Free Republic

The captain of a motorboat that capsized in New York Harbor and killed a mom and her baby was not licensed to operate the vessel – and was actually hired as a limo driver, new court documents reveal. Manuel Hernandez, 46, was allegedly running an illegal charter operation when he overloaded the 21-foot boat with 13 passengers on Saturday night, and lacked required safety standards that included child or infant-sized life jackets, federal prosecutors said. Sara Sanchez, 27, and her 5-month-old daughter, Antonella Garcia, drowned shortly before 10:30 p.m. when the boat was struck by a swell while making a...

A Presidential Delegation, led by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, represented the United States at the August 7 inauguration of President Abelardo de la Espriella. The delegation demonstrates U.S. commitment to reinvigorating the U.S.-Colombia relationship and deepening of our shared security and economic partnership.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said Wednesday that his office is joining two other states in issuing a subpoena to Dr. Anthony Fauci, alleging that he "profited" from the recommendations he gave during the handling of the Covid pandemic.Uthmeier, joined by West Virginia Attorney General John McCuskey and Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, said in a news release that he was issuing an investigative subpoena to Fauci for "an official investigation into awards, professional opportunities, financial incentives, grants, and Covid-19 guidance that impacted Florida businesses and consumers.""Government officials have a certain level of immunity in their official capacities, but if...

Townhall has shared a slew of upsetting and tragic stories of illegal alien truck drivers, who do not speak English, getting commercial driver's licenses (CDLs) and killing innocent people, both Americans and other immigrants. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy has worked to crack down on companies and states issuing these CDLs to keep Americans safe.But in Michigan, the Democrat Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed isn't worried about these truck drivers threatening our safety. He's afraid of white truck drivers in rural Michigan."He and I were in the middle of nowhere in Michigan. I don't even remember where, what town we were...

Staten Island judge on Monday temporarily blocked New York City’s rollout of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax, pausing enforcement while a lawsuit brought by a group of homeowners moves forward. Under the temporary restraining order, the city must take down the public tax roll and is barred from issuing any additional notices while the order is in effect. The next hearing is set for 2:15 p.m. August 31. The judge said from the bench that the notices caused irreparable harm because they did not explain why recipients had been flagged for the surcharge and warned that homeowners who failed to...

Six Right-Wing Lawmakers Introduced Bill Last Month Women's Groups Protest "Emotional Pressure" In Chile, a bill that would require women seeking an abortion to listen to the fetal heartbeat prior to the procedure has sparked controversy. On the 10th, Yonhap News quoted a report by Argentina's Canal 26 from the previous day, reporting that political circles and women's organizations in Chile are opposing the so-called "Listen to the Fetal Heartbeat (Escucha su corazon)" bill. This bill was jointly submitted on June 25 by six lawmakers, including Cristobal Urruticoechea, a staunch right-wing lawmaker, as well as members of the National Liberal...

A point that has generated much discussion is the decline in confidence in and support for higher education. Over the last ten years or so, the percentage of Americans who say they have a high degree of confidence in our colleges and universities has fallen, while the percentage who say they’re skeptical about the value of higher education has risen sharply. Many in the higher education establishment have dismissed this as having no importance—merely the result of increasingly vicious right-wing polemics aimed at one of the nation’s great engines of “progressive” influence, they say. Nothing to be concerned about. Some...

Senators Ron Johnson and Rand Paul on Monday released the first batch of text messages from Dr. Fauci’s Covid-era iPhone. The text messages revealed that Fauci privately knew that the Covid vaccine caused miscarriages in pregnant women. Fauci covered up the data that revealed an 82% miscarriage rate in women vaccinated during the first trimester. Dr. Anthony Fauci privately discussed concerns about COVID-19 mRNA vaccines for pregnant women in January 2021, including questions about fever after a second dose and a theoretical risk of miscarriage during the first trimester, according to newly released text messages. The exchange involved Fauci, then-Centers...

The muslims have won in the UK.

Among the 15 new councilors are several figures who have publicly supported heterodox positions associated with the synodal reforms of Pope Francis.VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Leo XIV has appointed new consultors to the Vatican’s religious life dicastery, including advocates of LGBT ideology and “women’s ordination,” greater liturgical experimentation, and structural changes to Church governance.On August 6, Pope Leo appointed 15 new consultors to the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, headed by Prefect Sister Simona Brambilla. The appointments include two bishops, five priests, two religious brothers, and six religious sisters, among them several figures...

