Free Republic

New Hampshire’s Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte signed a pair of bills into law Thursday that place bans on sanctuary city polices in the Granite State. “There will be no sanctuary cities in New Hampshire,” Ayotte said during the bill signing, according to New Hampshire Bulletin. “Period. End of story.” The two bills that are now law — House Bill 511 and Senate Bill 62 — ban municipalities and counties in the state from putting in place policies that prevent local officials and police from cooperating with federal immigration officials such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Among other requirements, House...

Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) said Wednesday on CNN’s “Inside Politics” that he will not support the House spending bill because it has “real Medicaid benefit cuts.” Hawley said, “It ought to be just a basic foundational principle, it is wrong to cut health care for the working poor, and that’s what we’re talking about here with Medicaid. My state is a Medicaid expansion state, over 20% of Missourians, including hundreds of thousands of children, are on Medicaid.” He added, “I don’t like the idea of decreasing funding for rural hospitals. I’m worried that the House bill goes way too far...

President Donald Trump signed four bills on Friday to roll back Biden-era regulations on appliances like water heaters, refrigerators, walk-in coolers, and household appliances. The first bill Trump signed, H.J.R. 20, rolled back regulations on consumer gas-powered water heaters, White House staff secretary Will Scharf noted. Rep. Gary Palmer (R-AL) introduced the legislation, which was also backed by Rep. Brian Jack (R-GA). Jack noted that the new law “saves a factory” in his district.

Illegal aliens cost Texas hospitals more than $100 million in just a single month, brand new data from the Lone Star State shows. Texas hospitals are on the hook for a $121.8 million bill incurred by illegal aliens across 31,000 visits in November 2024 alone, according to data collected by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (THHSC). The findings came after Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed an order directing THHSC to collect and provide quarterly data on the cost of illegal aliens to the state’s hospitals and the number of visits from illegal aliens. The first full year of...

The City Council passed a slew of bills Thursday — including one that would ban noisy non-essential helicopter flights from city heliports following the horrific crash in the Hudson that killed a family of tourists and another to add a new gender ID to city documents. The two bills easily passed the Democratic-majority council but still need Mayor Eric Adams’ signature to become laws. A proposal aimed at cracking down on tour and commuter helicopters passed near unanimously — just two weeks after a couple and their three young kids visiting from Spain and a Navy veteran pilot all died...

U.S. electric rates are going up. In Missouri, Ameren increased residential power bills by 11% less than two years ago, and now it is seeking another 15% increase, per the Public Service Commission (PSC). According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), rate increases were experienced in 43 American states between 2023 and 2024. The EIA also reported record rate increases between 2021 and 2024 projections. In California, the Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) was granted six rate increases in 2024. Local ABC 30 Action News reported that The Utility Reform Network estimated that residents had experienced a $50...

Who will face the Eagles?

During an interview with C-SPAN on Friday, Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) stated that people are still worrying about the high prices of groceries, seeing rent increases, and “can’t afford to buy a home.” Dingell stated, “I go to Kroger on Sunday mornings. I have a routine. And when I’m in that — in the store, people know I’m going to be there. They come and talk to me about what — the price of eggs is what’s really, I think has not still quieted down, how they’re worried about their grocery bills, about people that can’t afford to buy a...

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s decision to fork over taxpayer money to build a new stadium for the Buffalo Bills drew renewed scorn – after the NFL team’s billionaire owners sold a minority stake for a massive profit, The Post has learned. Hochul, a Buffalo native, had agreed in 2022 to provide $600 million in state funding – with Erie Country tossing in an additional $250 million – for the privately-owned stadium after Bills owner Terry Pegula threatened to leave Western New York. The new 62,000-seat Highmark Stadium, expected to open in 2026, played a significant role in inflating the value of...

Two bills making it easier to tap the Earth’s heat for on-demand clean power have passed the House. The CLEAN Act and HEATS Act remove many of the federal permitting regulations currently necessary to drill for geothermal power plants, which produce electricity by drawing on the boiling-hot rock miles below the earth’s surface. As House energy bills go, the measures were notably bipartisan. All Republicans voted for them, with 18 Democrats crossing the aisle to vote with the GOP on the HEATS Act, and 31 on the CLEAN Act. If they make it through the Senate, the CLEAN Act and...

Gilbane Building Company and Turner Construction Company, the general contractors for the new Buffalo Bills stadium project, suspended construction on the project on Tuesday to investigate an incident. There was no activity at the site all day Wednesday — an unusual experience for folks who live and work nearby. "It's very quiet. You do not hear the construction crews. You don't see the vehicles," said Darlene Zlotok, a waitress and bartender at Danny's South on Abbott Road, located across the street from the new stadium site. "None of the cranes are working. None of the bulldozers are. I mean, there's...

