Free Republic

<p>The California Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered a county sheriff who seized more than half a million 2025 election ballots to pause his probe into election fraud allegations while the judges review the legal challenge against it.</p><p>The order came after California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, last month asked the court to step in. A voting rights group is also challenging the ballot seizure.</p>

The White House warned Iran Wednesday to keep the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf open amid reports that it is closing the strait over Israeli military action in Lebanon.The United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire Tuesday night but Iran claimed Wednesday that the U.S. must rein in Israel and end the fighting in Lebanon if it wants to maintain the ceasefire.White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the alleged closure of the strait, based on reports from Iranian state media, is "completely unacceptable."

There are many, many, many rock 'n' roll songs about drinking — call it an occupational hazard. And if you narrow things down further, there's quite a lot of songs that have to do specifically with beer. In honor of National Beer Day (April 7), we've compiled a list of 25 songs either written about drinking beer or at the very least mentioning it. Cheers! 1. "Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers," ZZ Top From: Tres Hombres (1973) "Beer drinkers and hell raisers, yeah / Baby, don't you want to come with me?" 2. "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer," George...

Maine’s Secretary of State Shenna Bellows is actually running for governor on her willingness to take flagrantly unconstitutional action. Bellows is touting her removal of Trump from the ballot, an effort that led to a unanimous Supreme Court swatting down Colorado and Maine. Bellows is virtually giddy recounting her efforts to stymie democracy and prevent voters from casting their ballots for the man who ultimately won the election. Democrats have been running this year on the pledges to launch a virtual roundup of Trump officials and supporters for investigations and impeachments. New York congressional candidate George Conway is pledging to...

Oregon is rolling out tablets to all state prisoners, a strategy officials say could help stem the influx of illicit substances into its prisons.Any mail an inmate receives will be digitally scanned and then sent directly to their tablet, eliminating any opportunities for hidden drugs to be unknowingly ferried to their cell, according to the Oregon Department of Corrections.Corrections officials have said these changes will happen gradually, adding that they are aiming to get the tablets in the hands of prisoners by September.There are roughly 12,000 people in state custody who may soon be able to watch movies, play games...

No shortage of surprises around here. President Donald Trump, less than half a day after announcing his intention to destroy “a whole civilization” if the Iranians didn’t reopen the Hormuz, declared via Truth Social that the Pakistanis had brokered a two-week ceasefire on the premise that the Iranian 10-point framework is a “workable basis” for a peace deal. This is a bit of a headscratcher to everyone who has actually seen the Iranian framework, which, among other things, asserts the Islamic Republic’s right to uranium enrichment, institutionalizes an Iranian-Omani toll system in the Hormuz, and demands immediate sanctions relief. The...

Cheryl Bartley, 48, was charged with one count of gross negligence manslaughter in relation to her role as a pastor during the baptism, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said. Bartley, of Erdington, will appear at Birmingham Magistrates' Court on 14 May. The BBC previously reported that the man was taking part in the ceremony carried out by Life Changing Ministries in a small pool in the property's garden. The baptism event was streamed live on the church's Facebook page, but the stream was cut during the event and the video later removed.

One of the most famous stories from the Gospels is the account of Jesus wisely saving a supposedly adulterous woman from being stoned to death. One of the most captivating moments in this passage is when Jesus writes in the sand, but we are left to wonder what he wrote and why, sparking centuries of curiosity and debate. This raises an intriguing question: what are some of the interpretations of this mysterious act? The story of Jesus writing in the sand First of all, it helps to understand exactly what happens in this story. It appears at the very beginning...

A year-long investigation by journalist John Carreyrou identifies Adam Back, a 55-year-old British computer scientist, as the man who created cryptocurrency under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, the anonymous figure who introduced Bitcoin in 2008. Back is the CEO of Blockstream, one of the most influential companies in the Bitcoin industry, and the inventor of Hashcash, a computational anti-spam tool that Bitcoin’s mining process directly borrows from. Carreyrou’s investigation began after watching an HBO documentary in late 2024 that tried, and failed, to identify Bitcoin’s founder. Back appeared visibly uncomfortable when his name came up as a suspect. That reaction sparked...

A high-profile killing on a Charlotte light rail train has hit a legal pause after a court filing concluded the suspect is not currently fit to face trial. Decarlos Brown Jr., 35, has been deemed “incapable to proceed” on state murder charges tied to the death of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska, a Ukrainian refugee, per the New York Post. The finding comes from a motion filed April 7 following a mental health evaluation conducted late last year. According to WBTV, Brown was evaluated on Dec. 29 at Central Regional Hospital. The resulting report determined he is not competent to stand trial...

Keir Starmer: “We just reached a ceasefire”. We? WE!?? No, they reached a ceasefire. You had nothing to do with it.

