Free Republic

NEW YORK (AP) — Raul Malo, the soulful tenor and frontman of the genre-defying, Grammy-winning band The Mavericks, has died. He was 60. Malo died Monday night, his wife, Betty Malo, posted on his Facebook page. He had been battling cancer. The frontman of The Mavericks had documented his health journey on social media since he disclosed in June 2024 that he was receiving treatment for colon cancer. In September 2025, Malo said on Instagram that he was battling LMD, or leptomeningeal disease, a rare complication when cancer spreads to membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord. Born Raul...

WARNING: This story contains graphic information. Viewer discretion is advised. STAMFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — A man who opened fire on police during a standoff last week in Stamford was wearing a military uniform shirt with a Nazi insignia on the collar, according to the Connecticut Office of the Inspector General’s preliminary report. A state marshal arrived at a home in the 200 block of Oaklawn Avenue around 9 a.m. on Dec. 2 to evict 63-year-old Jed Parkington and his wife following a foreclosure. Police find decomposing body in Stamford home where barricaded suspect took his life According to the report,...

The natural hair movement entered the mainstream during the civil rights movement. It became even more accepted in the 2000s when social media helped drive a resurgence. But when it comes to nascent technologies like artificial intelligence, there isn't enough training data to create accurate representations of Black hair. In Atlanta, a Spelman College researcher is working to change that.

In 2003, former McDonnell Douglas executive Harry Stonecipher became the CEO of Boeing and described the company as "run like a business rather than a great engineering firm." Stonecipher made the fateful decision to reject proposals to design a clean-sheet airplane to replace the aging Boeing 727, 737, and 757. By 2011, Boeing's aging 737 was losing to rival Airbus's A320neo, but instead of a new aircraft, the decision was made to upgrade the 737 NG to the 737 MAX. This would allow it to stay within the FAA's original type certification and operate with the same flying characteristics. It...

Sir Sadiq Khan has hit back at Donald Trump saying that “record numbers” of US citizens are moving to London to get away from the president’s administration. The US president branded Sir Sadiq a “disgusting mayor” who was “doing a terrible job” in an interview with Politico. The Mayor of London responded to the insults by saying: “I think the one part that President Trump has got right is that London is becoming a different place. We are the greatest city in the world. “I suspect that’s one of the reasons why we have record numbers of Americans coming here...

A former Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agent, Liz Jaksa, joined Liz Collin on her podcast. She who worked at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport from 2016 to 2021. She explained to Collin, “I’ve seen a lot of things, but the most shocking is exactly that. I saw suitcases filled with millions of dollars of cash, and the couriers were always Somali men traveling in pairs.” While flying with cash isn’t illegal and must be declared, it still seemed suspicious because she estimates that she saw it happen on a weekly basis. The cash was always documented and law enforcement was...

BOMBSHELL: Information request unveils Tim Walz's Minnesota is funneling property taxes to NGOs "Ramsey County gave a whopping $38.4 million to a total of 213 NGOs!" "They proposed that for the next year's budget to increase property taxes by 9.75%. So they're spending $38.4 million on 213 NGOs, and now they want more!" "Property tax money does NOT belong in the coffers of NGOs. It just doesn't. And ultimately, I think that it's a gross misappropriation of funds!" "[The state is] not auditing these NGOs receiving property tax money from Ramsey County."

ATLANTA (AP) — A federal judge has permanently ordered Georgia’s prison system to keep providing some kinds of gender-affirming care for transgender prisoners, although the state plans to appeal. U.S. District Judge Victoria Marie Calvert last week ruled that a new state law denying hormone therapy to inmates violated their protection against cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. She ordered the state to keep providing hormones to inmates who had been receiving therapy and to allow others medically diagnosed as needing hormone therapy to begin receiving treatment. “The court finds that there is no...

During a meeting in Washington between Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana and U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, a first-of-its-kind global parliamentary initiative was launched: an international effort to recommend former and current U.S. President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise also participated in the meeting. At its conclusion, Ohana and Johnson signed an official letter to the Nobel Peace Prize Committee calling for Trump to be selected as the 2026 laureate. The initiative follows a plan announced by Ohana during Trump’s recent visit to Israel and a speech Johnson delivered in Congress the...

Yesterday, an incident occurred in one of Russia’s bomber aviation regiments involving an aircraft that was parked inside a shelter. According to the Russian propagandist Fighterbomber, the ejection system accidentally activated on board. As a result, both the pilot and the navigator were killed, suffering fatal injuries. The incident likely involved either a Su-34 fighter-bomber or a Su-24 frontline bomber. Such cases occur due to improper maintenance of the ejection system or accidental activation.

