Free Republic

The U.S. House of Representatives Oversight Committee, led by Republican James Comer, has launched an investigation to gather evidence that could overturn pardons granted by former President Joe Biden to prominent figures such as Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired General Mark Milley, and former Congressman Adam Schiff. President Donald Trump has publicly backed this initiative: Biden issued these preemptive pardons on January 20, 2025, his last day in office, to shield these officials from potential investigations under the new administration. The Committee is questioning the validity of these actions, particularly due to the use of an autopen to sign nearly 1,500...

The Gateway Pundit’s Jim Hoft interviewed Vice President J.D. Vance last week in Washington DC. The video was first aired at the “VINDICATION” Conference on Saturday in Las Vegas. ** We encourage you to watch the entire video here. VIDEO AT LINK.................. During the interview, VP Vance dropped this bomb – there are currently active investigations going on that we won’t know about until the investigation is complete! The Trump administration has secret investigations going on! That ought to scare the hell out of the the radical left! Vice President Vance: If you violated the law, if you broke the...

[Catholic Caucus] EXCLUSIVE Bishop Strickland: on Pope Leo XIV, the Latin Mass and Archbishop LefebvreBishop Joseph Strickland is a well-known and well-loved prelate for many conservative Catholics.Ordained for the Diocese of Dallas in 1985 and appointed Bishop of Tyler, Texas, by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012, he has in recent years become a vocal critic of certain Vatican policies which he believes go against “the truth of the Gospel.” He was removed as Bishop of Tyler in 2023 after a Vatican investigation concluded that “the continuation in office of Bishop Strickland was not feasible.”In this exclusive interview, he discusses his...

Ten years after the Supreme Court extended marriage rights to same-sex couples nationwide, the justices this fall will consider for the first time whether to take up a case that explicitly asks them to overturn that decision. Kim Davis, the former Kentucky county clerk who was jailed for six days in 2015 after refusing to issue marriage licenses to a gay couple on religious grounds, is appealing a $100,000 jury verdict for emotional damages plus $260,000 for attorneys fees. In a petition for writ of certiorari filed last month, Davis argues First Amendment protection for free exercise of religion immunizes...

A federal judge on Monday denied the Department of Justice’s request to unseal grand jury materials in Ghislaine Maxwell’s criminal case. In his 31-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer, a Barack Obama appointee, says that the grand jury materials do not identify anyone other than Epstein or Maxwell as having had sexual contact with a minor. The DOJ request came as supporters of President Donald Trump have pushed for more disclosures related to Maxwell and her co-conspirator Jeffrey Epstein, the deceased financier and accused sex trafficker. Trump directed Attorney General Pam Bondi last month to release "any and...

Two blind women from Florida are outraged at Southwest Airlines after, they said, they were left behind by their flight. Southwest Airlines forgot to board passengers Camille Tate and Sherri Brun, who are both blind, on to their July 14 flight out of New Orleans to Orlando before taking off. “I was angry and frustrated,” said Tate. According to Southwest, the flight the women were on was delayed by five hours. By the time the airline realized the mistake, the plane had already landed in Florida. Southwest proceeded to send the jet back to pick up the women, with the...

President Donald Trump announced Monday that he is activating National Guard troops and is taking over the Metropolitan Police Department to tackle crime in Washington, after beefing up federal law enforcement presence in the nation's capital Saturday. "I'm deploying the National Guard to help reestablish law, order and public safety in Washington, DC," Trump told reporters at a Monday press conference. "And they're going to be allowed to do their job properly." Trump also said that he would federalize the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington to respond to crime, placing it under the authority of Attorney General Pam Bondi. National...

A parent shares why she's not coming out of her own pocket for school supplies.

To make fusion reactors, we need materials that can withstand its punishing environment, and a new Chinese-made material can survive reactors’ intense conditions. Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story: * The central solenoid is the heart of a fusion reactor, and a "jacket" of meticulously crafted stainless steel—capable of withstanding extreme temperatures and magnetic fields—protects it. * Chinese scientists say that a new super steel, called China high-strength low-temperature steel No. 1, (CHSN01), can operate at a maximum of 20 Tesla, which outperforms the steel jacket that will be used by ITER. * China is incorporating CHSN01...

