Free Republic

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has made "fast and free buses" a defining promise of his administration, framing the proposal as both an affordability measure and a long-overdue fix for a bus system that advocates say has been neglected for decades. But his big swing seems poised to collide with the political realities of New York City. Supporters argue fare-free buses would reduce conflict, improve safety, and offer immediate relief to riders who depend on buses the most. Skeptics, including on-air pundits and transit organizations, warn the idea risks creating a major funding gap for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority...

Interesting to watch them react to something NOT in English.. 😁 Brad always too serious, while Lex is bubbly, as always.

Aurora Innovation said it has tripled its driverless trucking network to 10 routes as it prepares to expand autonomous freight operations across the southern United States. The Pittsburgh-based company said its latest software release enables its Aurora Driver autonomous control system to operate on longer lanes, serve direct customer endpoints, and navigate a wider range of adverse weather conditions. The company touted these as key steps as the company moves toward scaling commercial operations. With the addition of Phoenix to its network, Aurora now operates driverless freight lanes between Dallas and Houston, Fort Worth and El Paso, El Paso and...

“[F]orgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”Millions of Christians make that request all the time while praying the Lord’s Prayer. That “as” is the tricky part, as it could be taken to mean that we simply forgive others and ask God to do the same for us, or more formidably, that we’re asking God to forgive us to the same extent that we forgive others.Either way, this powerful petition puts us in the driver’s seat when granting pardon and mercy to those who have wronged us. To beg forgiveness for our sins from the Almighty...

An Arizona family is calling for change and demanding answers after a 27-year-old man died hours after he was wrongfully discharged from a hospital and dumped on a sidewalk during a hot summer day, according to a wrongful death lawsuit. Seth and Gayle Lachica, the parents of Kaelen Lachica, allege staffers at Abrazo Health Arrowhead put their son in an Uber and had him dropped off outside a local homeless shelter in Phoenix despite his deteriorating condition. “What they did is abandonment. I mean, they absolutely killed my son,” Seth Lachica told Fox News Digital. Kaelan Lachica suffered from anorexia...

New regulations will bar cardrooms from offering blackjack and other player-dealer games — a move opponents say will devastate the industry in California. Under one of the two new rules, cardrooms cannot offer blackjack, the world’s most popular casino card game. Players would no longer “bust” by exceeding 21 points, and cardrooms may not use the name “blackjack” or include the number 21.

A planned collaboration between late night host Jimmy Fallon and powerful entertainment executive Tommy Mottola to launch a branded line of pasta sauces is now kaput as the entertainment mogul’s name is being discovered all over the Epstein Files, exposing his close relationship with the late financier and convicted sex offender and trafficker. Fallon and Mottola have been close friends for years, often spotted palling around New York together and frequently enjoying Italian American dishes at East Harlem mainstay Rao’s.

The majority of the brothel’s 74 sex workers submitted a petition to unionize with the National Labor Relations Board last week under the name United Brothel Workers, represented by the Communications Workers of America. But the women argue they are treated as employees. They have set schedules, they can’t work from home and they are required to charge a minimum of $1,000 per hour to their clients, Ellis said. Sheri’s Ranch gets 50% of what they earn.

@MarioNawfal SICK OF STARMER'S DYSTOPIAN NIGHTMARE? HERE COMES RESTORE BRITAIN Britain is being run into the ground, and now a new party is saying it out loud. Restore Britain is calling out weak leadership, broken institutions, and a political class that looks after itself while everyone else pays the price. They’re pushing low taxes, small government, secure borders, national pride, traditional Christian principles, free speech, and direct democracy. Source: @RupertLowe10

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Gene Simmons is doubling down on the controversial comments he recently made about rap artists being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. During an appearance on the Feb. 7 edition of the LegendsNLeaders podcast, the Kiss star complained about Iron Maiden - "[who] can sell out stadiums" - being passed over for induction in favor of hip-hop artists such as Grandmaster Flash. "Ice Cube and I had a back and forth [about this}, Simmons continued. "He's a bright guy and I respect what he's done. It’s not my music. I don’t come from the ghetto. It doesn’t...

It reads like an ordinary patent. A citizen of the United States, living in Weber County, Utah, has invented “certain new and useful improvements in firearms.” No fanfare. No grand claims. Just a statement of fact. Yet those lines would lead to a sidearm that rode in the holsters of American troops from the muddy trenches of World War I to the jungles of Vietnam, and into the hands of special operations units long after it was officially replaced. On February 14, 1911, U.S. Patent No. 984,519 was issued to a quiet Ogden man: John Moses Browning. The document itself...

“Savannah Guthrie reportedly told the under fire sheriff investigating the abduction of her mother that she 'doesn't need him'. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, who has come under flak over the investigation, told Fox News that he had talked and texted Savannah who responded that 'she has her own people and didn't need him'.”

When a team is dead-last in the standings, it’s usually the fans telling them that they stink, not the other way around. In this case it was the Oshawa Generals — currently sitting in the sewer of the Ontario Hockey League — that sent a nostril-flaring email to its loyal season-ticket holders, reminding them to shower before attending games at the Tribute Communities Centre in downtown Oshawa. “If you went to the gym or did something that produced body odour, please shower before attending the game,” the team’s director of ticket sales and service advised in the email. The email...

Lord Peter Mandelson has been asked to testify to the US Congress over his relationship with the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. A letter from two Democrat members of the House of Representatives called on the former British ambassador to Washington to answer questions from the House Oversight Committee as part of their probe into Epstein. The disgraced peer's links with Epstein have led to calls for Sir Keir Starmer to stand down as prime minister. The prime minister's judgement has been questioned by critics over his appointment of Lord Mandelson as US ambassador, a role considered the most prestigious posting...

A forensic pathologist who was present at Jeffrey Epstein’s post-mortem has called for a reinvestigation into the disgraced financier’s death, arguing that it was more consistent with strangulation than suicide by hanging.

An old newspaper page from 1986 has resurfaced on social media, showing math teachers protesting against the use of calculators in the classroom, until upper grades. Back then, the concerns were not only about students' academic dependency, but many feared that it would replace human skills and take away jobs that depended on manual calculation. Years later, the history appears to repeat itself. This time, the conversation has shifted from calculators to Artificial Intelligence, as an AI tool can take on tasks like -- writing, designing, teaching, and problem-solving, eventually weakening critical thinking, creativity and overall learning process. Just like...

Enjoy. I find it strange that there isn't more French influence in American culture given American history. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAuojdxNDp4

As you likely know by now, Jelly Roll has undergone a dramatic body transformation, losing nearly 300 pounds. But even though he insists he didn’t use GLP-1 drugs to help with his weight loss, some people still accuse him of not being truthful about it. Last month, Jelly Roll appeared on the cover of Men’s Health, where he spoke candidly about the speculation surrounding GLP-1 medications. He explained that he didn’t use GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic or Mounjaro to lose nearly 300 pounds, saying he instead chose to focus on confronting the emotional and psychological roots of his food...

I just watched a TV ad for the new Unrivaled woman's basketball league. A player comes on and says:...the new Unrivaled league is unpresidented I guess they don't allow the President to watch. Public education probably allows her to say this, but how does this slip by the ad company?