Free Republic

Can President-elect Donald Trump shake up the federal government by firing whoever he wishes on day one of his new administration? Former Trump White House press secretary Sean Spicer says yes -- and the president-elect can thank Joe Biden firing him for that. If you can remember back to 2021 -- I know it's difficult, especially if you're Joe Biden -- Spicer was fired along with two other Trump allies who had been appointed to the visitor boards at the Navy, the Air Force and Army academies. (Kellyanne Conway and Russ Vought were the other two, as the Washington Examiner...

VIDEOSay what you will about Bollywood films from India but you have to admit they have the most realistic special effects. Here is a scene from the 2023 film ""Bhagavanth Kesari" in which you can see for yourselves the incredible effort that went into making the special effects look completely realistic. And if you don't believe me then, well, to quote the main character in the film, "Bro! I don't care!"

My law firm was one of those that defended tobacco companies against, among other things, lawsuits brought by state attorneys general. A key claim in those cases was that the tobacco companies conspired to prevent the public from learning that smoking is bad for you. “If so,” said the partner in my firm who was in charge of the case for our client, “it was the least successful conspiracy in the history of the world.” I recall that comment in the context of recent “revelations” about the conspiracy on the part of the White House, the Democratic Party and the...

BEIRUT (Sputnik) - Earlier it was reported that a US Navy F/A-18 fighter jet was shot down by friendly fire during an operation over the Red Sea, with both pilots ejecting safely. Fighters of the Yemeni Ansar Allah (Houthi) group have repelled joint US-UK air forces attack, shooting down a US Navy F/A-18 fighter jet during their attack on USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier in the Red Sea, the group’s military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said on Sunday. “During the operation an F/A 18 jet was shot down attempting to repel the attack [on the US aircraft carrier],”...

Researchers are closer to understanding what drives the autoimmune disorder Sjögren's disease. Their study finds that impaired regulatory T cells are a critical contributing factor to Sjögren's disease in both mice and humans, and identifies an existing rheumatology drug as a promising therapy. In Sjögren's disease, the immune system attacks the glands that produce saliva and tears, resulting in dry mouth and eyes. While there is no cure for Sjögren's disease, some treatments alleviate symptoms. Feske and Lacruz undertook two studies focusing on different tissues—salivary gland cells and immune cells. They specifically looked at cells lacking the Stim1 and Stim2...

Senator-Elect John Curtis (R-UT) said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that he has no qualms about speaking up when he disagreed with President-elect Donald Trump. Curtis said, “You know, it’s very important to me that President Trump is successful. I want to see him wildly successful, and I’ll be supportive of him when he’s talking about inflation and the economy and everything like that. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be moments when I disagree with him. And I think it’s very important to me and my constituents that — that at those moments that I feel comfortable speaking up.”

An elderly Texas member of Congress who has been missing from the Capitol for six months has been found in a nursing home that specializes in memory care, according to a report. Longtime Republican Rep. Kay Granger, 81, has not cast a vote in Washington D.C. since July — despite the GOP’s super-slim majority in the chamber. Her prolonged absence sparked concern among constituents in Texas’ 12th Congressional District, which is in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area. Granger did not run for reelection in November, but her disappearance is especially significant given the tiny majority Republicans hold in the House...

President-elect Donald Trump hailed Sunday as "the 7th Anniversary of the Trump Tax Cuts becoming Law," vowing to "deliver the largest tax cuts in the history of our country" by this date next year. "Today is the 7th Anniversary of the Trump Tax Cuts becoming Law," Trump wrote in a Sunday morning Truth Social post before he was slated to speak at a salute to Arizona gathering for Turning Point Action, which will air live and in its entirety on Newsmax, starting at 12:30 p.m. ET. "'Happy Birthday!' "Next year, we will deliver the largest Tax Cuts in the History...

... From October 17 through October 29, 2024, during the fall-run Chinook salmon migration, the data suggest that more than six thousand fish have passed the former Iron Gate Dam site and migrating into the newly re-opened habitats. These fish were captured by our team’s SONAR camera which is installed at the former dam site. How does SONAR work? The camera uses sound waves to generate movie-like imagery of passing fish on a continuous basis. Our team of scientists analyzes the camera’s recordings considering several factors including fish size and time of movement to discern that most of these are...

Great news! Our new merchant services account has been approved and we have completed our integration programming! We can now start using our own form for entering credit/debit card donations. Monthly donors: If you are you using a credit or debit card for your automatic monthly donations, please use our credit card link below to enter a new monthly record. Sorry, the old ones no longer work. Thank you very much. All FReepers: And now we need your continuing support to get caught up and to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies,...

