Free Republic

A Biden-appointed federal judge on Friday became the second jurist in Massachusetts to block the Trump administration's effort to end temporary protected status for migrant groups, fueling a growing clash over whether lower courts are ignoring a recent Supreme Court ruling that narrowed their authority over such decisions. U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy of the District of Massachusetts issued an administrative stay in African Communities Together v. Mullin, temporarily preserving TPS protections for Ethiopian nationals while the court considers whether plaintiffs may pursue constitutional claims in light of the Supreme Court's June ruling. In a 6-3 decision in Mullin v....

President Trump has set aside, at least for now, plans to sharply escalate the American military assault against Iran, with particular concern that intensifying the war could dangerously drain the Pentagon’s already diminished stockpile of Patriot antimissile interceptors and other air defense munitions in the Middle East. The threat to interceptor stockpiles is one of many considerations that have made a return to major combat operations a hugely risky endeavor, administration officials say. Mr. Trump and his top aides are also uneasy about the prospect of a widening war in the Middle East, the alienation of key Gulf allies who...

AIM HIGH A college professor prepared a final exam for his students. The test questions were divided into three categories, and the students were instructed to choose questions from only one of the categories. The first category of questions was the hardest and worth fifty points. The second, which was easier, was worth forty points. The third, the simplest, was worth thirty points. Upon completion of the test, students who had chosen the hardest fifty-point questions were given As. The students who had chosen the forty-point questions received Bs. Those who had settled for the easiest thirty-pointers were given...

Move comes amid concerns that Trump delegation could help Bolsonaro family cast doubt on electronic voting ahead of October’s presidential election SÃO PAULO—Brazil has denied visas to two senior Trump administration officials who were planning to travel to the country, amid concerns that they sought to undermine confidence in the electronic-voting system before October’s presidential election. The move comes as fears deepen in Brazil that the Bolsonaro family is working with President Trump and his allies to unseat leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and help return the Brazilian right to power. Former president Jair Bolsonaro is serving a...

LOS ANGELES -- Graphic testimony continued Friday on day four in the preliminary hearing for singer D4vd, as a judge weighs whether there is sufficient evidence for him to stand trial in the killing of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. Prosecutors are seeking to prove D4vd, whose real name is David Burke, began sexually abusing Rivas Hernandez when she was 13 and he was 18, then stabbed her to death when she threatened to reveal their long sexual history and crater his career. A Los Angeles Police Department detective testified about explicit photographs found on Burke's phone that allegedly depicted sexual...

The Democrat-controlled Massachusetts House passed legislation Wednesday that loosens restrictions on abortions that can be performed after 24 weeks of gestation, with supporters saying the policy change will enable more residents with serious complications to remain in Massachusetts rather than needing to travel out of state to seek care. The bill scraps the four types of exemptions currently outlined in statute for life-threatening situations for the mother or fetus, instead giving deference to doctors' professional judgment. The House passed the bill on a 119-33 vote, with all Republicans who voted casting their votes against the bill. Democrats who rejected the...

A week after Iran killed American troops in Jordan, crossing President Donald Trump's red line for restarting all-out war, the U.S. military didn't launch airstrikes on the regime.Friday came and went without an announcement from U.S. Central Command about a new attack, breaking a nearly two-week streak.Sources told Axios that Trump received plans from the military yesterday to conduct strikes in Iran but didn't give a green light and instead ordered them to hold off.U.S. forces are still preparing for major combat operations to potentially resume, but Trump hasn't issued orders to move in that direction, the report added.The White...

Hawaii Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke (D) was indicted on bribery charges on Friday following a monthslong state investigation into a campaign finance scandal. Luke was accused of accepting campaign finance contributions in 2022 while she was a state lawmaker in exchange for securing funding for COVID-19 testing sites. A Hawaii grand jury returned a 12-count indictment charging Luke with criminal conspiracy to commit bribery and falsifying candidate committee reports among other charges, according to the state’s Department of the Attorney General. The Hill has reached out to Luke’s office for comment. The charges stem from allegations that Luke accepted at...

Just hours before Maine Democrats are scheduled to meet in Bangor to select a replacement nominee for the U.S. Senate, a Republican state lawmaker is asking Secretary of State Shenna Bellows to determine whether former Senate President Troy Jackson is legally eligible to receive the nomination at all...

German authorities on Saturday canceled a popular pride festival after numerous people were injured and one killed when a white van rammed the festivities in Berlin. "We are currently deployed with numerous police forces as well as rescue units from the Berlin Fire Department in the Großer Tiergarten," Berlin Police said in a translated X post, after telling festivalgoers to leave the area. Police said the injured were being treated by rescue personnel.

