Free Republic

Meteorologists had cautioned there was potential for flooding across Central Texas in the overnight hours late Thursday and early Friday morning. But there was little indication of just how torrential and unrelenting the downpours would become in the predawn hours, killing at least 27 people, many of them children at camp.

Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville predicted Democrats would pick up 40 seats in the 2026 midterms after the GOP-led House of Representatives passed President Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" this week.

Just one day after House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries wrapped up his self-indulgent “magic minute” marathon, the truth is starting to surface: Even many Democrats weren’t impressed. His hours-long fauxibuster—meant to stall the inevitable passage of the GOP’s One Big, Beautiful Bill—ended up accomplishing absolutely nothing for the Democrats’ cause. The only minds that were changed were Republicans who flipped from “no” to “yes.” Let’s not kid ourselves. This wasn’t some bold act of resistance or savvy legislative tactic. It was performative grandstanding, plain and simple—a desperate attempt to look like he’s fighting while doing absolutely nothing to stop the...

The U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, which shook the Middle East last week, were not a spur-of-the-moment decision, but the meticulously executed culmination of nearly two decades of covert intelligence gathering by an unassuming duo. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine revealed the astonishing details today, painting a picture of unparalleled dedication and precision.

A hate-fueled madman launched a “targeted terror attack’’ in Colorado on Sunday — setting at least one woman on fire and injuring eight total as he screamed “Free Palestine” and used a “makeshift flamethrower” and Molotov cocktails against a crowd commemorating Israeli hostages still in Gaza, officials said. Video footage captured the alleged attacker — whom FBI officials identified as Mohamed Sabry Soliman — in the middle of a tirade about Palestine and calling for death to “Zionists” before he tossed the homemade incendiary devices. “They are killers! How many children you killed?” shouted the shirtless man, who was reportedly...

Four years of classes, thousands of dollars in tuition and one freshly minted diploma — all to be outdone by a chatbot. As artificial intelligence floods the workplace, nearly half of Gen Z job seekers say their degrees have already been made obsolete by the rise of generative AI tools like ChatGPT — and they’re wondering why they even bothered hitting the books in the first place. It’s a waste of time and money, according to respondents to a new Indeed report, which found 49% of Gen Z job hunters think their college education has lost value in hoen defective...

In a Monday night letter, William J. Pulter, director of the U.S. Federal Housing Agency (FHFA), referred New York Attorney General Letitia James to the Department of Justice for prosecution of mortgage fraud. My colleague Athena Thorne wrote over the weekend: We’re talking about Letitia “No one is above the law” James, a poster child for the weaponized justice system that tried to sandbag and impoverish Donald Trump and put him away for the rest of his life. As they say, if you’re going to take a shot at the king, you better not miss. Or, in this case, you...

Former socialite and convicted sex offender, Ghislaine Maxwell is now asking the US Supreme Court to hear her appeal against a 2021 conviction on five counts of aiding convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein in his sexual abuse of young girls. Daily Mail reported: “Maxwell’s lawyers filed a 159-page Petition to the highest court in the country on Thursday asking the Supreme Court Justices to throw out her 20-year sentence for sex trafficking.”

President Donald Trump announced that the large law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom agreed to provide at least $100 million in pro bono legal services to the federal government during the Trump administration. The agreement, which Trump called "essentially a settlement," allows Skadden, Arps to avoid becoming the sixth elite law firm to be targeted by an executive order from Trump imposing various punishments. Trump last week rescinded one of those executive orders after the targeted law firm Paul, Weiss, agreed to perform $40 million worth of pro bono — free — legal work for causes that the...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump expanded his attacks on major U.S. law firms on Tuesday as he signed an executive order targeting Jenner & Block, which represents clients challenging some of his major policies and formerly employed a prosecutor involved in a special counsel investigation of his 2016 campaign. The order resembled ones that Trump previously issued against prominent firms Perkins Coie and Paul Weiss. The orders suspended security clearances for their lawyers and restricted their access to government buildings, officials and federal contracting work. The Republican president cited Jenner & Block's past employment of Andrew Weissmann, a top federal...

A sophisticated scam has taken hold across the United States, prompting the FBI to issue an urgent warning over a widespread phishing campaign disguised as toll payment requests. The so-called 'E-ZPass scam' involves fraudulent text messages sent to mobile phone users, claiming they owe money for unpaid tolls. Victims who click the embedded links risk having their personal and financial data stolen.

A staggering $41 billion in climate funds may be unaccounted for, and the World Bank is under fire for its questionable record-keeping practices. With such a large amount of money at stake, questions are being raised about the impact on vital environmental and wildlife conservation projects. Could the lack of transparency and oversight undermine efforts to protect our planet’s most vulnerable ecosystems?

efore the recent election, the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability asked then-Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to turn over all Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) relating to ActBlue — not much happened. An SAR is a document that banks file with the Treasury Department pursuant to potentially fraudulent or illicit financial activity. Yellen stalled, presumably in the hope that the Democrats would win the House back in November and halt the investigation. That obviously didn’t happen and the new Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent, is of course cooperating with the committee. This may well be what precipitated the sudden departure...

Article Dig Deeper Hunter Biden sought to dismiss one of his lawsuits this week, arguing that he was too broke to continue the legal effort, but he is still continuing his lawsuit against the IRS over two whistleblowers who exposed the Justice Department’s mishandling of his criminal case, lawyers for the IRS whistleblowers told Just the News. Hunter Biden filed a motion on Wednesday to voluntarily dismiss his lawsuit against former Trump White House aide Garrett Ziegler, a former White House aide who published contents of Hunter Biden’s laptop through his Marco Polo research group, claiming he was facing financial...

Opponents of President Donald Trump’s USAID spending freeze will take cheer from the Supreme Court’s refusal to intervene this week. But there is less cause for celebration than they claim. The Justices’ decision to allow a trial judge’s order resuming spending to proceed is merely the first procedural skirmish in a larger constitutional battle that will return to the Court. In the meantime, Trump’s campaign to restore executive energy will still play out with the home field advantage created by the Constitution itself.

The ports surrounding the Panama Canal are about to come under American ownership. American asset management giant BlackRock (BLK) and a group of investors have agreed to buy ports on both sides of the Panama Canal from owner CK Hutchinson Holdings for nearly $23 billion, the Hong Kong-based firm announced Tuesday.

The head of the FBI's New York field office resigned Monday afternoon, facing pressure from President Donald Trump's administration. James Dennehy announced his resignation in an email to staff, NBC News reported. His resignation comes after Kash Patel began his first week leading the bureau last week. Before that, Justice Department deputy attorney general, Emil Bove, began a search for all FBI staff who worked on cases around the Jan. 6 attackers. Dennehy clashed with Bove over that probe into the staff.

The top special agent overseeing the FBI’s largest field office has been forced to retire, according to an email he sent to colleagues and obtained by CNN.

President Donald Trump is thrashing Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky for "supposedly" saying a deal to end the war between Ukraine and Russia "is still very, very far away." * * * Trump indicated he's trying to get deals with everyone involved. "It takes two to tango, and you're gonna have to make a deal with Russia, and you're gonna have to make a deal Ukkraine," he explained. "And you're gonna have to have the consent from the European Union. … Everybody has to get in a room, so to speak, and make a deal." "If somebody doesn't want to make...

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A deal to end the war between Ukraine and Russia “is still very, very far away,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, adding that he believed Ukraine’s long-term partnership with the U.S. was strong enough that American support would continue despite recent fraught relations with U.S. President Donald Trump.