Free Republic

Sara Polston to be released Thursday after serving 70 days on 8 year sentence

A jury is a modest institution. Twelve citizens sit in a box. They listen. They deliberate. They apply the law as instructed. Then they render a verdict. The jury is not a legislature. It is not an executive. It is not a protest movement. It is a fact finding body embedded in a constitutional structure that presupposes something simple and fragile, that law governs us all. That modest picture is now under strain. In recent months, a small but organized network of progressive NGOs has begun to train potential jurors to view their service not as a duty of fidelity...

At the 2024 Olympics in Paris, Steph Curry clinched a gold medal for Team USA with an iconic performance. At the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, his presence could still be felt. After helping secure a stunning upset over America’s world record-holders to win gold in the men’s team pursuit, Italian speedskater Andrea Giovannini broke out Curry’s signature “night, night” celebration against Team USA, placing his white-gloved hands against his head to declare the event was over.

Just last night, I received some sad news about Nick Pope. He published a brief message that said: A while ago, following some digestive issues, I was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. Unfortunately, it's Stage 4 and has metastasized to my liver. While I know that it's kindness and hope that leads people to suggest healers and supposed miracle cures, and to say things like "fight it", and "you can beat it", I'm afraid my diagnosis and my situation leaves no doubt whatsoever: I can't beat it.

From a trade perspective, 2026 would probably go down in history books as an epochal year for India. March has not even begun and Delhi has concluded the "mother of all trade deals" with the European Union and also what's now being termed the "father of all trade deals" with the United States - even though grave concerns remain about the asymmetric nature of the interim agreement which, many say, is stacked heavily in favour of the US. Nonetheless, the pact is India's 10th free trade agreement (FTA) since 2014, signalling a sharp pivot from its protectionist stance that previously...

Daily Readings from the USCCBEven now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning; Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the LORD, your God. For gracious and merciful is he, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment. Joel 2:12–13Today, as we go forward in procession at Mass to be marked with ashes on our foreheads, we are reminded: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you will return.” Alternatively, the minister may say, “Repent, and believe in the Gospel.” What humbling words to hear. Do...

Survivors of the deadly Eaton wildfires have been plagued with tragedy since flames engulfed their community last year, and are now being asked to potentially fork over thousands to reconnect their power lines. Over a year later, many residents are still displaced, and some have been struck with an impossible burden of paying tens of thousands of dollars to reconnect their homes to power lines. Southern California Edison announced last April that it would rebuild the power grid in affected areas as an underground system rather than traditional above-ground power lines. However, due to a state policy in place before...

A wave of Democrats are calling for Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) to be formally reprimanded or to resign over a social media post he made saying he would choose dogs over Muslims. Fine posted on X on Sunday: “If they force us to choose, the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one.” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) in a statement Tuesday called Fine “a disgrace to the United States Congress” and “an Islamophobic, disgusting bigot.” Jeffries called on Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Republicans to respond, slamming them for continuing “to remain silent.” “Republican leaders...

-The U.S. economy could be in a “boomcession.” - A portmanteau of the words “boom” and “recession,” the term can help explain why many Americans don’t feel the economic growth appearing on paper. Welcome to the “boomcession.” The term is a portmanteau of the words “boom” and “recession.” It highlights how the average American doesn’t feel like they’re reaping the benefits of an economy that is — on paper — humming along, according to creator Matt Stoller. Economic output and the stock market are surging, consumers are spending big and the post-pandemic recession that many expected never materialized. But many...

Progressives have long branded President Trump as a stooge for Russia. Yet the more important story may be who President Xi Jinping of China wants in office. Unlike Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, Xi has the financial muscle, ties to business elites, and technical skill to promote his agenda. And California’s Gavin Newsom is likely to be his favorite in 2028. Indeed, just after Biden’s poorly-received performance in his June 2024 presidential debate with Trump, the Asia Times, South China Morning Post, Bloomberg, and Business Insider all reported that Beijing liked Newsom as the ideal replacement for the doddering president. The...

President Donald Trump announced Sunday that member states of his newly-formed Board of Peace have pledged more than $5 billion toward humanitarian and reconstruction efforts in Gaza. Trump said the commitment will be formally unveiled on Thursday, February 19, at the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C. In addition to financial pledges, Trump said participating nations have committed thousands of personnel to both an International Stabilization Force and to local police units to maintain security and peace for Gazans. “On February 19th, 2026, I will again be joined by Board of Peace Members at the Donald J....

