Free Republic

.. every objective metric, support for trans rights is worse now than it was six or seven years ago. And that’s not isolated to just trans issues. I think if you look across issues of gender right now, you have seen a regression. Marriage equality support is actually lower now than it was a couple of years ago in a recent poll. support that we saw for trans rights in 2016, 2017 — it was a mirage of support in some ways. Because I think, in the postmarriage world, there was a transfer of support from the L.G.B. to the...

Imagine going to the doctor and being told that the medication you’ve been taking for years is now illegal to prescribe to you. The doctor can give it to other people who are different from you — people experiencing depression, for example, or women going through menopause, or cancer patients — but it’s no longer allowed for people like you. ...news broke of a manager’s amendment to the budget that changed what was initially a ban on gender-affirming care for youth on Medicaid into a ban on adult transition care on Medicaid. A change to one line in the budget...

She is one half of a Trump-world power couple. But she’s on Team Elon. It’s gotten complicated. It was the three-word gavel-bang heard across Washington — the conversation-ender meant to cow colleagues and cabinet secretaries, deployed daily by a slight woman with a big job: “Elon wants this.” For months, Katie Miller, the all-purpose operative for the world’s richest man, had been entrusted to help execute Elon Musk’s merry rampage through the federal government, conveying his priorities, his vision, his likes and dislikes with the tacit force of an executive order. When she spoke, Ms. Miller implied to Trump acolytes...

Drinks including water, soda, beer and wine sold in glass bottles contain more microplastics than those in plastic bottles, according to a surprising study released by France's food safety agency Friday. Researchers have detected the tiny, mostly invisible pieces of plastic throughout the world, from in the air we breathe to the food we eat, as well as riddled throughout human bodies. There is still no direct evidence that this preponderance of plastic is harmful to human health, but a burgeoning field of research is aiming to measure its spread. Guillaume Duflos, research director at French food safety agency ANSES,...

Food Network star Anne Burrell has died. She was 55. A representative for the channel announced Burrell's death in a press release that was obtained by Fox News Digital on Tuesday. "It is with deep sadness we announce that Anne Burrell, 55, passed away this morning at her home in New York," read a statement from the network. "With her trademark spiky blonde hair and sparkling personality, Anne Burrell was the hugely popular and fan favorite host of Food Network’s hit show, ‘Worst Cooks in America.’ Burrell was an industry veteran and passionate teacher who prided herself on her work...

Not long ago, blue states typically outperformed red ones when it came to education. That is changing. Blue states like Oregon and Washington experienced significant drops in reading and math scores for both fourth- and eighth-graders between 2015 and 2024, worse than the national declines during the same period. Mississippi, meantime, gained five points in fourth-grade reading and math and held steady in eighth-grade performance. Louisiana also maintained its scores, defying the negative national trends. Whether you call it the “Mississippi Miracle” or the “Southern Surge,” Republican-led states are rapidly improving student outcomes relative to blue states, thanks to a...

Americans are divided over the “No Kings” protests, which were held across the country on Saturday, according to new polling. The demonstrations — which coincided with President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday and the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary parade in Washington, D.C. — were a response to what organizers called the president’s authoritarian actions. About 2,100 individual protests were held, which, in total, were attended by around 5 million people, according to an estimate from the American Civil Liberties Union, which helped organize the demonstrations. “Today’s protests are a resounding message that people across the nation will not be intimidated by...

The power of principles and perseverance.The first Karate Kid movie was released in June 1984, and presently, the story lives on with the new release of Karate Kid: Legends. I recently re-watched The Karate Kid and The Karate Kid Part II with my own kids, and these films were just as good as I remembered. When I was growing up in the ’80s, these films instilled lessons that still resonate. So, in light of the Legends release, I thought it would be fun to pay homage to some classic takes from the originals and point out that Mister Miyagi’s lessons...

Singer and social media personality Nezza broke a rule in Dodger Stadium on Saturday. Ahead of the Dodgers’ eventual 11-5 win over the Giants, she sang the national anthem in Spanish, but according to a video later posted by the performer, she sang it in her first language against the wishes of the organization. Nezza, whose full name is Vanessa Hernández, posted a video on TikTok where viewers can hear an unidentified Dodgers employee telling her before the performance that “we are going to do the song in English today, so I’m not sure if that wasn’t relayed.” The video...

Randi Weingarten, left-wing activist and president of the second-largest teachers’ union in the United States, is leaving the Democratic National Committee (DNC), citing disagreements with leadership and dismay at the direction of the committee. Weingarten, who heads the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and has been an influential member of the DNC for 23 years, wrote a letter to DNC Chair Ken Martin indicating that she is at odds with committee leadership, Politico first reported. “While I am proud to be a Democrat, I appear to be out of step with the leadership you are forging, and I do not...

