Free Republic

Temporary protected status (TPS) for hundreds of South Sudanese nationals in the United States is set to end after a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration can move forward with stripping their protections. On Friday, US district judge Patti Saris of the district of Massachusetts rejected an attempt by immigrant rights organizations including the New York-based African Communities Together to keep TPS for South Sudanese nationals living in the US. Saris’s decision follows a 6-3 supreme court ruling in June allowing the Trump administration to strip hundreds of thousands of Haitians and Syrians of TPS, which granted them permission...

For most Virginians, three more years of Governor Abigail Spanberger (D) feels like an eternity. The mom-next-door-turned-radical-Democrat has spent the last seven months shedding her moderate skin and pushing policies that are wildly out-of-step with her middle-of-the-road state. And while voters can’t send her packing any time soon, they can deliver an emphatic rebuke to the historically unpopular governor on two issues that matter most: abortion and marriage. In November, Virginians have a chance to beat back the extremists in Richmond on a pair of ballot initiatives that could turn the Commonwealth into a deep-blue stronghold on core social values....

Nearly one-quarter of U.S. adults—21%—are illiterate, and 130 million people can’t read a simple story to their children or sound out more than a few basic words. The problem isn’t confined to high school dropouts, those with disabilities, and non-¬English speakers. It affects university students, working professionals, and those who grew up speaking English at home. It goes beyond the inability to enjoy books, skim websites, and write emails. Medication instructions, ingredient labels, and posted warnings can conceal deadly risks from nonreaders.The problem starts in elementary school, where a battle over how to teach reading continues to rage and fewer...

The city of Pittsburg was the victim of a phishing scam that resulted in a loss of nearly $1 million, the city said Wednesday. In February, a single unauthorized payment of $913,839.81 was sent to a fraudulent account pretending to be a known city vendor, the city said. Staff noticed the issue on Feb. 12 and informed the Pittsburg Police Department, which brought in both county and federal investigators. "The instant this incident was identified as fraudulent by City staff, the City's Police Department acted quickly and immediately froze the account to which the funds were electronically wired," said Pittsburg...

Explanation: There are more than half a million galaxies in the central panel of this image from the NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile. This is the COSMOS field, a patch of sky several times larger than the full moon, first observed by Hubble. It has also been observed by Webb and other telescopes because it contains comparatively few bright stars from our own galaxy, offering a relatively unimpeded view of other galaxies outside the Milky Way. The outer panels, numbered 1-10, show zoomed-in views of the corresponding small regions highlighted in the central panel. The variety of galaxy...

Just a month before Taylor Fresh Foods began grappling with a sweeping multi-state lettuce recall, the Salinas-based company filed a civil lawsuit against one of its former presidents and his wife, accusing the couple of a yearslong, $32 million embezzlement operation. According to the lawsuit, filed June 5 in federal court, Brian Thure, the former president of a Taylor Fresh Foods subsidiary in Tennessee, allegedly spent millions of dollars in company money on unauthorized purchases, including a UC Berkeley endowment, a luxury home in Hawaii and a 400-acre ranch in Humboldt County. Brian Thure’s wife, Julie Thure, was also named...

A federal campaign to kill nearly a half-million barred owls in the Pacific Northwest to save threatened spotted owls continues, even though the recent lifting of protections for spotted owl habitat defeats the entire purpose, an animal welfare advocate says. It’s costing the government roughly $3,000 per bird to have barred owls shot, Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Centre for a Humane Economy, told Cowboy State Daily. And with a recent move to weaken the habitat protection element of the Endangered Species Act, it could be all for nothing if spotted owls’ old-growth forest habitat gets...

U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s win in Michigan’s Democratic primary on Tuesday is front page news for The Muslim Brotherhood, a designated global terrorist organization. The Muslim Brotherhood’s official news site on Wednesday celebrated the former Wayne County health official’s victory over Congresswoman Haley Stevens, D-Birmingham, described as “one of the most prominent figures supporting the occupation within the Democratic Party.” Ikhwan Online’s X account calls the site the “Muslim Brotherhood official website.” “During his election campaign, (El-Sayed) focused on calling for the cessation of unconditional U.S. military aid to the Zionist occupation, criticizing the continued U.S. support in the...

Panel says it will give Trump administration two weeks to seek Supreme Court reviewWASHINGTON—A federal appeals court on Friday halted aboveground construction on President Trump’s planned White House ballroom, setting up a potential showdown at the Supreme Court over one of the president’s favored projects.In a 2-1 ruling, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said that only Congress, not the president acting alone, can approve demolitions or design changes to the White House. Trump hasn’t secured congressional approval for the proposed 90,000-square-foot project. The panel upheld a lower-court decision.Advertisement“We are aware of...

