Free Republic

A Tennessee state law banning gender-affirming care for minors can stand, the US supreme court has ruled, a devastating loss for trans rights supporters in a case that could set a precedent for dozens of other lawsuits involving the rights of transgender children. The case, United States v Skrmetti, was filed last year by three families of trans children and a provider of gender-affirming care. In oral arguments, the plaintiffs – as well as the US government, then helmed by Joe Biden – argued that Tennessee’s law constituted sex-based discrimination and thus violated the equal protection clause of the 14th...

In a high-profile incident reported by the Korean Central News Agency, North Korea's attempt to launch a warship became a fiasco under the watchful eyes of Kim Jong-un. The supreme leader attended the impressive unveiling of the 5,000-tonne vessel at Cheongjin Shipyard on May 21, which quickly went awry due to an unfortunate blunder during the launch process. He lambasted the occurrence as a "serious accident that could not have happened, could not be tolerated," and branded it as a "criminal act caused by pure carelessness, irresponsibility and unscientific empiricism." The North Korean leader made it abundantly clear that those...

Ruth Buzzi, who was so hilarious as the lonely spinster Gladys Ormphby, the lady who swung her handbag as a lethal weapon, on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, has died. She was 88. Buzzi died Thursday night in her sleep at her home in Texas, her family announced. In July 2022, her husband, actor Kent Perkins, revealed that she was “bedridden and incapacitated” after suffering a seres of strokes. Buzzi appeared in the original Broadway production of the musical comedy Sweet Charity, played Marlo Thomas’ pal Margie “Pete” Peterson on ABC’s That Girl, starred opposite Jim Nabors on a Saturday morning...

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared an “emergency martial law,” Tuesday accusing the country’s opposition of controlling the parliament, sympathizing with North Korea and paralyzing the government with anti-state activities. Yoon made the announcement during a televised briefing, vowing to “eradicate pro-North Korean forces and protect the constitutional democratic order.” It wasn’t immediately clear how the steps would affect the country’s governance and democracy. Yoon — whose approval rating has dipped in recent months — has struggled to push his agenda against an opposition-controlled parliament since taking office in 2022. (More at link)

(This is an April 2024 article, relevant because the new school year has started in Seattle and the high school kids are being pulled out of advanced classes now.) SEATTLE - Many parents within Seattle Public Schools are flabbergasted by the district's decision to shut down 11 schools dedicated to highly capable learners. They include three elementary, five middle schools, and three high schools. The "cohorts" at these schools keep the students together so teachers can focus on their advanced needs. There are hundreds of students learning at these schools, far above their grade level. .... Typically, these schools have...

Feb 21 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Wednesday blocked California's attorney general from enforcing a new law that allows residents, the state and local governments to sue members of the firearms industry that manufacture or sell "abnormally dangerous" guns. U.S. District Judge Andrew Schopler in San Diego sided with, opens new tab a firearms industry trade association in finding that part of a gun control measure signed into law by Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom in 2022 was likely unconstitutional. It is the first ruling in a case challenging the constitutionality of California's Firearm Industry Responsibility Act. The law was...

Dolezal, a white woman who identified as Black for years and later changed her name to Nkechi Diallo, fired in Arizona ousted from her position in a local school district due to content posted on her OnlyFans account. Dolezal, who legally changed her name to Nkechi Diallo in 2016, had been teaching at an elementary school in Arizona since August 2023, according to a report from News4 Tucson. An OnlyFans logo displayed on a smartphone with stock market percentages in the background OnlyFans owner pays himself $1.3m a day from UK-based adult content site Read more She was fired this...

The Caleb Williams saga is going to be one that we're going to get tired of quickly. It's a unique situation. As long as Williams stays healthy and doesn't completely shit the bed, he will go number one in next year's draft. He's already got a Heisman Trophy, and now it seems like he's making demands. About a month back, it was reported that Williams would consider staying in college if the Cardinals ended up with the number one overall pick. I think that's such an insane thing to entertain. It was like the first week of the season, why...

Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein's daughter, Katherine, a former San Francisco judge, has a power-of-attorney agreement that grants her at least some say over the senator's affairs. Last month, the younger Feinstein, now a San Francisco fire commissioner, filed a suit against the trust of the investor Richard Blum, the senator's late husband. In the legal filing, she identified herself as an "attorney in fact" for the Democratic lawmaker. The agreement allowed the former judge to file the suit on behalf of her mother. It's unclear to what extent the younger Feinstein holds power over the 90-year-old lawmaker. ... The New...

he folks at Peto’s Travel Center and Casino in Roanoke, Louisiana see all kinds of vehicles pull up, but Tuesday night was different. What ended up in their parking lot is certainly something of a mystery, to say the least. Someone left a Russian T-90A tank, which open source intelligence (OSINT) trackers say was captured by Ukraine last fall, on a trailer after the truck hauling it broke down and pulled into this truck stop off U.S. Interstate 10. An employee at Peto's, and the individual who first posted the images on Reddit, shared them with The War Zone. The...