Multiple people were injured in a shooting at Kentucky State University on Tuesday afternoon. A suspect has been taken into custody. “We are aware of a reported shooting at Kentucky State University in Frankfort. At this time, we are aware of some injuries. We will share more information as available. Law enforcement are on scene, and a suspect has been arrested. Let’s pray for all those affected,” Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said on Tuesday. We are aware of a reported shooting at Kentucky State University in Frankfort. At this time, we are aware of some injuries. We will share more...

SpaceX plans to go public at $1.5 trillion valuation in 2026, the largest IPO in history, Bloomberg reports

The Environmental Protection Agency has removed any mention of fossil fuels from its popular online page explaining the causes of climate change. Now it only mentions natural phenomena, even as many scientists calculate that nearly all of the warming is due to human activity. Sometime in the past few days or weeks, EPA altered some but not all of its climate change webpages, de-emphasizing and even deleting references to the burning of coal, oil and natural gas. The website's causes of climate page mention changes in Earth’s orbit, solar activity, Earth's reflectivity, volcanoes and natural carbon dioxide changes, but not...

After weeks of peace talks and high-level meetings, Russia and Ukraine remain far apart on an issue central to bringing the war to an end: Territory. The Kremlin has made clear that it wants to absorb all of an eastern area of Ukraine known as the Donbas. That includes a 2,500-square-mile area of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions that Russia has not been able to capture after nearly four years of fighting. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated on Monday his longstanding opposition to ceding territory to Russia. More than 200,000 Ukrainians live in the area of Donetsk that Ukraine still...

The U.S. Supreme Court will announce on December 15 whether it will hear a major challenge to federal marijuana bans brought by state-licensed cannabis companies, a decision that could force a reckoning between national law and the patchwork of state-legal markets. The justices are slated to discuss the petition in Canna Provisions Inc. v. Garland during a private conference on December 12. Four votes are needed to grant review, which would make it the first time the Court directly weighs the constitutionality of federal prohibition amid widespread state legalization. Massachusetts-based plaintiffs Canna Provisions, Gyasi Sellers, Wiseacre Farm, and Verano Holdings...

A member of the UK armed forces has been killed in a 'tragic accident' whilst observing the testing of new defensive capability in Ukraine, the Ministry of Defence has said. The MoD said in a statement that the accident occurred on Tuesday morning away from the front lines of Ukraine's defence against Russia's invasion. The ministry said the man's family has been notified of his death, adding: 'Our thoughts are with them at this sad and difficult time.' Prime Minister Keir Starmer said following the announcement of the soldier's death: 'My deepest sympathy and condolences to the family of the...

December 9, 1965, marked a quiet revolution in American holiday television — the day A Charlie Brown Christmas first aired on CBS. Based on the beloved Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz, the half-hour animated special introduced to millions a different kind of Christmas story: small in scale, emotionally honest, tender, and subversively thoughtful. At the time, few expected much. The special was produced on a modest budget, completed in just six months, and featured child actors rather than seasoned voice talents — a bold choice for 1965 television. Executives worried: no laugh track, understated pacing, a jazz soundtrack by Vince...

Ford CEO Jim Farley has proven himself to be a passionate car guy, but every now and again he pops up to remind everyone he’s running a multi-billion dollar company with one of the most recognisable brand names in the world. Earlier this week, Farley stood with US President Donald Trump as fuel economy targets were slashed, effectively allowing Ford – and other brands – to battle less red tape and sell vehicles for greater profits, while at the same time providing better up-front affordability for buyers. Now, Farley has turned his attention to Europe, amid reports that the continent’s...

[Catholic Caucus] Whither the Mass of Vatican II?Sixty years ago today Pope Paul VI offered Mass in St Peter’s Square before presiding over the ceremonies formally closing the Second Vatican Council. “The Mass was not the kind of solemn pre-conciliar ceremony once sung by the Pope and the Julian choir,” one observer remarked, “but a simple sung Mass to which the entire assembly responded.” “It was a reminder of another fruit of the Council, its Constitution on the liturgical renewal” (Council Daybook, III, p. 284).For December 1965, such an assertion seems quite reasonable. The verbal participation in the Gregorian chant...

An appeals court on Tuesday ruled in favor of President Donald Trump’s ban on “transgenders” serving in the U.S. military. The Trump administration just scored a legal victory against woke insanity and for military reform. In the case of Nicolas Talbott, et al. v. United States, D.C. Circuit Court Judges Katsas and Rao ruled in favor of the Trump administration’s transgender ban.