Free Republic

One of the world’s largest and most influential scientific societies held its annual conference last weekend, which a Fox News Digital review found was littered with examples of progressive messaging, criticisms of the Trump administration, and “woke” workshops. Attendees who showed up at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) event, held at the Phoenix Convention Center from Feb. 12-14, were immediately greeted at registration with identifier stickers that used gender pronouns such as “they/them,” “xi/xer,” “xe/xem,” and other descriptors that critics have alleged have little to do with science and biology. During the meeting’s opening night, shortly...

On the eve of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s first preliminary budget rollout, Gov. Kathy Hochul handed him what amounted to a $1.5 billion gift card, courtesy of state taxpayers. On Tuesday, the mayor thanked the governor for the promised new state aid — by handing her a ticking political bomb. Despite the added money, Mamdani said, the city faces a “historic” $5.4 billion budget gap — which can only be closed by proceeding along what the mayor characterized as two “paths.” Path one, he said, would be for the state to give the city authority to “raise [income] taxes on the...

A YouTuber has used Grok to predict how the upcoming 2028 US election will pan out in a detailed breakdown shared online, including the likely winner and which states they'll triumph in. Grok is Elon Musk's artificial intelligence bot, which is commonly used on his social media platform Twitter (or X, as it's now known). (snip) For the sake of the Grok results, the person behind the YouTube channel Election Time input Kamala Harris, Gavin Newsom, Pete Buttigieg, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Josh Shapiro, JB Pritzker, Cory Booker, and Tim Walz as potential candidates. (snip) Looking at the Republican side of things,...

The Libertarian National Committee voted this month to hold the party’s 2028 national convention in El Paso, Texas, selecting the city over Richmond, Virginia, after two rounds of balloting. Vote totals shared on the committee’s public Business List show that the final vote was 9–8 in favor of El Paso. Members also had the option to select “None of the Above,” which would have prompted further research into additional potential venues. The site selection vote followed a special virtual meeting held February 10, during which committee members heard presentations from venue representatives in El Paso, Richmond, and Frisco, Texas. The...

During the opening night of the famous Carnaval del Toro in Ciudad Rodrigo, a 65-year-old local suffered fatal injuries from a bull’s horn, sparking concern about safety at traditional Spanish events. A beloved participant in one of Spain’s most iconic winter festivals has died after being fatally gored by a bull, in a tragic accident that underscores the risks of traditional bull-related celebrations. The incident occurred in the early hours of February 14 during the Carnaval del Toro (Carnival of the Bull) in Ciudad Rodrigo, a historic town near Salamanca in north-west Spain. The man was participating in a nighttime...

The Ukrainian public would not accept Kyiv simply handing over the country’s Donbas region to Russia in a peace deal, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday — advising US envoys against continually pushing a version of peace the war’s victims would see as an “unsuccessful story.” “Emotionally, people will never forgive this. Never. They will not forgive … me, they will not forgive [the US],” Zelensky told Axios, speaking as US, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators met in Geneva. “This is part of our country, all these citizens, the flag, the land.” The president said it was “not fair” that President Trump...

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Amber Glenn skated to “Like a Prayer” during Tuesday’s short program. Now she’s in serious need of one herself. One of the U.S.’s “Blade Angels,” Glenn was left in tears following a massive error in her skate — she landed a double loop instead of a triple — that left her in 13th place with just the free skate to go. The 26-year-old was just one of two skaters on the day to land a triple axel, but her blunder was scored as an invalid element for which she received no points.

Her turn to marriage, modest living and a homespun new album now reads as political provocation in a polarised US Say the name Lana Del Rey and a particular image of the United States materialises: one of rusted trucks and faded flags, a waitress curling her hair before the breakfast shift, the smell of petrol in the heat, the hum of late-night television in a room where no one is really watching. For more than a decade, despite being from New York City, the singer has been the patron saint of small-town melancholy, the US’s emblem of heartbreak. Somewhere along...

YouTube was reportedly down in the USA on Tuesday. At the time of writing, Downdetector logged over 2,80,000 people facing outage issues with YouTube.Most of the issues appeared to be with the app, but some complained of troubles with the website as well. Users reported issues with YouTube TV too, with Downdetector logging over 7000 complaints at the time of writing.YouTube is yet to address the outage and no cause for the ree video sharing site to go down is known yet.Several people took to social media and the Downdetector comments section to express the problems they were facing.