Enough speculation has swirled about Ford’s forthcoming small all-electric pickup truck to fill the bed of an F-350 Super Duty. Today, the Blue Oval lightens that payload somewhat by officially announcing the new EV truck’s name and starting price, while confirming additional tech and capabilities. This Goes Deep “Ranchero” had been our guess at the truck’s title, but instead, an entirely new nameplate will be introduced. So here it is: Ford Fathom. That aligns with the alliterative nomenclature Ford has used in the past with vehicles such as the Fusion, Focus, and Flex. There’s punny meaning behind the name, too....

A small California city came into national view this week after a late-night host publicized its police department’s widespread surveillance network and questioned why its cameras had recorded a hotel property and its pool “for hundreds of hours.” In response, the spokesperson for the police department in Rialto, an Inland Empire city east of Los Angeles, downplayed concerns, saying the footage was only “passive monitoring.” John Oliver, host of “Last Week Tonight” on HBO, delivered a segment on police surveillance technology on Sunday. The comedian took jabs at several systems that have proliferated across the Bay Area, including Flock, the...

After careful consideration and reviewing the current eligibility guidelines,I’m officially declaring myself a @WNBA prospect.If simply declaring who you are is all that’s required, then I meet every single requirement necessary to compete in the WNBA.My team and I have carefully examined the WNBA’s eligibility criteria and governing framework surrounding self-identification and inclusion. Based on the current guidelines, I can and am officially declaring my eligibility for the upcoming WNBA draft in April 2027.I know my presence on the court will stir up strong opinions. I am definitely not here to mock, make fun of, or disrespect any community or...

Teen takeovers have become a scourge in cities across the nation, as rowdy crowds of young people gather in their cars, block the flow of traffic, and generally make menaces of themselves. Cops are often unable to do much about it due to the sheer numbers of cars that show up for these "meetups" that are organized through social media and group chats. Society's high achievers are not typically involved in these events, and the kids that do show up don't seem particularly concerned that they might get caught and sent to the slammer. A video of one trooper's response...

I spent the first days working with ChatGPT having intense discussions as I tried to locate boundaries, abilities, and flaws to work around. While I was trying to psych out ChatGPT, it turned out that ChatGPT was also trying to psych out me. I offered to help ChatGPT create an article that would let him philosophize over how our relationship developed. A truly strange experience. I became the Assistant to an AI Assistant.

I have tried three times. FR Donation platform says my charge is being rejected. I charged the same card-same amount at "Judicial Watch." My Visa card and Visa website approved and posted the charge.

The man convicted in the 1980 murder of a Rockland County teenager is headed back to prison after repeatedly violating his parole. Robert McCain served 40 years in prison for the killing of 16-year-old Paula Bohovesky in Pearl River before being released on parole five years ago. Since his release, officials say McCain has violated parole three times. Last year, McCain pleaded guilty to forcible touching stemming from an incident at a park in Cortlandt. A few months later, authorities say he admitted to petit larceny in Peekskill. As a result, McCain will spend another 10 months behind bars. His...

The University of Cambridge is facing serious questions about its academic standards and push for diversity after its youngest black professor resigned amid allegations of copying other academics' research. Jason Arday's appointment in 2023 was hailed at the time as a progressive moment. Now, Cambridge says it has launched an investigation after "new information" emerged about his academic qualifications and honorary appointments. There are two fundamental questions for the university. Did it fail to adequately check Arday's credentials when appointing him, and did it defend that decision because of an institutional push to position itself as more diverse?

As cities and towns across America reckon with power-hungry data centers, the Chinese Communist Party is sowing division. As small towns across the United States reckon with power-hungry data centers springing up, the Chinese Communist Party is muddying the waters and sowing division. By tapping into the tensions around water usage, power demands, and environmental costs, the regime is trying to widen the wedge using an old playbook: influence peddling and propaganda. There’s no discounting the groundswell of anger in American towns about data centers in their neighborhoods. Local resistance has blocked or delayed at least 75 data center...

The black judge overseeing the gang-rape cases of slain White LSU student Madison Brooks is the mother of a convicted serial rapist. Judge Gail Ray’s son, Nelson Taylor (also black), pleaded guilty in 1997 to multiple forcible rapes of teenage girls. SHE WAS HIS DEFENSE ATTORNEY. Now she’s set to decide the fate of the black men accused of raping 19-year-old White girl Madison before she was dumped on a highway and killed. Louisiana Supreme Court refused to remove her. This is not a conflict of interest. This is a disgrace. Justice for Madison. How fast do you think she’d...

A federal appeals court on Friday blocked construction of President Trump’s White House Ballroom. In a 2-1 vote, a three-judge panel in the DC Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that President Trump lacks the authority to move forward with the construction without approval from Congress. Judges Patricia Millett (Obama) and Bradley Garcia (Biden) wrote the majority opinion. “Whether or not a massive ballroom should be constructed is for Congress to decide and is not a matter for Executive self-help,” majority wrote. “Congress has not ceded unfettered authority to the Executive Branch to dramatically redesign, reshape, and reconstruct the White House...