Free Republic

California regulators on Monday approved new rules that will restrict what tires you can buy when it's time to replace them on your car. In a unanimous vote, the California Energy Commission voted to adopt new rules that will phase out the sale of replacement tires that don't meet certain energy efficiency standards.

For most Indians, paying by Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has become almost absurdly routine. Scan a QR code, tap a few buttons and the money moves instantly. There is no card machine, no cash, and - most importantly - for the user, no visible fee. That may be about to change. India has paved the way for banks and payment companies to charge merchants a fee on UPI transactions, potentially ending a decade-long experiment in free digital payments. The government has yet to decide the rate or exactly where it will apply, but proposals under discussion include a merchant discount...

Lawyers for a group of Texas families with children in the state’s public schools came to the Supreme Court on Monday, asking the justices to weigh in on the constitutionality of a 2025 law that requires each classroom in that state to display a copy of the Ten Commandments. Asking the justices to review a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit that upheld the law, the challengers told the justices that the lower court “flouted this Court’s binding precedents and gutted the religious-freedom rights of public-school children and parents.” The justices have considered a similar...

Another really amazing pandemic clip. October, 2021. CNN sends a reporter to Miami to investigate a school that is considered "anti-vax." While there the reporter runs into a parent who says that he is not going to have his children get the Covid vaccine. While being harassed by the CNN lackey, the parent says that fully vaccinated people are still dying from Covid and that Fauci is not the best scientist in the world. The CNN clown scoffs at him and tells him he is wrong. This exact same week the former head of the CDC Robert Redfield said that...

Iran’s oil exports have dropped to nearly zero under the renewed US naval blockade, according to analysis from a former senior US Treasury official — who predicts that the economic impacts could hit the elite and destabilize the regime within two to three months. Iran’s ability to ship oil out of the Strait of Hormuz to offset its current economic woes has hit a wall under the new blockade, with little to no activity seen at its Kharg Island hub, according to recent satellite images. As Iran and the US attempt to use economic pressures to see who will blink...

Lead Anchor at CNN Jake Tapper comes out and admits THEY ALL KNEW Joe Biden wasn’t really President and calling the shots. He says there was an elite inner circle of advisors who would make the decisions and “steer the country.” He gives the names of the people in that group. Again, the mainstream media ALL KNEW Joe Biden wasn’t making decisions. “Tell me about the word choice, and then tell me about those people who were really calling the shots around the president.” Jake Tapper “So the Politburo, not a term we came up with, it's a term from...

Mark Cuban just schooled California representative Ro Khanna on why the “billionaire tax” is such a bad idea. It’s a timely lesson as Google’s Eric Schmidt and Sergey Brin can’t seem to agree on how to make the case against the tax, also known as Proposition 40. In a revealing exchange on X, the billionaire “Shark Tank” tycoon pointed out that if tech entrepreneurs have to hand over 5% of their wealth anytime their startup companies go public, they will all leave California. They won’t just leave to avoid paying taxes. They will leave because venture capital funds won’t even...

This is Grammy-winning artist Pras Michel shaking hands with Barack Obama in 2012. Just officially reported to prison to begin a 14-year federal sentence after prosecutors proved he helped funnel millions in illegal foreign money into Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign.The operation: Prosecutors proved Michel accepted more than $100 million from Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho in a covert influence scheme tied to influencing U.S. elections. The laundering network: Michel used straw donors to secretly route foreign cash into Obama’s 2012 campaign, bypassing federal election laws designed to prevent foreign influence in American elections. The verdict: A federal jury convicted him...

I mentioned the other day that I'm less than frantic about the GOP's chances of losing the House and Senate come November, and that's regardless of what the polls say. I'm still holding to that. Maybe it's time we dove into why I feel that way. You see, there's a shift happening in voter registration numbers that I'd wager the Democrat Party would prefer stayed buried on page nine of the Pig's Knuckle, N. Dak. fish wrapper. It's real, it's large, and it's confirmed across multiple independent sources — not one cherry-picked outlet with an axe to grind. Let's run...

WASHINGTON — A Democratic Socialists of America candidate running for Congress in Florida appeared to cut a weekend TV interview short when the journo started fact-checking his allegation that Israel is committing genocide. Wannabe House member Oliver Larkin, who is vying to unseat Dem Rep. Jared Moskowitz, pointed to the United Nations, Amnesty International and some Israeli human-rights organizations in trying to make the claim, but top “This Week in South Florida” host Glenna Milberg wasn’t having it. “That is factually incorrect,” she bluntly told him. “There’s the definition of genocide in the UN. The UN has said this does...

President Trump confirmed the US isn’t expanding the window for peace talks with Tehran on Monday as the US-Iran memorandum of understanding’s 60-day deadline for negotiations expired. “Well, they want to make a deal, but they’re not going to make the kind of a deal that I feel is necessary,” President Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday. The president has demanded a ceasefire that will end Iran’s nuclear program but Tehran wants to pursue a “nuclear energy” program. The MOU failed to meet major objectives, like reopening the Strait of Hormuz, ending Tehran’s nuclear program and reaching...

