Free Republic

Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) nearly 18-year stint as the ringleader of Republican senators leaves behind a historic trail. When McConnell returns next month for the new session of Congress, it will mark the first time since 2007 that he won’t be Senate GOP leader. His exit from the leadership table comes as the conference is set to retake the chamber after flipping four seats in November.“Where do you begin? This guy has led through thick and thin,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) said. “He sees the big picture. He sees the long game. He is a Reagan Republican and proud of...

Chief Justice John Roberts condemned elected officials who have intimidated judges and defied court rulings, highlighting them in his year-end report Tuesday as part of what Roberts called “illegitimate activity” that threatens the rule of law. Roberts did not name any specific person, but he did note a federal district judge “whose decisions in a high-profile case” prompted an elected official to call for her impeachment and sparked a need for bar associations to “come to the defense.” “Attempts to intimidate judges for their rulings in cases are inappropriate and should be vigorously opposed,” Roberts wrote. “Public officials certainly have...

The terrorist who killed 15 people when he plowed his truck down crowded Bourbon Street in New Orleans was an American-born military veteran who was living in a run-down trailer park where he kept sheep and goats in the yard — just blocks away from the local mosque. -snip- Jabbar lived in a squalid trailer park on the outskirts of Houston that is home to mostly Muslim immigrants. Geese, chickens, and sheep roamed freely in Jabbar’s yard when The Post visited hours after the attack. One neighbor told The Post she spoke only Urdu, Pakistan’s national language. The neighborhood is...

From toxic cinnamon powder to powerhouse veggies, we learned a ton about the foods (and drinks) that fuel us.From unexpected health risks in everyday items to new insights about nutrition, the biggest science- and health-related stories of 2024 were packed with surprises. Over the last 12 months, we have learned about plenty of dangers lurking in seemingly innocent foods. But it wasn't all doom and gloom—we also learned more about the ingredients that could fuel us in unexpected ways. This year, Food & Wine readers found themselves enthralled with storytelling that was a mix of curiosity and caution, including everything...

Democrats are at risk of being rudderless at the start of the new year, with a fading President Joe Biden soon to leave the White House and the Democratic National Committee‘s elections not until February. While some Democrats are confident the party will come together again after a disappointing election, others are concerned few lessons have been learned.For Democrats such as strategist Stefan Hankin, the party needs a “refresh,” a “rebrand,” and “new faces out there.”House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) is a “good start,” according to Hankin, but he encouraged outgoing Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who will...

I post this for guys, young and old, whose hair is thinning. It is liberating to shave your head. I have done it since 1996. If your hair is thinning, you liberate yourself from worrying about it. My hair started thinning in my 50s...so I bought some clippers and got rid of it. It was magical. I was reborn.As a contrary POV, I should share what my girl friend at the time had to say.She said, "You look like a thumb. Perhaps a penis."I said, "Are you saying that's a bad thing?"I dumped her right afterward.

Coming with the new year is a new president with a very different vision on energy than President Joe Biden, who campaigned on a promise to “end fossil fuel.” President-elect Donald Trump is dismissive of the immediate “climate crisis” narrative that drove much of Biden’s energy policies. He promises to establish American “energy dominance” and focus policy on bringing down the cost of energy. While Trump can overturn Biden’s industry-punishing executive orders and create a friendlier regulatory environment for the oil, gas, coal and mining industries, experts say there are economic and technical limits to what the outcomes of his...

Steven Dettelbach, the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) sent a letter of resignation to Joe Biden late last month, announcing his intention to leave his position just two days before Trump’s inauguration on Monday, January 20.He touted his “success” during his reign:Under your leadership, and that of the Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General, we met head on the challenge of a historic spike in violent crime coming out of the pandemic. As I leave the ATF, the country has experienced two years of historic decreases in the violent crime rates, including drops...

SNIP However, travel guide TasteAtlas has taken a shot by analyzing ratings from users, who deemed Greek food the overall best of the top 100 cuisines on the globe. The United States, meanwhile, placed outside the top ten in this culinary decathlon, but still fared better than our neighbors across the pond in the UK. To determine who deserved a place on this Olympic podium of eats, TasteAtlas analyzed 477,287 ratings for 15,478 foods in their database. Listed underneath each entry were their highest rated foods. Perhaps it’s fitting that the country that invented democracy was picked via crowdsourcing on...

