Free Republic

The weekly mortgage rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 6.18 percent for the week ending Dec. 24 as the housing market continues to lean in favor of buyers.The 6.18 percent rate is the lowest level since 2022 and a slight decline from 6.21 percent the previous week, according to Freddie Mac data. The current rate is 0.86 percentage points below the yearly peak of 7.04 percent reached in mid-January.The recent rate decline comes as the U.S. housing market registered 37.2 percent more sellers than buyers in November, real estate brokerage Redfin said in a statement on Dec. 23.“That’s...

Below is a geopolitical map of the Western Hemisphere as I see it today. The principal geopolitical foes of the US in the Western Hemisphere—Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua—are firmly in the China and Russia camp.Other countries can shift depending on the outcome of recent elections.Here’s an overview of some of the most geopolitically important countries in the Western Hemisphere to help frame the broader picture.VenezuelaA military confrontation over Venezuela appears increasingly likely.Since Hugo Chávez’s rise to power in 1999, Caracas has aligned itself with Russia and China. Venezuela’s vast oil and gold reserves make it a geopolitical prize. The country...

"So you're telling me there's a chance."We laughed when the "Dumb and Dumber" character uttered that but that attitude was reflected in real life by a New York magazine writer which makes it even funnier. Yes, the extreme Hopium expressed by that magazine's Intelligencer section senior editor, Margaret Hartmann, over the incredibly slight possibility that Jeffrey Epstein's postcard letter to imprisoned serial sex offender Larry Nassar might be valid is made hilarious by its sheer desperation despite the much less than million to one chance that it could be true. You can see Hartmann on Tuesday going full "Dumb and...

The Washington Post editorial board continues to challenge its progressive readers today with an editorial taking a shot at socialized medicine in the UK. As the paper notes, the UK's National Health Service is in the midst of an annual winter crisis reminiscent of COVID. The cause this year is the regular flu which is overwhelming hospitals and causing the nation's health secretary to warn sick people to stay home unless absolutely necessary.The NHS has existed for years in a perpetual state of emergency. This was the case before the pandemic hit, and it has only gotten worse. Hospital corridors...

On Friday, FBI Director Kash Patel took to X to announce the official shuttering of the J. Edgar Hoover FBI Headquarters building. Patel first made this announcement in May during an interview on Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures program with Maria Bartiromo. Since Congress holds the power of the purse to designate what happens with federal buildings, Patel cleared the proper channels in order to finally execute his plan. December 26: Shutting down the Hoover Building.After more than 20 years of failed attempts, we finalized a plan to permanently close the FBI’s Hoover headquarters and move the workforce into a...

As we close out 2025, we want to look back on what was a landmark year for defending life, religious liberty, parental rights, and free speech at the ACLJ.Our legal team’s workload ramped up significantly this year, and this was only possible because of supporters like you. 220 pro-life legal contacts and cases, including defunding abortion and defending pro-life advocates306 free speech matters104 international matters, including defending persecuted Christians and Israel276 school contacts and cases protecting the rights of students, parents, and teachers192 government matters battling corruption and the Deep StateBelow is a wrap-up of some of our biggest cases...

I almost forgot Kwanzaa even exists, because the only person I’d ever really heard talk about it was Ann Coulter, and she seems to have dropped off the face of the planet—and there are so few people who actually even celebrate it. As a child in school, I vaguely recall a teacher reading some picture book about it and all I remember is the African garb and maybe some candles.Anyway, it was Coulter who actually provided more than just colorful pictures in a children’s book, explaining the relationship between Kwanzaa and anti-white attitudes and Marxism:[Ron] Karenga’s invented holiday is a...

If hindsight is 20/20, then 2025 was a year where irony is produced by algorithms and politicians think diplomacy is a TikTok trend. To toast our survival is the annual Rear-View Awards, the only column where irony is not just a category, it is the entire piece.Metaphor of the year: Hollywood director Rob Reiner, the onetime foil to Archie Bunker, was apparently murdered by his son, proving that sitcom dysfunction can mirror life and be “All in the Family.”Best market correction: Hunter Biden no longer getting $400,000 for his artwork. He is down to $100 bucks to spray-paint obscenities on...

December 26: Shutting down the Hoover Building. After more than 20 years of failed attempts, we finalized a plan to permanently close the FBI’s Hoover headquarters and move the workforce into a safe, modern facility. Working directly with President Trump and Congress, we accomplished what no one else could. When we arrived, taxpayers were about to be on the hook for nearly $5 billion for a new headquarters that wouldn’t open until 2035. We scrapped that plan. Instead, we selected the already-existing Reagan Building, saving billions and allowing the transition to begin immediately with required safety and infrastructure upgrades already...

