Free Republic

Larry and David Ellison’s holdings span movies, TV networks, CBS and soon a stake in TikTok, in a paradigm-shifting portfolio with huge influence.Journalists at CBS News reeled on Friday as they digested news reports that opinion journalist Bari Weiss, a fierce critic of the mainstream media, would become the editor in chief of the straitlaced legacy brand.Two months earlier, there had been cautious optimism in the Midtown Manhattan newsroom, according to two CBS News staffers who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private information. Movie producer David Ellison, son of software billionaire Larry Ellison, dropped by to introduce...

Jim Mitchum, who starred alongside his father, Oscar-nominated actor Robert Mitchum, in the 1958 moonshine drama Thunder Road while appearing in about three dozen films and TV shows during his career, has died. He was 84. Mitchum died Sept. 20 at his ranch home in Skull Valley, Arizona, after a long illness, a family spokesperson announced. He also had a part in Dennis Hopper’s critical and financial disaster The Last Movie (1971) and made a short documentary about the experience working in Peru with Hopper, Peter Fonda and Kris Kristofferson called The Last Movie Movie. Mitchum’s mom was determined to...

The White House has cut or paused billions in funding to Democratic-run cities and states since the federal government came to a halt.President Trump has embarked on a legally dubious campaign to weaponize the federal budget during a contentious government shutdown, halting more than $27 billion in approved funding in a bid to punish Democratic-led cities and states. Rather than broker a legislative truce or seek to ameliorate the fallout of a costly fiscal stalemate, the president has leveraged the crisis to exact revenge on rivals, slash federal spending and pressure Democrats into accepting his political demands. Since the shutdown...

VATICAN CITY — In a stunning scene this morning, Pope Leo activated his long-dormant ice powers and built a magical ice palace while belting out showtunes. Pope Leo had spent much of his life trying to suppress his ice powers so as not to accidentally hurt those around him, but now let them burst forth unhindered, declaring, "Let it go, let it go, can't hold me back anymore." "That perfect girl is goooone," sang the emotional pontiff, his blue dress sparkling with frozen fractals. "I don't caaaare, what they're goiiing to sayyyy. Let the storm rage oooooon!" Onlookers gaped in...

Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer says that there’s only one party that wants to shut the government down. He’s right: it’s only Democrats who won’t allow the Senate a few more weeks at current spending levels to agree on a new budget. The shutdown highlights three weaknesses undermining the Democrat Party as we head toward next year’s midterm elections. First, the left wing of the party is running the show. Schumer is terrified of being primaried by New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC); his obstinance is a matter of survival, not conscience. Second, President Trump has pushed Democrats to burrow...

BRISTOL, CT — ESPN will bring its 45 years of sports coverage to a close as it shifts to exclusively covering the WNBA. After originating the 24-hour sports news cycle and becoming a household staple behind its flagship show "Sportscenter", the network had steadily moved away from sports over the past decade to start covering the WNBA. With ESPN canceling its contract with Major League Baseball, the network has officially shut down its last relationship with a sports league. "We want to bring our audience something besides sports. We want to bring them the WNBA," announced ESPN President James Pitaro....

It seems like the Total Fertility Rate collapse is a mega-trend that is not being incorporated into conservative expectations. In addition to the economic problem of a system historically based on perpetual growth, we are going to have to come up with a practical answer to entitlements like Social Security. I don't think our present system can accommodate this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2GeVG0XYTc

It appears that a disgraced, retired U.S. Army colonel who led a "pup play" fetish ring that included junior officers while on active duty has surfaced as a sponsor for incoming midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy. When we last encountered Colonel Brian T. Connelly, he was outed as the leader of a fetish group that you probably, and fortunately, did not know existed ...

PHOENIX – A massive fire at a Southern California oil refinery is bad news for Arizona drivers, who could see gas prices soar well over $4 per gallon.

More than 1,000 illegal aliens in Illinois have been arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Border Patrol officers as part of Operation Midway Blitz, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Friday. The milestone came the same day Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem traveled to Chicago, where she joined agents on raids. One of the raids, which netted several detentions, was at a Walmart. DHS officials say the operation is pulling some of the "worst of the worst" off the streets. Arrests include pedophiles, child abusers, kidnappers, gang members, and armed robbers. The crackdown began Sept....