The former first minister rebuked the actor for remarks about her impact on Scottish arts, calling them ‘baseless rubbish’Nicola Sturgeon has branded the Hollywood star Rupert Everett “deeply misogynistic” after he called her a “witch” and claimed she ruined the arts in Scotland. Everett, 66, known for My Best Friend’s Wedding and the voice of Prince Charming in Shrek 2 and Shrek the Third, said the world of Scottish arts has become more parochial since the SNP came to power. The actor moved to Glasgow from England aged 18 to work at the Citizens Theatre in the Gorbals in...

Boeing’s Air Force One project has fallen years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget amid continued labor and design hiccups. The Government Accountability Office said in a report this week that “ongoing design issues, modification rework, and workforce challenges” are still plaguing the manufacturer. The Trump administration has resorted to procuring a $400 million jet from Qatar to serve as the interim Air Force One. Boeing is continuing to battle production issues plaguing the jets that will serve as Air Force One, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The Pentagon told the congressional auditors that “ongoing design...

BRUSSELS, June 11 (Reuters) - The world experienced its second-warmest May since records began this year, a month in which climate change fuelled a record-breaking heatwave in Greenland, scientists said on Wednesday. Last month was Earth's second-warmest May on record - exceeded only by May 2024 - rounding out the northern hemisphere's second-hottest March-May spring on record, the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said in a monthly bulletin

But the lawmaker didn’t say whether he would vote against the rescissions package. A top House Republican appropriator opposes the Trump administration’s plans to claw back funding for public media — a potential problem for GOP leaders who need near-unity within their party to pass the White House’s request that Congress revoke billions of dollars it has already approved. Rep. Mark Amodei of Nevada, who leads the subcommittee with jurisdiction over the Department of Homeland Security, on Monday joined with Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) to urge the administration to reconsider its proposal to cut $1.1 billion from the Corporation for...

Vice President JD Vance acknowledged the deepening feud between Elon Musk and President Trump but emphasized his hope that Musk could eventually reconcile with the Trump administration, praising Musk’s past efforts with DOGE and calling him a “transformational entrepreneur.” While defending Trump and dismissing Musk’s Epstein-related claims as baseless, Vance warned that Musk’s aggressive political stance could backfire, both for his companies and the broader national interest.It’s been pointed out by many spectators that the feud between the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, and arguably the world’s most powerful man, Donald Trump, is not going to end well for any...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge in California has blocked the Trump administration from enforcing anti-diversity and anti-transgender executive orders in grant funding requirements that LGBTQ+ organizations say are unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar said Monday that the federal government cannot force recipients to halt programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion or acknowledge the existence of transgender people in order to receive grant funding. The order will remain in effect while the legal case continues, although government lawyers will likely appeal. The funding provisions “reflect an effort to censor constitutionally protected speech and services promoting DEI and...

Stephen K. Bannon, one of Elon Musk’s most vocal critics, said he was advising the president to cancel all of the tech billionaire’s contracts and launch several investigations into the world’s richest man. “They should initiate a formal investigation of his immigration status, because I am of the strong belief that he is an illegal alien, and he should be deported from the country immediately,” Mr. Bannon, the former top aide to President Trump who is now an influential ally and informal adviser, said in an interview. ...Mr. Bannon said the Trump administration should also investigate Mr. Musk’s drug use,...

- A drag queen storytime event planned for next week in Monterey is stirring controversy and sparking strong opinions across the community. The event, hosted by the Monterey Public Library in partnership with Monterey Peninsula Pride and Oscar’s Playground, is scheduled for June 11 and features a drag performer named Saint Sallos.

PBS stands accused of “grooming” children after Sesame Street, one of the nonprofit TV network’s premier programs, shared a social media post hailing LGBTQ Pride Month that drew an immediate response from a group of Congressional Republicans. The veteran children’s education and entertainment program went on social media to welcome the annual event built around an image of puppets holding hands, as Breitbart News reported. On both X and Instagram, the Sesame Street pages shared a graphic of multi-colored puppets reaching out so that they resembled the colors of an LGBTQ Pride flag. “On our street, everyone is welcome. Together,...

Every year, our nation sets aside the second Sunday in May to rightfully honor and pay tribute to the mothers in America. After all, if it weren’t for our mothers, none of us would be alive. This year, I was struck by the degree to which a growing portion of our society appears to believe that Mother’s Day should be updated to also include those who own pets; now referred to as “pet moms.” Yep, you read that right: some want pet owners honored right alongside actual mothers on Mother’s Day. Apparently, 60 percent of those who participated in a...