Free Republic

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has unveiled a legislative proposal to severely cut and eventually eliminate property taxes on primary residences in Florida, calling a special legislative session to address the issue. The move escalates a multi-year effort to reform the state’s tax structure, potentially positioning Florida as the first state in the nation to boast neither a personal income tax nor a property tax on primary, owner-occupied homes. “Today in Tampa, I outlined the Save Our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes plan that will eliminate taxes on homesteads. Property tax revenue collected by local governments has nearly doubled in the...

A former senior CIA official with top secret-level clearance is accused of stealing hundreds of gold bars worth more than $40 million from the federal government and stashing them in his home. David Rush was arrested and charged with criminal theft of public money last week, according to federal court filings in Virginia, where he lives. From November to March, Rush requested and received a “significant quantity of foreign currency and tens of millions of dollars in gold bars for work-related expenses,” according to an affidavit from an FBI agent investigating the case. The affidavit says its unclear what Rush...

Over the course of their lives, Americans have an average carbon footprint of 1,300 tons of CO2. Paris Ortiz-Wines, a young woman from San Francisco, has already canceled hers out. She could hop on a flight every week for the rest of her life, eat ribeyes at every meal and sip almond milk all day long, and still be in the clear. Back in 2021, Ortiz-Wines played a key role in the campaign that stopped the closure of California’s only nuclear power plant, Diablo Canyon. This has already saved more than 30 million tons of CO2 emissions. Ortiz-Wines is part...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope at Audience: Liturgical tradition and renewal drive evangelizationDuring his weekly General Audience, Pope Leo XIV reflects on Vatican II's 1963 Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, and emphasizes the importance of liturgical progress that also preserves sound tradition.Renewing the liturgy and allowing it to progress, while preserving tradition, allows the Church to grow, be united and continue her mission of spreading the Gospel to all, Pope Leo XIV said during the Wednesday General Audience in St. Peter’s Square on May 27.Pope Leo XIV continued his catechesis series on the Documents of the Second Vatican Council, and...

In many US cities tips of 20% are now expected at restaurants The debate about tipping culture in the US has reignited in recent years, with social media posts about waiting staff angry that they haven't been left enough money going viral. Is this increased pressure to tip, and to do so generously, now spreading around the world? Lillian Price thinks that tipping in the US is "out of control". "It's too much," she says. "You might just be grabbing something to go, and you are expected to tip," says the animal care worker who lives in Philadelphia. Price, who...

Christian and Islamic faith leaders have said they are "disturbed and saddened" after it was announced that Tommy Robinson had been invited to speak at the Oxford Union. The far-right activist is set to take part in a debate in support of the motion "This house believes the West is right to be suspicious of Islam". In a joint letter this week, the Bishop of Oxford, the Right Reverend Steven Croft, and Imam Monawar Hussain called on the society to withdraw its invitation. The Oxford Union has been contacted for a comment. The debate was set to take place on...

The times, they are a-changin', as then-folk music troubadour Bob Dylan once sang about the radical era America found herself swimming/wading through in the Sixties. You could say the same thing about whatever they end up calling this era, and the second Trump administration at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Readers may have seen some of our pieces - so far on Wednesday - covering the Cabinet meeting open to the media. Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent, per a Playbook report on the team meet-up, explained that "The continued resilience of the economy speaks for itself, even during the Iran — the conflict."...

The US military carried out new strikes in Iran Wednesday, targeting a military site that threatened American troops and commercial shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. “Today, US Central Command Forces shot down four Iranian one-way attack drones that posed a threat around the Strait of Hormuz,” a US official said in a statement. “US forces also struck an Iranian ground control station in Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone,” the official added. Despite the skirmish, the fragile cease-fire that has been in place since April 8 is still considered to be holding.“These actions were...

BEST POST OF THE DAY! 😳🛩️👨🏼‍✈️😆🫶🏼

Hamas officials confirmed Wednesday that the new military leader of the terrorist organization, Mohammed Odeh, was eliminated by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on Tuesday. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz was the first to announce Odeh’s death on Tuesday. Katz said Israel remains determined to prevent Hamas from controlling Gaza, “either civilly or militarily.” A joint statement from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Shin Bet, the Israeli intelligence agency, said that “several buildings in the heart of Gaza City that served as a hideout for [Odeh] were attacked, after months of intelligence surveillance in order to track his...

