Free Republic

McDonald’s sales dropped in the beginning of the year, marking the second consecutive quarter of declines as customers pull back their spending amid economic uncertainty. In the United States, its largest market, same-store sales dropped 3.6% — the chain’s worst drop since 2020 during the height of the Covid pandemic when people were told to stay home. Net income for the first quarter was $1.87 billion, a decline from $1.93 billion compared to the same period a year ago. However, McDonald’s notes that since last year had a Leap Day, or an extra day to make money, that slightly hurt...

AP: What made you want to make “The Saints”? SCORSESE: I go back to my early childhood and respite and the sanctuary I found in St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral. Not being able to play sports or be a tough guy in the streets. And, you know, the streets were pretty tough down there. I found a sanctuary in that place. It's now a basilica. The first Catholic Cathedral in New York in 1810, 1812. It figures in “Gangs of New York.” The Know Nothings and anti-immigration groups attacked it in 1844. Archbishop Hughes fought back. It’s a place rife with...

National security adviser Mike Waltz and his deputy, Alex Wong, will be leaving their posts in the Trump White House, according to multiple sources familiar with their departure. They are expected to leave Thursday, sources say. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Journalist Mark Halperin first reported the departures. In March, Waltz came under scrutiny after he put together a Signal chat and mistakenly included The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg, disclosing discussions with top national security officials about plans for a military strike on Houthi targets in Yemen. Goldberg published his account, and he initially...

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — Yemen’s Houthi rebels announced late Wednesday that they had launched a drone attack targeting the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson and accompanying warships in the Arabian Sea, in what they describe as part of a broader escalation against American and Israeli military assets in the region. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a statement that the operation involved multiple drones aimed at the USS Vinson and associated naval forces. This comes just 24 hours after a separate drone attack that allegedly forced the USS Harry S. Truman to retreat to the far northern Red Sea...

While baby names go out of fashion every generation, Britain has seen a resurgence in classic baby names during the first quarter of 2025, according to Good Housekeeping and multiple British media reports. The first name making a comeback: James While James has been a name of choice for many over the years, its popularity has dwindled in recent years. The name has roots in Hebrew, according to ancestry.com, and is derived from the biblical name ‘Yaakov,’ meaning 'Supplanter.' James was one of the twelve apostles chosen by Jesus, making it a name of great religious significance in the Christian...

National security adviser Mike Waltz and his deputy, Alex Wong, will be leaving their posts in the Trump White House, according to multiple sources familiar with their departure. They are expected to leave Thursday, sources say. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Journalist Mark Halperin first reported the departures. In March, Waltz came under scrutiny after he put together a Signal chat and mistakenly included The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg, disclosing discussions with top national security officials about plans for a military strike on Houthi targets in Yemen. Goldberg published his account, and he initially...

April 25 (UPI) -- A Massachusetts town is under siege from an apparently territorial pileated woodpecker being blamed for damaging more than 25 vehicles in the area. Rockport resident Janelle Favaloro managed to capture a photo of the culprit caught in the act of targeting a vehicle with its jackhammer-like beak

Kohl’s has fired its newly installed CEO, who has spent less than five months in the position, after the retailer found that Ashley Buchanan engaged in unethical behavior. Buchanan’s dismissal was “for cause,” a rare rebuke of a business leader that carries serious weight in the business community. It comes after an investigation from an outside counsel found that he “violated company policies by directing the company to engage in vendor transactions that involved undisclosed conflicts of interest,” according to a press release. Kohl’s added that his termination is “unrelated to the company’s performance, financial reporting, results of operations and...

Recalling a sober moment he had while at Cornerstone Church, Chan said he baptized a kid from a gang but that kid later left though he was quite involved in the church. "One of my friends asked him, 'Hey, how come you're not at Cornerstone anymore?' He said 'I didn't understand church. When I was baptized, I thought that was going to be being jumped into the gang where it's like 24/7 they're my family, because I didn't know it was just somewhere we attend on Sundays." When Chan heard that, he said it made him sick. "That makes me...

Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday mocked a new U.S.-Ukraine investment deal as forcing Kyiv to pay for military aid with its natural resources, calling Ukraine a “vanishing country.” -snip- “The Republican-led U.S. Senate is preparing to impose more ‘crushing sanctions’ against us. We’ll see how the new administration responds,” Medvedev wrote. “Trump’s ratings have gone down, and the ‘deep state’ is fiercely resisting him.”

