Free Republic

WASHINGTON — Crucial swing voters have become increasingly troubled by the rise of the Democratic Socialists of America and the far-left in general — a major warning sign for Dems ahead of the midterms, a new poll shows. When asked about their views of the DSA, 56% of respondents indicated they had an unfavorable view, up from 50% in September, according to Americans for Prosperity’s latest “Americans Unscripted” report. Nearly 60% also felt the Democratic Party was controlled by the far left, again up from 50% in September, and 82% indicated they favor personal freedom and free markets over government...

Microsoft is offering voluntary buyouts to 60,000 employees — over a quarter of its workforce — as the software giant works to cut costs and revamp its staff for the AI era. Employees in the US, Canada, the UK, and India on Monday received a memo saying the voluntary exit offers “are a few of the ways we’re trying to meet different business needs while continuing to create opportunities for our own people to grow and contribute.” Microsoft had about 223,000 employees at the time the memo went out. Microsoft’s Xbox, Windows, Copilot and finance divisions are getting the offers,...

The largest children's hospital in Texas officially opened the first-ever detransition clinic on Monday, providing care for patients up to age 21 who have undergone so-called gender affirming care. The grand opening comes five months after Texas Children's Hospital settled a lawsuit with the Trump administration, which included the clinic and an agreement to pay more than $10 million in damages and civil penalties to resolve allegations it submitted false billings to public and private payors to secure insurance coverage for medicalized pediatric gender transitions. "Today, Texas Children’s Hospital has officially launched their Detransition Clinic," Vanessa Sivadge, founder of Protect...

Federal finance authorities have identified the Southern Poverty Law Center’s “hate group” labels as the driving force behind the debanking of conservative individuals and organizations, particularly clients that were giving to Christian causes. The explosive findings directly discredit a recent proclamation from the SPLC declaring, as part of its “Hatewatch” monitoring project, that anti-Christian debanking was a conspiracy theory spread by the “Christian supremacy movement.” Though only a regulatory audit, fulfilling an executive order from President Donald Trump to ensure that banks were not discriminating against customers on the basis of their political or religious beliefs, the government’s findings add...

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Daily Readings from the USCCBJesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the garden. When it was fully grown, it became a large bush and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.” Luke 13:18–19The mustard seed symbolizes the humble and hidden beginnings of the Gospel. Christ Himself was born in a manger and crucified as a criminal. Spiritually speaking, He is the mustard seed par excellence. Likewise, the Church began with a handful of ordinary, mostly unlearned men,...

Hundreds of ballots were found piled in an open hallway at a Skid Row homeless shelter where more than 1,100 voters are registered, a California Post investigation found. The ballots were spotted at The Midnight Mission, a downtown LA homeless shelter offering meals and mail services, where 1,160 voters are registered. The Post authenticated a photo of the ballots and independently confirmed the scene during a visit to the shelter on October 13. The discovery comes four months after the California Post exposed 7,600 voter registrations linked to homeless shelters and service providers across Los Angeles, including facilities that don’t...

UK families are suddenly being told to stock up on emergency supplies – and to prepare for war. Wes Streeting, the UK’s defense secretary, went on a media blitz to push a new “Be Ready” campaign to boost Brits’ preparedness for crises — which he said could range from floods and wildfires to terrorism and cyber attacks and ultimately even war. “There’s no sugarcoating the fact that we do live in a more dangerous and turbulent world,” Streeting told BBC’s “Newsnight.” “It’s about saying to households across the country to be ready by just having some everyday essentials indoors should...

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israelis will vote in a pivotal election Tuesday as their country is embroiled in unresolved wars, still reeling from Hamas’ 2023 attack and deeply divided over the character of the state and the right person to lead it. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces off against a coalition of parties seeking to oust the longtime leader from power. Opinion polls have suggested a tight race with his main rival, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot.In Israel’s fragmented parliamentary politics, no single party has ever won an outright parliamentary majority, so political leaders must forge coalitions. But in a tight...