The NFL’s player safety and concussion protocols were drawn into the limelight for all the wrong reasons during Buffalo’s Week 5 loss to Houston on Sunday. For the second week in a row, Bills quarterback Josh Allen found himself face down on the turf in a scene similar to the one in last week’s loss to Baltimore— a defender bearing down, an off-balance throw and a grimace-inducing blow to the head. This story featured a new wrinkle, though: smelling salts. The big hit Allen took late in Sunday’s game drew the attention of the league’s concussion spotter, though the quarterback...

That’s a wrap, folks! Superstar quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was officially placed on injured reserve Tuesday by the Miami Dolphins, this coming after he suffered yet another concussion during his team’s “Thursday Night Football” defeat against the Buffalo Bills. With the move, Tagovailoa has to stay on IR for a minimum of four contests, according to NFL rules. As Tua gets back to health, the Dolphins currently have no plans for how long exactly they will have the 26-year-old on injured reserve. Throughout his career in the National Football League, Tagovailoa has had three diagnosed concussions. Mike McDaniel, the head coach...

People in South Jersey say they are feeling the crunch after their summer electric bills skyrocketed. Many say they were shocked to see their Atlantic City Electric bills increase, in some cases doubling, and they want answers. Shannon Franke, an AC Electric customer, said she was shocked when she got her most recent bill in the mail. She went from owing $434 in June, to $780 in July. By August she owed $1,032

Tens of thousands of illegal immigrants are flooding into U.S. hospitals for treatment and leaving billions in uncompensated health care costs in their wake. The House Committee on Homeland Security recently released a report illustrating that from the estimated $451 billion in annual costs stemming from the U.S. border crisis, a significant portion is going to health care for illegal immigrants.With the majority of the illegal immigrant population lacking any kind of medical insurance, hospitals and government welfare programs such as Medicaid are feeling the weight of these unanticipated costs.Apprehensions of illegal immigrants at the U.S. border have jumped 48...

Starting this month, 145,000 Wyoming ratepayers will make a down payment on what's projected to add up to billions of dollars in additional costs. Regulators recently approved Black Hills Energy's new $1.1 million surcharge on utility bills to research the viability of adding controversial carbon capture technologies to coal-fired power plants. Rob Joyce, acting director of the Wyoming Chapter of the Sierra Club, said the rate increases are due to the state's mandate for utilities to continue burning coal. "The people who benefit from these kinds of policies are the legislators who are connected to legacy fossil fuel companies, utilities...

California governor Gavin Newsom is standing by the state’s soon-to-be-implemented "equitable" policy to base electricity bills on income, rather than usage, even as public and political opposition to the idea builds in the Democratic coalition. A spokesman for the governor said on Tuesday that Newsom is looking forward to seeing a final proposal from the state's utilities commission "that is consistent with" the 2022 law that required the agency to devise an income-based billing system.

Taylor Swift, Jerrod Carmichael, Cara Delevingne and a shirtless Jason Kelce were in good company on Sunday. CBS‘ broadcast of the NFL Divisional Playoff game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills averaged 39.3 million total viewers from 7 to 10 pm ET on Sunday evening. The very close contest, which the Chiefs wound up winning by a score of 27-24, also averaged a 9.9 rating in the coveted 18-49 demographic. The total Chiefs/Bills audience cited above marks a 14% gain in viewership versus the comparable year-ago match-up between the Cowboys and 49ers (San Francisco bested Dallas 19-12),...

The Kansas City Chiefs’ hard-fought win over the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs on Sunday night was decided by just three points. In Patrick Mahomes’ first-ever road playoff game, the Chiefs marched into Buffalo with a chip on their shoulders and delivered a remarkable performance to beat the Bills against seemingly all odds. Not all was well after their victory, though, as players from both sides of the ball had complaints about a lack of hot water in the locker room and fan behavior at Highmark Stadium after the game.

Snow so heavy that it could bury the field. Temperatures so low that beer will freeze. These are just some of the conditions expected during "the worst weather we've ever seen on the opening weekend of the playoffs." Extreme weather could crash multiple tailgating parties and football games as the playoffs get underway, including some of the most highly-anticipated matchups of the weekend. "There is going to be some of the worst weather we've ever seen on the opening weekend of playoffs," AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Bernie Rayno said. Coldest game in Miami, Kansas City history possible Saturday Arctic air will...