Free Republic

Artificial intelligence and its growing demand for data centers are putting new pressure on California’s electric grid. In San Jose, supporters see jobs and investment, while a key ratepayer advocate worries customers could end up paying for upgrades.

Country singer John Rich recounts a private dinner with the president, where Trump questioned why people at his rallies were booing vaccines, and how Sen. Lindsey Graham responded to his answer, during a Tomi Lahren interview.JOHN RICH: Being a conservative is not an interchangeable word with being a Republican. They are two different things, they really are. I mean, Lindsey Graham is not a conservative. Oh, I can't stand him. He's a warmonger. He's one of the most disgusting people I have ever had the displeasure of sitting across a table from. He called me a conspiracy theorist in front...

The UN General Assembly on Wednesday demanded by a wide margin that Russia immediately and unconditionally return all Ukrainian children who have been forcibly transferred or deported since the start of the war.The draft resolution during the emergency special session was approved by 91 votes in favour, 12 against and 57 abstentions, surpassing the required two-thirds majority of members present and voting. The resolution expresses deep concern about the fate of Ukrainian children separated from their families since 2014 – when Moscow annexed Crimea – including those transferred within occupied Ukrainian territory and those deported to Russia. It describes these...

Key Points and Summary – For a generation, America’s biggest weapons programs have delivered more delay than deterrence. -The M10 Booker, Zumwalt-class destroyer, Littoral Combat Ship, and Constellation-class frigate all started with clear operational needs and bold promises, then sank under shifting requirements, immature technology, and an overstretched industrial base... -As China cranks out ships and missiles at scale, Washington’s acquisition system is struggling to field replacements for aging platforms. -Unless the Pentagon is forced to simplify, stabilize, and speed procurement, the U.S. edge will erode. Why Can’t America Build A Military?.. he M10 Booker light tank, the Zumwalt-class destroyer,...

ISRAELI SOLDIERS TESTIFY WE WERE ORDERED TO 'STAND DOWN' HOURS BEFORE OCT. 7 "We received orders on Oct. 7 to cancel all patrols along the Gaza border from 5.20 a.m. till 9.00 a.m"

LONDON -- No compromise has been reached on the question of territorial control to reach a peace settlement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said following his meeting with European leaders on Monday. "The Americans think we must look for compromises. There are difficult questions about territories. In this regard, there is no compromise for now," Zelenskyy told reporters on a plane after the meeting in London

The more I look at evangelical support for Israel today, the more I’m convinced it’s no longer driven mainly by doctrine… A lot of evangelicals I spend time with talk about feeling unmoored in American life. Institutions they once trusted don’t feel as reliable. Moral assumptions they took for granted now feel contested every time they turn on the news. In that kind of atmosphere, people reach for something that seems steady. For many evangelicals, Israel has taken on that role. It’s not just another nation-state; it’s proof—tangible, visible—that the biblical story they’ve staked their lives on still has real-world...

Habba’s resignation came after district and appellate court rulings which found she was unlawfully serving in the role. Alina Habba, the former personal attorney to President Trump, is stepping down from her contested position atop the federal prosecuting office in New Jersey.“As a result of the Third Circuit’s ruling, and to protect the stability and integrity of the office which I love, I have decided to step down in my role,” she said in a statement posted on X on Monday.Habba’s resignation came after district and appellate court rulings which found she was unlawfully serving in the role, a powerful...

The death of a Royal Caribbean passenger has been ruled a homicide after crew members allegedly served him nearly three-dozen drinks at the ship’s bar before he died, according to a new lawsuit. Michael Virgil, 35, was served 33 drinks at one of the ship’s bars on the day he died in custody in December 2024, according to a wrongful death lawsuit recently filed by his fiancé and obtained by TMZ. Virgil was detained during a drunken rage, in which he allegedly attacked and threatened to kill crew members and passengers. But he died within hours after being restrained and...

On Saturday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents raided a home in Burnsville and detained four people, according to family members at the house.... Angel Alvarado, Sofia's brother, said ICE agents took his sister, mom, daughter and niece into the kitchen... He said all four are U.S. citizens and were able to show their paperwork to ICE eventually.... Sofia said it all started when the couple renting on the lower level was headed home from the grocery store... She said the family is here illegally from Honduras for work and that ICE told her to voluntarily self-deport. A translator said,...

