Free Republic

California Democrats are considering new political maps that could slash five Republican-held House seats in the liberal-leaning state while bolstering Democratic incumbents in other battleground districts. The move comes in direct response to efforts by Texas Republicans to redraw House districts in order to strengthen the GOP hold on the chamber in 2026. A draft plan that’s circulating aims to boost the Democratic margin to 48 of California’s 52 congressional seats, according to a source familiar with the plan who was not authorized to discuss it publicly. That’s up from the 43 seats the party now holds. It would need...

A wildlife trapper in Monterey County made an unexpected discovery after capturing a series of wild pigs in March of this year. While processing the animals, the trapper found several with blue-tinged muscles and fat tissues. The bizarre discoloration is a result of exposure to diphacinone, an anticoagulant rodenticide that is often dyed to identify it as a poison, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. In an email to SFGATE, Fish and Wildlife pesticide investigations coordinator Ryan Bourbour said that the trapper observed the wild pigs eating directly from rodenticide bait stations. The scope of the contamination...

JUST IN: French farmers successfully get 500 gypsy squatters evicted after spraying them with manure, according to The Sun. French farmers decided to take things into their own hands after police reportedly refused to remove an illegal gypsy camp on their property. With the harvest just weeks away, the farmers say they were forced to take things into their own hands, so they started spraying the squatters with poop. Now, according to The Sun, a judge has ordered that all 500 members of the "travelling community of gypsies" must leave the area. "It is a major victory for us. A...

In A Nutshell A study of nearly 2,700 older adults found no higher risk of brain bleeding in patients taking the blood thinner warfarin. Even those with very high blood-thinning levels didn’t experience bleeding events after head trauma. Current ER practices for these patients may be overly cautious, but more research is needed before guidelines change. Findings could ease concerns for seniors and their families after a fall. ========================================================================== BOCA RATON, Fla. — For years, doctors have taken extra precautions when older adults on blood thinners arrive in the emergency room with head injuries. These patients often stay in the...

The Kremlin is reportedly set to offer concessions on the Ukraine war to U.S. President Donald Trump to avoid imminent sanctions on the country. Bloomberg detailed on Tuesday that one such proposal could include an air truce. Quoting Russian officials, it added that U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff's visit to Russia this week presents a chance to reach an agreement. The official is expected to go to the country as soon as Wednesday and could potentially meet with Putin. -snip- Bloomberg noted that despite Putin's willingness to continue fighting, two-thirds of Russians favor ending the war at the current positions. A...

A Connecticut State Police trooper who went viral for chasing a YouTube activist off his property while carrying a gun and spitting in his face will retire, officials said. Connecticut State Police say Sgt. Bryan Fahey is scheduled to retire Friday. Fahey's retirement comes about two weeks after Groton police arrested the 34-year-old YouTuber, SeanPaul Reyes, and his 20-year-old cameraman, Tahiem Glover. The pair were arrested after confronting Fahey at his home in Groton to confront him over what they considered to be an excessive amount of overtime. In the days following the incident, state police officials said Fahey remained...

The U.S. ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI for July 2025 fell to 50.1, narrowly avoiding contraction territory but signaling a near-stagnant services sector. This 0.7-point drop from June's 50.8 and a 1.4-point miss relative to forecasts underscores a fragile economic backdrop. With price pressures surging to 69.9—the highest since October 2022—and employment indices contracting for four of five months, the data paints a stark picture of stagflationary risks. For investors, this creates a critical inflection point to reassess sector allocations and prioritize resilience over growth. The Stagflationary Catalysts The July report highlights three key drivers of the slowdown: 1. Tariff-Driven Inflation: The...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday that he had had a "productive" conversation with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump on ending the war, sanctions on Russia and the finalisation of a U.S.-Ukraine drone deal. Trump, who has signalled frustration with Vladimir Putin in recent weeks, has given the Russian president until August 8 to make peace in Ukraine or face tougher sanctions. "President Trump is fully informed about Russian strikes on Kyiv and other cities and communities," Zelenskiy wrote on X, referring to intensifying drone and missile attacks. Trump has threatened to hit Russia with new sanctions and impose...

Attacked in the tubes and kicked assailant's arse. Contacted lawyer and police, informed them that he was on his way to catch plane to Portugal, and when he'd be back, and when he arrived back in England, he was arrested. CCTV on the tubes showed that he was defending himself, so he was released. Tommy makes recorded statement, posted on Tousi TV. Media lied about everything, and leftards were celebrating, now gnashing teeth that he was released. Transcript, including statement, linked below video.

Former president Barack Obama exudes an air of superiority and self-assurance that inspires those to whom he’s speaking to believe everything he says is true. He has spent twenty years leveraging his soaring rhetoric to deceive the easily duped. That’s why it’s no surprise that we are now learning that the former president has tried to harm political opponents by saying one thing publicly and doing the exact opposite in private. Since 2004, America has received warnings from Barack Obama about threats he believes Americans should watch out for, including issues related to democracy, the rise of authoritarianism, free speech,...