The “emergency” special session called by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham ended this week with all five Democrat-sponsored bills passed, some on party-line votes. However, the real headline was the deep partisan divide and the governor’s furious reaction to Republicans for opposing her vaccine legislation. The two-day session, which cost taxpayers an estimated $250,000, was ostensibly meant to offset federal funding cuts. But much of the time was consumed by heated exchanges over decorum and the content of the Democrats’ agenda, which Republicans said was drafted in secret and offered little room for participation. House Minority Leader Gail Armstrong (R-Magdalena) told...

Former local congressional candidate Catalina Lauf has filed paperwork stating she is running for Congress in the southwestern Florida district currently represented by Bryon Donalds. Donalds is running for Governor of Florida with President Donald Trump’s support.

Speeches by President Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to America's top generals and admirals were assailed by anonymous ex-Pentagon employees. "What difference does it make if a general or admiral is too fat to pass any of the fitness requirements that front-line soldiers and sailors are expected to meet?" one source wanted to know. "They're not going to be storming enemy positions or flying combat missions. All they have to do is give orders." Another fretted that "all the effort we've expended to compile a force that exemplifies diversity, equity, and inclusion is being cast aside. We're a...

After returning from a recent trip, Hayden resident Constance Walters was disheartened to see that many trees along Interstate 90 had been cut down and removed. Walters reached out to The Press on Sunday, expressing sadness over the loss. “Until last week, driving into town was stunning, speaking volumes about the beauty that the city embraced,” Walters said. Idaho Transportation Department spokesperson Heather McDaniel said the tree removal has been immediately noticeable to anyone driving I-90 west of Coeur d’Alene and has elicited strong responses from the community. All of the trees within ITD’s existing right of way, including the...

-snip- The suit cites the example of “Plaintiff Phoenix Doe,” to land its point. Doe is described as an Indian citizen residing in Northern California. She is a postdoctoral researcher whose cap-exempt H-1B petition has been halted due to the $100,000 fee. -snip- “As a result of the Proclamation, her university has indefinitely paused moving forward with the processing of her application.” “She is suffering debilitating stress and anxiety due to the uncertainty of her position, which exacerbates the PTSD from which she suffers. Without relief, Plaintiff Phoenix will be forced to leave her postdoctoral position the United States within...

Virginia’s Democratic nominee for attorney general faced bipartisan backlash Friday night after text messages from 2022 surfaced in which he suggested the top Republican in the state House of Delegates “gets two bullets to the head.” The messages by Jay Jones, who did not hold elected office at the time, were directed at then-speaker of the House Todd Gilbert.

After Hamas announced its response to his peace proposal Oct. 3, President Donald Trump called on Israel to “immediately stop the bombing of Gaza” to clear the way for the release of hostages. In a breaking news report, Hamas-friendly source Al-Jazeera reported that the terrorist organization accepted two key proposals of Trump’s 21-point plan, namely freeing all Israeli captives and handing over administration of the enclave to Palestinian technocrats. According to the Associated Press, Hamas also argued that “aspects of the proposal touching on the future of the Gaza Strip and Palestinian rights should be decided on the basis of...

The Hard Rock Casino Tejon, a partnership between the Tejon Indian Tribe and Florida-based Hard Rock international, is set to swing its doors open for the first time on Nov. 13, more than a month ahead of its original expected opening date.

There is a price to pay for the virulent, aggressive, pre-pogrom antisemitism that has swept the globe these past two years. Our blood is literally running in the streets of cities around the world. Our numbers are so small, just .2% of humanity. Many of us personally know and have connections to victims and survivors of this horror. Gaza - Hersh Goldberg Polin was the son of Chicago natives and a friend of a friend. He was executed in Gaza the day I landed in Israel in the late summer of 2024. Boulder, CO - My friend Aaron survived the...

Portland Police Chief Bob Day is the city's worst police leader yet. In September 2023, retired Portland Police officer Robert “Bob” Day was tapped by Mayor/Police Commissioner Ted Wheeler to lead the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) after DEI hire Chuck Lovell, who is black, abruptly demoted himself. It was the latest chapter in a turbulent era for the Bureau. Since Antifa’s rise around 2016, Portland has burned through five police chiefs in nine years — each one failing in their own way, though Danielle Outlaw at least publicly dared to criticize Antifa’s routine violence on the streets. She was never...