Free Republic

The CEO of California’s high-speed rail authority resigned late Wednesday, saying he needs to focus on “important personal and family priorities,” according to a copy of the emailed resignation obtained by CalMatters. “This has not been an easy decision, as leading the Authority has been one of the most meaningful and rewarding chapters of my professional life,” wrote Chief Executive Ian Choudri. He will be replaced by Joe Stephenshaw, who has led the state Department of Finance since July 2022 after working as a policy analyst in the state Legislature for more than a decade, the board announced Thursday morning...

Dec WTI crude oil prices fell on Thursday as the market assesses mediation efforts to avert a possible US military attack on Iran after this Tuesday’s US mid-term elections. The Wall Street Journal reported that US Vice President Vance sent a letter to hardliner Mohsen Rezaee, secretary of Iran’s top security body, to see if a framework for negotiations exists. Iran said it has not yet replied to the letter. Axios reported Wednesday that Qatar is leading behind-the-scenes mediation efforts, supported by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Türkiye. The news of negotiations followed the Wall Street Journal’s report Tuesday that...

Operatives aligned with Mary Peltola, the Democratic nominee for Senate, spent months recruiting candidates to peel votes from Senator Dan Sullivan, the Republican. In the summer of 2025, a staffer for Mary Peltola, the Alaska Democrat who was eyeing a run for Senate, received unusual instructions from top campaign aides: Find as many people named Dan Sullivan in Alaska as you can. The staffer complied, combing through voter records to produce a list of Dan Sullivans from across the state. This was no random request. Dan S. Sullivan is the name of the state’s Republican senator. And if the Peltola...

The Department of Labor just made a big announcement, one that will improve the lives of the American working class. The DOL officially issued a final rule on targeting Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PMBs), which was introduced early this year. You can read more on the final rule here. Secretary of Labor, Keith Sonderling, and Administrator of the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Mehmet Oz, spoke to a huge crowd at the DOL building and enthusiastically announced the news on the final rule. Packed room at the Department of Labor today. Big announcement coming soon👀 https://t.co/1SsybIi4au — Myles Morell...

The dam has finally burst.A major, mainstream news source, which even the political left considers to be highly reliable, has finally acknowledged the existence of evidence that strongly suggests that Ilhan Omar married her own brother.The New York Times just reported the following:Original: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/29/us/immigration-fraud-claims-ilhan-omar.htmlArchive: https://archive.ph/7LnKR“Several current and former law enforcement officials said an Obama-era investigation found some evidence that Ms. Omar had entered into a sham marriage with a man who may have been her brother.”That is huge.The article goes on to say:“The federal investigation of Representative Ilhan Omar is focused in part on whether she entered into a sham...

Explanation: That's no moon. But you could be forgiven for thinking it was a crescent Moon in the sky. It is a lesser known fact that Venus also has phases. (What about other planets?) The featured image shows Venus seen almost directly between the Sun and the Earth. This happens once every year and a half, and it is like the alignment that happens every month during a new Moon. But the new Moon is dark, while Venus' backlit atmosphere refracts and scatters the sunlight, creating a glowing crescent arc that extends beyond 180 degrees: the tips of this arc...

Wondering if your wife is pregnant, but don't feel like you know how to ask? Here are are nine subtle clues you can look for to figure out if she is with child: She just sat on your lap and now your femur is broken: It normally doesn't do that. You just watched her inhale 3 Big Macs like those cartoons where everything flies into their mouths: It's really a sight to behold. She's peeing on some thermometer thing: That did seem like rather strange behavior. You just told a hilarious joke and she's laughing oh wait no she's...

A Latino lawyer has filed a misconduct complaint against a Black federal judge after she accused him of being 'intimidated by Black excellence' in light of his 'White mediocrity.'Attorney Ezra Young was repeatedly insulted over his perceived race by US District Judge Ada Brown during a hearing in federal court in Dallas, Texas, on April 24, according to court documents cited by Bloomberg Law. Brown, a Black woman with Native American ancestry, had called the hearing to determine whether Young should face sanctions over his conduct while representing a Black law professor who sued Southern Methodist University after being denied...

The 19-year-old son of a Cuban Baptist pastor has been held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement since June, and advocates fear he could be jailed if deported to Cuba...In March 2023, officers from Cuba's Revolutionary Armed Forces came to the family's home to take the boy for military registration. He was 15, two years younger than 17, the minimum age Cuban law sets for compulsory military service... To protect their son, Solano Silvera and his wife, Yadely Jaume Martin, decided to leave Cuba. The family flew to Jamaica, traveled to the Dominican Republic and reached Mexico in July 2023....

A state judge overseeing the lawsuit from a Cornell student who alleges she was raped by several members of a fraternity at a party in 2024 will consider arguments on Thursday from the attorney of one of the men accused who wants to see New York Attorney General Letitia James removed from the case. Andrew Miltenberg, an attorney for one of the accused, is asking Judge James R. Farrell to order New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to appoint a special prosecutor “who is free from actual or perceived conflicts of interest or bias," the Associated Press reported. Earlier this month,...

