Free Republic

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton are locked in a close battle in the state’s bitterly contested Senate primary, according to an Emerson College Polling survey released Friday. The poll showed Cornyn essentially tied with Paxton. He led by 1 point, 30 percent to 29 percent, with 5 percent saying they prefer another candidate and 37 percent undecided. The margin is much closer than numerous other past polls that have shown Paxton with a lead over the longtime incumbent. “Seven months ahead of the Republican Primary, the contest between the four-term incumbent and the Attorney General...

.... Massie also has an ally in Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., a fellow self-described libertarian who describes Massie as a good friend. “I’m a big supporter of his, and vice versa. I’m planning a 10-city tour with him in September to support him, and we will do what it takes. We both represent sort of the liberty wing of the Republican Party,” Paul said. “We want to make sure that we don’t allow anybody to come in and try to defeat him.” Paul is the only GOP senator who voted against Trump’s megabill because of debt concerns, but, unlike Massie,...

“That’s our story, and we’re sticking to it.” It’s hard to believe that the Russiagate plotters are so stupid, but the declassified documents tumbling out of Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s files show that, while they had a lot of power and managed to hide their nefarious activities for almost a decade, President Barack Obama’s henchmen were none too bright. The latest tranche of declassified emails has Obama’s DNI, James Clapper, telling then-Director of the National Security Agency Mike Rogers essentially to shut up and put his name to the intelligence community assessment (ICA) that Clapper and then-CIA Director...

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser said Monday it is true that the city underwent a “crime spike” following the COVID-19 pandemic, but argued a “huge decrease” in crime has occurred since. President Donald Trump announced Monday he is federalizing the district’s Metropolitan Police Department to address a “public safety emergency,” with the MPD under the control of Attorney General Pam Bondi. In her press conference, Bowser said that she believes the president’s view of Washington is “shaped by his COVID-era experience” during his first term. “And it is true that those were more challenging times related to some issues. It...

All potatoes are not created equally, a massive new study has found — especially when it comes to the risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that eating just three servings of french fries per week was associated with a 20% higher risk of developing T2D. Baked, boiled or mashed potatoes, however, were not linked to an increased risk. …

Since returning to office in January 2025, President Donald Trump has shown a marked shift in his approach to South Asian geopolitics, displaying what analysts describe as a more favorable stance toward Pakistan while simultaneously straining relations with India. This represents a significant departure from decades of U.S. foreign policy that had increasingly favored New Delhi as a strategic counterweight to China. The most striking aspect of this policy shift appears to be intertwined with the Trump family’s business ventures. World Liberty Financial (WLF), founded in 2024, is no ordinary fintech startup. The company is 60% owned by Donald Trump’s...

For years, the MAGA base has been demanding real accountability, not just for January 6th protestors or anti-Hillary meme posters, but for the actual predators and monsters who walk free among us under our broken, two-tier justice system. One of the biggest demands from Trump’s America First supporters has been the truth around Jeffrey Epstein’s supposed client list. MAGA was promised sunlight on this issue. They were promised justice. And instead, many feel as if they’ve been gaslit, stalled, and handed recycled documents while the real power players skate free, without a care in the world. From the very beginning,...

[Catholic Caucus] What If “Synodality” Means Nothing?There’s good news and there’s bad news. The problem is that the good news isn’t very good, and we don’t know (yet?) how bad the bad news can be. Yes, you guessed it: I’m talking about “synodality.” The good news is that “synodality” might actually be meaningless. (That raises some questions about why, then, we are spending so much time, energy, and money on the topic; but let’s try to manage one conundrum at a time.) The bad news is that, precisely because “synodality” is a meaningless term (and “meaningless” will be defined below,...

A group of Senate Democrats asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to hand over files related to Jeffrey Epstein to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee by Aug. 15...The request is the latest salvo in an effort by Democrats and some Republicans in Congress to press the Trump administration to release the so-called Epstein files after reneging on promises to do so.

Senate Republicans are not happy with House conservatives they view as hijacking the congressional agenda to make the disclosure of Jeffrey Epstein-related files their burning focus. GOP senators say the matter should be left to President Trump and the Department of Justice and want House lawmakers to pay more attention to finding a way to avoid a government shutdown at the end of September. Instead, House Republicans on the Rules Committee have brought their chamber to a partial standstill by refusing to vote down Democratic amendments to force the publication of Epstein-related files. The House is about to leave town...

Though she has claimed the DIGNITY Act is not amnesty legislation, her own words undercut that defense.Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., admitted in a recent interview that her DIGNITY Act could serve as a launchpad for eventually granting citizenship to hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals currently in the United States.The DIGNITY Act, according to a press release from Salazar’s office, “allows certain long-term undocumented immigrants to earn legal status, without amnesty or a path to citizenship” so that illegal aliens who broke the law can have an “opportunity.” The bill would create a “7-year earned legal status program allowing”...