Senator John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, pledged to "raise fresh hell" if the FBI don't share its investigation into the New Orleans terror attack with the public."Once the FBI has a chance to investigate all of this, working with state police, working with Homeland Security, working with the City of New Orleans, they are going to tell you what happened. I can promise you that. Or I'm going to raise fresh hell," he told reporters at a press conference Wednesday."But right now they're in the process of trying to catch the other bad guy, and I'm going to give them...

The first sign of an impending cataclysm in the summer of 1831 was an eerie dimming of the Sun, which for days appeared bluish green across the Northern Hemisphere. In the ensuing weeks, foul weather and a long cold snap triggered crop failures and famines in India and Japan. The instigator was long presumed to be a climate-altering plume from a major eruption, but the volcano’s identity had been one of the great unsolved mysteries of volcanology. “It’s like a whodunit,” says Clive Oppenheimer, a volcanologist at the University of Cambridge. At long last, the culprit has been unmasked in...

Unlawful border crossings along the U.S.-Mexico border have dropped to a four-year low, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, with 46,610 people stopped between ports of entry in November. The number of illegal crossings that month marked an 18% decrease from the previous month, and the lowest level since July 2020, the agency said.“Our enhanced enforcement efforts, combined with executive actions and coordination with Mexico and Central American countries in recent months, are having a sustained, meaningful impact,” said Troy A. Miller, the acting head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.Between June and November, the Department of Homeland Security...

Sam J. Tangredi is a retired Navy captain and Leidos chair of future warfare studies at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. Ships’ logs are sourced from the National Archives.The official log of a U.S. Navy warship is written according to a strictly regulated formula. On a standardized form, the watch stander records the details: combat actions, course, speed, sea conditions, strain on the mooring lines. The officer of the deck signs the log at the end of the four-hour watch. Each entry is a legal document, historical record and solemn testimony. Once a year, however, it...

The suspect in New Orleans attack made a series of video recordings before Wednesday morning that law enforcement is currently reviewing, according to multiple officials briefed on the investigation. The recordings appear to have been made while driving at night. The suspect is not visible because it is dark, but authorities believe the recordings were made as he drove from Texas to Louisiana, although the exact timing is not yet clear. In the recordings the suspect makes reference to his divorce and how he had at first planned to gather his family for a “celebration” with the intention of killing...

LONDON -- One person was killed and least six others, including a pregnant woman, were injured in Kyiv as Russia launched more than 100 drones in an overnight strike into New Year's Day, Ukrainian military and civilian officials said. "In war, there are no holidays, and for Russia, nothing is sacred or inviolable," Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. "It spares no one, killing people even amidst New Year celebrations, starting a deadly countdown from the very first day. The world must not allow tyranny and dictatorship to go unpunished or endorsed in the new year." Ukraine's air force said...

Among rich countries without large resource rents or a history of Communism, the United States stands out as being much wealthier than IQ alone would predict. Meanwhile, the non-US Anglosphere (United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada) underperforms, being poorer than both the United States and north west Europe. The comparison with the non-US Anglosphere is particularly instructive because these countries are very similar to the United States culturally, genetically and institutionally. American speech is the freest in the world, a fact recognized by much of the tech-right. A comparison to our Anglosphere cousins is instructive. We can be proud...

(I set the time index to skip RJ Talks pointless commentary; shows that most of what she said was her usual crap)WITNESS The Brutal ROASTING of CNN by Whitney Cummings! | 16:18RJ Talks | 401K subscribers | 188,129 views | January 1, 2025

Miracles as Proof that Catholicism is From GodGetting your Trinity Audio player ready...Yet the signs of my apostleship have been wrought on you, in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds (2 Corinthians 12:12).New Series on the Miracles of the Catholic ChurchThis article is the first of a 10-part series that will explore miracles as proof of the truths of Catholic doctrine. The series cover the following topics:What Are Miracles and What They Are NotMiracles in the Scriptures (Old and New)Miracles Worked by the Saints Throughout the Centuries Part 1Miracles Worked by the Saints Throughout the Centuries Part...

We have now confirmed that the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck and is unrelated to the vehicle itself. All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion.

The Biden administration is attempting to implement last-minute restrictions on oil and gas drilling in the west just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration. On Monday, the Department of the Interior announced plans to pursue a 20-year ban on oil and gas leases in 264,000 acres of Nevada's Ruby Mountains. The administration submitted an application to withdraw the acreage from any potential leasing, which initiated a two-year ban on new mineral leases in the area during the approval process. The proposal now heads into a 90-day public comment period, which will fall under the Trump administration. "The Ruby Mountains are...