🚨 BREAKING: The Missouri Supreme Court has just UPHELD the state’s new 7R-1D Congressional map, allowing it to go in effect for the 2026 midterms ANOTHER seat lost by Democrats 🔥 LFG! Keep up the redistricting! We are WINNING!

Daniel Alman from Squirrel Hill @DanielAlmanPGH Since #UC dumbed down its admission standards by no longer requiring SAT scores, #STEM professors have started complaining that a huge number of their students don’t understand middle school #math. https://archive.ph/dXGp0 #California #Education #Teachers #College #Woke May 27, 2026

Texas Democrat James Talarico also believes "God is nonbinary" and that Jesus Christ was a "radical feminist." The Texas church where Democrat James Talarico has delivered his radical sermons is pushing radical gender ideology on children, featuring books filled with sexually explicit content and transgender ideology. Talarico, the Democrat nominee for the crucial Senate election in November, attends St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Austin. There, children have access to a library stocked with “banned books” that promote ideas rejected by most Christians, including books that contain descriptions of anal rape, incest, and oral sex, according to a Daily Wire review...

A southern California family is mourning and demanding justice after a bride-to-be was struck and killed by a hit and run driver while she was waiting at a bus stop in San Diego. Police said that 27-year-old Katie Osorio was fatally struck by a driver who drove up on the sidewalk, and killed the young girl who was just sitting waiting for the bus inside a partially enclosed bench to take her to her second job, before the driver took off.

For those who were impressed with how Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. handled two black snakes at Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz’s house over the weekend, he definitely upped the ante. In a video posted on Wednesday, RFK can be seen removing a rattlesnake, presumably from his home in Los Angeles. “In response to the many comments about venomous snakes, this video shows how Cheryl and I handled a recent rattlesnake rescue,” Kennedy captioned the newly-posted video. https://twitter.com/i/status/2059748137506418787

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ Feeding Our Troops At 19 Below Zero! Breakfast items are set in trays inside a mobile kitchen trailer in Helena, Montana, Feb. 2, 2022. The Soldiers had to endure temperatures as low as minus 19 while providing food for the fighting force as part of the Phillip. A. Connelly Active Field Competition. The Field Competition puts all aspects of a culinary team’s field capabilities under a microscope to include food quality, creativity and proficiency. (U.S. Army Photo by Spc. Jordan S. Worthy) Canteen Mission StatementShowing support and boosting...

A former CIA senior officer with top secret-level clearance has been accused of secretly stashing [$40] millions of dollars in gold bars in his home that he said he needed for “work-related expenses,” according to court documents...David Rush, who held a management position, was charged with criminal theft of public money in a complaint filed in the Eastern District of Virginia. He was also accused of lying to his employers about his background for nearly two decades. [snip]“After a CIA internal investigation identified potential violations of the law, CIA Director John Ratcliffe referred the information to the FBI for a...

China has instructed its major domestic banks to limit their purchases of U.S. Treasury bonds and sell off existing holdings. While this stops short of a complete legal ban on all cross-border investment, it marks a substantial drawdown of China's exposure to U.S. debt and a pivot away from U.S. financial assets. In this video, we break down Beijing’s quiet but massive crackdown on mainland Chinese investment into U.S. stocks and bonds, why eight Chinese regulators coordinated the move together, and how it connects to a much larger long-term strategy involving gold, payment systems, energy trade, and the future of...

Canada has announced plans to buy a fleet of early warning planes from Sweden’s Saab rather than a competing option from Boeing, as the country seeks to reduce reliance on US defense firms. Mark Carney, the prime minister, said on Wednesday that Canada would opt for Saab’s GlobalEye, which is based on Bombardier’s Global 6500 jet. Boeing’s E-7 Wedgetail plane – which has suffered from delays and cost overruns – had also been in contention. “With a suite of advanced sensors and mission systems, Saab’s GlobalEye will be a key resource for the Canadian armed forces to detect and deter...

The U.S. Department of Justice has invoked the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Louisiana v. Callais to hammer California’s racially gerrymandered congressional map In a filing that sends a clear message to Sacramento Democrats, the U.S. Department of Justice has invoked the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Louisiana v. Callais to hammer California’s racially gerrymandered congressional map, telling Governor Gavin Newsom and his allies that race-based district-drawing is unconstitutional—full stop. On May 22, 2026, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Jesus A. Osete and DOJ attorneys filed Plaintiff-Intervenor’s Opposition to Motions to Dismiss in the ongoing federal lawsuit David...