Free Republic

Sydney Sweeney, unlike most prominent celebrities who dominate popular culture, doesn't talk about politics, even when asked. You get no lectures from her about the issues of the day. She neither waves the flag nor kneels when the national anthem is sung. She acts, does ads, and does the required media availabilities, which is another way to say that she does her job without presuming to tell us what to think or bullying us into feeling guilty about anything. Other celebrities have followed that policy, but they let themselves be bullied into becoming advocates, or indulged in the practice once...

For most Americans, higher interest rates mean more expensive debt. But for retirees with substantial cash savings, the equation can flip: a Federal Reserve rate hike could put more money in their pockets without requiring them to take more investment risk. That makes the Fed’s next move unusually important for anyone living off savings. The real question for retirees is less about what the Fed does and more about what their cash is currently earning.Cash Could Become More Valuable AgainFor years, retirees were punished for playing it safe. Near-zero interest rates meant traditional savings accounts, CDs and other conservative investments...

The United States has publicly confirmed for the first time that it has weapons deployed in orbit. The revelation could accelerate spending on missile defense, military satellites and space security, creating opportunities for defense stocks and space ETFs while raising the risk of a costly new arms race. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink delivered the news almost casually during the Air, Space & Cyber Conference in Maryland. “We are increasing readiness against existing threats, and the United States has on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the Joint Force against hostile adversary action,” Meink said. Then the details stopped. Meink...

“Everyone is retarded and nothing Works.” Turns out that’s the key to unlock the mystery of this particular Fourth Turning, the one here and now, of our own time. It’s an excellent theory of everything happening these days, formulated by a close colleague of mine. And as far as I know, it’s the only theory that makes sense. It explains, for example how and why consulting US attorney Joe DiGenova quit the grand jury investigation, as conducted by the DOJ in the Southern District of Florida (SDFL), of the treasonous conspiracy against the people of the USA running since 2016.The...

As Iran and its allies tightened their grip on shipping lanes in the Persian Gulf, Saudi Arabia scrambled this week to reroute millions of barrels of oil after being forced to close a critical pipeline damaged in an attack.The shutdown of the East-West pipeline risks keeping 4 percent of the world’s oil supply from reaching international markets and driving energy prices even higher.Saudi Arabia on Friday said it had temporarily shut the pipeline after it was struck by an Iran-backed militia. The pipeline, a 750-mile network that transports crude across Saudi Arabia to ports on the Red Sea, had been...

The government announced a major tax reform at the Canada Investment Summit that will allow businesses to write off investments. The productivity mega-deduction will allow companies to expense the total cost of new investments across a number of sectors, including machinery, equipment, clean energy, zero-emission vehicles and more. "Our goal is simple — to make Canada the most attractive place in the G7 to invest," Prime Minister Mark Carney said at the summit. The program is an expansion of the government's earlier productivity super-deduction outlined in last year's budget, which initially extended to a limited selection of investments in things...

A 2026 analysis from the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) shows a strong negative correlation between the political strength of state teachers’ unions and the adoption of evidence-based early literacy policies.The New York Post reports at least eight of the ten states where students had the worst literacy scores were liberal bastions with politically powerful teachers’ unions, while just five were Republican and one was a swing state.The top-performing states were overwhelmingly conservative and had less politically powerful unions — of the 23 top-performing states, 13 were Republican majority and just 4 were Democratic hubs, according to the New York Post.The...

“A rare and potentially deadly brain disorder has been recorded in people taking weight loss drugs, a new study warns. Wernicke encephalopathy is a neurological condition that causes severe confusion and disorientation, which continue to worsen without treatment…. A rare and potentially deadly brain disorder has been recorded in people taking weight loss drugs, a new study warns. Wernicke encephalopathy is a neurological condition that causes severe confusion and disorientation, which continue to worsen without treatment.”

The NBA brought the hammer down on the LA Clippers and owner Steve Ballmer for circumventing the salary cap to funnel more money to Kawhi Leonard — and now federal prosecutors are looking into the matter. The Justice Department investigation comes in addition to the Securities and Exchange Commission looking into Daktronics’ role in the scandal, as it had an endorsement deal with Leonard despite never having had a celebrity endorser before and there being no evidence Leonard did anything for the company. Daktronics is publicly traded, and the SEC is tasked with protecting shareholders.

First Lady Melania Trump is responding to reports that a Russian oligarch accused of helping lead an organization that facilitates the abduction of Ukrainian children helped pay for Donald Trump Jr and his new wife Bettina Anderson's lavish wedding party.

