Free Republic

What jobs do data centers actually create? It is a question increasingly on Americans’ minds as public opinion turns against data centers, their construction, environmental footprint, energy and water use, and uncertain local economic benefits. Yet in an era when President Trump has promised to reindustrialize America, many people are asking a simpler question: what good jobs will these facilities actually provide?First, it is important to remember that jobs should not be the primary metric for evaluating any infrastructure project. Treating them as such is reminiscent of the public-works programs of the 1930s under FDR, when the focus often shifted...

The federal deficit will be $2.1 trillion when fiscal year 2026 ends on Sept. 30, the Congressional Budget Office projected in its monthly budget review.The deficit - the gap between what the government spends and what it collects from taxes and other revenue - has never surpassed $1.8 trillion, except during the Covid-19 pandemic.Key facts: Federal revenues are up 3% in 2026 compared to last year. Even though corporate income tax revenue has declined, income and payroll tax collections increased.But federal spending is up 5%, according to the CBO. Interest on the national debt increased 14% compared to last year....

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has rejoined the Democratic Socialists of America after not renewing her membership for seven years, amid speculation that she might run for president in 2028. The 36-year-old New York representative and one of the country’s most prominent democratic socialists renewed her membership in the group’s national organization after reports emerged earlier this month that it had lapsed. Ocasio-Cortez initially joined the group in 2018. In a statement on Tuesday night, the DSA announced: “Democratic Socialists of America confirms Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a member in good standing of our organization, having recently rejoined in August 2026,” according to...

Understandably, a lot of national attention has been paid in recent weeks to the Senate races taking place in Michigan and Georgia, primarily because, in both races, there are Democrat nominees who have particularly acute cases of Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) and who can't keep themselves from stepping in it. In the Great Lakes State, for instance, we have the anti-America, anti-Israel, DSA-backed Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, who, as I previously noted, has the social media "skills," personality, and maturity of the average tween TikTok'er. The seat is currently held by retiring Democrat Sen. Gary Peters.And in the Peach State,...

Faith FactsModern worship leaders are increasingly partnering with songwriters who do not profess Christian faithThe personal beliefs and character of those writing congregational prayers matter deeply, as these songs shape the spiritual formation of millionsChurch leaders must carefully discern whether songs written by non-believers align with biblical truth and honor God’s holinessA crucial conversation is emerging in Christian worship communities across America: Should it matter who writes the songs we sing in our churches? As collaboration between worship leaders and secular artists becomes more common, believers are asking whether the spiritual condition of a songwriter affects the integrity of congregational...

The Washington Post editorial board has apparently recently discovered that Social Security and Medicare are in trouble, and they are shocked, shocked, I tell you! That part is true, and there is no reason to pretend otherwise. This is a fact that anyone not living under a rock has known for a very long time. According to the 2026 Social Security Trustees Report, the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund is projected to exhaust its reserves in late 2032. At that point, incoming revenue would cover only about 78 percent of scheduled benefits. Medicare's Hospital Insurance Trust Fund is projected...

Apple is laying off 147 employees across its Silicon Valley offices – reportedly mostly software engineers working on augmented reality products – a fresh blow to the company's struggling virtual reality ambitions. The cuts come just weeks before Apple is expected to unveil its next generation of iPhones, including the highly anticipated iPhone 18 lineup and its first foldable iPhone. The Vision Pro goggles have struggled to attract mainstream consumers, thanks to its high price tag, hefty weight and limited selection of apps and experiences, all of which make it a difficult sell. The headset's launch in San Francisco in...

A 20-year-old Chinese researcher dressed in a red crayfish costume has become a symbol of Beijing’s ambition. At a scientific conference in Paris last fall, he explained that he was working on an important project. His plans would enable his country’s astronauts to prepare spicy crayfish soup, a Chinese favorite, on Mars. “That’s what we’re competing with. The vibe is good in Beijing,” Drew Endy, associate professor of bioengineering at Stanford University, said in evidence to a Senate hearing last month. The hearing examined whether the US is losing its innovation advantage to China. Concerned senators saw the big red...

Deportees Sent to Tiny African Nation After Refusing to Get Off Plane Six migrants deported from the United States refused to leave a plane in Liberia last week and were instead flown to Equatorial Guinea. The group included four Cuban men, one Brazilian man and one Cameroonian woman, according to accounts from a person on the flight and a lawyer in contact with them, as reported by NBC News and The Associated Press. They arrived in Liberia Thursday as part of a third-country deportation arrangement. When the plane landed, the six refused to disembark, saying Liberia was “not their country.”...

Time heals all wounds, according to the Australian breakdancer Raygun, even ones inflicted by strangers online when you suddenly find yourself the subject of global mockery. Two years after going viral for her captivatingly non-fluid breakdancing routine at the Paris Olympics, Rachael Gunn, aka Raygun, says she’s learned to make peace with the “surreal” experience she had at the Games — thanks, in part, to a lot of therapy. “Paris is now just a part of my story,” Gunn said in an interview. “For me, it’s more about radical acceptance of everything that’s happened and just one foot in front...