The Illinois Board of Higher Education suspended its state-wide diversity, equity and inclusion scholarship program this month after the Justice Department threatened to sue. Attorney General Pam Bondi said she is “committed to rooting DEI out of American institutions, including in the education system.” She should turn to the University of California system. The UC Board of Regents oversees two main diversity programs: the President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, or PPFP, and the Advancing Faculty Diversity Program, or AFD. PPFP was founded in 1984 to recruit “women and minority Ph.D. recipients” to the UC faculty, and its 2024 cohort includes no...

Tens of thousands of New York City residents have fled the Northeast for warmer climes in a five-year period — taking nearly $14 billion worth of income out of the Empire State. A new report by the nonpartisan Citizens Budget Commission found around 30,000 Big Apple dwellers moved to Florida between 2017 and 2022, many of them ending up in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties. The report chalked up the mass migration to factors including lingering effects of the pandemic, as well as general affordability, quality-of-life concerns and safety. The city has seen a reduction in its adjusted gross income...

A Republican lawmaker shocked Florida’s political world when he accused representatives of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration of committing federal crimes by diverting $10 million from a Medicaid settlement to political activities last year. No one has been charged, and DeSantis administration officials have denied wrongdoing. But four former federal prosecutors told the Herald/Times that Rep. Alex Andrade could be on strong legal ground. At least eight different federal charges, from theft of government funds to money laundering, could be investigated related to the dollars that passed through the Hope Florida Foundation, they said. Those statutes could carry sentences of decades...

Jasmine Crockett on deportations: "This is insane. How would it feel if countries sent people to our country!?

Another slap in the face to American victims from Texas’ radical justice system. A Travis County judge on Tuesday slashed the bond for Solomun Weldekeal-Araya — a foreign national and 18-wheeler driver — from $1.2 million down to a jaw-dropping $7,000, despite his role in a tragic crash that left five people dead, including a child and a baby. The deadly pileup occurred last month on Interstate 35 in North Austin, involving 17 vehicles and 17 people, resulting in fiery devastation and multiple injuries. Victims and their families are now pursuing more than $150 million in damages — but for...

A department store has sacked its CEO after an investigation into alleged conflicts of interest. Kohl's announced that Ashley Buchanan, who has been CEO for six months, was relieved of his duties after the company claims it found evidence he favored certain vendors. The department chain said Buchanan didn't disclose this relationship in accordance with its company policies. Buchanon's release comes after an independent firm concluded the ex-CEO 'violated company policies by directing the company to engage in vendor transactions.' The company said the sacking is not attributed to the company's performance, though, the brand is facing some serious headwinds....

The Kremlin on Thursday blasted President Trump’s historic mineral rights deal with Ukraine inked a day earlier, sarcastically praising the US leader for making a deal with a nation that will soon “disappear.” “Trump has finally pressured the Kiev regime to pay for US aid with mineral resources,” Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said on Telegram. “Now, the country that is about to disappear will have to use its national wealth to pay for military supplies.” The State Department has already notified Congress of its intent to sell $50 million or more in military equipment to Ukraine in...

As this correspondent sits in the Press Office at the 2025 Annual Meeting of the NRA in Atlanta, Georgia, there is time to reflect on the enormous progress which has been made in restoring rights protected by the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights.The first time I was in Atlanta for more than a plane exchange was within a month or two of 51 years ago, while on active duty in the United States Army, in 1974. This correspondent attended the NRA Annual Meeting in Atlanta in 2017.In 1974, traveling across state lines with firearms was a...

It happens from time to time my friends. This well groomed woman walks up to me on the street and talked fast. She's got a daughter staying at the women's shelter and she's got other problems. She's gotta keep my attention knowing most will walk away. She was not as convincing as much as she had it down-the sob story. Anyone down on their luck cannot be that expressive.

Democratic Congressman Shri Thanedar is facing renewed criticism over a 2010 incident in which over 170 dogs and monkeys were rescued from his bankrupt pharmaceutical lab. Thanedar denies wrongdoing, citing regulatory compliance and a strong pro-animal record. The claims have resurfaced amid his push to impeach President Donald Trump. Rep. Shri Thanedar is facing renewed scrutiny over a 2010 animal cruelty controversy, as he leads efforts to impeach President Donald Trump. The Michigan Democrat, who recently filed seven articles of impeachment, is being criticized on social media for allegedly abandoning over 100 dogs, including beagles, and monkeys used in pharmaceutical...