The president of the Kennedy Center sharply criticized a musician Friday for canceling a Christmas Eve performance at the venue after the White House announced that President Donald Trump’s name would be added to the building. Richard Grenell, the center’s president, accused musician Chuck Redd of political intolerance in a letter responding to the sudden withdrawal, which Grenell said came just days before the scheduled concert. The letter, shared with The Associated Press, said the cancellation was explicitly tied to the recent renaming of the facility, which Grenell described as honoring Trump’s efforts to preserve the arts institution.

Wyoming's oil and gas producers say Christmas came early last week when the Bureau of Land Management extended the deadline for compliance with bonding requirements that threatened to shutter small operators across the state. The Direct Final Rule delays enforcement of Biden-era regulations that would have increased bonding costs by 1,400% while the Trump administration works toward permanent solutions. "This marks significant progress in addressing the anti-oil and natural gas regulations that were handed down during the previous administration," said Pete Obermueller, president of the Petroleum Association of Wyoming. "While this rule does not cover new bonds and does not...

Preaching at AmFest, Tucker Carlson displayed his lack of integrity, fueling speculations of being bought and paid for by Islamists in Qatar, and brandishing the crown with which he has been coronated as a dangerous antisemite. His voice rising like a pre-pubescent child, he attacked the invisible boogeyman, but everyone knew who and what he meant. “Attacking millions of Americans because they’re Muslims—it’s DISGUSTING. And I’m a Christian, I’m not a Muslim,” he shrieked in a room so silent that you could have heard a pin drop. Trying to reclaim the room and eke out some kind of affirming response...

The parole board of Massachusetts is set to release 39 "emerging adult" convicts imprisoned for murder who were given life without parole but have now become eligible after a court ruling. The ruling states that those between 18 and 20 at the time of their offense are "emerging adults" and are not permitted to be given life without parole. Since the ruling was made last year by the state's Supreme Judicial Court, the board has greenlit the release of 39 first-degree murderers as well as those guilty of accessory to murder as they deny parole to 12 other inmates, according...

Zohran Mamdani's pick to lead the Fire Department of New York City (FDNY) has never been a firefighter. Lillian Bonsignore, who has previously served as the EMS chief for the FDNY, will also be the first person to lead the department who is also openly gay. Bonsignore is a veteran EMS employee of the FDNY but has never served as a firefighter herself. Bonsignore said that she "knows the job" and "knows what the firefighters need" despite being primarily in the EMS role. She retired in 2022 and will be the second woman to serve as the FDNY commissioner under...

A former Broadway child star was fatally stabbed at her home in New Jersey over the weekend, CBS News reported Friday, citing the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office. Imani Smith, who was just 26-years-old, was found with multiple stab wounds in her Edison, New Jersey home on Sunday. She was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital and is survived by her parents and three-year-old son. The former Broadway actress is known for playing Young Nala in The Lion King on Broadway from 2011 through 2012. She has been described by former cast mates as having a "great voice," and bringing...

I have win10 on a couple computers and it turns out they can't be updated to win11

For much of 2025, the dominant narrative among economists, market strategists, and Wall Street commentators was straightforward and gloomy. Trade shocks would slow growth. Immigration crackdowns would tighten labor markets. Tariffs would reignite inflation. A recession, many said, was not a matter of if, but when. That story has not played out.Instead, the U.S. economy continues to outperform expectations and outpace other developed nations. Growth has persisted even as consumer confidence has fallen, the labor market has cooled, and trade policy uncertainty has lingered. For investors, this disconnect between sentiment and reality is not just interesting. It is actionable.At the...

Multimillionaire Sami Sheen says it’s “impossible” to pay her bills on time because it’s simply “not fun.” The 21-year-old daughter of Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards — who has been a highly successful OnlyFans creator since June 2022 — made a barrage of candid admissions to her TikTok followers Monday. “At what age do I have to start adulting?” she asked in a selfie-style video, confessing that she’s “so bad at being an adult” because she still views herself as a “16-year-old girl.”

Russian forces appear close to being pushed out of the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kupyansk, with only a small number of isolated troops remaining and even pro-Kremlin voices acknowledging the setback, according to a report.

President Donald Trump on Friday cast himself as the ultimate arbiter of any peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, in an exclusive conversation with POLITICO.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to meet with Trump in Florida on Sunday and told reporters he’s bringing with him a new 20-point plan for peace. The framework includes a proposed demilitarized zone and the meeting is expected to focus on U.S. security guarantees. But in an interview, Trump appeared lukewarm to Zelenskyy’s latest overture and in no rush to endorse the Ukrainian president’s proposal.“He doesn’t have anything until I approve it,” Trump said. “So...