Dutch Lawmakers Approve a 36% Tax on Unrealized Crypto, Stock, and Bond Gains Starting January 2028, the Netherlands is set to require that residents pay tax on paper profits they have not yet cashed in, pending Senate approval. The Dutch House of Representatives on Thursday voted to pass the Actual Return in Box 3 Act (Wet werkelijk rendement box 3), a reform that will tax residents at a flat rate of 36% on the actual returns they earn from savings and investments, effective January 1, 2028. The bill replaces a system that taxed investment income based on assumed returns, a...

A man walked up to a 13-year-old boy and slashed his throat in an unprovoked attack near Daytona Beach Pier on Valentine’s Day.

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Leo XIV protects Francis’s legacy in key Vatican office overseeing appointment of bishopsBy retaining Francis-era prelates in the Dicastery for Bishops and elevating Sr. Simona Brambilla, Pope Leo is continuing the trajectory of his predecessor in shaping Church leadership.Pope Leo XIV has appointed Sr. Simona Brambilla as a member of the Dicastery for Bishops, and confirmed a very broad roster of cardinals and prelates elevated under Pope Francis.On February 14, the Pope appointed Sr. Simona Brambilla, M.C., who serves as prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, as a member...

When President Donald Trump’s lawyer, Robert Garson, floated the idea of asylum for Britain’s Jews last month, saying “the UK is no longer a safe place for Jews,” a natural response was to focus on the likelihood of more terrorist attacks against Jews by radical Muslims. This concern is warranted, as we were reminded last week after the conviction of two men for plotting to murder hundreds of Jews in an Islamic State-inspired attack in Manchester. Sky News contributor Sophie Elsworth, in a segment on the convictions, echoed Garson’s words, saying that the rise of antisemitism in the UK is...

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Wiseman’s influence on non-fiction cinema is impossible to overstate. Over the course of six decades, his work was primarily about exploring American institutions. The world of cinema has lost another giant. Frederick Wiseman, the prolific documentary filmmaker and one of the greatest non-fiction directors, has died aged 96. His death was announced in a joint statement from the Wiseman family and Zipporah Films. “For nearly six decades, Frederick Wiseman created an unparalleled body of work, a sweeping cinematic record of contemporary social institutions and ordinary human experience primarily in the United States and France,” the statement read. “His films –...

Elon Musk has thrown his support behind a former Reform UK MP and his new political party, which is promising to 'reverse' migration and 'do things the [British] way'. Rupert Lowe, now an independent MP representing Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, has announced the launch of Restore Britain. He originally set it up as a 'political movement' after being suspended from Nigel Farage's Reform UK party last March, amid allegations he physically threatened then party chairman Zia Yusuf. The Crown Prosecution Service subsequently dropped the case, stating there was insufficient evidence to proceed. Restore Britain has established itself as an umbrella...

Developed by Chinese startups such as Booster Robotics, the AI-powered machines are part of a technology-themed temple fair in China. Humanoid robots are taking centre stage at Lunar New Year celebrations in Beijing, where they're performing lion dances, playing competitive football and preparing traditional snacks ahead of the Spring Festival. At a mall in western Beijing, 95-centimetre-tall robots rehearsed in colourful lion costumes, drawing crowds of onlookers. The performances are part of a technology-themed temple fair returning for a second year, showcasing China’s advances in artificial intelligence. The robots - developed by startups including Booster Robotics - are taking part...

Since California made it easier for sexual abuse survivors to sue government agencies, victims have brought forth more than $3 billion in claims. But even agencies that haven’t been sued are facing financial hardship as a result of the law — through skyrocketing insurance premiums. School districts, counties and other public agencies in every corner of California have seen their liability insurance premiums soar, in large part because of that law, which passed in 2019. Some districts have seen their yearly insurance costs jump by $1 million or more.

And Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have never looked so out of touch.You know things must have been bad for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in Munich for the New York Times to attempt some damage control.But rather than the substance of her arguments, it was her on-camera stumbles when answering questions about specific world affairs that rocketed around conservative social media and drove plenty of the discussion about her visit, as political observers speculated whether they would make a dent in a potential presidential run in 2028.It must be nice to have a full court press — a propaganda machine — to...