Free Republic

Los Angeles Fire Department officials tried to run damage control for Mayor Karen Bass before releasing findings on how the city handled the devastating Palisades fire, according to a bombshell report. An unsigned, confidential memo flagrantly admits fire officials’ goal before releasing an October after-action report on the blaze was to protect Bass and others from a backlash, the Los Angeles Times first reported. “It’s our goal to prepare and protect Mayor Bass, the City, and the LAFD from reputational harm associated with the upcoming public release of its AARR, through a comprehensive strategy that includes risk assessment, proactive and...

OpenAI announced last week that it will retire some older ChatGPT models by February 13. That includes GPT-4o, the model infamous for excessively flattering and affirming users. For thousands of users protesting the decision online, the retirement of 4o feels akin to losing a friend, romantic partner, or spiritual guide. ... The backlash over GPT-4o’s retirement underscores a major challenge facing AI companies: The engagement features that keep users coming back can also create dangerous dependencies. Altman doesn’t seem particularly sympathetic to users’ laments, and it’s not hard to see why. OpenAI now faces eight lawsuits alleging that 4o’s overly...

FIRST ON FOX — A sign featuring coded language threatening President Donald Trump and equating his supporters with Nazis greeted guests to an event last week headlined by Michigan Democrat gubernatorial front-runner Jocelyn Benson and U.S. Senate candidate Mallory McMorrow. The sign, displayed by local Democrats, said "MAGA=NAZI" and "86 47." The number "86" originated in restaurants to mean "cancel" or "throw out," but in underworld slang it is frequently used as a call sign for murdering someone. The number "47" is commonly interpreted as denoting the 47th president of the United States, Trump. Recently, when Trump foe James Comey...

Angry British men who are embracing pagan mythology and preparing to fight and die for it are becoming a growing terror threat, a leading academic claims

The Spanish government has called for the removal of the listings of nearly 66,000 properties on rental platform Airbnb on the grounds that they breach regulations for tourist accommodation. The clampdown comes as protests against over-tourism have begun ahead of the summer season. Demonstrations in the Canary Islands on Sunday attracted thousands of people. The minister for social rights, consumer affairs and the 2030 Agenda, Pablo Bustinduy, said the rental properties in question had "violated various norms regarding housing for tourist use". The announcement followed a Madrid court ruling that Airbnb must immediately withdraw from the market 5,800 of the...

Female fencer Stephanie Turner said she will walk away from competing “for a while” after she was put on a 12-month probation by USA Fencing for refusing to compete against a trans-identifying male fencer in March.Turner spoke to Fox News about the year-long probation and said because of all the attention she’s gotten from taking a knee against biological male Redmond Sullivan at the Cherry Blossom Open in Maryland she won’t be competing anytime soon in the United States.“It has disrupted my interactions when I go out in public and it will certainly disrupt my competition because I won’t be...

The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) Boston-based expansion team announced Friday that it will be changing its name. The change comes after a wave of transgender backlash to a marketing campaign it abandoned back in October. The team was set to be named BOS Nation FC, which it announced in a branding event in the fall alongside a marketing campaign that featured the slogan "Too Many Balls." The slogan prompted intense backlash from the transgender community, including an NWSL player. A transgender player who goes by the singular name Quinn, who plays for the Seattle Reign, spoke out against the...

A Democratic congressman is facing heat from conservatives on social media after promoting the idea of a "street fight" at a protest pushing back against Elon Musk’s recent efforts to slash government waste through the newly created DOGE office.

NBC News’ chief foreign affairs Andrea Mitchell said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that there was an international backlash developing against President Donald Trump’s agenda. Host Kristen Welker said, “We just talked to the Trump national security adviser amid questions about Gaza, whether he plans to try to make Canada the 51st state and of course, all of these cuts that we’re seeing. How do you see the Trump doctrine right now?” Mitchell said, “It appears to the world as might makes right in Panama, Canada. You can argue that this is an opening bid but we’ve seen in...

Former First Lady Michelle Obama garnered a wave of online backlash after sharing a “Happy Holidays” post that addressed people feeling “anxious and uncertain” after the November election. In an Instagram video featuring her voiceover, she highlighted the work of the Obama Presidential Center while acknowledging that “it’s been a difficult few months for so many of us”: “…folks are feeling a little bit anxious and uncertain. But even during these tough times, there are plenty of reasons to stay hopeful,” Obama added, before bringing up the foundation’s programs.