Billy Crystal has had a terrible past few years. A wildfire destroyed his home and possessions, and the murder of his friend and longtime collaborator Rob Reiner left him grieving another devastating loss. When asked recently whether he had been talking to God through it all, Crystal offered a blunt answer: "No, because I don't trust Him. Too many bad things have happened." It's a painfully honest response, and plenty of people understand the sentiment. When life delivers one blow after another, it's natural to wonder where God is and whether He can really be trusted. But does abandoning trust...

America's negative equity problem is entering a more expensive phase. While the share of underwater trade-ins toward new-vehicle purchases has edged down since the start of 2026, it remains higher than a year ago and has increased year over year for four consecutive years. Meanwhile, the average amount owed on those vehicles has reached its highest Q3 level in at least a decade, making it increasingly costly for buyers to carry that debt into another purchaseIn Q3 2026, 29.1% of trade-ins with outstanding loans toward new-vehicle purchases were underwater, down slightly from 30.9% at the start of the year but...

Editor's note: As founder and editor of The Gateway Pundit I approved of this report. We can not stay silent when we have groups of radicals mocking, joking and laughing about cold-blooded murder of our friends. They want us all dead. We will not be silent. Jim Hoft Editor The Gateway Pundit Casahuga-Lemgruber is reportedly a Class of 2029 student majoring in International Relations and Diplomacy, from Houston, and a graduate of St. Agnes Academy. As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, the student, who introduced herself as “Pamper Baby,” told the crowd she had taken a Plan B that morning,...

Wendy’s could see up to 60 more restaurants closed across the United States through mid-November as one of its largest franchise operators battles bankruptcy, according to USA Today. Meritage Hospitality Group, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on September 17, has already shuttered 33 restaurants since entering bankruptcy proceedings and could reportedly shut down dozens more by November 13. Meritage previously closed 60 underperforming locations before filing for bankruptcy. Reports differ on whether the 33 closures since the filing count toward the up-to-60 figure, so the total could reach roughly 120 or more. The restaurant company operated 314 Wendy’s...

College Republicans at the University of Utah were attacked by a male who claims to be a woman yesterday while tabling an event and asking a poll question about gender. The student, identified as "Amber Grace," now faces assault and property damage charges. "Do you believe that we should have the right to freedom of speech?" one of the College Republicans asks. "No," laughs Mr. Grace. "I think Republicans should be shot in the street, personally." "So you're advocating for straight up violence toward people you disagree with?" the student asks. Then Mr. Grace appears to lunge forward and attack...

Hey everyone, former President Obama is tired of all the division in the country. He is tired of being angry and wants friendship and neighborliness. Who wants to tell him how we got here? Maybe someone could remind him about the time he told his supporters that he wanted them to argue with their neighbors and get in their faces. Or the time he told voters that he wanted them angry. Or the time he told people to argue about healthcare at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Or the time he told people to vote out of revenge. He is quite possibly...

Russian Permanent Representative to the OSCE Dmitry Polyansky highlighted that the alliance "continues to rely on hybrid warfare, in which a bleeding Ukraine fights on everyone’s behalf"VIENNA, October 29. /TASS/. Russia and NATO are moving closer to a direct military clash with each passing day, said Dmitry Polyansky, Russia’s permanent representative to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). "A direct military clash between Russia and NATO has not yet occurred, although we are moving closer to that point every day," he told a regular meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council. TASS has obtained the text of his...

Michigan Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed’s father sits on the board of an Islamic charity that was previously accused of funneling cash to late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s regime. Imam Dr. Mohammed El-Sayed is currently a board member of Life for Relief and Development, a charity he’s worked with since at least 2020, according to tax forms. In 2004, the US military and FBI raided Life for Relief and Development’s Baghdad facilities, confiscating 20 boxes and 12 computers amid suspicions that the charity had been aiding insurgents, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Later, the Islamic charity’s public relations coordinator Muthanna al-Hanooti...

What began as an extraordinary opportunity to spend retirement exploring the world has turned into a financial and logistical nightmare. A residential cruise ship promising years of international travel has abruptly suspended operations, leaving more than 200 passengers, many of them Americans, searching for accommodations thousands of miles from home.

After losing Brazil’s election, Flávio Bolsonaro fled to Miami in an elaborate operation aided by Trump’s inner circle and Argentina’s presidentLess than 24 hours after losing Brazil’s presidential election, Flávio Bolsonaro appeared to vanish into a convoy of four dark cars.After pulling away from his home in Brasília on Monday evening, the vehicles split in different directions, leaving journalists and authorities scrambling to determine which one carried Bolsonaro. By the next afternoon, the former presidential candidate’s allies were telling reporters he had already reached Florida.As Brazilian and international outlets reported that Bolsonaro had left the country, he was still in...