The House Judiciary Committee, along with the House Administration Committee and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, released an interim staff report on ActBlue, the Democratic fundraising platform. In that report, the Committees found that ActBlue failed to prevent illegal foreign political contributions, and it's being called an "explosive" insight into the organization's practices. Two years ago, the Committees began investigating ActBlue's fraud-prevention practices. In 2024, ActBlue changed its fraud policy twice during the presidential campaign, reportedly implementing "more lenient" standards that let foreign donors and other suspicious donor money flow into U.S. campaigns. Earlier this year, The New...

On September 15 around 9 a.m., surveillance video captured a masked suspect demanding property from a customer at a Shell station near 151st Street and Harlem Avenue in Orland Park, Illinois. The concealed carry license holder drew his firearm and shot the 20-year-old Christopher Brown in the cheek, who fled but was soon caught nearby and hospitalized in stable condition. Brown faces charges of attempted armed robbery, possessing a stolen vehicle and firearm, and aggravated unlawful weapon possession. The gas station owner's family member, Naseem Elmosa, praised the customer's preparedness, noting no one else was hurt and police confirmed...

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has withdrawn from public engagements after returning from the BRICS summit in India, his office said on Wednesday, citing ill health. Ramaphosa, 73, returned from New Delhi on Monday and was advised by his doctors to rest and recover. His absence comes as Deputy President Paul Mashatile continues recovering from a minor medical procedure, leaving both of South Africa’s top leaders away from public duties. Meanwhile, unverified claims about Chinese President Xi Jinping’s health have surfaced following his visit to New Delhi for the BRICS summit. Wanjun Xie, chairman of the China Democracy Party, alleged...

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ Ooh Rah! Looking The Part! U.S. Marine Corps recruit Angel Onofre Jr. with Fox Company, 2nd Recruit Training Battalion receives his weekly haircut at Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) San Diego. Recruits receive haircuts weekly during their time at MCRD San Diego in order to maintain a uniform appearance and promote good hygiene throughout recruit training. Onofre is a naive of Lake County, Illinois. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Yvonna Guyette) (This image was captured in color and changed to black and white.) Canteen Mission StatementShowing support...

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened the European Union with 'very serious tariffs' or to 'stop trading' if it makes a trade deal with Canada 'with bad intentions.'

Veteran national security reporter Bill Gertz posted to social media on Wednesday that wild "rumors are flying" about Chinese leader Xi Jinping's health and a possible plot to oust him from power. "Rumors are flying in China over Xi Jinping begin [sic] taken ill during his visit to India. They include claims that he suffered a minor illness to experiencing a stroke worsened by failure to treat early," wrote Gertz, a national security correspondent for The Washington Times. "Some wild claims say rival group armies are mobilizing for civil war. No confirmation but Treasury Sec Bessent is meeting with Chinese...

Earlier this week, as I sat in a waiting room and scrolled on my phone, the algorithm attacked. There on my screen was an ad from the so-called Catholics for Free Choice asking me to purchase a training class on how to spot “fake clinics.” They were referencing pregnancy resource centers. And for a fee, they were willing to teach me how to hunt them down. Clearly, Catholics for Choice (CFC) has a new target, and for once, it’s not the bishops. They are now targeting the women sitting in a waiting room with a positive test and no idea...

Texas Democrats have allegedly found a “roundabout” way to pay for votes in the critical Senate and governor’s races, according to an undercover video published Wednesday. A Democratic operative with Texas Majority PAC admitted in the new footage released by the conservative outlet Townhall that the group is shelling out $25 per person for attendance at Zoom classes that discuss “bad things” Republicans are doing. “We are paying people $25 to attend a one-hour Zoom class to learn why voting is important and why the Republicans are causing all of these bad things,” said Sky MacAdams, an organizing manager for...

Explanation: Sometimes where Hubble finds darkness, Webb sees light. An example is today’s composite images of Messier 64 (M64), a nearby spiral galaxy of many names. The dark band of dust partially blocking its bright core earned it the moniker “the Black Eye Galaxy.” Webb’s Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI) sees that dust, shown in red, as it absorbs and re-emits light from surrounding newborn stars. These young stars are embedded in pink star-forming regions in the secondary Hubble-only image. M64’s inner and outer gas regions counter-rotate, creating regions of increased star formation where the two gas “currents” meet and compress. A...

Oh, brother! Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar’s marriage to her alleged brother won’t get her kicked out of the US, but other matters in her immigration file might, sources told The Post. In 2009, Omar wed self-described ‘dirty dandy’ Ahmed Elmi, a UK national long rumored to be her brother. But the federal probe into Somalia-born Omar’s past is more likely to focus on how she became as US citizen as a teenager and paperwork filed by her father. The father, Nur Said Mohamed Elmi was long identified as an “educator” before his death in 2020, at which point his military...