Free Republic

Lawmakers in California at both the state and federal levels are warning that refinery closures could push prices higher while leaving the state more dependent on foreign oil. At the center of the warning is the planned shutdown of two major refineries: Valero’s Benicia facility and Phillips 66’s Los Angeles plant. Together, the closures would eliminate nearly 20% of California’s in-state refining capacity, according to Reps. Vince Fong and Stan Ellis, both Republicans from Bakersfield. Valero, which has operated its 170,000-barrel-per-day Benicia refinery for roughly 25 years, announced it will close the site in 2026 because of high operating costs...

Millions of voters in more than 60 district and county councils across England may not get to elect local councillors until 2027, ministers announced on Thursday. The government has told local leaders in those areas that they could delay May 2026 ballots while dealing with a wider reorganisation of local government that will see authorities consolidate into more efficient units Alison McGovern, local government minister, insisted on Thursday that the decision to delay elections by a year would be entirely up to local leaders in the relevant 63 councils. Any postponement of local elections next May could limit the massive...

Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik announced Friday she was ending her short-lived bid for governor of New York and would not run for another term in Congress. “While spending precious time with my family this Christmas season, I have made the decision to suspend my campaign for Governor and will not seek re-election to Congress,” Stefanik wrote in a post on social media. “I did not come to this decision lightly for our family.” The announcement came less than two months after Stefanik launched a campaign seeking to challenge Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul in 2026, making what would have been a...

Police have arrested two people "for racially aggravated public order offences" after they allegedly "shouted slogans involving calls for intifada" at a pro-Palestinian protest in central London. Five people in total were arrested, including one for obstructing the arrests of people shouting slogans and two more for public order offences, one of which was "racially aggravated", the Metropolitan Police said. The arrests came hours after the Met and Greater Manchester Police said they would arrest people holding placards and chanting the phrase "globalise the intifada" - an Arabic word for uprising.

Friday 19 December 2025 19 December depiction of Pope Urban V in an unidentified catacomb churchReadings at MassLiturgical Colour: Violet. Year: A(II).First readingJudges 13:2-7,24-25'You will conceive and bear a son'There was a man of Zorah of the tribe of Dan, called Manoah. His wife was barren, she had borne no children. The angel of the Lord appeared to this woman and said to her, ‘You are barren and have had no child. But from now on take great care. Take no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean. For you will conceive and bear a son. No razor is...

He believed the truth about Josef Mengele's fate was being buried - he was right. The Israeli police officer who hunted Nazis until his final days suspected a cover-up surrounding Josef Mengele; newly released Argentine documents now confirm what Menachem Russek believed for decades, long after the Nazi's death.

It was a Sunday afternoon in April 1996 when a lone gunman armed with semi-automatic rifles killed 35 people in the Australian tourist town of Port Arthur. The massacre almost 30 years ago, which ushered in some of the strictest gun laws in the world, feels like a bygone age for many Australians. But the Bondi Beach attack on Sunday, which left 15 dead, rekindled memories of the Tasmanian tragedy - none more so than for leading gun control advocate Roland Browne. As the country's deadliest modern-day mass shooting was unfolding an hour's drive away, Mr Browne was meeting fellow...

Summary On December 19, 2025, the Delaware Supreme Court overturned a lower court's 2024 decision and restored Elon Musk's 2018 Tesla compensation package, originally valued at $56 billion (later ballooning to around $120 billion due to stock price growth). The package grants Musk options for 304 million shares (9% of Tesla's stock) at a discounted price, tied to ambitious performance milestones that Tesla achieved, transforming it into one of the world's most valuable companies. A lower court (Judge Kathaleen McCormick) had rescinded it in 2024, ruling the board was conflicted and shareholders lacked key information during the initial approval vote....

Elon Musk’s 2018 CEO pay package from Tesla , worth some $56 billion when it vested, must be restored, the Delaware Supreme Court ruled Friday. “We reverse the Court of Chancery’s rescission remedy and award $1 in nominal damages,” the judges wrote in their opinion. In the decision out Friday, the Delaware Supreme Court judges said a lower court’s decision to rescind Musk’s 2018 pay plan was too extreme a remedy, and the lower court did not give Tesla a chance to say what a fair compensation ought to be. The decision on the appeal in this case, known as...

Australian police officer near the tree, shortly before he takes out the terrorist. The distance is 130 feet, 43 yards. It appears closer because of the camera distance and angle.More details are emerging from the chaos of the Jihadi terrorist attack on Bondi Beach. A video from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation gives some of the details. In 5 minutes and 52 seconds, 103 gunshots were fired. Time sense during life and death situations often stretches out because the mind speeds up. The phenomenon is called tachypsychia.At about 1.5 minutes into the event, the older terrorist is disarmed. By 3.5 minutes,...

