Free Republic

The Encinitas Union School District withdrew its appeal of a ruling in a gender ideology lawsuit. Instead, the San Diego County district will comply with a lower federal court decision and notify parents and provide opt-outs for parents in gender ideology lessons and programs, according to district officials and lawyers representing the plaintiffs. The lawsuit, filed September 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, alleges that the school district violated parents’ and students’ First Amendment rights by compelling students’ speech. A copy of the initial complaint said the district violated parents’ First Amendment right to...

As AC/DC launched their Australian tour in Melbourne on Wednesday, hundreds of bagpipers assembled in record-breaking droves in the nearby Federation Square to play the band's classic song "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)." The gathering drew 374 bagpipers, breaking the world record previously set in 2012 by 333 pipers in Bulgaria, the Associated Press reports. The oldest confirmed piper was 98 years old. You can see photos and video from the record-breaking gathering, dubbed "The Great Melbourne Bagpipe Bash," below. Why Was the Location of 'The Great Melbourne Bagpipe Bash' Important? Federation...

The congressional funding bill included a THC cap that effectively bans most hemp products, a move industry leaders say threatens the $28 billion market. More than 300,000 jobs are at risk, with economic impacts expected in states with large hemp sectors, including Kentucky, Texas and Utah, industry experts said. Executives warn the ban could fuel a surge in black-market sales if federal regulations aren’t adopted within a year, as demand for hemp-derived THC remains strong.

You know, I've stood in front of cameras for most of my life. I've played gunslingers, cops, cowboys, outlaws. I've directed stories about heroes and villains, about redemption and revenge. But I've never been more nervous than I am right now standing here to talk about something that's more real than anything I've ever put on screen. I'm here to tell you about the day I gave my life to Jesus Christ. and more importantly, why he's the only way. Now, I know what some of you might be thinking. Clint Eastwood, the guy who played the man with no...

The Democrats needed to re-open or they’d become irrelevant.Well, the longest government shutdown in U.S. history is finally over, and many of you are asking questions like, “Why would Sydney Sweeney make a movie where she plays a fat boxer? What was she thinking?” Also, “Why do women play with their hair when they like a guy?” And here’s another one: “You know how the screen just went dark in the last episode of ‘The Sopranos’? What the hell was that about? I mean, they’re paying the screenwriter good money. Shouldn’t he be able to come up with some kind...

Get married, have a kid, join the Army, and vote – but don’t you dare buy a gun!How old must one be for the Second Amendment to apply? The legal answer to that question depends on where you live – but that could all change soon. The US Supreme Court is set to consider four petitions on Friday, November 14, concerning the issue of gun rights for young adults.The Age of ArmsOut of the Fourth Circuit comes West Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc. v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. At issue in this case is whether a federal...

President Donald Trump has made repeated attempts to kill the effort, but a discharge petition has forced Speaker Mike Johnson's hand.Under the current GOP plan, the House Rules Committee would approve a procedural measure Monday night to advance eight bills for floor consideration, including language to tee up the Epstein legislation. If that measure is approved on the floor, likely early Tuesday afternoon, debate and a final vote on the Epstein bill could immediately follow. GOP leaders are considering whether to postpone the Epstein vote until Tuesday evening.Scores of Republicans are expected to break ranks and support the bill, which...

On Oct 25, Xue Jian, Consul General of China in Osaka, used “beheading” language toward U.S. @SecWar Pete Hegseth. This must be translated and reported to the U.S. government. A China diplomat threatening to behead a U.S. official should be widely exposed!

As Iran’s water crisis worsens and the regime fails to manage its water resources, a member of the Assembly of Experts claimed that the regime’s desired form of mandatory hijab not being observed in the streets is the cause of Iran’s water crisis, drought, and reduced rainfall. On Sunday, November 9, Mohsen Araki said: “Drought, water crisis, and reduced rainfall are signs of God’s warning to awaken us from negligence and inattentiveness toward Him.” He added: “The Islamic Revolution is built on the blood of martyrs, and it is not right that our streets become a parade ground for open...

McAfee directed prosecutors to drop charges 14, 15 and 27 from the case, which consist of conspiracy and criminal attempt to file false documents and filing false documents. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee on Friday ordered prosecutors to drop three charges from the overarching Georgia 2020 election interference case, which targets President Donald Trump and some of his biggest allies.Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' indicted Trump and 18 co-defendants in 2023 over their efforts to challenge the 2020 election results in Georgia. Willis and her office were dropped from the case last month over a “significant...

https://babylonbee.com/news/poem-on-statue-of-liberty-updated-to-read-no-fattiesNEW YORK, NY — As part of a change in immigration policy designed to limit the incoming of foreign nationals with chronic health issues, the poem posted on the Statue of Liberty was updated to read "No Fatties." The famous inscription, which had long been held as a beacon of hope to all who sought a new life and the American dream, now more accurately reflected the current administration's efforts to prevent obese immigrants from arriving to weigh down the nation's healthcare industry. "It's a modern addition that fits our updated vision," said Secretary of State Marco Rubio. "Our country...

