Free Republic

In the wake of Vice President JD Vance and Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, announcing that some Medicaid funding going toward Minnesota would be paused due to fraud concerns, Governor Tim Walz claimed that "the person who’s angriest about this fraud is me." "I don’t know why this is so hard to understand, and I will continue to say this. You can trust me on this. The person who’s angriest about this fraud is me. There is certainly no political upside to having fraud in your state, and it undermines the very...

The Florida Legislature is close to reforming the requirements for voluntary armed security in churches. The bill exempts voluntary church security members who have concealed carry permits from the requirements of Florida statutes that regulate the members of private security services. Private investigative, security, and repossession services are regulated under Chapter 493 of the Florida Statutes. Section 6102 spells out who the provisions of the chapter shall not apply to. HB 95 has cleared its House committees and was added to the House Second Reading Calendar on Feb. 10, 2026. SB 52 passed the Senate 39–0 on Feb. 11, 2026,...

🇺🇸Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem 🇮🇱(2/27/26)[Prayer]A New Study For A New Year: PersonalitiesGenesis 30:1-13 30 And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die. 2 And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb? 3 And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her. 4 And she gave him Bilhah...

With the threat of a U.S. strike on Iran looming, the United States embassy in Jerusalem has told its workers that they may leave Israel and warned them that if they want to, it is vital that they do so immediately, according to an email from Ambassador Mike Huckabee sent to the U.S. mission Friday. The move followed meetings and phone calls through the night, Mr. Huckabee told embassy workers in the email, and resulted from “an abundance of caution” and conversations with the State Department in which officials agreed that the safety of embassy staff was a priority. Those...

The speeding Texas driver who killed the Dixie Chicks founding member Laura Lynch has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after he made a plea deal with prosecutors over the deadly 2023 crash. Domenick Chavez, 33, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was handed the reduced jail stint after he admitted to recklessly driving over 100 mph when he struck Lynch, 65, in the head-on smash just days before Christmas, according to KFOX. Chavez, who was driving despite having a suspended license because of two previous DWI convictions, attempted to swerve around four cars on the highway just before 6...

In 2023, Audrey Hale, a 28-year-old female who identified as male, shot and killed three children and three adults at the Covenant School in Nashville before being killed by police. A 2019 shooting at a Denver STEM school involved a transgender-identifying individual. The would-be assassin of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh identifies as transgender. On February 10, Jesse Van Rootselaar, 19, killed a parent and half-brother before going to the Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in British Columbia, Canada, killing eight more people, injuring 27 others, and committing suicide. On February 16, Robert Dorgan, 56, who underwent gender-reassignment surgery in 2020,...

Click on link

What a frightening new world Britain just woke up to. Because this is how democracies unravel. Long after the Green Party's victory in the Gorton and Denton by-election has been forgotten, the campaign and the precedent it set will continue to disfigure our politics. We are Balkanising our country, moving beyond citizenship as our primary political identifier and instead relating to one another as members of antagonistic tribes whose territories happen to overlap. The Green Party's behaviour in the run-up to yesterday's by-election should place that party beyond the parameters of democratic decency. Divisive, sectarian and ready to stoke Muslim...

Say it ain’t Zo. Mayor Zohran Mamdani is facing a potential revolt from his Democratic Socialists of America comrades, The Post has learned. More than 200 NYC-DSA members have signed a resolution calling out the mayor for his reversal on homeless encampment sweeps during the recent cold snap. The budding grassroots movement within the larger organization — said to have 12,000 members — is urging Hizzoner to take “alternative, non-carceral actions” instead of reviving the policy to get homeless people off the streets. “We’re heartbroken by the loss of several New Yorkers who have frozen to death in the ongoing...

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn has been one of the most consistent Republican defenders of the EB-5 investor visa program over the past several years — advocating for its reauthorization, intervening in its implementation, and signaling support for preserving it even amid President Donald Trump’s proposed “Gold Card” alternative. During much of that same period, Cornyn’s daughter, Haley Cornyn, worked at Greenberg Traurig, a global law and lobbying firm that has structured billions of dollars in EB-5 investment deals and lobbied on matters related to the program. The overlap between Cornyn’s legislative advocacy and the financial interests of his daughter’s employer...

A Somali wrong-way truck driver caught barreling a “80-ton truck” down a Missouri highway wasn’t able to read road signs and allegedly failed an English proficiency test after being pulled over, authorities said. The trucker was filmed driving in the northbound lanes on Highway 61 near Troy, about 55 miles outside of St. Louis, at 8 a.m. on Wednesday before finally crossing over and heading the right way, terrifying video shared by US Transportation Security Sean Duffy on X shows. “We have learned that a truck driver with a Minnesota CDL who couldn’t read basic road signs spent MILES driving...

