Free Republic

Soren Aldaco, an emerging leader in the “detransitioner” movement, began identifying as transgender at age 11. Growing up in Texas, she’d gone down “a rabbit hole of websites and niche online forums” trying to figure out who she was. As a teen, deeply distressed and diagnosed with a variety of mental illnesses, she became fixated on the idea that hormone treatment and surgeries might provide some relief.At age 17 her stepmother took her to a nurse practitioner the family had met at a support group. He prescribed testosterone and estrogen blockers 30 minutes later. At age 19, she underwent “top...

What happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas. Former firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene officially tied the knot with her fiancé, MAGA reporter Brian Glenn, in a private ceremony in Sin City Tuesday. “Last night, surrounded by our families, [Brian Glenn] and I said ‘I do,'” Greene posted on X with pictures of the two during the ceremony. Greene and Glenn first crossed paths during a rally for President Trump in 2022, according to the Washington Post. They later divorced from their spouses at the time and started dating about a year thereafter. The two MAGA lovebirds got engaged...

In an unexpected move, a group of young Republicans endorsed a Democrat running in their Central Valley district instead of his Donald Trump-endorsed opponent. That bold move could cost that local chapter its official standing. Last week, the Madera Young Republicans endorsed Rep. Adam Gray, the incumbent Democrat who has represented California’s 13th Congressional District since winning the seat in 2024. The endorsement was spotted by an online poll tracker, which showed a screen capture of the group’s Instagram post. In response the California Young Republicans, the state’s umbrella organization, said it would take swift action against the satellite group....

US stocks dropped on Wednesday as bond yields rose after the Federal Reserve voted to hold rates steady, with three members dissenting and voting for a hike. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell more than 1,100 points or 2.2% as oil prices rose amid renewed tensions in the Middle East, and long-dated Treasury yields rose following the Fed decision. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) dropped 1.5%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) sank about 1.7% as a sell-off in chip stocks continued to deepen. Markets were digesting the Federal Reserve's decision to hold interest rates steady, with three FOMC members...

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Science has declined to answer any questions to avoid incriminating itself for crimes it may have committed. Upon being brought in for a Congressional hearing over its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, Science stated that it was advised by its attorneys to not answer questions so as to not to provide damaging witness against itself. "Science has elected to exercise its fifth amendment right to not provide testimony that may be used against it in criminal proceedings," said Science's attorney Jay Varner. "This decision should in no way be taken as an admission of guilt by Science....

But it's not what you thinkFunding for scientific research in the United States is at a record low after the Trump administration canceled billions of dollars in research grants last year, derailing work focused on diversity, climate change, and other hot-button topics. SNIP The site, more commonly associated with adult content, is increasingly a haven for other types of creators, of which scientists make up a very small fraction. Today, you can subscribe to OnlyMarms, which promises “Unfiltered yellow-bellied marmot content from the Rockies” delivered as near-daily photos and videos of chubby, personable marmots (with charming names like Staple,...

The trove of Covid-related documents Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has released in recent days has revived the question of accountability for the government’s Covid response — specifically for those who crafted that response, like Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), whose pandemic policies were based on a web of lies.Portions of Fauci’s personal diary and emails released by Paul reveal what can only be described as a pattern of deliberate deception — about Covid’s origins, its fatality, Fauci’s role in school closures, the effectiveness of the Covid vaccine and adverse...

The idea of the commencement speaker always seemed silly to me. They wait till the last moments of your education to bring in someone to inspire you. I would think it would be better to bring in someone on the FIRST day of school to get your head straight and on the path to success. What would you tell a student on the first day of school?

At least 13 people have been killed in southwestern Japan after a magnitude-7.1 earthquake, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Wednesday, as rescuers searched for people trapped in collapsed buildings, including a shopping mall. “Even now, there are people waiting to be rescued, and this is a race against time. We will marshal all available resources on the ground to save and rescue as many people as possible,” Takaichi told reporters in Tokyo. The quake struck Tuesday afternoon in Kumamoto prefecture on Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu at a relatively shallow depth of 6 miles, prompting tsunami warnings and evacuation...

AFGHANISTAN — Members of the Al-Qaeda terrorist organization are reportedly kicking themselves for all of the work they did pulling off 9/11 when they could have just run for mayor of New York City. Al-Qaeda leader (Emir) Saif al-Adel admitted to feeling quite jealous of Zohran Mamdani's success as mayor and wishes he had thought of it. "Boy, do I have egg on my face. Let me tell you, it was a terrible idea in retrospect," Saif said. "All of my friend got killed, and I could have just run for mayor instead! Oy vey!" Mohammad al-Rabbi, assistant to the...

Explanation: Solar System bodies make deep space exploration more fuel efficient! Today’s video shows the Psyche spacecraft gaining speed and changing its trajectory with minimal fuel spent due to a gravity assist from Mars in May 2026. Mars has an average orbital speed of almost 87,000 km/h (54,000 mph) around the Sun. Its orbital motion and its gravity allowed Mars to pull Psyche along with it, increasing the spacecraft’s speed. Gravity assists have been used since 1959’s Luna 3 mission to allow for spacecraft (the Voyagers, Cassini) to reach farther than they could with fuel alone. This assist helped the...

