Free Republic

The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington will close for roughly two years to allow for extensive renovations, President Donald Trump said Sunday. Trump said on social media he determined that the closure, slated for July 4, “will produce a much faster and higher quality result” as he seeks to rebuild the complex. Trump said the move is pending approval by the center’s board, whose members were picked by the president. “This important decision, based on input from many Highly Respected Experts, will take a tired, broken, and dilapidated Center, one that has been in bad condition, both...

ransomnote: Brief video excerpt below. Steve Kirsch repostedThe HighWire@HighWireTalk·Jan 31🚨 MODERNA CEO AT DAVOS: NO GOVERNMENT MANDATES = NO NEW VACCINES 🚨Big Pharma just admitted what we've been screaming for years: Their entire business model depends on forced uptake through government recommendations and mandates... Not on safety, efficacy, or voluntary choice.Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos last week (Jan 22, 2026), was asked if RFK Jr.'s HHS reforms cutting vaccine mandates and recommendations would hurt their business.His response? "Oh 100%." 💥He told investors publicly: Moderna does NOT foresee investing in ANY new Phase 3...

Summary of Article's Inconvenient Truth Comments Al Gore released An Inconvenient Truth in 2006, warning of imminent catastrophic climate impacts requiring massive global investment to avert planetary disaster. The film premiered to acclaim at Sundance with a standing ovation, won two Oscars (including Best Documentary), and earned Gore the Nobel Peace Prize.Twenty years later (in 2026), key claims include: Bronze: Gore stated Mt. Kilimanjaro would lose all snow by 2016. Glaciers have shrunk dramatically (~90% since early 20th century, down to ~1 km² or less by recent estimates), with projections of near-total loss by 2030–2050. Seasonal snow persists, but permanent...

Supreme Court Justices must be smart, wise, and steadfast, too, especially when under pressure. Alito checks all of the boxes and more. Tomorrow, January 31st, will mark two decades since Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. was confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court. I was a law student that day and had spent much of December 2005 working early mornings and late nights with other interns at the Department of Justice to assist with his nomination. At that time, his confirmation was one of the highlights of my professional life. Twenty years later, it still is. I first heard about Justice...

Transcript SummaryThe transcript is from a Fox News interview (likely on "Saturday in America" or similar, hosted by Emily Compagno) with retired Gen. Jack Keane, Fox News senior strategic analyst.Key points:A senior Gulf official stated Saudi Arabia would not permit the U.S. to use its airspace or bases for an attack on Iran.President Trump indicated the U.S. cannot share military plans with Gulf allies during ongoing negotiations with Iran, as leaks could undermine talks.Keane argues public statements from Arab allies (e.g., on airspace) differ from private actions; take them with skepticism.He criticizes past U.S. presidents (across administrations) for inaction against...

Elon Musk and his partner Shivon Zilis arrive while holding hands at Mar-a-Lago for Dan Scavino’s wedding 😍, guess who’s jealous?

Democrats seem to be getting their mojo back as the midterm season heats up. Democrats topped Republicans on the generic congressional ballot by a considerable six points, 52% to 46%, scoring the highest of any party on that metric in the history of the survey commissioned by Fox News.The minority party also made massive gains on key issues, crushing Republicans on affordability by 14 points, health care by 21 points, helping the middle class by 14 points, transgender issues by 22 points, and even taxes by one point.<“Democrats are taking back the House in November,” a confident Democratic Congressional Campaign...

In December, Marvin Morales‑Ortez walked out of a Fairfax County, Va., jail a free man. He shouldn’t have. Morales‑Ortez was in the country illegally; he was in jail on serious charges, including for a violent assault and a firearm offense. Those charges were dropped. He was released. Within 24 hours, police say, he murdered a man. This was not bad luck. It was policy. Fairfax’s Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano has openly promised to limit or avoid “immigration consequences” when charging criminals. In other words, his office will treat illegal immigrants more leniently than US citizens. Descano’s policy directs his prosecutors...

Newly released polling indicates that a clear majority of Americans are supportive of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and believe they should be left unobstructed. Some 57 percent of Americans believe that ICE agents “should be able to do their job without being impeded or harassed,” according to polling conducted by Plymouth Union Public Research. The survey, which gauged public sentiment on President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda and the conduct of deportation officers, found that most Americans generally want to see illegal immigration addressed. “Voters broadly see illegal immigration as a serious issue that President Trump is properly addressing,” the...

On April 20, 1999, the nation’s attention was fixed on a shooting massacre that occurred at Columbine High School near Littleton, Colorado, killing 12 students and one teacher. That same day, in the small southern Minnesota town of Waseca, another horror was unfolding: Jayme Larson, 16, returned home from school to find the body of her 12-year-old sister, Cally Jo, stabbed, sexually assaulted and left hanging in the stairwell of their bungalow. It took police nearly a year to find the man who would be convicted. He turned out to be Lorenzo Bahena Sanchez, a Mexican citizen in the United...