The United Arab Emirates signals readiness to join a coalition to secure navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, while stressing that a ceasefire in the Iran war would not be enough to stabilise the region, Diplomatic Adviser to the UAE President Anwar Gargash said on Tuesday. Gargash framed Abu Dhabi’s position as both immediate and long-term, pointing to the need for coordinated maritime security efforts alongside a broader political settlement that addresses underlying risks. "We are not ready to act as a maritime force, but we will join any American-led or international effort to secure navigation in the Strait of...

It all started next to a field of grazing sheep in Greece, where an unidentified 58-year-old was working outdoors in the dry September heat. She “noticed numerous flies swarming around her face,” according to a new medical report, and about a week later, she began experiencing pain in her sinuses. The next few weeks brought “severe coughing,” but no other symptoms. Until one day, Oct. 15 to be exact, she sneezed out a “worm.” Soon after, an ear, nose and throat doctor got to work surgically removing 10 larvae and a pupa — a teenage insect between the larval and...

The United Arab Emirates emerged Wednesday as a suspected offensive actor in the widening Gulf conflict, with multiple Iranian sources and open-source military analysts pointing to UAE Air Force Mirage 2000-9 fighter jets as the platform behind a strike on Iran's Lavan Island oil refinery, hours after a US-brokered ceasefire was supposed to have halted hostilities. Abu Dhabi has not confirmed or denied the allegation, but the circumstantial case circulating in defense intelligence communities is substantial enough to have triggered an immediate Iranian retaliatory response against Emirati territory. Photographs circulating on social media Wednesday purportedly showed one of the UAE's...

The exclusive reports received by Iran International indicate an unprecedented deepening of the gap at the top of the power pyramid in the Islamic Republic, and it has led to the continuation of conflicts and open confrontation between [President] Masoud Mezikian, the head of state in the Islamic Republic, and the senior commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. According to two sources close to the presidential office, on Saturday, April 5, there was a heated conversation between Masoud Mezikian, [former IRGC spychief] Hossein Taib, and figures close to Mojtaba Khamenei [gay unconscious one-legged Supreme Ayatollah], which the attendees described...

MAZE@mazemooreCNN right before we hit Iran's nuclear facilities last year: There is no need for this. Iran isn't close to having a nuclear weapon.CNN immediately after last year's strike: The mission failed, Iran is closer than ever to having a nuclear weapon.CNN right before we hit Iran this year: There is no need for this. Iran isn't close to having a nuclear weapon.Spoiler alert. This is how Democrats/MSM will be, with everything, for the next three years. It's exactly how they were on everything Trump did during his first five years. April 7, 2026

TODAY'S NEWS, April 7-8, 2026 Writer: Larry Schweikart Larry Schweikart HEADLINES: Republicans continue to mostly stay ahead of Ds in registrations; Trump has slashed the Deep State numbers; Grade inflation hurts everyone. The News of Today is the History of Tomorrow PROGRAM NOTE: I will be gone on Friday, but will return on Monday. IN POLITICAL NEWS 1) As you know, I put little stock in any polls, but here you go: President Trump is at 51%-47% approval, up four points from last. And here is Ras, at 49 Here are are some voter registration updates to go along with...

Slam the brakes. Mayor Zohran Mamdani conceded he won’t be able to deliver his promise of free buses this year — making a U-turn on one of the cornerstones of his campaign. Mamdani’s highly-touted demands for free MTA buses have fallen by the wayside in both state and city budget proposals. The democratic socialist mayor notably did not include the pitch in his $127 billion budget proposal, and it has also failed to garner traction in Albany as legislators hash out the state spending plan with Gov. Kathy Hochul. Hizzoner is now admitting he’s turning his focus on restarting his...

Augusta National Golf Club is probably the most prestigious golf club in the country. There are millions of people all over the world who dream of just being able to step on the grounds. There is so much history and information surrounding Augusta National that it can be hard to fully understand the impact that this place has had on the game of golf. August National Golf Course is owned by Augusta National, Inc. The Augusta National, Inc. is a for-profit institution that was created in Georgia back in 1935 when the course was first built. The two original owners...

The Minneapolis City Council is preparing to consider legalizing and regulating venues, such as bathhouses, where consenting adults can engage in sexual activity, possibly reversing the city’s 38-year ban. The ordinances in question would remove “stigmatizing language” and add “new definitions to be inclusive of establishments where sexual activity between consenting adults may be facilitated,” according to The Minnesota Star Tribune. The outlet noted that bathhouses and sex clubs operated in the city until a 1988 ordinance banned businesses that facilitate “high-risk sexual conduct,” which was defined as fellatio, anal intercourse and vaginal intercourse for pay. The language of the...