Free Republic

The senator is pushing for a different approach that would treat people with similar earnings more equally. ************************************************************* Sen. Thom Tillis indicated Tuesday that he wants significant changes to Republicans’ plans to cut taxes on tips, one of President Donald Trump’s top priorities in the megabill now before lawmakers. The House-approved draft of the tip proposal is unfair to people who work in industries where tipping isn’t customary, the North Carolina Republican told POLITICO. He complained that a waiter would qualify for the break but a warehouse worker would not, even if they had similar incomes. Tillis, a tax writer,...

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that the recent rounds of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul were "important and useful," signaling tangible progress in direct dialogue. Lavrov made the remarks during a Cabinet meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. He emphasized that the talks, agreed upon following a phone conversation with former US President Donald Trump, yielded "concrete results" and demonstrated that the diplomatic process is "working." Lavrov noted that the ongoing communication channels with Kiev are crucial for addressing humanitarian concerns, stating, "It is always better to have channels of communication—this allows you to...

Gene editing holds the potential of suppressing mosquito species that carry deadly diseases — and raises ethical questions. Yet the development of this technology also raises a profound ethical question: When, if ever, is it okay to intentionally drive a species out of existence? Simoni said he hopes Target Malaria can move beyond the lab and deploy some of the genetically modified mosquitoes in their natural habitats within the next five years. The nonprofit research consortium gets its core funding from the Gates Foundation, backed by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and Open Philanthropy, backed by Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz and...

0:58 VIDEO AT LINK............... Yes we were, JD. Morons, pedos, perverts, gypsies, tramps and thieves................

VIDEOWillie Geist just barely worked in a mention of the victims of the terrorist attack in Colorado while the Morning Joe crew was wailing with concern for the family of the terrorist who tried to burn people alive. The best way to describe Geist's mention of the victims was reluctantly obligatory as if he knew he had to put in a word for the victims while the real thrust was deep, deep concern over the fate of the terrorist's family who were due to be deported. It really pained Willie to take THREE seconds to mention the victims during a...

VAN ZANDT COUNTY, Texas - The Kaufman County sheriff is sharing more details about how fugitive Trevor McEuen was captured. McEuen is charged with murdering his neighbor in 2023. But on the morning of his trial, he allegedly cut off his ankle monitor and disappeared Dig deeper: FOX 4 has already shared the news of McEuen’s arrest, as well as comments from the Kaufman County District Attorney’s Office and the victim’s family. Now, Sheriff Bryan Beavers is talking about how and where McEuen, who had been on the run for 28 days, was found

A new round of DNA testing exonerates a homeless man who has spent nearly four decades in prison for the killing of a Santa Ana nanny, according to defense attorneys who are asking Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer to declare Kenneth Clair innocent of the 1984 slaying. Clair, who spent years on death row before an appellate court overturned his death sentence and he was re-sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. ...

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the Navy to review the names of several ships honoring the likes of slain gay rights leader Harvey Milk, abolitionist Harriet Tubman and late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, according to multiple reports. Navy Secretary John Phelan indicated in an internal memo obtained by CBS News that the name review is aimed at “reestablishing the warrior culture” in the military, a priority of the Trump administration. “Secretary Hegseth is committed to ensuring that the names attached to all [Department of Defense] installations and assets are reflective of the Commander-in-Chief’s priorities, our nation’s history,...

Months ago, when Texas Senate Health and Human Services Committee Chair Lois Kolkhorst first held a hearing on Senate Bill 25 — requiring among other things, warning labels on foods containing certain additives — the first person to speak was Calley Means, a top adviser to U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy. “Texas can really lead here…These bills represent a Texas way that prioritizes transparency, prioritizes good education and prioritizes incentive change,” said Means, a former food and pharmaceutical consultant, who spearheaded the federal Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission. He’s also the brother of Casey Means, President Donald Trump’s...

President Donald Trump is lashing out on social media. Jerome Powell is on the receiving end of today's ire. Powell, the Federal Reserve chair who is slowly cutting back interest rates to minimize the risk of continued inflation, is caught in the President's crosshairs after a paltry jobs report. US private payrolls increased far less than expected in May, the ADP National Employment Report showed on Wednesday. Private payrolls increased by only 37,000 jobs last month, a far cry from analyst projections and the worst private job hiring slump since March 2023. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast private employment...

