Free Republic

There are countless pundits who proclaim that America’s population must grow, grow, grow. Otherwise, our economy will crash and there won’t be enough people to support the elderly, join the military, pay taxes, or to keep housing values from falling. Census data show that America’s population growth rate is decreasing, which has prompted many observers to embrace the argument that we must rely on immigration to prevent population from declining. The evidence suggests that immigration provides few if any economic benefits for the majority of Americans. Take the simplest measure of all — real GDP. George Borjas, a Professor of...

As leading AI labs compete in a breakneck race to develop more powerful systems, the “Godfather of AI” says ethical concerns and safety research are being sidelined, risking serious consequences for society. The Financial Times reports that AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio has sounded the alarm on the current state of AI development, warning that the competitive drive to create increasingly intelligent systems has led to a reckless disregard for safety and ethical considerations. Bengio, often referred to as the “Godfather of AI,” believes that this negligent approach could have disastrous consequences for humanity. In an interview with the Times, Bengio...

President Donald Trump on Thursday lashed out at Elon Musk as their feud rapidly ramped up, calling him “CRAZY” and suggesting that he may terminate the Tesla CEO’s government contracts. Trump in a bitter Truth Social post wrote that Musk was “wearing thin” by the end of his tenure leading the president’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. “I asked him to leave,” Trump claimed. The angry swipe came after Musk blasted the president amid an escalating clash that stemmed from the mega-billionaire’s vocal opposition to Trump’s massive tax-cut bill. Trump earlier Thursday said Musk was “upset” that the budget...

Just days before his expected Senate confirmation, billionaire tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman—closely aligned with Elon Musk’s SpaceX—has been withdrawn as President Donald Trump’s nominee for NASA administrator. The announcement came on the same day Musk stepped down from the government’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and follows renewed scrutiny of Isaacman’s past political donations to Democratic candidates. A new nominee for NASA administrator will be announced soon, according to Trump, who said he will prioritize someone who is “mission aligned” and can put America “first in space.”

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The internet is abuzz with tributes to a liquid chemical called methylene blue that is being sold as a health supplement. Over the past five or 10 years, methylene blue has come to be touted online as a so-called nootropic agent – a substance that enhances cognitive function. Vendors claim that it amps up brain energy, improves memory, boosts focus and dispels brain fog, among other supposed benefits. Health influencers, such as podcaster Joe Rogan, have sung its praises. In February 2025, shortly before he was confirmed as health and human services secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared in a...

The Big Beautiful Bill has taken a lot of PR hits of late, including from me and Elon Musk. I love writing that line. It makes it sound like Elon Musk and I have similar influence, when everybody knows that I am the larger political force of the two. The criticisms all boil down to one essential fact: the bill doesn't fundamentally change the trajectory of budget deficits continuing forever, and the national debt keeps increasing at an alarming rate. If the United States faces an existential threat from an exploding debt and deficits as far as the eye can...

MIT researchers have developed a new membrane that separates various types of fuel by molecular size, potentially eliminating the need for the energy-intensive process of crude oil distillation. Turning crude oil into everyday fuels like gasoline, diesel, and heating oil demands a huge amount of energy. In fact, this process is responsible for about 6 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions. Most of that energy is spent heating the oil to separate its components based on their boiling points. Now, in an exciting breakthrough, engineers at MIT have created a new kind of membrane that could change the game....

Image of the ground beef product detected to have been infected with E. Coli. Courtesy of June 3/FSIS public safety alert ====================================================================== Certain ground beef products distributed to Whole Foods Market locations nationwide have been pulled from shelves due to potential E. coli contamination, according to a June 3 U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) notice. The alert applies to 1-pound vacuum-packed packages of “ORGANIC RANCHER ORGANIC GROUND BEEF 85% LEAN 15% FAT,” marked with “Use or Freeze By 06-19-25” and “Use or Freeze By 06-20-25.”

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Wednesday said Elon Musk’s sharp criticism of President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” was “flat wrong,” but that he did not take it personally. Musk on Tuesday torched the GOP spending package on X, calling it “a disgusting abomination,” which the speaker said was a complete 180 from what he had indicated in private just a day earlier. Johnson and other House Republicans spoke to reporters Wednesday morning on Capitol Hill, where they addressed a variety of topics, including the future of the spending bill. “I consider Elon a friend,” Johnson told reporters. “It’s curious to...

Elon Musk has warned "if the massive deficit spending continues," there will be no money for Social Security, health care or defense, as he continues opposition to President Donald Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill." The tech billionaire and former head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) made the comment about Trump's spending package on his Truth Social website in the early hours of June 4. Newsweek contacted Musk for comment via the SpaceX and Tesla press offices outside of regular office hours on Wednesday. Why It Matters The House narrowly passed Trump's budget package on May 22 in a 215-214...