[Catholic Caucus] New Mexico archbishop reinstates priest who lived in homosexual ‘partnership’ for a decadeDespite a decade in a registered homosexual ‘partnership’ and open LGBT activism, Fr. Steve Rosera now holds key roles under Abp. Wester in Santa Fe, including judgement over annulments.(Lepanto Institute) — Archbishop John Wester, the local ordinary for the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, New Mexico, reinstated the faculties of a priest who spent ten years in San Francisco as a registered “domestic partner” to another man.According to Father Steve Rosera’s official bio, Abp. Wester reinstated him to the priesthood on January 20, 2021. The official Archdiocese...

The Russian collusion hoax, exposed through a series of crucial document dumps, won’t be the end of this dark tale. There’s going to be some accountability. What that is, we don’t know, and we must be patient for another slow burn, but Attorney General Pam Bondi is empaneling a grand jury. It’s official, and Democrats involved in this fiasco must be nervous. Like the Democrats before, though their aims were entirely political, this investigation will likely ruin a lot of Democratic operatives who were involved in this scheme that willfully manipulated and politicized intelligence to go after Donald Trump. Katie...

Economic dunce-in-chief Paul Krugman knows as much about intellectual consistency as he does about the meaning of “transitory” inflation. His proverbial brain aneurysm to that effect was put on full display during the August 5 edition of PBS’s Amanpour & Company, which also airs on CNN International. Krugman went on a sanctimonious rant against President Donald Trump over his suggestion that the Bureau of Labor Statistics was rigging jobs numbers under former Biden-appointed commissioner Erika McEntarfer, of which FEC records indicate was a Democrat donor. “This is Banana Republic stuff. This is -- I wrote about it, I called it...

VIDEOThe announcement by Attorney General Pam Bondi that she is launching a Russiagate Grand Jury probe has lit a fire of reaction from regular people and independent journalists as you can see. Meanwhile the MSM has mostly avoided any mention of Russiagate the past few weeks. However, such avoidance of a MAJOR news topic will become much harder with the news of the grand jury investigation. It will be very difficult for the MSM to report on this because to do so by sticking to the FACTS would indict their news coverage when RUSSIA! RUSSIA! RUSSIA! completely dominated their reports....

President Trump was spotted strolling along a roof at the White House on Tuesday morning — and jokingly told reporters he was planning to install “nuclear missiles” there. The president at first claimed he was “just talking a little walk” — before saying he was looking to put “nuclear missiles” there and chuckling and moving his hand to mimic a projectile.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes is anything but subtle, and neither are the sanctions slapped on him by the United States government this week. The U.S. is sending a clear and necessary message: If you target American speech and violate our laws, there will be consequences. The judge, who routinely stymies individual rights and freedoms in the name of “democracy,” has been on a crusade for years to silence opposition views. Long on the Trump administration’s radar, Moraes is now facing the consequences of his actions and has been financially sanctioned by the American government. According to U.S....

Russia on Tuesday weighed into the growing spat between India and the U.S., with the Kremlin saying New Delhi is free to choose its own trading partners. -snip- The Kremlin, an important trading partner of India's and one which had stayed silent as the spat erupted in the last few days, commented Tuesday that Trump's tariff threats are "attempts to force countries to stop trade relations with Russia." "We do not consider such statements to be legitimate," Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov continued, speaking to reporters Tuesday. "We believe that sovereign countries should have, and have the right to choose...

Chinese officials announced Covid-like quarantines in some cities as cases of chikungunya virus continue to increase. Over 7,000 cases of the mosquito-borne virus have been reported across the southern city of Foshan in the Guangdong province of the country. Patients in the city are forced to stay in hospitals where their beds are covered with mosquito nets for a week or until they test negative, if sooner. No deaths have yet been reported.At least 12 other cities in Guangdong have reported infections, with about 3,000 cases being reported over the past week, bringing the total to over 10,000 in the...

Mike Morell is perhaps best known now as the driving force behind the infamous Hunter Biden laptop letter in 2020. But the former acting CIA director played an eerily similar, albeit less successful, role in Hillary Clinton's failed 2016 bid. The former spy chief who organized and co-authored the infamous Hunter Biden laptop letter ahead of the 2020 election also played a key role in helping Hillary Clinton in 2016 smear Donald Trump by tying him to Russia's Vladimir Putin.Mike Morell, the former acting CIA director, injected into the American political bloodstream the idea that Trump was an “agent”...

President Trump was reviewing the symmetry of architecture as the plans for the White House ballroom are being finalized. Apparently, President Trump wants to make sure the details on both wings of the White House are in compliment to each other with the new addition coming.As a result, President Trump climbed onto the roof of the White House to review the overall design elements himself. The journalists noticed him up there and started asking questions. lol.