Free Republic

The battle over a new tax on California’s billionaires is set to heat up in the coming months as citizens spar over whether the state should squeeze its ultra-rich to better serve its ordinary residents. The proposed billionaire tax that triggered the tempest is still far from being approved by voters or even making the ballot, but the idea has already sparked backlash from vocal tech moguls — some of whom have already shifted their bases outside the state. Under the Billionaire Tax Act, Californians worth more than $1 billion would pay a one-time 5% tax on their total wealth....

Astronauts haven't been to the moon since 1972 but if all goes well a manned mission to the moon will lift off as soon as next month. It's called Artemis II and the plan is to take four astronauts and send them into space on a trajectory that will wrap around, but not orbit, the moon. Just this weekend, the rocket that will launch the astronauts made its way to the launch pad. After many months inside the VAB being stacked and prepared for launch, the NASA SLS rocket has come outside fully as it rolls out to LC-39B ahead...

Oh, my GOODNESS! This is some wild news coming out of Canada, and I'm not talking about that loser Carney sucking up to Xi Jinping the Pooh.Canada announced its “alignment” with China on the Arctic and Greenland. Really dumb move. https://t.co/z6kyDQmZwB— Marc Thiessen 🇺🇸❤️🇺🇦🇹🇼🇮🇱 (@marcthiessen) January 17, 2026A little over a week ago, the first stops on the petition drive for to force a referendum on separating from Canada began.The petition was approved by Elections Alberta in December, and after getting organized, the teams went out to start collecting the 178,000 verified signatures they needed to force a referendum on...

Somewhere out there in the great cosmos, Saul Alinsky is cackling with glee over the way Democrats are providing top cover for the commie radicals running roughshod over the rule of law in Minnesota. The latest elected official to earn Alinsky's approval, while also making a mockery of law and order, is Minnesota's Attorney General himself, Democrat Keith Ellison. Ellison, who is Muslim and the top law enforcement officer in the state, appeared Monday on Don Lemon's livestream to discuss the Sunday ambush of services at Cities Church in St. Paul by a horde of anti-ICE agitators. Lemon, it should...

Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Agri-Business; End to Sex Slavery; Healthcare, Education, Churches, and the Media. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. (1 John 5:14) I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone: for kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. ~ 1 Timothy 2:1-2 Religion Forum Threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to...

🚨 BREAKING: DHS just announced they’ve ARRESTED ~3,000 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS in Minnesota TONIGHT! Walz’s sanctuary playground is getting cleaned out HARD.

Former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh soared ahead of National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett on prediction markets betting on the next Fed chair after President Trump on Friday hinted that Hassett might be out of the running. Trump did not reveal his final choice to replace Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, but said he would like to keep Hassett in his current role. “I see Kevin’s in the audience, and I just want to thank you. You were fantastic on television today,” the president said during remarks at the White House on Friday. “I actually want to keep you where...

For the first time, most people diagnosed with cancer are expected to live at least five years beyond their diagnosis—a dramatic improvement from previous decades. The improvements detailed in the organization’s Cancer Statistics 2026 report, recently published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, highlight significant progress in cancer survival rates in the United States. “Seven in 10 people now survive their cancer five years or more, up from only half in the mid-70s,” Rebecca Siegel, senior scientific director at the American Cancer Society (ACS), said in a press statement. She credited decades of cancer research that have provided doctors...

The U.S. economy is either chugging along nicely or seriously struggling, depending on who is asked. The mismatch stems from perception and perspective. While many of the macroeconomic data look benign, they don’t capture the pain experienced by a large segment of society, several experts told The Epoch Times. At 4.4 percent, unemployment has been only slightly elevated and the median wage growth of 4 percent has more than kept up with 2.7 percent inflation, all according to December data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Yet a solid majority of Americans feel gloomy about the economy, polls indicate. “I...

A solar storm has just impacted Earth that's been one of the strongest in the last 20 years, with an immediate G4 geomagnetic storm starting whilst a S4 radiation was already blasting the Earth with high-energy solar particles. With bulk solar wind velocity greater than 1000 km/s and magnetic field values currently creater than 60 nT, this is a near-Carrington level impact and certainly a historic solar storm. Geophysicist Stefan Burns forecasting this possibility more than a year in advance based on the latest space science and more, and now he reports for you LIVE on the current historic space...