Apparently, convincing your friends to sell chicken can pay off — big. At 24, Arman Oganesyan was making $50 a night as a stand-up comedian with no restaurant or business experience when he pitched the idea of selling Nashville hot chicken to his childhood friends Dave Kopushyan and Tommy Rubenyan. Pooling $900 in savings, they launched Dave’s Hot Chicken in 2017 as a pop-up in a Los Angeles parking lot. On Monday, private equity firm Roark Capital bought a majority stake in Dave’s Hot Chicken, which is now a franchise business with more than 300 locations, in a deal worth...

Hackers have leaked what they claim is AT&T’s database which was reportedly stolen by the ShinyHunters group in April 2024 after they exploited major security flaws in the Snowflake cloud data platform. But is this really the Snowflake-linked data? We took a closer look. As seen by the Hackread.com research team, the data was first posted on a well-known Russian cybercrime forum on May 15, 2025. It was re-uploaded on the same forum on June 3, 2025, after which it began circulating among other hackers and forums. After analyzing the leaked data, we found it contains a detailed set of...

Amid endless debate over whether or not In-N-Out, Five Guys or Shake Shack puts up the best burger, we have a new — and yuge! — contender entering the crowded upscale burger market. From Deseret News: A Donald Trump impersonator, dozens of American flags and a burger with the word 'Trump' stamped into the bun are all things a customer might see on a visit to any of the four Trump Burger locations in Texas. The restaurant chain, themed after President Donald Trump, was founded by a Lebanese immigrant named Roland Beainy, reported Fox Business. All of the current locations...

The economy appears to be booming, consumer confidence is rising, inflation is coming in lower, and job growth higher, than expected. Normally, we’d all be celebrating good news like this. But not when Donald Trump is sitting in the White House. Then it must be ignored or explained away. Ever since Trump took office, we’ve been treated to a steady diet of doomsaying. His tariffs would fuel inflation. He was driving the economy toward a recession. When the Commerce Department reported a slight contraction in the first quarter – so slight that future revisions could show that the economy expanded...

Months ago, when Texas Senate Health and Human Services Committee Chair Lois Kolkhorst first held a hearing on Senate Bill 25 — requiring among other things, warning labels on foods containing certain additives — the first person to speak was Calley Means, a top adviser to U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy. “Texas can really lead here…These bills represent a Texas way that prioritizes transparency, prioritizes good education and prioritizes incentive change,” said Means, a former food and pharmaceutical consultant, who spearheaded the federal Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission. He’s also the brother of Casey Means, President Donald Trump’s...

Bad Apple. New Yorkers rate the Big Apple’s quality of life — on issues such as public safety, cleanliness and mass transit — significantly worse than the pre-pandemic times and just slightly better than two years ago, a Citizens Budget Commission survey of more than 1,700 residents found. Just over a third of residents said quality of life in the five boroughs was good or excellent — a significant drop from 2017, when about half of New Yorkers surveyed gave it the top rating. The deep level of displeasure regarding crime and government services presents a challenge to whoever the...

What It Entails: Total Control Over Every Facet of Your Lives, Literally! “Consider that much of what we see concerning their selling points, this when it comes to their “social credit score”, is sold to you from the high crime rates that occur. For example, they’ll say that rising crime in America is the reason why we need a social credit score. Yet, do consider, that if they were upholding and magnifying the Law in condemning the crimes (Deuteronomy 25:1), there would be nothing to sell. In other words, these are just excuses to implement more control.” Let’s get right...

Progressive filmmaker and activist Michael Moore rewrote the words of the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance on Monday, asking his readers to unite against President Donald Trump and "MAGA-heads" in the country. "I pledge allegiance to the people of the United States of America. And to the democracy for which we all stand: One person, one vote, one nation, part of one world, everyone! A seat at the table! Everyone! A slice of the pie! With liberty and justice, equality, and kindness and the pursuit of happiness for all," Moore wrote on his Substack account. The "Fahrenheit 9/11" director said he...

Today, Thomas More Society attorneys on behalf of Choose Life Marketing, filed a reply in support of their motion to dismiss in the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts, against a meritless lawsuit brought by abortion provider Four Women Health Services. Four Women Health Services argues the marketing services provided by Choose Life Marketing for Abundant Hope, a pro-life pregnancy center and co-defendant in the case, “mislead” women seeking abortions, simply because Choose Life Marketing employs standard marketing practices to better help Abundant Hope offer alternatives to abortion, such as parenting support, adoption resources, and material assistance. “Massachusetts’ abortion businesses, backed...