Back to Videos David Sacks: Media Coverage Masks Organized, Politically-Motivated Interference With ICE Posted By Tim Hains On Date February 1, 2026 "All-In Podcast" host David Sacks makes an argument about how the media is framing President Trump's deportation operations: DAVID SACKS: The deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti are regrettable and tragic. So are the deaths of Laken Riley and too many others to mention, who were murdered by criminal illegal aliens. And the media won't ever tell you their names. But President Trump was hired by the American people to do a job: to seal the border...

Oklahoma prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Anthony Gonzalez, 24, accusing him of a “heinous” and “cruel” killing of an 18-year-old 7-Eleven clerk and new mother who was working the overnight shift alone. Authorities say Jaedynn Anthony, 18, who had a 1-year-old son, was attacked in October 2024 at a 7-Eleven in Oklahoma City. In a press release issued last week, the Oklahoma County District Attorney’s Office said Gonzalez robbed the store and then stabbed Anthony. “After he had the money in hand, Gonzalez stabbed Jaedynn one time and left the store,” the DA’s office said. Investigators said officers...

After decades of mystery surrounding its existence, a rare animal once believed to be extinct has been confirmed on remote trail cameras in northern California, offering a thrilling sign of wildlife resilience. Scientists say the coastal marten — a small carnivorous mammal that nearly vanished from the state — was captured in recent footage and DNA samples collected via hair snares, validating that wild populations still persist in the region. The discovery has brought renewed hope for the species and underlines the value of modern conservation tools. Once targeted nearly to extinction during the 20th-century fur trade, coastal martens were...

Alarmed by shooting deaths and rapidly shifting public opinion, blue state governors want legal barriers to curb federal immigration operations.ALBANY, New York — Democratic governors are racing to erect new legal barriers to President Donald Trump’s aggressive deportation strategy, limiting the reach of federal immigration officials in their states.Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey signed an order restricting how closely police can work with federal agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger on her first day in office rescinded her Republican predecessor’s executive order that encouraged such cooperation. And in Illinois, Gov. JB Pritzker called for a state oversight...

Births in Türkiye fell again in 2025, continuing a decline that has put NATO's youngest population on a course President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has called a "demographic disaster." For decades, the country of 85 million and rising military power had the bloc’s highest total fertility rate (TFR). In 2016, it stood at 2.1 births per woman, the level needed to sustain a population naturally. By the end of last year, the Turkish Statistical Institute reported it had fallen to 1.48, driven by prolonged economic downturn, rising cost of living and changing social norms among young people. It’s a familiar pattern...

After two hundred or so articles mostly focused on wildlife for the Tico Times, I’ve written about most of the more well-known species that are walking, swimming, and flying around in Costa Rica. Every time I pick a species to write about, I get to go through my video archives and pick out the very best clips to accompany the article. That’s all fine and good, but what happens when I record a particularly awesome video of an animal that I’ve already written about? I shared some interesting facts about Costa Rica’s pumas back in 2023. To go along with...

Campaign finance disclosures filed late Saturday revealed details of the president’s unmatched political fundraising operation.Donald Trump’s political war chest grew dramatically in the second half of 2025, according to new campaign finance disclosures submitted late Saturday, giving him an unprecedented amount of money for a term-limited president to influence the midterms and beyond. Trump raised $26 million through his joint fundraising committee in the back half of last year, and another $8 million directly into his leadership PAC. And a super PAC linked to him has more than $300 million in the bank. All together, a web of campaign accounts,...

The price of gold fell from a record $5600 to $4770 per ounce. On Friday, the price of silver fell by 31%. This is the biggest percentage drop in the price of this bullion since March 1980. What could be the reasons for such declines?Gold hit a new record high on Thursday at $5600 per ounce. Silver was trading at $120 per ounce. Suddenly, precious metal prices began to fall. By Friday evening, gold was already costing $470 per ounce. Gold fever reached a new high at the beginning of 2026, with prices hitting a record earlier this week....

Nigel Farage has paid a visit to Dubai to build diplomatic relations with United Arab Emirates ministers and drum up donations for Reform UK from wealthy expats. The two-night trip was his second visit to the Gulf state in two months, after a £10,000 trip hosted by Abu Dhabi to attend the Formula One grand prix. Farage’s ability to secure an audience with foreign government ministers is a new development, as his diplomatic ties have previously been largely with Donald Trump’s US administration. Speaking at a GB News event, Farage said he had had a “very good interview” with an...

For decades, pancreatic cancer has been one of medicine's most feared diagnoses. Aggressive, fast moving, and stubbornly resistant to treatment, it has claimed lives with ruthless efficiency. Now, the name Mariano Barbacid is echoing far beyond scientific circles. His latest work is being hailed as one of the most important cancer breakthroughs in years, offering a glimmer of hope against a disease that has defied progress for decades. Who Is Mariano Barbacid Mariano Barbacid was born on 4 October 1949 and built his career at the cutting edge of cancer genetics. He earned his PhD from the Universidad Complutense de...