Free Republic

Washington — President Trump touted the construction of the White House ballroom in his first appearance since Republicans' overwhelming losses in the midterm elections, hosting a celebratory event that stood in stark contrast with his new political reality in Washington. The president assembled reporters and construction workers in the unfinished massive new structure, where the building's final steel beam was set to be hoisted into the ceiling. The president praised the addition of the ballroom and nearby helipad to the White House complex as a "thing of beauty," declaring that his administration has "beautified" Washington, D.C. "This is a special...

A Bronze Age man buried in a monumental tomb near the Black Sea may have died from complications of a urinary tract infection (UTI) more than five millennia ago, according to a new study. Archaeologists identified a grape-size object consistent with a kidney or bladder stone in the man's burial. "He lived with a chronic urogenital infection," study lead author Natalia Berezina, an anthropologist at Lomonosov Moscow State University in Russia, told Live Science in an email. "It was not a brief episode," she said. "His last years were probably marked by considerable and more or less constant pain." Berezina...

Socialists are moving immediately to squeeze Gov. Kathy Hochul on taxes — even as political insiders argue her re-election on Tuesday was owed more to anti-Trump backlash than to a surging left-wing in the Empire State. The Democratic Socialists of America’s New York City chapter — which saw a record-number of its members win election to the state Legislature — will turn up the heat on Hochul over hiking taxes on the wealthy and other issues, including expanding free childcare and raising the minimum wage. “I’m hopeful that Hochul has seen the energy, the excitement that can come from the...

Explanation: “I see” IC 342, the Hidden Galaxy! Today’s image peers through the plane of the Milky Way, through all its gas, dust and stars, to unveil this spiral galaxy. IC 342 (or Caldwell 5) is one of the brightest members of the IC 342/Maffei group of galaxies. Located about 10 million light years away, this group is quite close to the Local Group that includes our Milky Way. Inaccurate accounting of the crowded and dusty Milky Way foreground has led to misunderstandings in IC 342’s history, including the theory that the galaxy was ejected from the Local Group. IC...

For four years, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and state House Democrats blamed Republican leadership in the state Senate for blocking bills and delaying what they see as progress. But that obstacle will soon be gone. Pennsylvania Democrats won the state Senate majority by two seats, expanded their majority in the state House and reelected Shapiro. So now that the Democrats control all three bodies, what are their top priorities and how soon can they deliver on them? Democratic leaders in both the Senate and House said their first priority is raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. “If you...

Is JD Vance capitulating to the islamists in Iran to end the war (for now)?

Much of the betting appeared recreational—and Kalshi and Polymarket didn’t forecast any big surprises ahead of Election DayBy Election Day, Thomas Morrow had bet about $1,200 on prediction markets that Republicans would win their races—excited to have a way to put his money where his mouth was. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to prove very clearly that I know what I’m talking about when I make my prognostications about politics to my friends,” Morrow, 64 years old, said Tuesday.By Wednesday morning, Morrow was down about half—around $640—after Democrats staged a blowout victory in the midterm elections to recapture majorities in both...

A critical power structure near Bluff looks like a sinking Leaning Tower of Pisa after waves of floods have inundated southeast Utah over the past week. Now, as the area braces for another rise in the San Juan River, Bluff Mayor Josh Ewing is worried that a new surge could cause the damaged power pole to collapse. If it does, he said, hundreds of families in Navajo Nation communities to the south could lose power and Bluff could lose cell service for “a very long time.” Rains roared down washes in southeast Utah on Sunday and Monday, flooding Bluff’s post...

West Hollywood’s City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to create a local registry that allows throuples, foursomes, and other multi-partner groups to officially register as domestic partners, granting them rights normally reserved for families, such as hospital visitation and tenant protections. The ordinance, introduced by Mayor John Heilman, lets three or more adults file paperwork with the city clerk to record their relationship, provided the arrangement is consensual and the participants are not related by blood in a way that would bar marriage under California law. Registration is open even to people who do not live in the city.

