Free Republic

Squad Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who’s under investigation for blowing campaign cash on a shrink who specializes in ketamine therapy, spent big on the doctor last quarter, new records showed. The socialist lawmaker who reps parts of Queens and the Bronx allegedly violated election and ethics rules by misusing nearly $19,000 in campaign cash last year on Dr. Brian Boyle, according to watchdog complaints filed last month with the Federal Election Commission and Office of Congressional Conduct. New FEC quarterly filings reveal the controversial expenses continued this year, with AOC’s campaign paying $4,550 to Boyle on Jan. 12. While the lawmaker...

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch tells BBC Radio London's Eddie Nestor: "The community don't think that they [the government] are doing enough. I was there yesterday and you could feel the fear that was on the streets." Earlier, the Home Office confirmed it was investing a further £25m in extra policing and security for Jewish communities. On the funding, Badenoch says: "So we do need to see an increased police presence. The government has said it's giving money - I don't know exactly what the money is for, I don't know if that money is enough. "But I do know that...

A grand jury on Wednesday indicted a Louisiana sheriff whose office came under investigation after 10 inmates broke out of a New Orleans jail in an audacious escape that happened on her watch. Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson is not accused of helping the inmates pull off the brazen jailbreak through a hole behind a toilet, setting off a monthslong search before all the escapees were eventually captured. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said a state probe instead found that Hutson’s poor management of the jail led to the escape. The 30-count indictment handed up by a New Orleans grand...

A former Minnesota state trooper alleged this week that his bosses at the state Department of Human Services tried to bully him into quashing his findings of fraud in the state’s child care funding program. Jay Swanson, a former criminal investigator for the DHS, also revealed that it was well known among Somali refugees in East Africa that Minnesota was the best place to go in the US to pull off child care fraud schemes. And then, Gov. Tim Walz came into office — and Swanson’s entire department investigating waste, fraud and abuse was eliminated, according to Republican lawmakers. The...

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Talk about some dirty diamonds. A descendant of the Cartier jewelry dynasty was sentenced to eight years in federal prison after confessing to running an unlicensed cryptocurrency exchange that laundered more than $470 million in drug trafficking proceeds. Maximilien de Hoop Cartier, a resident of France who moonlights as a singer under the name “Max Cartier,” was sentenced in Manhattan federal court Tuesday after pleading guilty in October to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business and conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Cartier, 58, funneled the money through a web of US shell companies disguised as fake software and tech firms —...

Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, and the Media. I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone: for kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness - 1 Timothy 2:1-2 Religion Forum Threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind. My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest...(Isaiah 32:18)

A mineral long dismissed as worthless may be hiding something far more valuable. Scientists have found lithium inside pyrite, a discovery that could change how we think about future energy resources. Lithium is now central to modern technology. It powers phones, laptops, and electric cars, and its ability to store and release energy efficiently makes it essential for renewable energy systems. At the same time, demand is rising quickly. Most lithium still comes from pegmatites and volcanic clays, but expanding production without increasing environmental impact remains difficult. This is why researchers are exploring less obvious sources. Lithium Found Where No...

The 45-year-old suspect arrested yesterday came to the UK "lawfully as a child" from Somalia, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood tells BBC Breakfast. Yesterday police said he was born in Somalia but did not indicate how he arrived in the country. Mahmood says she can't give further details while the investigation continues.

Spencer Pratt is calling out politicians he says are corrupt as he continues to campaign for California’s mayoral election. The political candidate revealed a new advertisement promoting his run for mayor, sharing the video to his X account on Wednesday, April 29, and simply writing: “They not like us.” “This is where Mayor [Karen] Bass lives. You notice something?” the Hills alum, 42, began in the video ad, pointing to a house allegedly owned by the current California mayor, 72. “Or here, where [Los Angeles city councilmember] Nithya Raman’s $3 million mansion sits,” he said. “They don’t have to live...

OAKLAND, Calif. - More than a dozen places of worship in the East Bay belonging to the Diocese of Oakland will close due to a lack of parishioners, priests and funds to keep the institutions afloat. Not enough priests or parishioners What they're saying: Bishop Michael Barber said in a statement that the decision to close the 13 churches comes as part of the diocese’s Mission Alignment Process (MAP), which seeks to engage clergy and parishioners "in a process of self-reflection and renewal" by consolidating worshippers from churches with low attendance or staffing to refocus on missionary work. "We must...

"Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you" (Matt. 5:11-12). The sacrifices you make for Christ’s sake in this life will be abundantly compensated for in Heaven. God's promise for those who are persecuted for His sake is that their reward in heaven will be great (Matt. 5:11). Jesus said, "Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or...

A report by the Hope and Courage Collective, which works to build resilience in communities against rising far-right hate and disinformation, has found a widening gap between public attitudes and political discourse. The report, “Ireland in Focus 2025, Mind the Gap”, shows that a relatively small number of far-right actors disproportionately influence public debate through online amplification, visible protests, and repeated narratives. It says public attitudes are becoming steadily more inclusive, but that political rhetoric risks legitimizing scapegoating and that the far-right had not secured broad public support, but “is shaping the conversation”. The report found that multiple communities in...

One of the most brilliant, most controversial, most mercurial, most wild and wildly influential artists, songwriters, and performers in country music history has done something that almost seemed impossible from this old stump of hickory who survived prison stints, motorcycle gang fights, horrific automobile accidents, run-ins with the law, and a major bout with COVID that put him in the hospital at 82—he’s succumb to mortality and passed on to that honky tonk in the sky. David Allan Coe was always just as much myth as he was man. That is the reason his music, and his legacy is often...

A lawsuit over ineligible names on a state list of voter registrations is resulting in the removal of up to 800,000 of those individuals. In just one state. It’s part of a campaign by Judicial Watch to clean up voter rolls across the nation in light of suspicions of fraud and documented outside influences in recent elections. Judicial Watch sued Oregon in 2024 charging that state officials, mostly leftists, refused to remove ineligible voters even though Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 required that. There already had been confirmed widespread voter roll maintenance failures across dozens...

A heartless Long Island gang leader was sentenced to life without parole Tuesday for ordering the kidnapping and murder of an motorist who fell asleep in front of her house. Kayla Alvarenga, 23, was found guilty of ordering her Bay Shore-based gang, “Family Over Everything, Everybody Killed,” to drag sleeping 29-year-old Linver Ortiz Ponce from his car in March 2022 — then directing her goons to shoot him as he tried to crawl away in a church parking lot. Ponce was a complete stranger who had pulled over to rest on a residential South Shore block after a night out,...

Daily Readings from the USCCBWhen Jesus had washed the disciples’ feet, he said to them: “Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it.” John 13:16–17Today’s Gospel comes from the Last Supper, just after Jesus washed His disciples’ feet. What an act of humility! By analogy, it would be as if a king knelt before his servants to polish their shoes, setting aside his glory to attend to their most basic needs. This act would...

A new poll in the California governor’s race shows Democrat dark horse Xavier Becerra in the lead as he quietly consolidates support from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s key allies. Becerra is tied for first with Trump-endorsed Republican Steve Hilton, with both seeing 19% support among likely voters, the poll from EMC Research found. The former Health and Human Services secretary under President Biden was polling in the single digits just weeks ago, but rapidly racked up support after Eric Swalwell quit the race and resigned from Congress amid sexual assault allegations. The new poll, which surveyed 1,000 likely voters from April...

Nothing about California's high speed rail is moving fast, except the price. Just a few weeks ago, the estimated price of the long-delayed project was said to be $126 billion. This figure wasn't hidden in a spreadsheet somewhere, it was stated on a national news program. This week, we're hearing a new number and it's more than a $100 billion higher.California’s long-delayed high-speed rail project is now facing renewed scrutiny after state leaders revealed a dramatically higher price tag, now estimated at roughly $231 billion, nearly seven times the original $33 billion projection approved by voters in 2008.The revised figures...

Russia is never going to announce that it is out of steam and on the verge of an economic collapse. On the contrary, Putin's regime has done everything it can to make it appear that all is well despite four years of war and sanctions creating a drain on the country's economy. But there are signs that not all is well if you pay attention. For instance, Russia's Victory Day parade, which is usually an excuse for the strongman to roll tanks and missiles through the streets is being scaled back this year.The May 9 Victory Day parade in Moscow’s...