. His exaltation includes the elements of both His resurrection and His coronation—His exaltation to the right hand of God. The apostle Peter said Jesus was “raised up again” and “exalted to the right hand of God” (Acts 2:3233).Peter and the other apostles preached, “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus. . . . He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant...

DeSantis naming Lara Trump to fill Rubio’s seat wouldn’t be the most corrupt appointment from a governor like Rod Blagojevich did when considering candidates to fill Barack Obama’s seat. Ted Kennedy. Because the younger Kennedy was too young to take up the remainder of the term family patriarch Joseph Kennedy instructed Gov. Foster Furcolo to name a family friend as placeholder. Say what you will about Joe’s tactics, but Teddy won the seat fair and square in the 1962 midterm elections and held it until his death in 2009.

Boeing's delivery delays are hurting President-elect Donald Trump's dreams of flying on a new Air Force One jet. The project to build two new jets is so behind schedule that Boeing has told the US Air Force it expects to deliver the planes in 2029 or later, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. This means the planes may be ready only after the conclusion of Trump's second term. In 2015, the Air Force chose Boeing to build two new planes to replace its aging 747 presidential fleet. In 2018, the planemaker and the...

Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy, one of the most prominent so-called “gender doctors” around, came under fire in October after she chose to withhold the findings of her nearly decade-long study on puberty blockers that appeared to contradict her personal beliefs. It turns out, however, that this sticky situation was only the beginning for Olson-Kennedy. Just last week, the doctor was hit with a weighty lawsuit from a college student at UCLA. A young woman, Clementine Breen, sued Olson-Kennedy on the grounds that the doctor “did not follow gatekeeping safeguards and pushed her into irreversible [transgender] treatment at the age of 12.”

Special Dispatch to the New-York Times. WASHINGTON, Sunday, Dec. 12. There is nothing new from Gen. SHERMAN, excepting the reports received via City Point, in Richmond papers of the 10th, to the effect that on the 7th he was within 20 miles of Savannah. It is believed here that SHERMAN has already made a demonstration on that city, and the news is hourly expected. NEWS FROM REBEL SOURCES. WASHINGTON, Monday, Dec. 12, A dispatch from City Point, dated Dec. 11, says: The latest news contained in the Richmond papers of yesterday, (10th Dec.,) states that on the 7th Gen. SHERMAN...

The Wall Street Journal reports that Donald Trump and members of his incoming administration have begun reviewing the existing American policy regarding Iran's nuclear development, and are considering direct military action to stop Iran's advances. The policy of previous administrations has been the use of diplomacy and economic sanctions to force the IRGC to reduce its nuclear intentions. According to the report, Iran has enough enriched uranium to build four nuclear weapons within a few days. The Trump administration is considering several options, the first being a direct buildup of American forces in the Middle East. The USA would send...