The remote ruins of Oenoanda, home of the famous Epicurean inscription of Diogenes. Scenic Routes to the Past explores the remote Hellenistic ruins of Oenoanda in northern Lycia. The site features an impressive Roman aqueduct, extensive defensive walls, and the remnants of an agora once home to one of the ancient world's longest philosophical inscriptions, which remains a focus of ongoing archaeological study. The Ruins of Oenoanda | 7:58 Scenic Routes to the Past | 61.7K subscribers | 25,713 views | August 7, 2026

Over 50 years after helping excavate the remarkable Anglo-Saxon site, archaeologist Dr Phil Harding returns to help celebrate and dedicate the reconstruction. Phil Harding Opens Saxon Hall 50 Years After Helping Excavate it | Archaeology Brought to Life | 9:54 Butser Ancient Farm | 10.1K subscribers | 30,788 views | October 22, 2026

One million ballots have now been cast in the state of Ohio. The milestone was reported by the Ohio Secretary of State's Office on Friday, just 11 days out from Election Day. As a result of this colossal and rapidly growing early-vote total, Ohio appears to be on track to set an all-time record for early voter turnout in a midterm election, after having already blown past comparable totals from this point in the 2022 midterm cycle. Among those who have so far weighed in on this year's top races in Ohio, statistics show that roughly 58% of those who...

Ukraine has waited "nearly a month" for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to sign off on delivering vital air defense missiles to Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said, as Russia continues to hammer the country with drone and missile strikes. Ukrainian officials are attempting to source interceptor missiles fired by the U.S.-made Patriot system from several countries, Zelensky said, adding he had asked Ukrainian officials "to raise this with the American side once again." Analysts say Moscow is hoping to take advantage of Kyiv's desperate shortage of expensive and scarce Patriot missiles to target Ukraine's vital energy infrastructure as the austere...

A friend of mine is taking his wife on a European cruise that ends in Barcelona this week. He told me how much they love the Spanish city and how they’d normally stay an extra couple of days there before flying back. “Not this year,” he said, before stressing that they’re “gonna get outta there fast” because of safety concerns. We had this discussion before this weekend’s violent riots in Barcelona, in which hundreds of people (black clothing, masks, and Palestinian flags prominent among them) looted and damaged dozens of stores, injured at least 15 police officers, and set multiple...

China's AI stock rally has collapsed, wiping out about $480 billion as the STAR50 index of AI and chip companies fell 40% from its July high. US AI stocks have taken a far smaller hit so far. The Nasdaq is about 6% below the record it set three weeks ago. This week's Big Tech earnings will test whether that gap holds. How China's AI Bubble Burst Analysts have pointed to stretched prices, tax bills, and the risk of US bans on Chinese data-center equipment. The damage is wide. AI stocks account for 42% of China's market value and 57% of...

An extremely tight race into Israel's election Tuesday, has some citizens flying back into the country to cast their votes. Israel doesn't allow votes from abroad, except from those serving in the country's diplomatic missions. As many as 80,000 Israelis living outside the country are expected to come back to vote in Tuesday's election, according to estimates from one group helping to organize citizens living outside the country. Israel has about 7.3 million eligible voters, according to the Washington-based International Foundation for Electoral Systems. "While not a large block, the 80,000 that may return home to participate could make a...

Beatrice Keul alleges Trump raped her at the Plaza Hotel in New York City in November 1993 House Democrats’ report details the allegations and examines Trump’s alleged ties to Jeffrey Epstein The White House denies the allegations, saying they are untrue and Trump has been “fully exonerated” in connection with Epstein SNIP

Embattled Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) joked with Hasan Piker that the media is fixated on her because of her “good” looks Monday ahead of a controversial event with the far-left antisemitic streamer. Omar made the remark during Piker’s livestream of his green-room couch conversation with the “Squad” rep before they took the stage at the event hosted by socialist Minnesota state lawmaker Omar Fateh. “I feel like the media has a tendency, you know, to highlight everything that you do,” Piker told Omar during their chummy conversation. “Some of the things that I do, like – we’re just normal Americans...

There was an ad put out in support of Democrat Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed that has been getting a lot of attention and earning a lot of ire. It came from Rebellion PAC, which was co-founded by leftist Young Turks online show co-creator Cenk Uygur, who is the uncle of far-left Twitch streamer Hasan Piker. The ad is supporting El-Sayed, who campaigned and shared quality time with Piker during the primary. The clip features a couple in a grocery store deciding what to buy and saying they have to put the eggs back because that money has to be...