Free Republic

recent overseas trip to Ghana, and budget cuts that hampered the city's fire department from doing its job amid the ongoing citywide blaze. The mayor’s poorly timed foreign travel has raised questions about her priorities and similar past trips. One of the most interesting chapters of Bass’ political career and international travel involves her past excursions to communist Cuba. The former U.S. congresswoman turned metropolitan mayor played a significant role with the Venceremos Brigade —a group linked to Cuba's communist regime. History of the Venceremos Brigade The Venceremos Brigade, founded in 1969, is a U.S.-based organization that has facilitated trips...

The Texas heiress who went viral for her $59 million Parisian “wedding of the century” is expecting her first baby with her felony-suspect husband, who is facing time behind bars for allegedly shooting at three cops. Madelaine Brockway shared the life-changing news on Instagram showing off an extravagant cake at her recent gender reveal party in Paris, France. “18 weeks with our bean,” she wrote, tagging her husband Jacob LaGrone. Brockway, the heir to several Mercedes-Benz dealerships in Florida, chowed down on a pink piece of cake, celebrating her unborn baby girl, photos showed. The soon-to-be-dad, however, is in the...

Former first lady Michelle Obama is set to snub President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration next Monday after skipping former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral last week — where she would have sat next to the one and future commander-in-chief. “Former President Barack Obama is confirmed to attend the 60th Inaugural Ceremonies. Former first lady Michelle Obama will not attend the upcoming inauguration,” the Office of Barack and Michelle Obama said in a statement to the Associated Press. The former first lady’s team did not provide a reason for skipping the inauguration, but Michelle Obama, 60, has been an impassioned critic of Trump,...

Just when you think California’s stupidity, piss-poor management, and unicorn politics can’t possibly get any more absurd, a story like this drops—and your eyes practically roll out of your head. As Los Angeles burns to the ground, the insurance industry crumbles, and water evaporates faster than you can say “H2O,” what’s the top priority in the land of fruits and nuts? Not the people losing their homes, of course—it’s a random herb called Braunton’s Milkvetch, a wild pea plant. Yes, you read that right. This plant is apparently so precious that an entire fire safety program was scrapped and reworked...

A bill preventing transgender women from competing in female sports at schools across the country narrowly cleared the House of Representatives Tuesday. Just two Democrats joined with 216 Republicans in voting for the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, which states that schools receiving federal funds would violate the law if they “permit a person whose sex is male to participate in an athletic program or activity that is designated for women or girls.” All 206 “nay” votes came from Democrats. Rep. Don Davis (D-NC) voted “present” while a pair of Texans, Henry Cuellar and Vincente Gonzalez bucked...

Rachel Maddow is returning to her nightly perch on MSNBC — at least for the first few months of the second Trump administration. The network announced on Monday that Maddow will lead its coverage of Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20 and, starting that night, begin airing her prime-time show five nights a week at 9 p.m. Eastern. Maddow’s new schedule will last until April 30, at which time she’ll revert to her current Monday-only routine with Alex Wagner occupying the time slot on Tuesdays through Fridays. Wagner will go on the road for various reporting assignments during the first 100...

Numerous women have accused the writer of rape, sexual assault and sexual coercionWriter Neil Gaiman has responded to serious allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation made against him this week, admitting that he recognized some events but claiming that he has never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity. In a more than 10,000 word exposé published Monday by Vulture, New York Magazine's culture section, numerous women came forward to accuse Gaiman of sexual assault, describing encounters that ranged from sexual coercion to violent instances of rape. The alleged victims include former fans, a former live-in babysitter for Gaiman's son, and a...

n his last week in office, President Joe Biden on Monday named the Navy’s next unnamed future Ford-class aircraft carriers President William J. Clinton. The super carrier that will follow it will be named after George W. Bush. However, it will be years, even under the current plans, before either ship is delivered to the Navy. If all goes according to the Biden administration’s wishes, the USS William J. Clinton (CVN-82) and USS George W. Bush (CVN-83) will join the USS Gerald R. Ford and future USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79), the USS Enterprise (CVN-80), and USS Doris Miller (CVN-81)...

A unique hoard of 321 silver coins from the 11th century has been unearthed during archaeological work at the Sizewell C nuclear power station site in Suffolk, England. These coins, surrounded by lead and once wrapped in a cloth that has since decayed, are part of a "perfect archaeological time capsule," said Andrew Pegg of Oxford Cotswold Archaeology (OCA), which is excavating the site.The coins, issued from 1036 to 1044, span the reigns of Harold I, Harthacnut, and Edward the Confessor. Most were minted in London, but others came from regional mints, including at Thetford, Norwich, and Ipswich, and even...