A man and boy were critically injured, and another boy had his surfboard bitten during three separate shark attacks in Sydney, Australia in just over 24 hours, police confirmed Monday. Big picture view: A man, believed to be in his 20s, was in a critical condition Monday after being bitten by a shark at Sydney's Northern Beaches on Jan. 19. At 6.20 p.m. local time, emergency services were called to North Steyne Beach, following reports of a surfer being bitten by a shark

HOBBS, N.M. (KRQE) – The Hobbs woman found guilty of throwing her newborn baby in a dumpster has lost her latest attempt to appeal her conviction. Alexis Avila received a 16-year sentence after she was seen on camera throwing her newborn in the trash bin behind a Hobbs shopping center. Three people digging through the trash found the baby alive. The New Mexico Court of Appeals upheld her conviction last year, but she asked the New Mexico Supreme Court to hear the case. The Supreme Court denied her request, meaning she has to serve her full sentence.

Netanyahu said he opposes the deployment of Turkish and Qatari troops in Gaza, though a source told Haaretz on Saturday that his public criticism was largely for show. Two additional sources told Haaretz that Netanyahu has been invited by Trump to take part in the Board of Peace. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a Knesset speech on Monday that Israel is at odds with the United States and will not accept the presence of Turkish or Qatari soldiers in the Gaza Strip, despite a source familiar with the matter telling Haaretz on Saturday that the composition of the Gaza...

Futures are saying it's going to be a very rough day for both bonds and stocks.

RAQQA, Syria — The Syrian government Sunday announced a ceasefire with the Syrian Democratic Forces, taking almost full control of the country and dismantling the Kurdish-led forces that controlled the northeast for over a decade. The announcement comes as tensions between government forces and the SDF boiled over earlier this month, eventually resulting in a major push by government forces toward the east. The SDF appeared to have largely retreated after initial clashes on a tense front line area in eastern Aleppo province. Syria's Defense Ministry said it ordered the fighting to halt on the front lines after the agreement...

We are quickly approaching the Marco Rubio singularity. Before we know it the entire Washington D.C. megaplex will just be one giant Rubio. From Little Marco making fun of Trump's tiny hands, to being one of the most important people in the second Trump Administration. It's almost like Rubio is scooping up open positions like they're Pokémon. He's gotta catch them all.

Bruce Springsteen criticized the ICE surge in Minnesota and the shooting of Renee Good during a surprise show in New Jersey over the weekend, parroting the words of Mayor Jacob Frey in demanding that ICE "get the f--- out of Minneapolis." Springsteen performed a surprise set Saturday night in New Jersey at the Light of Day benefit show. During a set with Joe Grushecky and The Houserockers, he performed his song "The Promised Land" off "Darkness on the Edge of Town" — which he dedicated to Renee Good. SNIP What they're saying: Before the rendition, Springsteen made a statement against...

Who said this? “If you don’t have any borders, you don’t have a nation.” The speaker went on, “Trump did a better job. I don’t like Trump, but we should have a secure border. It ain’t that hard to do. Biden didn’t do it.” It was Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in characteristic candor. If, as Milton Friedman argued, you can’t have open borders and a generous welfare state, Sanders, as a self-described socialist, prefers the welfare state. The facts at this point are not in much doubt. The Pew Research Institute, not an anti-immigration outfit, estimated that there were 10.2...

A family in Long Beach said it has left the home and community behind as it feared the Trump administration’s immigration policies would eventually catch up with its family member. The Burgueno family, made up of a U.S. citizen matriarch, her undocumented husband and their teenage son, said Monday that it has taken the final steps to self-deport. “We crossed the border in Otay,” Sonia Burgueno told NBC Los Angeles at the U.S.-Mexico border Monday. “We packed as much as we could.” Calling it the hardest decision her family has ever made, Sonia Burgueno had deep roots in Long Beach:...

NORTH DAKOTA (Valley News Live) - A driver was cited for traveling 104 mph in an 80 mph zone on Interstate 29 Sunday despite the highway being closed due to weather conditions, according to the North Dakota Highway Patrol. The driver received a $140 citation and seven points for speeding. A juvenile passenger was in the vehicle at the time of the stop. The driver was also charged with reckless endangerment, a Class A misdemeanor, according to the patrol. I-29 from Fargo to the Canadian border remains closed, and no travel is advised.