Two alleged members of the Venezuelan-linked gang Tren De Aragua (TdA) were charged in an ATM jackpotting conspiracy that included robberies and attempted robberies across New England, according to federal prosecutors. Moises Alejandro Martinez Gutierrz and Lestter Guerrero, both 29, have been charged with conspiracy to commit bank theft, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts said in a news release. Officials said both men are in the U.S. illegally. The duo is accused of robberies and attempted robberies at ATMs in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Rhode Island. They allegedly installed malware directly into the ATM's...

Hiya kids! Hiya, Hiya!Good Morning Crypto-FReepers.I see some of the same old faces out there.But that's OK - I like you anyway.Today's quote is a bit cynicalFrom one of my favorite cynicsHope you like it.Have fun!!! Ha Ha Ha!I'll be good - I will, (like heck) I will. Ha ha ha. P UPNZ MIXMEI UZX ZFQI VOXBTEI SXKKBDPSFVPDL UXBER CBNV NZBV BM! - VXK EIZOIO__ HAL'S CRYPTOGRAM HELPER

The federal investigation into the Los Angeles Unified School District superintendent, whose home and school office were raided Wednesday, may be tied to a failed multimillion-dollar AI school contract involving a potential conflict of interest. Alberto Carvalho previously awarded a $6 million contract, paying $3 million up front, to education technology company AllHere. A former salesperson employed by the firm also had her Miami property raided the same day as Carvalho, according to public records cited by the Los Angeles Times. The woman, Debra Kerr, reportedly had close ties to Carvalho during his tenure leading Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Spokesperson...

Rep. Janelle Bynum, D-Ore., called a challenge from President Donald Trump's 2026 State of the Union address "racist" when he asked listeners to stand if they agreed the U.S. should prioritize the safety of its own citizens over illegal aliens. "If you agree with this statement, then stand up and show your support," Trump said. "The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens." Democrats remained seated for over a minute and a half as the Republican side of the chamber burst into prolonged applause. After the address, Bynum, who is on the National...

The U.S. men’s ice hockey team continued their Olympic gold medal celebrations back home with a whirlwind tour on Tuesday that began with an Air Force flight into Washington, D.C., and ended with a standing ovation at the State of the Union address. But amid the praise, the team has faced some backlash on social media. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was among those in the administration to welcome the American hockey players before visiting with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Leavitt shared a photo on social media posing with deputy director of communications, Margo Martin, and...

A convicted California child molester who was set to walk free this week was instead turned over to law enforcement after a new arrest warrant was issued in Placer County, state officials confirmed. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said that at approximately 7:30 a.m., David Allen Funston, 64, was transferred to law enforcement authorities after Placer County filed new criminal charges and issued a warrant for his arrest. Funston had been granted parole Tuesday and was scheduled for release later this week. CDCR said Funston was sentenced in 1999 to life with the possibility of parole in connection...

A decade-old study claiming to find evidence of the earthquake described in the Bible at the time of Jesus's crucifixion is reigniting debate after resurfacing online. The Gospel of Matthew says 'the earth shook' moments after Jesus cried out before dying on the cross, and researchers in 2012 reported evidence that could support the verse. A team of geologists examined sediment layers near the Dead Sea, about 25 miles from where many scholars believe the crucifixion took place. Their analysis revealed signs of at least two significant earthquakes affecting the region. Disturbances in the sediment pointed to a major quake...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday condemned Israel’s recent actions in the occupied West Bank of converting the territory’s areas into “state property”, highlighting that the country’s “expansionist mindset” held no regard for international law. The minister made the statement while addressing a meeting of the executive committee of the Organisation of Islamic Council (OIC) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The meeting was taking place against the backdrop of the Israeli government approving a proposal to register large areas of the occupied West Bank as “state property” for the first time since the occupation of the territory...

Pakistan carried out airstrikes on Afghanistan’s two largest cities on Friday, including the capital, Kabul, according to officials from both nations, escalating months of tension and border skirmishes into an open conflict. Beyond Kabul, home to six million people, the strikes hit the southern city of Kandahar — where the Taliban’s supreme leader, Sheikh Haibatullah Akhundzada, lives — and the border province of Paktia, according to Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban government. Pakistan launched the strikes hours after Afghan troops had attacked Pakistani border positions, according to Afghan and Pakistani officials. The Afghan attacks were described as retaliation...