The massacre hoax and attacks on aid to Gaza expose the media’s true agenda. When Israel kills Hamas terrorists, that’s “controversial”. When Israel insists on existing, that’s not only controversial, it’s very nearly provocative, and even when Israel hands out food to its worst enemies who raped and murdered its citizens, and held its children hostage, that’s also… “controversial”. “Controversial” is the word that the United Nations, the political establishments of multiple countries and the media would like the public to associate with Israel bringing aid into Gaza. After UN lies about a famine in Gaza no matter how much...

In 2024, a majority — 58 percent — of antisemitic incidents “contained elements related to Israel or Zionism,” according to the Anti-Defamation League’s annual antisemitism report released earlier this year.

I was under the illusion that with Donald Trump back in charge and the wind at his back Washington Republicans might actually take off the gloves and say eff-it and take on the swamp. With the failures inherent in the Big Beautiful Bill, it appears I was wrong. I don’t blame Trump. This abysmal betrayal of the American people was written in the halls of Congress… The Republicans in Congress talk a good game, but when it comes to actually doing what they say they’re going to do, it turns out they’re really snake oil salesmen. Not that this is...

Tropical storms and hurricanes that move slowly near the coast or inland are among the most feared by forecasters. Sometimes these tropical cyclones may not have powerful wind speeds, but the threats posed can be amplified due to their sluggish pace. Here's a look at what a slow speed means for rainfall potential and some other typical threats from a storm that's in no hurry to exit a region. A slow-moving storm brings relentless rainfall In focus: The slower a storm moves, the more incredible the rainfall amounts can become. A storm chugging along at just 5 mph has a...

The Trump administration has taken steps to free police and fire departments from the Biden administration’s onerous consent decrees. The Trump administration has dropped the Biden administration’s push for onerous consent decrees on police and fire departments. These legal settlements micromanaged police operations and mandated DEI-based hiring and promotion practices. “These radical requirements seem disconnected from how police departments actually work,” said Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon on Friday. “They tie officers’ hands and make communities less safe.” The proposed consent decrees required departments to change how they tested prospective hires, increasing the share of black and...

...today at the Vatican, Pope Leo addressed the issue of cohabitation with these words: “Perhaps many young people today, who choose cohabitation instead of Christian marriage, actually need someone who, in a concrete and understandable way—especially by the example of their life—shows them what the gift of sacramental grace is and what strength it brings; someone who helps them understand ‘the beauty and greatness of the vocation to love and to the service of life’ that God gives to spouses (St. John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio, 1).” Out of love and concern for His creatures, God has taught...

Are ancient alien theories pure fantasy or a lost truth? From pyramids to myths, history is full of mysteries that defy explanation. Could we have had a little extraterrestrial help? The 'Ancient Aliens' Idea is More Realistic Than You'd Expect... | 11:49 Sideprojects | 1.21M subscribers | 832,868 views | January 31, 2025

“‘Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also’” (Matthew 6:19–21). The focus of Jesus’ teaching here is this: “Do not lay up treasures for yourself.” The Greek word for “lay up” connotes the idea of stockpiling or hoarding—it pictures wealth that isn’t being used, things kept mainly to show off one’s plenty. Be...

Chuck Schumer and Elon Musk sure make strange bedfellows – but this is politics, after all. The Senate Majority Leader from New York, a fierce critic of DOGE who’s called Musk a liar and a hypocrite and accused the Tesla CEO of “sabotaging” critical benefits and a “hostile takeover” of federal government, pirouetted on Tuesday, declaring, without irony: “He’s right.”

FBI agents participated in joint operations with federal and local police partners to help arrest more than 10,000 illegal migrants since Trump was inaugurated on Jan. 20, 2025. There doesn't appear to be any sign of letting up. ============================================================== The swanky Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket communities on the Massachusetts coastline are best known for politicians like Barack Obama who flock there for summer vacation or for the Hollywood elites who filmed iconic movies like Jaws on their beaches. But over Memorial Day week, a new class of visitors hit the island enclaves – G-men from the FBI and Immigration and...