She’s breaking for Bruce. A dyed-in-the-wool Democratic donor who previously contributed to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s campaign is raising funds for her Republican gubernatorial opponent Bruce Blakeman, The Post has learned. Bonnie Englebardt Lautenberg, a professional photographer and philanthropist who’s the widow of late New Jersey Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg, plans to hold a fundraiser for Blakeman’s campaign, she confirmed Monday. “It’s the talk of the Hamptons,” said one Democrat who expressed surprise. “It’s a good get for Bruce.” The tongue-wagging switcheroo is all the more surprising given that Lautenberg, 79, donated $1,000 to Democratic incumbent Hochul’s re-election campaign in July...

President Donald Trump’s administration announced Monday that it is pausing all border construction in Big Bend National Park following bipartisan backlash over the project’s potential impact on the West Texas wilderness. CBP is pausing all construction activity in Big Bend National Park while I visit and conduct a personal, on-the-ground evaluation. CBP is firmly committed to protecting America, and that includes our national treasures like Big Bend National Park (BBNP). We know the current and… pic.twitter.com/UkmzvTluwH — CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott (@CBPCommissioner) August 17, 2026 U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott announced the halt, adding he had just...

“A sane society cannot debate its way out of psychosis. It must diagnose the patient with lethal precision and restore the ancient boundary between the mad and the free.” —LHGrey on "X" Back in the days of sailing ships, a certain subtropical zone of the ocean became known as the “horse latitudes.” There, an eerie windless calm prevailed, sometimes for weeks, stalling the progress of ships in mid-crossing. In desperation to save water on-board, captains ordered the horses being transported to America to be cast overboard, and the animals’ bloated carcasses drifted in an ominous cortège of warning to other...

Shocking video captured a vicious fight that sent two women's hijabs flying off inside a Target store. Footage of the scrap has been heavily circulating online, racking up tens of thousands of views and comments across several uploads. The two women, who appeared to be wearing traditional Muslim attire, could be heard shrieking as their hijabs lay on the ground while they tried to rip out each other's hair. Several bystanders attempted to break up the brawl, except for a security guard who appeared to wait a little too long before stepping in. The asset protection associate, wearing a high-visibility...

[Catholic Caucus] The Friends of Governor Maura Healey The following news analysis is courtesy of the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts…Catholic social media — in America and around the globe — is reacting with horror and disgust at the scene of women clapping and cheering as Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey signed into law a bill which eliminated all remaining restrictions on late term abortion in the Commonwealth.That scene occurred on Monday, August 10th, in the Corner Office (the Governor’s Office) of the Massachusetts State House in Boston.Joining Maura and Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll were their friends from the Planned Parenthood...

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) confirmed via its public health agency on Sunday that at least 2,325 people have died of Ebola infections in the current outbreak in the east of the country, making it the deadliest such outbreak in the country’s history. Experts noted that the extremely high death toll is likely not a full count of the people killed by the disease, as the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) was slow to identify an outbreak in the affected area, and that only one other known Ebola outbreak – the 2014-2016 outbreak in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia...

A South Dakota high school soccer player went viral for all the wrong reasons, kicking and repeatedly punching his opponent in the head on Friday, resulting in calls for a lifetime ban. The incident between Rapid City Central’s Jaxson Bergman and Brookings’ Kyle Soost occurred just before halftime of a match on Friday as the two fought for the ball. Bergman shoved Soost to the ground after the latter got ahead of him, and instead of chasing the ball, attacked Soost. Bergman kicked him in the back of the head, then punched him five times in the head. Caylon Peters,...

In sales psychology, questions are more persuasive than statements — and it’s not even close. That’s because (scripted) questions can lead audiences towards a very specific conclusion, and our own conclusions are more credible than anyone else’s. If I tell you something, your defenses are up; when you tell yourself something, it’s almost certainly true. Quick example: Grocery stores want you to return (over and over again). Their business model, after all, relies on customer loyalty. Therefore, grocery stores have a vested interest in shoppers leaving satisfied, happy, and content. Which is why cashiers are trained to ask, “Did you...

A top California dentist and professor at Triton College has made no secret of his hatred towards Zionists since October 7th, and has posted hundreds of Instagram stories calling for the “death” of people who support Israel. According to a review of his social media, Dr. Ahmed Mataria — who owns Mataria Dental Group in Torrance, California — is currently calling for “DEATH TO ZIONISTS EVERYWHERE” according to his Instagram bio. “F*** ISRAEL, DEATH TO ZIONISTS EVERYWHERE,” his Instagram bio currently reads as of publication time. The prof is a self-described Palestinian who lives in the United States of America....