Free Republic

In a world increasingly shaped by political polarization, it’s easy to view ideology as a product of culture, community, or circumstance. But what if part of what influences our political beliefs lies not in where we were raised or what we’ve experienced—but in how our brains are wired to think? A new study published as part of the Genetics and Human Agency initiative suggests that intelligence—both measured through IQ tests and encoded in our DNA—may play a significant role in shaping political views. Drawing from data on over 300 biological and adoptive families, researchers found consistent links between higher cognitive...

A mother shot and wounded a convicted child molester after she found him allegedly trying to rape her 12-year-old daughter inside an Indianapolis motel room Saturday, according to reports. The mother walked in on Bruce Pierce, of Indianapolis, allegedly on top of her child as the preteen repeatedly said no, leading up to the gunfire at the Baymont Inn, court documents state. The young victim’s grandmother told police that Pierce had been talking with the 12-year-old online and over the phone, trying to persuade her to leave town with him, according to the documents obtained by WTHR Wednesday.

A new, highly transmissible COVID subvariant has been detected in California — heightening the risk of a potential summer wave as recent moves by the Trump administration threaten to make vaccines harder to get, and more expensive, for many Americans, some health experts warn. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced this week that he was rescinding the federal government’s recommendation that pregnant women and healthy children get immunized against COVID, effective immediately. Dr. Marty Makary, commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, also said the agency will no longer routinely approve annually formulated COVID-19 vaccinations...

Officials had largely steered clear of arrests at immigration courts out of concern that they would deter people from showing up for hearings.A hearing on Tuesday at immigration court in Van Nuys, Calif., was supposed to be routine for a young family from Colombia, the first step in what they hoped would be a successful bid for asylum. To their surprise, the judge informed the father, Andres Roballo, that the government wished to dismiss his deportation case. Taken aback, Mr. Roballo hesitated, then responded: “As long as I stay with my family.” Moments later, as they exited the courtroom into...

BERLIN (AP) — A performance inside a Catholic cathedral in Germany earlier this month that featured raw, plucked chickens wrapped in diapers onstage — and the country’s president and the local archbishop in the audience — has prompted the church and municipal leaders to apologize that the show “hurt religious feelings.” The show, “Westphalia Side Story,” was part of a May 15 celebration to mark the 1,250th anniversary of Westphalia, a region in northwestern Germany. Video footage shows one woman and two shirtless men singing “Fleisch ist Fleisch” (“Meat is meat”) — apparently spoofing Austrian band Opus’ 1984 pop song...

SummaryVenezuelan, Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan migrants affected Trump administration revoked 'parole' status for migrants Biden gave 530,000 migrants this temporary legal status May 30 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday let President Donald Trump's administration revoke the temporary legal status of hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan, Cuban, Haitian and Nicaraguan migrants living in the United States, bolstering the Republican president's drive to step up deportations. The court put on hold Boston-based U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani order halting the administration's move to end the immigration "parole" granted to 532,000 of these migrants by Trump's predecessor Joe Biden, potentially exposing...

The Department of Labor on Thursday announced it has paused its Job Corps operations, cautioning that the program has issues with student safety and fiscal sustainability. “Job Corps was created to help young adults build a pathway to a better life through education, training, and community,” Department of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said in a written statement. “However, a startling number of serious incident reports and our in-depth fiscal analysis reveal the program is no longer achieving the intended outcomes that students deserve.” The Department of Labor just released its first-of-its-kind Job Corps Transparency Report, using data from program year...

On today's Morning Joe, MSNBC contributor regular Pablo Torre, a Harvard alum who comments on sports and politics, denied that Harvard is "merely a hotbed of liberalism." Torre's one bit of evidence in support of his claim was that the basic economics course at Harvard used to be taught by an economic adviser to President Reagan. The course is now taught by someone who quit the GOP in protest against Trump, and is a global warmist who advocates carbon taxes. In saying that Harvard is not "merely" a hotbed of liberalism, Torre apparently meant that the university is not exclusively...

I just got my online issue of the Missouri Conservationist today. When I was a kid, it was really good publication. I remember one particular writer specifically, Don Wooldridge, who always had interesting and relevant outdoors articles. The Conservationist has gone woke; now they are publishing articles about "neurodivergent anglers." A few decades ago the Missouri Department of Conservation got a one-eighth of one percent sales tax passed. They have been rolling in bucks ever since, and they spend it on nonsense.