Oil prices jumped about 5% Monday as doubt grew that the U.S. and Iran will reach a deal to increase ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures climbed about 5% to close at $82.13 per barrel. Brent crude , the international benchmark, also settled around 5% higher at $87.72 a barrel. President Donald Trump told Axios on Sunday that the U.S. is “only semi-negotiating” with Iran, after he insisted last week that Washington and Tehran were in fact holding talks. Trump indicated that he would rely on the U.S. naval blockade to pressure Tehran rather...

A 30-year-old climber who made headlines for racing up Yosemite’s famed El Capitan in record time has died in an accident in the Sierra Nevada. Jake Whisenant, a Mammoth Lakes climber known for his speed ascents, died Aug. 3, according to the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office Coroner. Officials have not released further details about the circumstances of the accident.

Gavin Newsom’s official calendars show the lefty governor listing zero government business on a staggering 18 taxpayer-funded workdays in the first four months of the year, The California Post has learned. The uber-secretive Newsom — who only finally released his calendars after a monthslong delay that required legal intervention by The Post’s lawyers — marked the 18 non-holiday weekdays as “no official business,” or about one in every four days. The governor’s calendar also includes 53 murky entries only described as “work time,” blocking off the large chunks to tinker on unknown tasks. On Feb. 6, for example, Newsom’s sole...

Sen. Rand Paul is examining Dr. Anthony Fauci’s government-issued phone and says he is taking a special interest in whether it contains evidence of “deletions.” That’s significant because Fauci’s former factotum, David Morens, is awaiting trial on charges of concealing and destroying government records, allegedly on behalf of his boss, and is facing up to 51 years in prison. Not that many people know that, since only one reporter covered his arraignment in May: The Post’s own Josh Christenson. Paul may have bigger ambitions for Fauci than the criminal referral for contempt of Congress he sent off to the DOJ...

Paradise Residential Services CEO Jocelyne Ininahazwe and her family enjoyed luxury Mercedes brands while the disabled Mainers who relied on the Medicaid agency for 24/7 care were living in squalor, subject to abuse and neglect by non-English speaking staff, including some who were untrained and never subjected to background checks. That’s the chief takeaway from documents released Friday by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), including a termination letter to Paradise that cited “violations [that] place the health and safety of MaineCare Members in immediate jeopardy.” “[Paradise Residential Services] failed to ensure individuals are protected from abuse,...

A Christian In-N-Out worker is suing the fast food giant claiming religious discrimination after she was allegedly forced to work Sundays. Arianna Rodriguez, who was a cook at the location in Long Beach, California, for nearly five years claims she was wrongly terminated by a new manager. According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Rodriguez had been on a schedule that allowed her to attend church on Sundays without any problems for years.

Tyler Boebert, the 21-year-old son of Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, is back in legal hot water—this time facing serious felony charges related to the alleged sexual exploitation of a child. According to court records from Garfield County, Colorado, Tyler Boebert was arrested in connection with five felony counts stemming from an alleged incident dated around January 1, 2024. The charges include sexual exploitation of a child, sexual exploitation of a child with intent to deal in, sell, or distribute sexually exploitative material, a related charge involving videotaped material, and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, according...

The push is back on for slavery reparations. In July, the New York Civil Liberties Union issued a report urging the immediate adoption of reparations. As Lanessa Owens-Chaplin — one of the report’s authors and Director of the Racial Justice Center at NYCLU — puts it: “Reparations are a debt that is owed. Enslaved Black people built the foundation of New York’s economy… Reparations must be extended to all Black New Yorkers descended from those enslaved by New York State.” The NYCLU report is predicated on an undeniable reality: the persistent wealth gap between black and white households. But all...

Dr. Anthony Fauci privately discussed concerns about COVID-19 mRNA vaccines for pregnant women in January 2021, including questions about fever after a second dose and a theoretical risk of miscarriage during the first trimester, according to newly released text messages obtained from his government-issued cell phone. The exchange involved Fauci, then-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky and Dr. Vivek Murthy, who would later become former President Joe Biden's surgeon general. Fauci said, because many people experience significant cytokine-related symptoms and fever after a second dose, that reaction "theoretically could be associated with miscarriage in the 1st...

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey has signed H.5595, which would legalize abortions up to birth. The radical bill that allows abortions up until birth even on healthy unborn babies. Democrats fast tracked the measure to bypass the full committee process so the full body could pass the bill before the legislature adjourned. The bill passed the overwhelmingly Democrat House on July 22 by a vote of 119-33. Under current state law, abortions are allowed up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, although weak exceptions essentially allow it up to birth. Abortions after that point are permitted only when the mother’s life or...