Free Republic

Republicans returned to Washington on Monday night in an increasingly dour mood about the state of their party: Growing fears of a November wipeout. A Middle East war with no end in sight. A feeling of loss after the sudden death of their longtime colleague Lindsey Graham. Now, with President Donald Trump’s attention focused on Capitol Hill for what could be the party’s final legislative sprint before the midterms, a restless House Speaker Mike Johnson is racing to reverse Republicans’ political fortunes. Johnson is privately pushing a major legislative push centered on Pentagon funding, cutting government fraud and a new...

A Florida federal judge in a scathing order Monday said President Donald Trump filed a $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service “for an improper purpose” — to gain the appearance of “judicial legitimacy for a ‘settlement’ that had no viable basis in law or fact.” That controversial out-of-court settlement with the IRS and Department of Justice in May briefly led the DOJ to create a since-abandoned $1.8 billion “lawfare” fund to compensate purported victims of prosecutorial overreach by the department. It also led to Trump, his family members and related business entities being granted effective immunity from audits,...

Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables was found to have a surprising link to lung cancer among younger non-smokers, early research suggests. The observational study, led by Jorge Nieva, M.D., of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center at Keck Medicine, was presented this month at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting in San Diego. It has not yet been peer-reviewed. Researchers looked at dietary, smoking and demographic data for 187 patients who were diagnosed with lung cancer at age 50 or younger. They found that among non-smokers, there was a link between healthier-than-average diets –...

If you are attending the parade in the Champs-Elyséés, don't forget to wear your QR code - Liberté, égalité, cybersecurité! A pioneering example of the extension of "online safety" to real life. In hopes of deferring my next trip to Comaland, I am trying hard to comply with my doctors' instructions to eschew the Internet and commune with the birds and flowers. But some news insists on breaking through. I learn from my pal Dan Wootton, for example, that, of three Mark Steyn Show guests, one has been brutally murdered, another subjected to (so far) less fatal political violence, and...

Vance 45 to Newsom 38; also, Vance 45 AOC 38. Zogby Poll; July 1-4, 2026; 1,003 likely voters.

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (AP) — A man running from an encounter with immigration and other federal agents in Florida was struck and killed by a tractor trailer on Tuesday, authorities said. The 28-year-old was among four occupants of a vehicle that stopped in the parking lot of a gas station and convenience store in St. Augustine before 7 a.m. During an encounter with agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as well as Homeland Security Investigations, the four fled on foot, with one darting across a busy road into the path of the semi, Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Dylan Bryan...

Rate hike filings come as the state’s major water utilities seek merger. CHICAGO — Customers across Illinois could be facing higher water and sewage bills as the state’s largest private water utilities seek rate increases and permission to merge. Illinois American Water, the state’s largest private water utility, is seeking a $142 million rate increase, which would raise typical water costs for its 357,000 residential customers by around $14 per month. Typical wastewater customers would see an additional increase of around $28 per month. Aqua Illinois, the second-largest private water utility serving over 90,000 customers in the state, has asked...

The 8-Year Betrayal of Chinese CatholicsNo one can fail to see the irony of the excommunication of the SSPX in view of the renewed Vatican deal with the CCP and their ongoing consecrations of bishops without papal oversight or pre-approval.Last Thursday marked the eighth anniversary of the secret provisional agreement between the Holy See and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regarding the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association. (CCPA). Designed by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin in 2018, with the blessing of Pope Francis, the agreement recognizes the supreme authority of the CCP to appoint bishops and suppress and/or establish...

A former political candidate for state and federal races in Arizona was recently arrested for an alleged disturbance reported last Friday in the Valley. Brianna Westbrook, 41, was arrested on July 10 after her former partner contacted police following an incident at a Phoenix residence, court records show. The reporting party told police Westbrook allegedly "pushed her way" into the residence holding a knife and duct tape. The two then allegedly "wrestled" until Westbrook pushed the other person onto the couch. The victim then screamed out and asked Westbrook "to stop" before Westbrook allegedly "took off running," records show. Officers...