A historic synagogue in Odessa, Ukraine, sustained significant damage following a Russian drone strike this week, one of several Jewish sites caught up in intense bombardments this summer. The Nachlas Eliezer Synagogue in the Peresyp district of Odessa, which was built in 1898 and served the Jewish community until it was closed in the 1920s under Soviet rule, was struck Monday evening by a Russian suicide drone. The strike caused a large fire in the building, which had already partially collapsed in 1992, according to the United Jewish Community of Ukraine. No injuries were reported. “This sacred building, constructed at...

There probably isn't a bright red line or some official metric a city must measure up to — down to? — before being rated as Officially Ungovernable. But, if there is, surely Washington, D.C., crossed soon after the Martyrdom of St. George Floyd of Minneapolis. "This is a safe city, but overhearing and witnessing gang threats and then watching the camera footage of the thuggery is disturbing," one D.C. resident told the Washington Post on Sunday. But — and I'm not making this up, so I'll quote WaPo reporters Olivia George, John D. Harden, and Jenny Gathright precisely — the...

The conference representing the New York Catholic bishops in public policy issues is criticizing Planned Parenthood for reportedly requesting $35 million in emergency state funding amid federal Medicaid freezes. “The abortion industry in New York is looking increasingly like an irresponsible and spoiled adolescent, spending its generous allowance too fast,” Kristen Curran, director of government relations for the New York State Catholic Conference, said in an Aug. 6 statement. “New Yorkers should ask them: What happened to the $35 million you already got?” Curran said. CatholicVote reported in August 2024 that the conference questioned the abortion giant’s use of state...

[Catholic Caucus] Catholic Leader Sees Pluses and Minuses on the Horizon for LGBTQ+ PeopleThe social climate for LGBTQ+ people in Germany (and, indeed, in many countries) is “significantly more hostile than it was a few years ago,” said Hendrik Johannemann, a co-spokesperson for the Catholic LGBT+ Committee, an advisory group to the Catholic bishops in that nation. In an interview with Katholisch.de, Johanneman opined on a number of topics, including offering a mixed reaction to the legacy of Pope Francis.Hendrik JohannemannAs evidence of the growing oppressive social climate, Johannemann pointed to the need for greatly increasing security at light Christopher...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of attempting to mislead Washington, a few days before a planned meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska."We understand Russia's intention to try to deceive America – we will not allow this," Zelensky said in his evening video address on Sunday.The two presidents are set to meet Friday in Alaska to discuss a possible solution to the Ukraine war after more than three years of conflict. Zelensky was not invited.

Caesars Entertainment is, once again, betting on its youngest brand, turning a more than 20-year-old Bay Area casino into a luxury resort.

In another major pro-life victory, Planned Parenthood said it will shut down its clinics in Louisiana Sept. 30 after losing access to federal funding under President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill.” While Planned Parenthood is barred from performing abortions in Louisiana, the organization has been a key player in directing patients to receive out-of-state abortions, The Hill reported. Pro-life advocates praised the shutdown as a decisive blow to the abortion industry’s influence in the state. Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican, said on X that he has “fought hard as Attorney General and now as Governor to rid our state of...

Teen Vogue is sounding the alarm over a growing number of states requiring students to view fetal development videos like “Meet Baby Olivia” in sex education classes — calling the pro-life material “manipulative” and accusing its creators of advancing a political agenda. The animated video, produced by Live Action, shows a child developing in the womb from the moment of conception. It has already been adopted in six states as part of newly passed fetal development education laws. According to Live Action, the goal is to educate students on the science of life in the womb and foster “a reverence...

U.S. President Donald Trump is joining European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for an emergency virtual summit on Wednesday organized by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. -snip- The virtual summit will focus on pressure options against Russia, questions about Ukrainian territories seized by Russia, security guarantees for Kyiv and the sequencing of potential peace talks, a German government spokesperson told POLITICO. Merz and other European leaders demand that Putin first agrees to a ceasefire before any peace talks or land swaps between Moscow and Kyiv can take place. They have also made clear that any potential land swaps must be...

A Virginia public school system has launched an investigation into allegations that high school officials arranged and paid for two minors to obtain abortions without notifying the girls’ parents, violating Virginia law. Fairfax County Public Schools’ (FCPS) investigation comes after a bombshell Aug. 5 Substack report by Walter Curt that states that a social worker at Centreville High School, Carolina Díaz, was involved in procuring abortions for two students. The first incident allegedly occurred in November 2021, when the student was 17 years old. The girl claims Díaz scheduled the appointment, paid for it, and “kept everything quiet without informing...