The famous Sutton Hoo burial site may have also included graves of soldiers recruited by a foreign army, new research has revealed.Helen Gittos, 50, an associate professor of early medieval history at the University of Oxford, has released a new research paper into the Anglo Saxon wonder near Woodbridge in Suffolk.She has put forward a theory that those buried at Sutton Hoo could have been recruited by the Byzantine Army in the eastern Mediterranean in 575 AD, based on items found during excavations...During the Covid-19 pandemic, Dr Gittos examined distribution maps of copper items that travelled from the eastern Mediterranean...

Outgoing President Biden announces removal of Cuba's designation as state sponsor of terrorism, in exchange for release of 553 political prisoners from Cuban prison. ......

Former NCAA athlete Riley Gaines delivered a scathing message to 'shameful' Democrats after just two voted in favor of a law banning transgender athletes in women's sports. The US House of Representatives passed its first bill in the 119th Congress on Tuesday, voting in favor of the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act - ensuring only people assigned female at birth can participate in women and girls athletics. The revolutionary act received a 218-206 vote as all Republicans voted in its favor along with just two Democrats, Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez. North Carolina Representative Don Davis, a...

Rudy Giuliani has received an influx of donations to his legal fees fundraiser after President-elect Donald Trump called on supporters to save him. The former mayor of New York City gained over $10,000 in donations after Trump's intervention but still faces a $148 million defamation lawsuit from his accusations against two Georgia election workers.

Elon Musk was sued on Tuesday by the Securities and Exchange Commission for having failed to timely disclose purchasing more than 5% of Twitter’s common stock in March 2022 — a parting shot at the mogul by lame-duck SEC boss Gary Gensler. In a complaint filed in Washington, DC, federal court, the SEC said the delay allowed Musk to continue buying Twitter shares at artificially low prices, allowing him to underpay by at least $150 million.A lawyer for Musk said the billionaire did nothing wrong and called the SEC case a “sham.”The SEC wants Musk — who has since rebranded...

To save ‘multiculturalism’, ‘morally superior’ Britain threw its young girls to wolves and ignored their screamsThis has been a difficult piece to write. At a deeply personal level researching on the serial rape and abuse of thousands upon thousands of underage British girls by men of mostly Pakistani Muslim heritage – that went on unabated for decades, aided by nearly every arm of the British state that systematically tried to brush the horror under the carpet – has been a humbling, upsetting and even a bruising experience. As an Indian sitting in India, and as someone whose job it is...

n Monday, Nicaragua’s ruling Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) initiated an overhaul of the country’s constitution that will codify the rule of longtime dictator Daniel Ortega and his wife, Rosario Murillo, as “co-presidents.” The reform follows an escalating campaign of persecution against the Catholic Church, the last bastion of opposition against the Ortegas, who nonetheless claim that their regime is a beacon of “Christian socialism.” Days prior, they had celebrated the New Year by expelling all Catholic nuns from the country. Nicaragua’s attacks on the Church and broader descent into tyranny culminates the stunning fall from grace of an erstwhile...

Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi says if President Biden offered him a preemptive pardon for his role in leading the investigation into then-President Donald Trump's role in the 2021 Capitol riot, he'd accept it. Thompson, who was the chair of the House select committee investigating Jan. 6, embraced the idea of a pardon in an interview with CBS News, saying Tuesday, "I'm from a part of the country where speaking your opinion used to cost you your life." "When I hear someone about to be sworn into the presidency of the United States say he wants to lock you...

Russia’s military on Tuesday said it would retaliate against Ukraine after Kyiv attacked Russian regions by firing six US-made ATACMS ballistic missiles, six UK-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles and launching one of the biggest drone attacks to date. After Ukraine first launched ATACMS and British Storm Shadow missiles into Russia last year, Moscow responded on Nov. 21 by launching a new intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile known as “Oreshnik”, or Hazel Tree, at Ukraine. “The actions of the Kyiv regime, supported by its Western curators, will not go unanswered,” the defence ministry said. The Ukrainian General Staff said it had struck...

A Ukraine wide air raid alert on Wednesday morning... Iran's Vice-President for Strategic Affairs says Israel once planted explosives in centrifuge equipment... Outgoing Biden National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and incoming Trump National Security Adviser Mike Waltz appearing together... Israel says it killed six terrorists in... At Senate confirmation hearings today US Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth speaking about building up US military power at sea... The outgoing Biden Administration cutting a strategic partnership deal with Armenia... Influencer Andrew Tate released from house arrest in Romania. But Tate... In Sudan's civil war at least 120 civilians killed in random... NATO...

rt 1h 21m Description Ep 1: CIA Targeter Sarah Adams on the Gathering Storm The Scott Mann Podcast #nationalsecurity #cia #afghanistan Join Scott Mann for the very first episode of The Scott Mann Episode—as he sits down with an incredible guest, former CIA targeter Sarah Adams to discuss national security and how our local communities can connect to do something about the threats facing us.