Some health experts worry that the variant GII.17 responsible for last year's spike may have mutated and become more contagious.A nasty, highly contagious form of norovirus called “winter vomiting disease” is spreading across the country, according to an analysis of wastewater at NUMBER surveillance sites in the state. Norovirus cases typically spike after Christmas and New Year’s gatherings, but the number of new cases in November showed a notable increase, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. The CDC tracks norovirus through voluntary reporting from clinics and state health departments, but says such data is unreliable because most...

Trump officials have been accused of bigotry after the portrait of former President Joe Biden's transgender assistant secretary for health was altered to reflect her birth name. Admiral Rachel Levine's portrait has hung in a hallway of the Humphrey Building in Washington DC - the Department of Health and Human Services's headquarters - since she became the first trans woman to win Senate confirmation in 2021. Following the 68-year-old's four years of service under the Biden administration, her name was reverted to Richard Levine, the name she was given at birth. Levine's dead name - a trans person's original name...

Explanation: Many wonders are visible when flying over the Earth at night. Such visual spectacles occur every day for astronauts in low Earth orbit, but the featured video captured several from the International Space Station (ISS) in 2011 and set them to rousing music. Passing below are white clouds, orange city lights, lightning flashes in thunderstorms, and dark blue seas. On the horizon is the golden haze of Earth's thin atmosphere, frequently decorated by dancing auroras as the video progresses. The green parts of auroras typically remain below the space station, but the station flies right through the red and...

PHOENIX (AP) — Democratic governors met this weekend in Arizona, looking to parlay last month's big victories for the party in New Jersey and Virginia into campaigns for next year's midterms, when a majority of governor's seats will be up for election. Those elections helped Democrats zero in on what they see as a strategy to help grow their ranks in office and recover from big losses in 2024, when voters put Donald Trump back in the White House and gave Republicans majorities in both houses of Congress. The plan is to focus intently on making life more affordable, a...

WASHINGTON, DC – Concerned Women for America (CWA) has released a new report detailing the extent of LGBTQ+ themes in children’s programming on Netflix, and showing that Netflix is an “active driver” of the LGBTQ agenda. CWA’s analysis of Netflix programming rated appropriate for children reveals that 41% of G-rated series, and 41% of TV-Y7-rated series on Netflix contain LGBTQ+ content. “Netflix’s anti-child, anti-family agenda has finally been exposed – its children’s programming has been infiltrated by adult preoccupations with sexual preferences and gender identity. Our new report reveals that children’s programming is not exempt from identity politics – a...

President Donald Trump is poised to roll out a $12 billion farm aid package to support farmers, according to the White House. The aid package will provide up to $11 billion toward the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) new Farmer Bridge Assistance Program, which is designed to provide single payments to row crop farmers, while the remaining $1 billion will go to farmers whose crops do not qualify for the program. Further details will be hashed out as the USDA continues to evaluate market conditions, according to the White House. The president is expected to unveil the new aid package...

Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has picked a controversial rapper who did seven years in state prison for armed robbery to advise him on the criminal justice system. Mysonne Linen, 49, a Bronx convict-turned-activist who was found guilty of two felony heists in the late 1990s, was appointed by the democratic socialist to sit on a “criminal legal system” committee for his transition team as he prepares for the move to City Hall next month. “This is a testament to our decades of work advocating on behalf of black and brown communities and our expertise in gun violence prevention, legislative advocacy and...

Greene, who is set to retire from Congress when her term ends in January,

A transgender woman lands her dream job of working in a carbon mine, but after having the sex-change surgery must face a superstition that bans female workers from entering the underground galleries.

A procurement forester was preparing to clear timber from part of some 300 acres of Mississippi land in August. But when he passed along the coordinates of the land parcel to the buyer – a standard traceability practice – the buyer suddenly asked a question he wasn’t expecting.The buyer was Georgia-Pacific, one of the world’s largest producers and distributors of paper, pulp, tissues, packaging and other forestry products, and the predominant buyer of Mississippi-grown timber. But the company had noted that the landowner had converted some land from timber production to another agricultural use in 2024. If the owner had...