Half a century after approving coercive plea bargaining, the Supreme Court is beginning to recognize its costs.Between 2013 and 2023, Munson P. Hunter III "used fraudulently obtained Social Security numbers to open 14 bank accounts, acquire at least 18 credit cards, and apply for loans from the Small Business Administration," the Justice Department says. "Those fraudulent acts ultimately cost others nearly half a million dollars." After he was arrested in 2023, Hunter faced 10 counts of bank and wire fraud with combined maximum penalties of 300 years in prison. He also faced a choice. He could go to trial, risking...

Google AIThis is the version before infamous Islamofascist Iskandar323 began vandalizing it,followed by ithers if that gang incl. Zero0000: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Zionism&oldid=1163995776

The back-and-forth voyages have been instrumental because only a small number of shipowners were willing to risk sending their tankers through HormuzIran’s attacks on commercial ships are turning off a lifeline for the global energy market—a stream of tankers ferrying crude through the hazardous Strait of Hormuz.The barrage of missiles and drones hit ships that specialize in short voyages in and out of the Persian Gulf known as “shuttle runs.” Unlike traditional tanker voyages, which carry crude through the strait to refineries in China, South Korea and elsewhere, these ships make repeated short trips moving oil from Gulf terminals to...

Education experts have written many excellent books and articles in recent years and made insightful presentations covering a range of important topics – admissions, curriculum, pedagogy, administration, and accreditation. The Martin Center itself has co-authored model legislation for general education. From different perspectives, many of these present well-reasoned arguments for the restoration of the Western tradition in general education. While there has been some recent progress, it has been gradual and halting. To move forward, I suggest we review three lessons from ancient Sparta. In 480 BC, Sparta and its allies were vastly outnumbered and overmatched by the invading Persian...

Cardiologist says warning signs can develop years before symptoms appearHeart disease remains the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States, but doctors say many cases can be prevented through early screening and lifestyle changes. New cholesterol guidelines are calling for screenings to begin earlier and for high-risk patients to reach lower LDL targets. Dr. Ajay Mhatre, a cardiologist at Cardiovascular Institute of Northwest Florida, said the risks often build silently over time. “Coronary disease or cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death for men and women in America,” Mhatre said. Smoking, diabetes,...

De Beers: Venetia diamond mine ======================================================================================= DE Beers is preparing to shutter South Africa’s largest diamond mine for two years, threatening thousands of jobs and removing roughly two-fifths of the country’s diamond production as the industry’s most famous company battles one of the worst downturns in its history. The move is intended to cut costs, while production will be increased elsewhere, enough to leave its overall output guidance unchanged. It’s an especially striking decision because Venetia, in Limpopo, is not an ageing operation being allowed to gracefully expire. And De Beers has already spent about $2.2bn converting the former open-pit...

[Catholic Caucus] Facing God, Rooted in Christ: The Latin Mass, Tradition, and OrthodoxyThe always remembered Pope Benedict XVI — whom it is quite possible will one day be declared a Doctor of the Church — sought, through his Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum of July 7, 2007, on the two uses of the one Roman Rite in its ordinary and extraordinary forms, to liberalize the celebration of the Mass commonly called "traditional," "Tridentine," "of Saint Pius V," or "the Mass of all time." He did so with the aim of contributing to liturgical peace and out of the respect owed to...

Digital ID: Billionaires are CIRCLING your digital life - it's time to WAKE UP

Explanation: Why is this asteroid a double? Earlier this month the Japanese robotic spacecraft Hayabusa2 shot past asteroid 98943 Torifune and captured pictures. Although previous observations from distant Earth indicated that Torifune was oblong, Hayabusa2 found that Torifune actually has two joined lobes. With a length of about four soccer fields, this space rock frequently comes near the Earth as it orbits the Sun, although it is not a threat. Besides the two lobes, Torifune shows many large boulders, but, surprisingly, no obvious craters, likely because its surface is a pile of rubble. Like asteroid Arrokoth, it appears that each...

A new report says health officials are investigating Taco Bell as a potential part of the cyclosporiasis outbreak that’s sickened thousands of people across the U.S., with many suffering from extreme diarrhea. The Washington Post cites two anonymous sources close to the investigation, which is said to involve both federal and state health officials. Taco Bell has reportedly removed lettuce, cilantro, pico de gallo and guacamole from its menu in some areas as a precaution. Michigan’s health department has pointed to lettuce or other salad greens as a potential source of the outbreak, but said some people infected with the...

Sasquatch interviews the bison who attacked the old man!