Iran is expected to receive within weeks a first shipment out of up to 400 Chinese-made shoulder-fired air-defence missile launchers, three sources familiar with the deal told Reuters, as it rebuilds its defences amid war with the United States. The purchase, valued at $60-70 million, ‌is one of Tehran's largest-known efforts to strengthen its short-range air defences since the outbreak of its war with the U.S. and Israel, which exposed gaps in ‌Iran's ability to protect military sites and strategic infrastructure. The contract covers the purchase of between 300 and 400 man-portable air defence systems (MANPADS), including Chinese-made QW-12 and...

Health and Human Services Secretary and avowed nemesis of Dr. Anthony Fauci, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has weighed in on the ongoing hearing involving the wicked doctor.. As The Gateway Pundit’s Jim Hoft reported, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former NIAID director and face of America’s disastrous COVID response, finally appeared under subpoena Wednesday morning before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which Paul chairs. The hearing, titled “Testimony of Anthony Fauci,” began at 8:30 a.m. ET on July 29 in Room SD-342 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, according to the official committee notice. This hearing comes after...

Federal agents came across a lot more than cocaine, guns and cash when they searched the home of a suspected drug trafficker in the South Valley last week. Agents also discovered more than 50 venomous snakes, including pit vipers, cobras and the inland taipan — the most venomous snake in the world — according to search warrants unsealed Monday in U.S. District Court for New Mexico. According to a NM Department of Wildlife seizure inventory, the snakes included king and spitting cobras, Fer-de-lance, black and green mambas, numerous varieties of pit vipers and reticulated pythons. Many of the snakes, some...

A drone struck the U.S.-owned gas tanker Energos Winter at Egypt’s Damietta port on Wednesday evening, setting it ablaze before the flames spread to a second tanker, Gaslog Salem, according to Reuters and maritime security firm Ambrey. Two security sources told Reuters that the tankers were hit by a drone, while three shipping industry sources identified Energos Winter as the vessel struck. Ambrey said the crews were evacuated and the fire was brought under control. No casualties were reported, and no country or organization has claimed responsibility. Damietta, located in the northern Nile Delta, had been named by Iranian television...

An explosion hit a liquefied natural gas terminal at Egypt's Damietta Port on Wednesday evening during cargo discharge operations, with maritime security officials suspecting an unmanned aerial vehicle attack. Maritime security firm Ambrey reported that a drone struck the American owned, Marshall Islands flagged floating storage tanker Energos Winter, causing a fire that subsequently spread to a second vessel, Gaslog Salem. Shipping agent Inchcape Shipping Services stated that affected vessels were moved outside the port area while emergency crews contained the flames, allowing other berths to resume operations. The incident follows a target map published by Iranian state television identifying...

Airstrikes in Jordan show Iran’s Revolutionary Guard is willing to risk Trump’s retaliationIran’s surprise missile attack on U.S. forces in Jordan shows Tehran’s military leaders would rather risk ramping up the war than play defense or accept a peace deal that would expose them to greater domestic political pressures.Iran fired ballistic missiles on U.S. troops early Wednesday local time, demonstrating a willingness by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which exerts more power than ever in Tehran, to escalate during a relative lull in the conflict and attempt to seize the initiative after weeks in which Iran has mostly reacted to...

The White House on Tuesday released a sweeping summary of findings from the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, arguing that a laboratory-related incident remains the most likely origin of COVID-19 and accusing senior public health officials of shaping the public narrative around the virus’s emergence. The release also renewed criticism of former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, EcoHealth Alliance, the National Institutes of Health, the World Health Organization and several federal and state agencies. It claimed key officials obstructed congressional investigations, mishandled oversight of high-risk research and failed to provide transparent guidance...

Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents discovered stolen Civil War-era cannonballs in checked luggage at an Alabama airport on July 18, according to a TSA announcement. Lead TSA Officer Justin Dupree surveyed the historical artifacts on his X-ray screen after Gulf Shores International Airport security technology flagged the bag, the TSA press release stated. Upon inspection, Dupree wondered whether the opaque object might be a medicine ball before becoming concerned. “My first thought was, ‘I couldn’t see a fuse and need to get some help quick,’” Dupree said. “I couldn’t see the entire item but was scared I might have been...

There's an active debate in Democratic politics between progressives and moderates about how to build a winning coalition. A new report from a pair of California researchers, shared exclusively with NPR, argues that debate misses the point. The answer isn't centrism, they write, it's respect for where working-class voters are coming from. "It's about understanding that people need a sense of personal and economic security before they will support the changes progressives are calling for," the authors write. The report's authors are, to put a label on it, college-educated coastal elites. Joan C. Williams is a law professor from San...