California’s high-speed rail had a $9.95 billion bond measure back in 2008 that was supposed to link up LA, San Francisco and the Central Coast by 2020. It’s 2025 and the budget has shot up to $128 billion. Sorry, let me correct that, it has shot up to $135 billion. By the time you read this, it’ll probably be up another few billion. The Trump administration is pulling funding from the ‘train to nowhere’ because well, just look at the Gov. Newsom press release. “The Authority has met every obligation, as confirmed by repeated federal reviews, as recently as February...

Trump’s base doesn’t want excuses—they want Epstein’s client list and the truth about TWA 800, not another cover-up dressed in national security. Recent media reports claimed that FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino was livid over a memo issued by the Justice Department last week stating that there was no Jeffrey Epstein “client list” and no further records from the Epstein file would be released. Nothing to see here. Move on. Bongino was reportedly threatening to resign if Attorney General Pam Bondi didn’t resign over her seeming incompetence. If accurate, I think Bongino was right to take a hard line on...

Veteran political journalist Mark Halperin revealed on Thursday that “everyone” believes a blockbuster exposé about the relationship between President Donald Trump and the late sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein is about to drop. “One of the points of this platform, in the age of transparency, is to narrow the gap between elites like Dan [Turrentine], and Sean [Spicer], and the people like the 2WAY community and myself. So let me share something with you that “everyone,” I say that in air quotes, everyone I know knows hasn’t been publicly reported. Everyone I know believes a major newspaper, one of the top...

“It was Jeffrey Epstein’s 50th birthday, and Ghislaine Maxwell was preparing a special gift to mark the occasion. She turned to Epstein’s family and friends. One of them was Donald Trump.” Above is Excerpt rest behind paywall More From X https://x.com/MarioNawfal/status/1945981866365849897 Mario Nawfal @MarioNawfal 🚨🇺🇸 WSJ BOMBSHELL: TRUMP’S EPSTEIN BIRTHDAY CARD EXPOSED… THE SECRET HE COULDN’T BURY The Wall Street Journal just dropped the story Trump desperately wanted buried:his 2003 birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein, complete with a hand-drawn naked woman and his signature positioned as pubic hair. “Happy Birthday -— and may every day be another wonderful secret.” Those...

It was Jeffrey Epstein’s 50th birthday, and Ghislaine Maxwell was preparing a special gift to mark the occasion. She turned to Epstein’s family and friends. One of them was Donald Trump. Maxwell collected letters from Trump and dozens of Epstein’s other associates for a 2003 birthday album, according to documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

With the federal EV incentive set to expire at the end of September, Ford is urging its dealers to prepare for a rush of buyers. Ford warns dealers of upcoming EV rush Like most automakers, Ford is preparing for a shakeup under the Trump Administration. After the “One Big Beautiful Bill” was signed into law on July 4, the $7,500 and $4,000 tax credit for new and used EVs will no longer be available after September 30. In a memo sent to dealers this week, Ford warned, “demand is expected to increase as the deadline approaches for eligible vehicles.” The...

West Pittston, just outside of the industrial centre of Scranton, Pennsylvania, has a classic smalltown-American look. There are clapboard houses, a main drag with businesses bearing charming vintage patina and lampposts bearing flags of the town's military veterans. And MAGA faithful. On Wednesday, in 85F (30C) weather, they lined the streets outside Don's Machine Shop where JD Vance spoke, touting President Donald Trump's recent legislative victory, what he calls his Big Beautiful Bill. But a lawn sign nearby as the US vice-president spoke pointed to an additional priority on their minds - a rare backlash against the Trump presidency from...

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has claimed the Kremlin could launch "preemptive strikes" on Western nations if they escalate the war in Ukraine just days after United States President Donald Trump demanded a ceasefire. On Tuesday, President Trump threatened to impose "very severe" tariffs on Russia unless the Kremlin negotiated an end to its invasion. The US leader also declared he was "very unhappy" with Russian President Vladimir Putin's reticence to engage in peace talks, in a notable shift away from previous comments praising Russia's leader. The Kremlin subsequently dismissed the threat, with Mr Medvedev, who now acts as the...

Right-wing activist Laura Loomer warned that President Donald Trump’s handling of the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein threatens to “consume his presidency” in an interview on Wednesday, a dramatic rebuke from a presidential confidante that illustrates the growing rupture in the MAGA coalition. She likened it to the intense media interest in ties between Trump’s first White House campaign and Russia, saying “I don’t want it to consume his presidency.” “Obviously, this is not a complete hoax given the fact that Ghislaine Maxwell is currently serving 20 years in prison in Florida for her crimes and activities with Jeffrey Epstein, who...