Free Republic

WASHINGTON — President Trump took a victory lap Thursday after a federal judge allowed his administration to carry on with construction of his prized $400 million White House ballroom. US District Judge Richard Leon, a George W. Bush appointee, found that construction on the epic project was not a violation of a federal law, as alleged by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “Great news for America, and our wonderful White House! The Judge on the case of what will be the most beautiful Ballroom anywhere in the World, has just thrown out, and completely erased, the effort to stop...

Excerpts. ...Clinton is telling lawmakers, "As I stated in my sworn declaration on January 13, I had no idea about their criminal activities."... ..."I do not recall ever encountering Mr. Epstein. I never flew on his plane or visited his island homes or offices. I have nothing to add to that," her remarks state. "Like every decent person, I have been horrified by what we have learned about their crimes. It's unfathomable that Mr. Epstein initially got a slap on the wrist in 2008, which allowed him to continue his predatory practices for another decade."

A proposed Department of Housing and Urban Development rule would crack down on illegal immigrants or unqualified people living in public housing, closing a loophole established amid major departmental reforms under President Bill Clinton in 1996. Current HUD rules allow "mixed-status" households to use public housing under what is called the "do not contend" provision, in which a person living among a public housing family can declare they "do not contend" their HUD eligibility under their immigration status, and the family instead receives prorated housing assistance. The HUD-ineligible family member or members may remain in public housing so long as...

Netflix is declining to raise its offer to buy Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming business, in a stunning move that effectively puts Paramount in a position to take over the fellow storied Hollywood giant. On Thursday, after Warner’s board announced that Skydance-owned Paramount’s offer was superior to the agreement it had previously struck with Netflix, the streaming giant said the new price that would be required to buy Warner would make it a deal that is “no longer financially attractive.” Unlike Netflix’s bid, Paramount wants all of Warner’s operations, including networks like CNN and Discovery. That would put CNN...

BREAKING: Bishop Schneider reveals bishops secretly won’t submit to Francis’ authoritative teachingsIn the interview, Bishop Schneider also enumerates several teachings of Pope Francis to which he himself says he cannot assent. In a live interview Thursday with longtime Vatican journalist Robert Moynihan, Bishop Athanasius Schneider revealed that he has spoken off the record with several bishops who have said that they do not submit in “mind and will” to the authentic magisterium of Pope Francis. Bishop Schneider added that the bishops he has spoken to “do not dare to say this” publicly but only in private. “When I ask them...

On Tuesday night, President Trump made his case for attacking Iran. #Perhaps we ought to ask ourselves if an attack on Iran is prudent or desirable.#In his address, Trump argued that Iran was in the process of developing intercontinental ballistic missiles to hit the United States. This assertion is farcical and risible. Iran simply has no ability to hit the United States, and even if it did, the doctrine of classical deterrence would come into play. The United States and the Soviet Union had thousands of nuclear-armed ICBMs targeted at each other for decades yet never engaged in direct conflict....

The statement came after Warner Bros. Discovery's board of directors described Paramount Skydance's latest offer to acquire the company as "superior" to Netflix's current bid. Netflix said it would not submit a higher offer for Warner Bros. Discovery after the company's board described Paramount Skydance's latest offer as "superior." The stunning twist leaves Paramount Skydance, headed by David Ellison, as the remaining bidder and in position to take control of the storied media giant. Paramount's bid was for the entire company while Netflix was seeking to acquire only its streaming service, HBO cable channel and film studio business.

I have yet another(!) electronics' modification project going, and ran across a slight dilemma: None of my several "Security Bit" sets have a bit that fits the Tri-Point (or "Y") screw heads in the gear to be modified, even though 2 sets do have Tri-Point bits. However, I found this screwdriver set on Amazon: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/5113Evt3D0L._AC_SL1000_.jpg The question is, looking at that image, are those the correct diameters for the "Y" designation given? Basically, the 3mm for example, would be very close to the circumference of the outer circle the "fins"* of the bit would define. I ask this question because...

A federal judge appointed by former President Joe Biden on Thursday again ruled against the Trump administration’s third-country deportation policy, months after the Supreme Court blocked his earlier decision and rebuked him in a rare follow-up order. The Supreme Court not only stayed Boston-based Judge Brian Murphy's injunction over the same deportation policy in a 6-3 order last June, but the high court followed up with a second 7-2 order a week later admonishing the judge for flouting its decision. Murphy's latest ruling is also likely to land before the justices, setting up a fresh test of the judge's decisions...

