Free Republic

An extremist group exploits the very democracy it opposes. Last Saturday, on the hottest Independence Day ever recorded in D.C., hundreds of masked men paraded around the U.S. Capitol while chanting “Reclaim America!” Members of the white-supremacist group Patriot Front arrived carrying Confederate and upside-down American flags. Pictures of the spectacle soon flooded social media, documenting their appearance, their march and their exit, including one arresting image captured inside a packed Metro subway car. In it, a sea of men in khaki hats, blue shirts and white neck gaiters pulled over their faces filled the aisle and every seat but...

While disagreeing on most else, teacher unions and conservative education policy reformers share views on cellphone bans, AI guardrails in K-12 public schools. ================================================================== Teachers unions and education reformers are historically longtime rivals – frequently bumping heads over policies surrounding school choice, parents' rights, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion practices in K-12 schools. There's one issue, however, upon which these groups agree – that technology, creeping first via phones and now Artificial Intelligence, is interfering with student learning. "Social media and student personal device use have become a constant presence in our schools,” said Becky Pringle, president of the National...

Microsoft just told 4,800 employees they no longer have a job. That is about 2.1% of its global workforce, and 1,600 of those cuts hit Xbox right away. The same company was approved this year to hire 2,273 employer-sponsored H-1B foreign workers. The comparison demands one caveat: nobody has shown that the same 1,600 Xbox workers, or the same 4,800 companywide, were swapped out one-for-one for visa holders. The political response has been blunt. The available data show overlapping corporate decisions, not a direct replacement map. Those two numbers sitting next to each other are why so many American tech...

The new Air Force One, which President Trump flew on earlier this week to Turkey, lacks the same defensive countermeasures that were security features of the old model, including its advanced antimissile capabilities, according to multiple officials who have been briefed on how the jet was retrofitted.Experts say the absence of those capabilities on the Boeing 747-8 aircraft, which was donated by Qatar, creates potential risk in using the jet abroad, a dynamic underscored by the abrupt decision on Wednesday for Mr. Trump to leave Turkey on the old Air Force One at the urging of the Secret Service.The episode...

Tetanus may sound like a disease from another era, but experts are warning that it remains a serious threat. Two recent reports from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found hundreds of tetanus cases and dozens of deaths over 15 years, along with four cases in children in 2024 alone. At the same time, vaccination rates have declined, worrying experts that more people could become vulnerable to this potentially deadly but preventable infection. To help us understand what tetanus is, why it remains dangerous and how people can protect themselves, I spoke with CNN wellness expert Dr. Leana...

"Offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 2:5). Every faculty you have is to be used for God’s glory. In Romans 12:1 Paul pleads with believers to present their bodies to God as a living and holy sacrifice, which is an appropriate and acceptable act of worship. But as someone has rightly said, the problem with living sacrifices is they tend to crawl off the altar. That's because sacrificial living demands spiritual discipline and constant dependence on the Holy Spirit. We as Christians aren't always willing to do that. According to Paul, the motivation and...

On the fourth day of Tyler Robinson’s preliminary hearing, Judge Tony Graf just authorized the release of redacted footage from an interview with Lance Twiggs, Robinson’s roommate and romantic partner, overruling objections from the defense. In the 23 minutes of video, prosecutor Ryan McBride questions Twiggs about the nature of his relationship with Robinson, asks him to identify Robinson on camera at Utah Valley University, and prompts him to give an account of Robinson’s behavior leading up to and after Charlie Kirk’s death.Full redacted TWIGGS interview allowed to be viewed by news media.@FDRLSTvia KSL News Utah pic.twitter.com/HhVIii1Uu3— Breccan F. Thies...

In summary According to state law, campus police can own military weapons to uphold safety as long as they report it to the public. However, not every college follows every part of the law, according to an investigation by CalMatters into all 148 public colleges and universities in California. ================================================================================== For many public colleges and universities in California, keeping their campuses safe includes owning military-grade weaponry — AR-15s, stun grenades designed to cause temporary blindness and sonic weapons that resonate so loudly they are known in the armed forces as the voice of God. According to state law, campus police...

Commissioner Ana María Archila was scheduled to meet with Iran’s permanent representative to the United Nations, at 2 United Nations Plaza. The meeting between Archila and Iravani was called off after the State Department—which was not informed ahead of time—met with the Mamdani administration to clarify acceptable conduct. Commissioner Archila allegedly did not inform Mayor Mamdani of the meeting; she was reprimanded for the move and directed to cancel the meeting. The development is a continuation of Commissioner Archila and the Mamdani administration’s ongoing use of public resources to advance an agenda that extends well beyond New York City. On...

The Maine Democrat Party successfully pressured Graham Platner to step down. Not because of his Nazi tattoo or his alleged physical abuse of a former (Republican) girlfriend. It’s not even because he mocked a teenager’s failed suicide attempt. Heck, it’s not even because he suggested women who don’t want to be raped should “take some responsibility for themselves” and not get too drunk.It was only after a second ex-girlfriend (this one left-wing) came forward to allege a break-in and rape that Democrats suddenly decided he was not fit to represent their party.The ousting says less about Platner, however, and more...