The government is open again, but only because Democrats finally admitted defeat. After orchestrating the longest shutdown in American history — 43 days of economic carnage and manufactured crisis — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) walked away with exactly what they deserved: nothing. No wins. No concessions. No extensions of the pandemic-era ObamaCare subsidies over which they had been holding the country hostage. Just a battered economy, furious constituents, and a party eating its own.House and Senate conservatives refused to blink, and Democrats had nowhere left to go.The wreckage they left behind...

Gov. Hochul is reportedly open to raising taxes on corporations in the Empire State to help fund socialist Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s freebie-filled agenda for New York City. Hochul, who is up for re-election in 2026, is sticking to her vow to not hit high-earners with higher taxes — but has had preliminary conversations about raising revenue by upping the corporate tax rate, according to Politico, which first reported the story. The hike would help fill the more than $4 billion budget gap facing the state next year and cover some of the costs associated with Mamdani’s socialist dream in the...

Ghislaine Maxwell’s attorney Leah Saffian has confirmed that multiple federal prison staffers have been FIRED for illegally breaking into Maxwell’s privileged attorney-client emails, emails that were then funneled straight to Democrat Congressman Jamie Raskin, who blasted them to the media like political propaganda. Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Oversight Committee, apparently believes his lofty position as a former law professor grants him the license to trample on the Bill of Rights. By leaking Maxwell’s privileged correspondence to the media, he’s not just undermining the legal process, he’s trampling her constitutional rights, including the First Amendment’s protection of confidential communications,...

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Thursday said the Trump administration is planning to have all Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) beneficiaries reapply for the program due to alleged fraud. The secretary said after receiving data on SNAP recipients from 29 red states that “186,000 deceased men and women and children in this country are receiving a check.” “Can you imagine when we get our hands on the blue state data what we’re going to find?” she asked during a Thursday appearance on Newsmax’s “Rob Schmitt Tonight.” “It’s going to give us a platform and a trajectory to fundamentally rebuild this...

A 47-year-old airline pilot from New Jersey is the first person known to have died from alpha-gal syndrome, a red meat allergy caused by a tick bite. Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine publicly reported the cause of death Wednesday after months of investigation. Their findings were published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice. The man’s death had previously been seen as a mystery, since medical examinations showed no evidence of a heart attack or other life-threatening issues. According to the researchers, the man started feeling sick four hours after consuming a hamburger...

It's not pleasant to shiver from the cold, but for some, it has the appeal of making the body burn more energy as heat than when staying in a warmer environment. This process of burning energy through heat loss is called thermogenesis. While scientists and pharmaceutical companies are exploring ways to trick the body into thinking it's cold, obesity researchers set out to investigate another route: a form of thermogenesis triggered by eating specialized diets rather than temperature. After conducting a series of mouse studies, the researchers concluded that diet-induced thermogenesis led to nearly the same amount of weight loss...

The Republican leader of the Indiana Senate said the chamber would not meet to redraw the state's congressional map, rejecting pressure from President Donald Trump and the state's governor. “Today I’m announcing there are not enough votes to move that idea forward, and the Senate will not reconvene in December,” Indiana Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray said in a statement. The White House has repeatedly pushed Indiana, where Republicans control seven of nine congressional seats, to join the national mid-decade redistricting push to shore up the party's narrow House majority in next year's midterm elections. Vice President JD Vance...

BOSTON (AP) — It wasn’t a croc — there really was an alligator on the loose in Boston. And the story of the city’s slithering saurian appears to have a happy ending. The small alligator, spotted along the Charles River in Boston multiple times this week, has been rescued and delivered to safety, wildlife officials in Massachusetts said Thursday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Chamber of Commerce asked the Supreme Court on Friday to pause new California laws expected to require thousands of companies to report emissions and climate-risk information. The laws are the most sweeping of their kind in the nation, and a collection of business groups argued in an emergency appeal that they violate free-speech rights. The measures were signed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2023, and reporting requirements are expected to start early next year. Lower courts have so far refused to block the laws, which the state says will increase transparency and encourage companies...