The Democrat mayor of Jacksonville, Florida, Donna Deegan, via the City of Jacksonville’s Office of General Counsel, advised the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office not to enforce immigration law. “The Office of General Counsel of the, that was appointed by the Democratic mayor, sent a letter to the sheriff or email to the sheriff today telling him, do not enforce the state illegal immigration law and do not enforce the local illegal immigration law that we’ve been on this show talking about,” Jacksonville City Council President-Elect Kevin Carrico revealed when speaking to Florida’s Voice.

In case you were wondering what the Wisconsin Democratic Party is focused on these days — it's not inflation, the border crisis, or crumbling roads. Nope. Their latest priority is scrubbing the word "mother" from state law. This week, Democrats introduced the Marriage and Family Equality Act — a warm, fuzzy name for a bill that replaces "mother" with terms like "pregnant person." Apparently, acknowledging basic biology is now considered hAtE speech. Sorry, moms. It gets worse. Similarly, Governor Tony Evers' Senate Bill 45 doesn't just tweak a few terms — it replaces "mother" with "inseminated person" across 1,917 pages...

We’re being held hostage by emotional terrorists, turned literal terrorists. According to a report at Fox News, a young IT professional working at the Defense Intelligence Agency who held a top secret clearance, was recently nabbed by law enforcement after he allegedly offered to sell classified secrets to foreign actors because he doesn’t like Donald Trump. Nathan Laatsch, a 28-year-old IT specialist employed by the Defense Intelligence Agency since 2019, was arrested after the FBI received a tip in March 2025 that someone was willing to provide classified information to a friendly foreign government. [snip] An email to the FBI...

New York lawmakers are racing to expand rent stabilization across upstate towns before the legislative session ends, according to Spectrum News. The proposed REST Act would let municipalities bypass expensive vacancy studies and use public data to declare a housing emergency. The bill’s sponsors, including Assemblywoman Sarahana Shrestha and Senator Brian Kavanagh, argue current laws are outdated and ill-suited for smaller communities. Only Kingston has successfully opted into rent stabilization since 2019, but it’s now embroiled in legal challenges. Landlords strongly oppose the plan, warning it could worsen housing quality and discourage investment. As rent prices and homelessness rise, both...

Lithuania's capital Vilnius on Wednesday presented an evacuation plan in case of war, as the NATO member revealed its anxieties that Russia could target it next after its invasion of Ukraine. Lithuania, a NATO and EU member, has been a staunch ally of Ukraine since Vladimir Putin's 2022 invasion, and has since ramped up defence spending and training. The three main evacuation routes run west, 'as the enemy has historically come from the east', Vilnius's Mayor Valdas Benkunskas said at a press conference. 'We do not want to cause panic,' he said. 'Our goal is clear: to have a plan,...

Federal authorities are reportedly investigating an effort to impersonate White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. Several individuals familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal that the impersonator reached out to several prominent Republicans as Wiles. In recent weeks, senators, governors, top U.S. business executives and other well-known figures have received text messages and phone calls from a person who claimed to be the chief of staff, the people familiar with the messages said. But the messages weren’t from Wiles—and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the White House are trying to figure out who is behind the...

Pride month celebrations at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will not be permitted this June, leadership told agents and directors Thursday. “I’ve received several questions about the FBI’s stance on Pride Month and what related activities FBI divisions and employees should or should not participate in,” FBI Assistant Director for Public Affairs Ben Williamson said in an email to assistant directors in charge and special agents in charge on Thursday morning. “So, I want to take the opportunity to make FBI leadership’s expectations clear: There should be no official FBI actions, events, or messaging regarding Pride Month.” The email...

33 years ago today, Edward Travens, 15, was murdered while trying to rent a video with his older brother in LA as the race riots were breaking out. A Black male yelled, "where you from?" and shot Travens five times as he exited the vehicle. UNSOLVED https://x.com/NatCon2022/status/1928071818897694832

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the Pentagon will cut its operational test and evaluation organization in half and appoint an interim director to better align the armed forces with an America First strategy. In a Wednesday memo, Mr. Hegseth explains that an internal review of the Pentagon’s Office of the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation found that cuts to the division would improve the military’s “lethality, readiness and efficiency.” “A comprehensive internal review has identified redundant, nonessential, nonstatutory functions within ODOT&E that do not support operational agility or resource efficiency, affecting our ability to rapidly and effectively deploy...

US senators Graham and Blumenthal arrive in Kyiv to meet with Zelenskyy, announce Senate expected to move ahead with bill to impose a 500% tariff on goods imported from countries that buy Russian oil “Enough of talking, it’s time to act,” Graham told reporters during a visit in Kyiv on Friday. “I would expect next week that the Senate will start moving the sanctions bill.”