Outgoing Florida Governor and former 2024 presidential contender Ron DeSantis has taken a swipe at Donald Trump after the Republican defeat in the midterm elections. DeSantis called it 'close to an extinction-level event for Republicans in many parts of the country' and singled out the Democratic wins in the Texas governor and Senate races in what he called 'the crown jewel of Republican politics.' 'Let's just be clear, that is going to hurt, not just for the next two years, that's something that can reverberate for the next decade or more,' he said at a press conference in Tallahassee on...

SACRAMENTO, CA — With pivotal midterm elections taking place across the country, one state added an extra incentive to influence their outcomes, as Governor Gavin Newsom offered electricity to California residents who vote for Democrats. With electrical power now at a premium throughout the Golden State, Newsom held a press conference to announce that any California resident who votes to elect Democratic candidates would be graciously granted electricity. "Just sweetening the pot a little bit," Newsom told reporters. "I want all Californians to know that if they vote Democrat in today's elections, not only will they receive the same...

Vice President JD Vance delivered a blunt assessment of Republicans' sweeping midterm losses Wednesday morning, pointing at the Iran war as the driving force behind the party's election-night defeats. "But the real reason we lost is obvious to almost everyone," said Vance on X."The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night. If you'd like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so. Argue it was a worthwhile cost to pay. Agree or disagree, that's at least honest. But everyone knows why...

As Rush always used to say "Look at all the material we are going to have..." People are more involved in politics that ever since jut the last 2 years. Now should come the most satisfying "I told you so's"

Alaska vote tally 74.3% of expected vote D Mary Peltola 102,701 votes 48.20% · R Dan S. Sullivan 102,075 votes 47.90%R Gerald L. Heikes 4,821 votes 2.30% Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.3,583 votes 1.70% Total Write-ins 0 votes 0.00%

UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION (Article I, Section 7, Clause 2) Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it.

A helicopter plunged into the waters of Biscayne Bay near Miami, Florida, on Wednesday morning, triggering a massive emergency response as rescue crews raced to the scene. Three people were reportedly aboard the aircraft. Two were rushed to a trauma center, while a third person is feared dead. According to WSVN 7News, the small helicopter crashed near Nixon Beach, southwest of Key Biscayne, sending emergency responders scrambling to the area. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue confirmed that crews responded to the crash at approximately 11:26 a.m. Wednesday near Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park. According to NBC 6 South Florida, rescue officials...

With 94% of the vote in Paul LePage is ahead by about 4000 votes in Maine CD-2. I believe most of the outstanding votes are from rural areas in northern Maine. Most of those votes should go to Mr. LePage.

U.S. — The state of California has officially annexed the state formerly known as Texas. Texas has flown six different flags over the years, going from Spanish to French to Mexican rule before becoming an independent nation. After a stint of secession during the Civil War, Texas has been part of the U.S. as the Lone Star State for over 150 years. That chapter came to a close last night. "Welcome to California," announced Governor Gavin Newsom, as the California flag was raised over the Capitol in Austin. "You're going to love it here. Just look at what has become...

Presuming Trump has to veto everything from congress for the remaining two years of his term (i.e. no new budgets except CR’s), what does that mean given what was put in place with the BBB budget? What do planned budgets (and budget reductions) with CR’s mean for border enforcement, ICE deportations, defense spending, national debt, etc. I put the question I asked in 98 to AI: Operating under a “veto-everything” strategy for the remaining two years of President Trump’s term—relying strictly on Continuing Resolutions (CRs) to fund the government—would trigger a strict mechanism where federal agencies are legally bound to...

KFDA reports that some 3,000 artifacts were recovered from the Schaeffer Shelter in south-central Texas. Situated on private property in Ceta Canyon, the rock shelter, discovered in 1949 by Stanley Schaeffer, measures about 20 square feet. Archaeologist Brandon Tully said that different groups of people likely returned to the site over thousands of years, and he estimates that some of the recovered artifacts are between 8,000 and 10,000 years old. "We really don't have a lot of information about archaic period sites in the Texas Panhandle, especially rock shelters," Tully said. "Almost all of our rock shelters are from about...