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson says his administration wants to know if city contractors reflect the diversity of the people whose tax dollars pay for their work.Johnson signed an executive order Wednesday to establish new procurement standards for companies that do business with Chicago. The order requires current contractors and subcontractors to disclose whether they have received more than $500,000 through contracts with government entities or law enforcement agencies and whether they have faced certain civil or administrative proceedings that alleged excessive force, unlawful detention, unconstitutional policing or other violations of federal or state civil rights laws. Johnson said his administration...

Three Secret Service officials, including the agency's top spokesman, have been marched out of their offices amid an internal misconduct probe. Communications director Anthony Guglielmi and two others in his department left on Monday, sources told Real Clear Politics. The three have been placed on leave, with their security clearances suspended and their work devices seized, according to CNN. The Secret Service declined to comment on the nature of the investigation, which reportedly involves the CIA and the FBI. It comes amid an ongoing effort by FBI director Kash Patel to hunt down the source of a leak to the...

Frames federal election integrity push as ‘federal overreach’ California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Wednesday launched another lawsuit against the Trump administration, this time targeting a U.S. Postal Service final rule on mail ballots. and invited the public to watch him sell it as a defense of “election integrity.” The post quoted his earlier announcement that California and allied states were “suing to block USPS’ rule restricting mail-in voting.” Join me at 9:30 AM for an important update on California’s efforts to fight back against unlawful federal overreach and protect election integrity. Tune in at: https://t.co/biszIi59EV https://t.co/vcKeUPXZWL — Rob Bonta...

WASHINGTON — Trump administration-funded researchers and independent collaborators found a startling correlation between proponents of a transgender ideology and left-wing violence, according to a new report obtained by The Post and set to be released Wednesday. The new study from researchers at Rutgers University, the right-leaning Manhattan Institute and Network Contagion Research Institute found that those normalizing transgender beliefs were more likely to be supportive of political violence. Respondents were quizzed about six potential targets of political violence for the study: “killing Charlie Kirk, killing Donald Trump, killing Brian Thompson, arson of ICE buildings, damaging wealthy people’s property, and violence...

A conservative German mayor's €10,000 donation to the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is making things awkward for his party's leaders. Bernd Prange, a Christian Democrat who serves as mayor of Altmärkische Höhe in Saxony-Anhalt, wrote in an open letter on Wednesday that he would be voting for the AfD in the state's upcoming election on Sept. 6. "I want the AfD to become so strong in the Saxony-Anhalt election that it can govern alone," wrote Prange. The goal, he said, was for his own party to "finally wake up," tear down Germany's political firewall and abandon what he called...

Trump administration-funded researchers and independent collaborators found a startling correlation between proponents of a transgender ideology and left-wing violence, according to a new report obtained by The Post and set to be released Wednesday. The new study *** found that those normalizing transgender beliefs were more likely to be supportive of political violence. Respondents were quizzed about six potential targets of political violence for the study: “killing Charlie Kirk, killing Donald Trump, killing Brian Thompson, arson of ICE buildings, damaging wealthy people’s property, and violence against police.” “These findings suggest that gender ideology is associated with LWA [left-wing authoritarianism] and...

The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved a groundbreaking pancreatic cancer drug that experts predict will transform treatment for the notoriously deadly disease. The drug, Revolution Medicines’ Rasonque, or daraxonrasib, was approved for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer who have already tried a prior treatment, such as chemotherapy, the agency said. In a late-stage clinical trial of 500 patients, people who got the drug lived about twice as long — 13.2 months, on average — compared with people who got chemotherapy. Dr. Rachna Shroff, chief of the division of hematology and oncology at the University of Arizona Cancer Center...

Now departon from Nashville! Dolly Parton lovers are demanding Nashville International Airport be renamed after the country music queen following her death — with a year-old petition gaining thousands of signatures in mere hours as the likes of Sheryl Crow threw their weight behind it. The Change.org petition — “Rename Nashville International Airport to Dolly Parton International Airport” — blasted past 100,000 signatures Wednesday, gaining more than 50,000 in the day since the Tennessee native died at 80 on Tuesday. “On August 25, the world lost an angel,” an update to the petition read. “It’s difficult to imagine a world...

PALM BEACH, Fla. — A woman was arrested after an incident at a checkpoint near President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Resort on Palm Beach. According to a Town of Palm Beach Police Department report, Alexa R. Scharf, 29, was arrested and is facing charges of fleeing and eluding police, resisting arrest without violence and two counts of aggravated assault with a vehicle. Alexa R. Scharf, a 29-year-old woman, was arrested after allegedly fleeing a security checkpoint near Mar-a-Lago, leading law enforcement on a pursuit and facing multiple charges, including aggravated assault with a vehicle. According to the police report, a...

New York’s Amish community is issuing an ultimatum to state bureaucrats: leave us alone or we’re packing up our buggies for greener pastures. The threat has been sparked by a vaccine mandate fight that the 25,000 strong religious community is taking all the way to the Supreme Court. It takes place as state Health Department officials continue to slap thousands in fines on tiny, one-room parochial Amish schools which have refused to comply with a Cuomo-era vaccine decree. “Have we gotten to a place where we aren’t going to make room for the Amish anymore?” Hiram Sasser, an attorney representing...