Technical talks between the United States and Iran are ongoing despite recent strikes and apparent rising tensions. A United States official confirmed to Townhall that “the United States is still committed to finding a resolution, and technical talks continue,” adding that “Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon.”The official added that the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the two countries last month “is performance-based, and Iran’s actions constitute failed performance at an unacceptable level.”NEW: @townhallcom can independently confirm other reporting that Iran talks are ongoing despite recent strikes.From a U.S. official:“President Trump made his feelings very clear yesterday in no...

The Democratic Socialists of America group has a handful of members poised for victory in the midterms A new wave of socialists clinched wins in recent Democratic primaries, putting them on a path to Congress in deep blue districts but also creating potential headaches for the broader party.These candidates, all associated with Democratic Socialists of America, are expected to win in November, while other DSA-backed candidates in states including Michigan and Missouri are still awaiting primaries.The hopefuls have tapped an insurgent energy among Democratic voters, while also opening the door for Republicans to accuse Democrats of being too far left...

On June 17, crews with Las Vegas Fire and Rescue responded to reports of a woman in labor inside one of the city's flood control channels. When firefighter paramedic Eric Paul reached the scene, he was immediately handed a newborn who wasn't breathing. "A bystander said, 'Help him,'" Paul recalled. "The cord was still attached. The placenta was still attached. He wasn't responding initially." Working in the challenging conditions of the tunnel, Paul quickly cleared the baby's airway, stimulated him, and clamped the umbilical cord so he could better assess the infant. Moments later came the outcome everyone was hoping...

The preliminary hearing in the Tyler Robinson trial has been going on this week in a Utah courtroom. Robinson is accused of assassinating Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University (UVU) on September 10, 2025. Erika Kirk and Charlie Kirk's parents, Kathryn and Robert, were able to face Robinson in court during the hearings. Throughout the week, the prosecution has laid out a very clear case that Tyler Robinson is the man responsible for the murder of Charlie Kirk, including video and DNA evidence linking Robinson to the crime.Robinson turned himself in to the authorities at 9...

GRAPEVINE, Texas (AP) — Wally Funk, an aviation pioneer who was the oldest woman to launch into space, has died. She was 87.Funk died Wednesday at her apartment in an assisted living facility in the Dallas and Fort Worth suburb of Grapevine, Texas, Grapevine City Councilwoman Duff O’Dell said Thursday. O’Dell, who described herself as Funk’s caregiver, said she was by Funk’s side. Funk had fallen a couple of times recently and had an infection in her leg.“It took its toll,” O’Dell said in a phone interview. Funk was one of 13 female pilots who went through the same tests...

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday terminated the last three members of the Election Assistance ‌Commission, the independent, federal commission that assists election administration officials nationwide, according to one person familiar with the decision and two other people briefed on the terminations. The remaining three commissioners of the four-member bipartisan commission were forced out of the commission on Thursday in different ways. The one Republican appointee resigned and the other ​two Democratic appointees were fired via an email from the White House Presidential Personnel Office, according to two people familiar with the ​terminations. The fourth commissioner departed the commission in...

Eight years after Vatican-China deal, persecution of faithful Catholics intensifiesThe Vatican's secret deal with China has empowered the Chinese Communist Party's war on religious freedom that Rome needs to address.“Nobody has any illusion about the Chinese Communists Party’s determination to eliminate all religion.”~Bishop James E. Walsh, Maryknoll Missionary to China, 1948, imprisoned for 12 years by the CCP.(Elizabeth Yore) — The Patriotic Chinese Catholic Association was established in 1957 by the authority of Mao Zedong, and under the control of the United Front Work Department of the Central Committee of the CCP with the goal to bring Catholicism into alignment...

U.S. — According to sources, the Democrat Party quietly revised their process for vetting prospective candidates by first asking them if they've ever raped anyone. Following the surprise implosion of would-be senator Graham Platner, Democrats reportedly added a new question to the typical questionnaire they give every prospective candidate: Have you ever raped anyone? "Forgetting to ask about the rape thing is really coming back to bite us," said Ken Martin, head of the Democratic National Committee. "It always catches us off guard. I really think adding a brief screening to see if potential candidates have committed felonious sexual assault...

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. John Wayne ~ Why I Love America Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord. Psalm 31:24 (NIV) ----

Los Angeles Unified is facing “severe” signs of insolvency, with county officials projecting a $231-million cash shortfall by late 2027. County education authorities have appointed a fiscal expert and have given the school board 45 days to fix its budget or risk outside control. Costly union contracts, stalled cuts and steep enrollment declines helped drive the troubles. The Los Angeles Unified School District faces “severe” indications that it will be insolvent by November 2027 — falling $231 million into the red and unable to make payroll — county analysts have concluded, setting up a 45-day deadline for the school board...