In several posts on his social media platform, the former president first mockingly endorsed lawyer Dan Goldman in his race for Congressional District 10 in New York, hailing him as the man who “headed up the Impeachment Committee and lost.” “Lawyer Dan Goldman is running for Congress, NY-10, and it is my great honor to Strongly Endorse him,” Trump began. “I do this not because of the fact that he headed up the Impeachment Committee and lost, but because he was honorable, fair, and highly intelligent.” “While it was my honor to beat him, and beat him badly, Dan Goldman...

The BMPT-72, or Terminator 2, is fitted with a new unmanned fully stabilized electromechanical turret, with a lower profile and better protection. The main armament of the BMPT-72 turret consists of two 30mm automatic 2A42 guns and one PKTM 7.62mm coaxial machine gun which can be used against light armored vehicles and manpower. The guns can fire a wide range of ammunitions such as APERS-T (Anti-Personnel ammunitions), HEF-I (High-explosive Fragmentation Incendiary), AP-T (Armour Piercing)., and KE (Kinetic Energy). Two Ataka-T anti-tank guided missile launchers are mounted on each side of the turret. The 9M1201 missiles can be armed with two...

Jussie Smollett believes there's one overarching reason he was sent to jail, and it's not because of the hoax ... he says it's because he's Black. Sources with direct knowledge and in constant touch with the "Empire" actor tell TMZ ... Jussie fully expected to get jail time. He told his defense team before sentencing he felt he would be treated more harshly than other defendants convicted of a non-violent crime ... all because of the color of his skin. He thinks it's more evidence of systemic racism in the judicial system. Jussie told his team after sentencing he was...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday that his government has been told that Wednesday, Feb. 16, will be "the day of attack" when Russia invades Ukraine. The United States and its allies have repeatedly warned of an imminent invasion by Russia, which has stationed some 130,000 troops near Ukraine's borders to the north, south and east. Russia denies it is planning an invasion. "We are told that February 16 will be the day of the attack," Zelenskyy said in a written statement posted on Facebook, without saying who provided this information.

OTTAWA—Truckers taking part in the Freedom Convoy have had their GoFundMe page reinstated after employing a clever tactic: burning cop cars, trashing minority neighborhoods, and looting Nike Stores to trick GoFundMe into allowing them back on the platform. Smart! "Er -- racial justice or whatever, eh?!" shouted one trucker disguised in a bandana, holding a fist of justice into the air. "We're fightin' for them, you know, them black folks and what-not, I tell you what, eh? "All cops must die!" he added, before quickly adding, "Sorry." After seeing the police cars burning throughout Ottawa, the smoke rising from black...

KENOSHA, WI—In order to protect their lives and homes, Kenosha residents are painting "Black Lives Matter" over their doorposts just in case local Antifa communist rioters don't like the Rittenhouse verdict and decide to burn the city down again. "We hope this small gesture of fealty to the Antifa enforcers will keep us safe," said Dale Cheesehead, local husband and father of 4. "Perhaps they will see the graffiti on my doorposts and spare my firstborn son, as well as my three other kids, my wife, my dog, my cars and my house. Please don't burn down our house Antifa!"...

BEIRUT - The leader of the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group said Thursday that an Iranian fuel tanker will sail toward Lebanon “within hours,” warning Israel and the United States not to intercept it. The delivery organized by Lebanon-based Hezbollah, would be an apparent violation of U.S. sanctions imposed on Tehran after former U.S. President Donald Trump pulled his country out of a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers three years ago. Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech that the tanker, carrying diesel fuel, will be followed by others to help ease Lebanon’s crippling fuel shortage that has...

KABUL—In a last-ditch effort to halt the advance of Taliban forces rampaging through the capital of Afghanistan, the Biden Administration is sending an elite squad of America's best TikTok influencers. "I'm sorry it has come to this, but I'm left with no other choice," said Biden to a chocolate eclair in the Camp David situation room as beloved TikTok star Benny Drama and others parachuted from a C-130 into Kabul. "If anyone can influence those Gen Z Taliban youth, it's those flamboyant youngsters. Man, I'll bet they smell real good too." According to sources on the ground, Benny Drama was...