A Georgia teenager who was “like a nephew” to Grammy-winning rapper 21 Savage reportedly shot his little sister by accident before taking his own life, according to local news station 11Alive. Seven Shirley, 14, died by suicide after allegedly shooting his 12-year-old sister, Lyric, in the neck Wednesday afternoon in a heartbreaking accident at a home in Stockbridge, southeast of Atlanta, grieving relatives told the outlet.“Just that fast that boy had made the decision to kill himself,” Seven’s grandmother, Sharon Smith, told the news outlet through tears. Seven Shirley and sister Lyric’s family are devastated at the horrific tragedy. 11...

TEHRAN, Juy 25--RIA Novosti. The Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked an Iranian merchant vessel in the Caspian Sea, the Islamic Republic's Foreign Ministry reported. "The Iranian Foreign Ministry strongly condemns Ukraine's attack on an Iranian merchant vessel in the Caspian Sea on the morning of Saturday July 25. The attack resulted in an explosion on the vessel, killing one sailor and injuring another. This attack is a violation of Article 2, paragraph 4, of the UN Charter and an act of aggression that could further fan the flames of war" the ministry said in a post on its Telegram channel. The...

Hundreds of lefty demonstrators marched through downtown Madison, Wisconsin, spewing anti-cop venom, stopping traffic and harassing diners as they protested the killing of Corey Ruiz, a career criminal who allegedly stabbed a police officer with a knife before being shot. Nearly 500 people marched from the intersection of Williamson Street and South Baldwin Street — where the 38-year-old was shot three times on Wednesday during a struggle with several police officers — to the Madison Police Department headquarters on Friday. Video showed some demonstrators stopping traffic and confronting at a female motorist who insisted she was an “ally” during a...

Several Jewish Michigan Democrats admitted Tuesday they or people they know will be backing Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers in the upcoming election if Abdul El-Sayed becomes the Democratic nominee. Ahead of the Aug. 4 primary election, Jewish donors spoke with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) about the possibility of El-Sayed, who has been an outspoken critic of Israel, becoming the party's nominee for the Michigan Senate seat. JTA reported that several prominent Jewish fundraisers have already begun to see Rogers as a "hedge" and are planning to raise funds for him against El-Sayed.

Air Force Master Sergeant Logan Ireland told Military.com that a federal court's dismissal of a Justice Department motion is a "meaningful victory" for him and 17 other airmen embroiled in a lawsuit against the U.S. government.Ireland is at the center of the lawsuit, Ireland v. US, along with 17 other transgender service members from the U.S. Air Force and Space Force amid claims that they all received retirement orders prior to having those orders revoked without explanation. The personnel, who each have dedicated more than 15 years of their lives to service to the United States' benefit, filed litigation to...

Maine has a "sore loser" law that says a candidate that runs for one office and loses cannot run for another office in the same cycle. After Graham Platner dropped out, Maine Dems are poised to nominate Troy Jackson. But Jackson ran for Governor (and lost the primary). Eligible?

LANSING, Mich. (News 10) — The Michigan Supreme Court has ruled that police can no longer use the smell of marijuana as the sole justification for a warrantless vehicle search. In a 5-2 decision in No. 165764, People of Michigan v Devante Kyran Jennings,, the court found that odor alone does not establish probable cause that a criminal amount of cannabis is present in a vehicle. Read more about the case and find the court’s opinion here. What changed after legalization Since Michigan voters approved a change to state law in 2018, possessing less than five ounces of marijuana is...

I’ve got some fantastic news. We don’t need to worry about that Fort Knox gold audit anymore. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent assured us all the gold is there. His comments came during an interview on Fox News. Host Jesse Watters asked the Treasury Secretary point-blank, “Have you visited Fort Knox?” "I haven't. People on my staff have. The treasurer has been to Fort Knox, and I'm happy to say all gold is present and accounted for." There you have it. The fox guarding the henhouse says the hens are all accounted for. Case closed! Or maybe not. Consider this: would...

Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the clerical regime in Tehran and its proxies have committed a range of attacks against Americans. This memorandum provides select documentation of these assaults. While the list is not comprehensive, it demonstrates that Tehran continues to pose a threat to U.S. forces in the Middle East, the American homeland, and Americans residing across the globe. November 1979-January 1981: Iranian students — with the backing of Tehran — take 66 Americans hostage at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. April 1983: A suicide car bombing kills 63 people, including 17 Americans, at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut....

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that Russia is preparing to bring an additional 30,000 North Korean troops into its war against Ukraine, a move that would dramatically expand Pyongyang's direct involvement in the conflict if confirmed. "We also see Russia's cooperation with North Korea. Russia wants to bring in another 30,000 North Korean troops," Zelensky said in his nightly video address, according to Reuters. He added that preparations to receive the troops had been underway since June in Russia's Voronezh region. The claim comes nearly two years after North Korea first sent troops to support Moscow under a growing...