Free Republic

U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) jumped in the first quarter of 2026, compared to the previous quarter’s growth, the Commerce Department reported Thursday – a sign that the nation’s economy remains solid. Real (inflation-adjusted) GDP increased at an annual rate of 2.0% in the first quarter after rising just 0.5% in the last three months of 2025, according to the report providing an advanced estimate of GDP. A second, updated estimate will be published May 28, to eventually be followed by the third (and final) estimate. "The core of the economy remained solid in Q1, driven by the AI buildout...

A young boy is recovering in the hospital after being critically shot in Lawton, Oklahoma. Zachariah Bannister, who had just celebrated his eighth birthday, was sitting in the back seat of his mother's vehicle enjoying a Christmas light display with his family when a bullet struck him in the head. The suspected shooter, Jullian Phillips, has since been arrested. According to Fox59, the incident took place on December 10 while Zachariah's mother, Nichole Groshong, was delivering food for DoorDash in southwest Lawton with him, his brother, and their grandmother. Groshong explained that throughout her shift, she repeatedly stopped outside homes...

'The Perfect Mile' 50 Years Later, Bannister-Landy Race Still Memorable The Perfect Mile May 6, 2004 -- Fifty years ago, Briton Roger Bannister ran the world's first mile under four minutes. Just six weeks later, Australian John Landy broke Bannister's record, setting up a face-off between the world's first two men to achieve that long-elusive goal. NPR's Juan Williams looks back on the Bannister-Landy matchup in an interview with Neal Bascomb, author of The Perfect Mile. In the Aug. 7, 1954, Empire Games race in Vancouver, "you have these two great runners, both of whom had broken four-minute miles, battling...