CNN — One year after the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, schools and hospitals have been christened for her, scholarly awards created in her name and artworks designed with her visage. Ginsburg’s pioneering women’s rights legacy endures, along with the signature lace-collar motif on T-shirts and trinkets. But there’s another vestige of Ginsburg’s legacy that has captured national attention over the past year, the one left by her September 18, 2020, death that allowed President Donald Trump to name a third conservative justice – the one that now threatens Roe v. Wade and that lingers as 83-year-old...

Being popular on TikTok can make just about anything fly off the shelves, from beauty products to cucumbers…Books are no exception – authors such as Colleen Hoover and Sarah J Maas have what is known as “BookTok” to thank for their stratospheric success. Now joining their ranks, in a twist nobody saw coming, is Fyodor Dostoevsky. In 2024, the Penguin Classics little black book edition of Dostoevsky’s White Nights was the fourth most sold work of literature in translation in the UK. “We have a member of staff who has worked here for 25 years and he said we’d sell...

In an effort to quell demands for his resignation, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reminded voters that "it was my idea to order the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) to deploy gender advisors to Ukraine. It's not enough to just win the war. If important LGBTQ values are not properly supported we have to ask ourselves 'why are we even involved?'" The incorporation of gender advisors is part of Canada's third National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security for 2023-2029. "Embedding three full-time gender advisors in every CAF unit at the strategic and operational levels is essential for operational success,"...

On the far eastern edge of Yemen, far from any cities or well-traveled roads, there's a black mark in the desert, like a giant eye peering up from the earth. Regardless of how uncanny it looks from above, it is a natural phenomenon, a perfectly round and profoundly deep sinkhole called the Well of Barhout, or the "Well of Hell." It's easy to see why. Without the help of wings or long ropes, anything that disappears into this 367-foot-deep hole is not going to come out.For centuries, sinister legends have swirled around the Well of Barhout. It's said that visiting...

Bob Mumgaard, Commonwealth Fusion Systems CEO and Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin join 'Squawk Box' to discuss a multi-billion dollar investment for the world's first grid-scale commercial fusion power plant in Virginia, what fusion energy is, and more. For access to live and exclusive video from CNBC

Business Insider just published the following:https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/daughter-repeated-kindergarten-because-she-101201351.htmlMy daughter repeated kindergarten because she couldn’t read. I ended up sending both my kids to private school because I don’t trust the public system.By Jane RidleyDecember 22, 2024Susie Coughlin was concerned when her daughter struggled with reading skills at her public school.The mom of two was disappointed her district didn’t teach phonics as part of its literacy program.She switched her child to a Catholic school where the girl thrived after being taught phonics.Why have so many public schools stopped teaching phonics?

By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com (Saturday Night Post) Legendary financial and geopolitical cycle analyst Martin Armstrong is back with a new round of predictions, and they are not going to make life easy for President Elect Trump. Armstrong says, “Our computer has been projecting that we are going into a depression in some areas and a recession in other areas. A depression most likely in Europe and a recession in the United States up until 2028. . . . At my November conference, everybody was celebrating after Trump won. I stood up and told my clients, ‘I’m sorry, Trump is not...

One of the main rights for which the Founding Fathers fought the Revolution was the right to private property. But in woke jurisdictions, homeowners can find themselves treated as criminals for trying to kick invading squatters out of their homes. If someone invades another person‘s home without permission and is told to leave but refuses to do so, that individual is breaking the law and violating a sacred American right. There should be no argument whatsoever about this. But a Georgia woman insanely was arrested and charged with multiple crimes after she tried to evict an aggressive squatter who locked...

Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) explained his recommendation to the Department of Justice to investigate former Liz Cheney is simply a test of her “own standards.” Years after Cheney lost her seat in the House, the Administration Oversight Subcommittee accused her of witness tampering while serving on the January 6 Committee. Loudermilk appeared on Life, Liberty, and Levin Saturday to point out Cheney’s hypocrisy. “I am only using Liz’s own standards that she used. If you go back to July of 2022, in one of their televised hearings, Liz Cheney started talking about Donald Trump making a phone call to one...

Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that President-elect Donald Trump is a “singular political talent” with a sense of “fearlessness.” Fetterman said, “I’ve been warning people, like, you got to chill out, you know? The constant, you know, freakout, it’s not helpful. So, you know, pack a lunch. Pace yourself because he hasn’t even taken office yet.”