TLANTA, Ga. (WALB) - Millions of Georgia power customers could see lower electricity bills after the U.S. Department of Energy closed a $26.5 billion loan package for Southern Company, the largest loan in the department’s history. Officials said the deal is expected to save customers more than $7 billion in electricity costs by reducing the utility’s interest expenses. Southern Company has announced plans for multi-year rate freezes as part of the partnership with the federal government.

https://www.cmegroup.com/delivery_reports/Silver_stocks.xls

Gov. Tim Walz denounced the Trump administration’s latest threat to withhold federal funds from Minnesota as another step in a “retribution” campaign as he unveiled a package of legislation Thursday intended to fight fraud in public programs, a persistent problem that provided an impetus for the federal government’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota. The Democratic governor made the announcement a day after Vice President JD Vance said the administration would “temporarily halt” some Medicaid funding to Minnesota over fraud concerns, as part of what he described as an aggressive drive against the misuse of public funds. Walz’s proposals were in the...

“ All records of donations made by William Jefferson Clinton, the Clinton Global Initiative, the Clinton Foundation (a/k/a William J. Clinton Foundation, a/k/a the Bill, Hilary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation), or the Clinton Foundation Climate Change Initiative.”

Appearing Thursday on Morning Joe, MS NOW’s Ali Vitali conceded there are “valid questions” about Bill Clinton’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein — enough to justify a House Oversight deposition. But the only connection Vitali mentioned? “He appears in photos.”Left unmentioned was what ABC News has reported: Bill Clinton was listed on 26 Epstein flight legs — though some were segments of the same international trips. Still, 26 entries in the logs. Not one. Not “a couple.” Twenty-six. Morning Joe viewers would never have known it. Get the rest of the story and view the video here.

It is becoming costly to watch the NFL, and the FCC is trying to ease the pain. The FCC on Wednesday announced it would seek public comment on the ongoing shift of live sports from broadcast channels to streaming services. The move comes as the NFL, NBA, MLB and other major sports have moved many games from broadcast and cable television to streaming services. The sports leagues have cashed in on the pivot to streaming, with the NFL landing $1 billion a year to air Thursday Night Football on Amazon as an example. The Sports Broadcasting Act exemption passed in...

Some members of an elite, super-secretive men’s club based in California wine country have allegedly been leaked — with names ranging from former late-night host Conan O’Brien and billionaire former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt. The membership list of Bohemian Grove — a private 2,700-acre campground in Sonoma County that hosts an annual two-week retreat and has a clubhouse in San Francisco — was allegedly obtained by an independent journalist and confirmed by a club member, according to the San Francisco Standard. The extensive list of more than 2,000 members in 2023 features the...

The Gorton & Denton constituency at the heart of the by-election battle encapsulates many concerns about the wider divides in Britain. Social and demographic data lays bare how the seat is sharply split on ethnicity, religion and deprivation lines. It was comfortably secured by Labour in 2024, as Keir Starmer secured his huge landslide nationally. But the government's plunging popularity has left the dynamics of the local area very much under the microscope. The constituency, south east of the city centre, has lagged significantly behind the rest of Manchester in terms of improvements in wealth. And a recent profile by...

"Cuban border guards did what they had to do in this situation," Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin, told reporters on Thursday morning, according to the Russian state news outlet RIA Novosti. In a statement on Wednesday night, the interior ministry said the 10 people aboard the speedboat were "Cuban residents of the United States," who were allegedly armed with weapons and "intended to carry out an infiltration for terrorist purposes." Those on board the U.S-registered speedboat, which had been reported stolen in Florida, allegedly opened fire on Cuban border guard troops as they approached the boat...

Pro-Palestinian activists, in collaboration with civil society organizations, have launched a campaign for a new maritime flotilla to the Gaza Strip. The flotilla is scheduled to depart on April 12 from several ports in Spain, Italy, and Tunisia, with the stated goal of breaking the blockade on the strip and delivering aid. Al-Arabi Al-Jadid reports that more than 200 vessels will participate in the flotilla, supported by the "Mavi Marmara" Freedom and Solidarity Association and the Turkish İHH Foundation, a humanitarian organization that focuses on protecting freedoms, human rights, and providing aid. Bülent Yıldırım, president of the İHH Foundation, told...

The people who want to indoctrinate your children in public schools and libraries would like you to know that the LGBT propaganda they want to lay on them isn’t appropriate for adult settings. During a hearing in the Minnesota Senate which ended up going viral for all the wrong reasons, a Democrat called a Republican member out for reading from a book he said was in the teen section and recommended for kids as young as 12. The reason? It wasn’t appropriate for state lawmakers, obviously. The viral footage was taken from a hearing of the Education Finance Committee of...