Michelle Obama provoked a wave of online criticism Friday after she shared a New Year's message with her followers on Instagram. The former first lady posted a video wishing her followers "Happy Holidays" and highlighting the work of the Obama Presidential Center as 2024 comes to a close. But critics noted with disapproval that her video begins on a sour note. "Happy holidays, everyone. I know it's been a difficult few months for so many of us, and that folks are feeling a little bit anxious and uncertain," Obama says in the video. "But even during these tough times, there...

Menomale Pizza owner Mariya Rusciano joins ‘The Faulkner Focus’ to explain the controversy surrounding her shop after they congratulated President-elect Donald Trump on his election win.

Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said Wednesday on CNN’s “Newsroom” that he “strongly opposes” President Joe Biden pardoning lawmakers who led the January 6 committee because legal proceedings against them “would ultimately cause a backlash against Donald Trump.” Blumenthal said, “I strongly oppose preemptive pardon. First of all, it’s in some ways going to be perceived as an implicit acknowledgment of guilt. I’m a former prosecutor, United States attorney, chief federal prosecutor in Connecticut, and state attorney general for 20 years. I know. And people should know that walking into a courtroom and making charges is far from proving guilt beyond...

A campaign official reportedly said Vice President Kamala Harris backed out of appearing on Joe Rogan’s podcast out of fear of backlash within the Democratic Party. The Financial Times reported on Wednesday that Jennifer Palmieri, senior advisor to second gentleman Doug Emhoff, said talks about Harris appearing on “The Joe Rogan Experience” fell through “because of concerns at how the interview would be perceived within the Democratic Party.” “There was a backlash with some of our progressive staff that didn’t want her to be on it, and how there would be a backlash,” Palmieri reportedly said. She added there was...

[Catholic Caucus] Synod proposal of ‘doctrinal authority’ for local bishops receives major backlash from participantsWhile there is no official acknowledgement of a controversy, reports indicate that there is widespread resistance to proposals that call for fragmentation of Church governance.Debate has swept through the Synod floor as members have pushed back against the suggestion that bishops’ conferences might be given “doctrinal authority.”Though the Synod on Synodality is closed to the outside world and information is carefully managed via the secretariat for information, nevertheless rumblings of considerable debate have made their way through the concrete walls of the Paul VI Hall where...

FEMA's response to Hurricane Helene has been, in a word, terrible. And that's an understatement. The Biden-Harris regime has made DEI FEMA's top priority and wasted hundreds of millions of FEMA funds on illegal immigration. So while roads are washed out across the rural southeast U.S. and people are getting vital supplies delivered by drone and donkey, FEMA really doesn't want you to spread 'rumors' about how much they suck. There has been a lot of rumors spreading about the #Helene response. Rumors can create confusion & prevent people from getting assistance they need. Help us share accurate information: https://t.co/Z5vxuBTths...

Vice President Kamala Harris will give a solo interview on an unspecified date, the Harris campaign promised Thursday, following severe backlash regarding Gov. Tim Walz joining Harris in Thursday’s prerecorded interview on CNN. Critics claim Harris agreed to do her first interview with Walz to reduce the time she will have to speak during the one-hour question and answer session with CNN’s Dana Bash. Critics also raised concerns that CNN could edit the pre-taped interview to fix any gaffes or mistakes Harris might commit, as the network has a known bias against former President Donald Trump. “LOL – Kamala can’t...

Across Europe, the next generation of white supremacists are being radicalised. They fantasize about an ethnically pure Europe and are taking action. In Germany, a far-right plan to overthrow the state was averted. In France, six men were arrested for plotting to attack politicians. In Bratislava, a student with links to the far right murdered two people outside an LGTB club. We met with the people who see themselves as ideologists of a racial war and investigate these new white supremacists and the threat they pose. Wunsiedel, Northern Bavaria. The neo-nazi political party, Dritte Weg, has gathered to commemorate Adolf...

Why has Denmark, once a beacon of humanitarianism, slammed its doors on Muslim immigrants? Could this drastic shift be the only way to save its cherished welfare system? Today, we’ll talk about why Denmark doesn’t want Muslim immigrants anymore. This Nordic country made decision to radically overhaul its immigration policy, and many people see it as controversial. Let’s explore why this scenic and once hospitable country is saying it's had enough.

Here’s an interesting—and encouraging—trend in public opinion: In 2017, according to the Pew Center, 53 percent of Americans said that a person’s gender is determined by their sex at birth—that is, women start out as girls, and men start out as boys. By 2021, the percentage of sex realists had risen slightly to 56 percent. The following year, it rose four points more. Today, the percentage stands at 65 percent. The share of Americans who hold the classic conservative view of human nature has risen from barely more than half seven years ago to nearly two-thirds today. Progress! In fact,...