A radio anchor for the George Soros-controlled KCBS 740 AM "All News Radio" station who had the gall to unmask the vehicles of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents operating in the gang-infested San Jose, California area in January has reportedly been demoted after MRC Business took him to task. Anchor Bret Burkhart elevated the unmasking of “undercover” ICE agents from the leftist Rapid Response Network, which fights against deportation initiatives during the January 26 edition of KCBS Radio Weekend News. To make things worse, he gave exact descriptions of the vehicles the ICE agents were reportedly using, including specific...

SummaryIn August 2025, President Donald Trump launched a federal law enforcement surge in Washington, D.C., declaring a crime emergency, temporarily federalizing the Metropolitan Police Department, and deploying federal agents alongside hundreds of National Guard troops. The administration billed it as a mission to combat rampant crime, touting successes despite data showing violent crime had already been declining for two years (reaching 30-year lows).Four months later, activists, immigrants, and local Democratic leaders argue the operation has evolved into a de facto immigration crackdown. Official figures indicate about one-third (roughly 2,500) of over 7,500 total arrests were immigration-related. Early data through mid-October...

Congresswoman Elise Stefanik says she is dropping out of the New York governor’s race and will not run for reelection to the House after finishing her term in office.

Explanation: When the Moon is at its first quarter phase, the Sun rises along the Montes Caucasus as seen from the lunar surface. The lunar mountain range casts the magnificent, spire-like shadows in this telescopic view from planet Earth, looking along the lunar terminator or the boundary between lunar night and day. Named for Earth's own Caucasus Mountains, the rugged lunar Montes Caucasus peaks, up to 6 kilometers high, are located between the smooth Mare Imbrium to the west and Mare Serenitatis to the east. Still mostly in shadow in this first quarter lunarscape, at the left (west) impact craters...

The public unveiling of the Biden administration’s lawfare campaign against a past president and political rival came on Aug. 8, 2022, the day the FBI descended on Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in search of classified documents. It was a shocking moment, the first time in history federal law-enforcement had acted against a former president. More shocking: It didn’t have to be that way. The Justice Department insisted on it. That’s the disturbing information contained in emails released this week by the Senate Judiciary Committee. In missives spanning the summer of 2022, FBI officials expressed alarm and forcefully pushed back against...

Australia is reacting to the Bondi Beach terror attack as predicted: they’re pushing more gun control again, and they’re refusing to blame radical Islam for the attack. The kicker is that’s exactly who’s to blame. Two men, father and son, Sajid Akram and Naveed Akram, opened fire on Jewish congregants who had gathered to celebrate Hanukkah on December 14. Fifteen people were killed, and at least 35 were wounded. Sajid was killed in the attack, while Naveed was wounded. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese claims neo-Nazis are a greater threat—these people are just unserious. To boot, the police response was reportedly...

“Commercial drivers are an important part of our economy – our supply chains don’t move and our communities don’t stay connected without them,” a spokesperson for the California agency said. “DMV stands ready to resume issuing commercial driver’s licenses, including corrected licenses to eligible drivers. Given, we are in compliance with federal regulations and state law, this delay by the federal government not only hurts our trucking industry, but it also leaves eligible drivers in the cold without any resolution during this holiday season. We are hopeful the federal government will do the right thing and allow California to reissue...

Brian Smith was fired as Ohio University's head football coach for multiple violations of his contract, including an extramarital affair with an undergraduate student, according to records obtained Thursday by The Associated Press through a public records request. The university had said Wednesday that it terminated Smith's contract for cause following an administrative review that found him "engaging in serious professional misconduct and participating in activities that reflect unfavorably" on the school. It did not provide specifics at the time. The details were contained in a copy of the school's notice of intent to terminate obtained by the AP. The...

WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — A former Voice of America employee pleaded guilty Thursday to making threats against Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the District of Columbia. Seth Jason, 64, was charged with one count of interstate communications with a threat to kidnap or injure and one count of anonymous telecommunications harassment. According to court documents, Jason called in eight threats targeting Greene, her office, her family and her staff between Oct. 2023 and Jan. 2025, with the severity of the threats increasing over time. Court records noted that two threats took place...

Chaos reportedly erupted in Amsterdam late Sunday night as masked attackers stormed a Hanukkah concert, sending concertgoers into panic. The assault comes just hours after a deadly assault on Bondi Beach (Australia), where over 15 Jews have been killed during a Hanukkah event. Eyewitnesses described terrified attendees fleeing the venue as security forces arrived to secure the area. “This is an appalling attack on innocent people celebrating their faith,” said one member of the public who witnessed the event. Emergency services were reportedly on site to assist those affected, so far no deaths have been reported. Sources suggest that the...