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — A verdict has been reached in the case of a Georgia woman who was murdered more than 25 years ago. Edrick Faust faced 12 felony charges related to the murder of UGA law student Tara Baker in January 2001 in Athens, Georgia. On Tuesday, Faust was convicted on the following charges: Count one - malice murder: GUILTY Count two - felony murder: GUILTY Count three - felony murder: GUILTY Count four - felony murder: GUILTY Count five - felony murder: GUILTY Count six - burglary: GUILTY Count seven - aggravated sodomy: GUILTY Count eight...

A Paleolithic teenaged boy whose remains were discovered in northwest Italy's Ardene Candide cave in 1942 immediately earned the nickname Il Principe, or "the Prince," because of the richness of the grave goods found in his 27,500-year-old burial. Researchers noticed that he had also suffered traumatic injuries to his upper body, but at the time they were unable to establish exactly what had happened to him. According to a statement issued by the University of Montreal, an international team of researchers has finally determined that the young man was likely attacked by a bear. The team reexamined the boy's skeletal...

XAI owner Elon Musk attacked rival artificial intelligence companies like OpenAI, Google and Anthropic, accusing them of being “woke” and biased on culture war issues, as his company rolled out a public beta of the latest version of the AI model powering its chatbot Grok—which the billionaire insisted “must win” the AI race.

One area where Republicans need to do a better job is learning to play the long game in politics, especially in the courts. Today, on issue after issue, the Trump administration is losing battles at the lower levels of the judicial system, while frequently winning at the appellate level. Lower courts are composed of younger judges who, as they gain experience, rise in the judicial ranks. The rulings we see today at those lower levels will in the future be made by older, more liberal judges, at all levels, including the Supreme Court. This will hold true if the Republicans...

The Trump administration is closer to a major war in the Middle East than most Americans realize. It could begin very soon.Why it matters: A U.S. military operation in Iran would likely be a massive, weeks-long campaign that would look more like full-fledged war than last month's pinpoint operation in Venezuela, sources say.The sources noted it would likely be a joint U.S.-Israeli campaign that's much broader in scope — and more existential for the regime — than the Israeli-led 12-day war last June, which the U.S. eventually joined to take out Iran's underground nuclear facilities. Such a war would have...

Sitting down to put your socks on, seeing previous clothes come back into fashion and asking 'who?' when watching the Brit Awards are all signs you are getting on. The study was by American Pistachio Growers, which has partnered with actor John Thomson, 56, to urge mid-life adults to age positively. 1. Talking about aches and pains with friends 2. Groaning when bending down 3. Preferring quiet venues to noisy ones 4. Preferring a quiet drink over a night out 5. Enjoying an early night 6. Not caring about the latest fashion trends 7. Thinking that new music isn't as...

It happened again. Another Democratic politician posed for a photo while attempting to cook meat on a grill. This time it was Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D., Va.) who tried to look normal by grilling a substance some claim was intended to represent "beef." The governor posted a photo of herself on X along with the caption "Order up!" and a steak emoji. Many remarked upon the hideous appearance of the alleged meat, as well as the deranged grin on Spanberger's face—the manic visage of an overmedicated wine mom about to mow down a rival's goldendoodle with her luxury SUV. It...

The United States is rapidly accelerating toward a definitive tipping point in its financial history, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) wrote in response to the latest 10-year outlook from the Congressional Budget Office. The nonpartisan budget watchdog issued a stark assessment: The current trajectory of borrowing, which is running at double the 50-year historical average, is simply mathematically unsustainable. The CRFB cautioned that without immediate legislative intervention, the federal government faces a future defined by exploding interest costs, insolvent trust funds, and a national debt burden that will shatter post–World War II records within four years. It...

Gavin Newsom’s whirlwind weekend in Germany will cost a pretty penny, paid for by a secretive nonprofit that’s run by his longtime aides and receives money from special interests, The California Post has learned. The invite-only Munich Security Conference is being held across two luxury hotels in Old Town Munich — the Hotel Bayerischer Hof and Rosewood — and Newsom’s itinerary includes two sessions on climate change and transatlantic relations. The likely 2028 presidential candidate also plans to ink a partnership with Ukraine and have a powwow with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz while rubbing elbows with foreign leaders and business...