Free Republic

Former CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather weighed in on David Ellison’s hire of Bari Weiss as editor in chief at CBS News, warning that it portends a culture of fear in the news division as staffers worry about their jobs. On his Substack, Steady, Rather put Weiss’ hire in the context of the Skydance-Paramount merger, noting that the companies bowed to pressure from the Trump administration in order to get the transaction approved by the FCC. “That deal and the hiring of Weiss signals to everyone, especially to the man in the Oval Office, that CBS is no longer...

Washington — American farmers are having a tough year, in no small part because of President Donald Trump’s trade war. Now, the White House is gearing up to extend them a multi-billion-dollar bailout, sources tell CNN. Surging costs and foreign retaliation from tariffs have hurt the US agriculture industry — as have immigration-related labor shortages and plummeting commodity prices. Farm production expenses are estimated to reach $467.4 billion in 2025, according to the Agriculture Department, up $12 billion from last year. Farm bankruptcies rose in the first half of the year to the highest level since 2021, according to US...

With a Georgetown University degree and several internships under her belt, Christina Salvadore thought she’d be starting a career in New York City’s fashion or beauty industries around now. The problem: She can’t find a job. The 23-year-old hasn’t been able to land a full-time role despite filling out hundreds of applications and taking dozens of networking calls since graduating in the spring. She’s currently applying to part-time gigs to tide her over financially. “It definitely sucks when people are like, ‘So what are you doing now?,‘” Salvadore, a Florida native, told CNBC. “I’m sitting in my parents’ house on...

Scientists in Serbia have found a link between psychopathy and the belief that animals aren't as worthy as humans. People who show signs of psychopathy – such as being impulsive, lying compulsively albeit and having a 'superficial charm' – may be more likely to humiliate or even hurt animals as a result. Their experiments also suggest animal haters are 'sadists', meaning they derive pleasure from inflicting pain, suffering or humiliation. The experts report that 'dark minds do not like animals'. Each of the four Dark Tetrad traits – narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy and sadism – are made up of particular undesirable...

As a former state commander of a major Veterans Service Organization, I know firsthand how difficult it is to obtain service records from the National Archives. That's why, when I learned that a political operative tied to Jack Ciattarelli - the Trump-endorsed Republican running for governor in New Jersey - was handed the unredacted service records of his Ciattarelli's opponent, Democrat Mikie Sherrill, my B.S. meter went off at full siren. This was a movie I had seen before. As a college student, I had the honor of chauffeuring former Senator Max Cleland around New Jersey and New York. Cleland,...

OAN says government shutting down; Senate Democrats won't cave

A [b]lack screenwriter is blaming an "old white lady" for getting him kicked off a train ... he says he was racially profiled, but cops in New York say he refused to take his feet off a seat. Alex O'Keefe, who writes for the FX hit "The Bear," posted video of himself being confronted by MTA police officers while on a train from NYC to Connecticut ... and he says a "Karen" complained and told him "to correct how I was sitting."

George Soros has been the go-to bogeyman for the American right — and right-wing leaders around the world — for years. The 95-year-old billionaire has funneled money into causes around the globe, supporting democratic endeavors, immigration efforts and criminal justice reform through his Open Society Foundations, which he founded in 1979. In the intervening decades, Soros, with his large network of progressive causes and opposition to strong-arm governments, has become the target of conspiracy theories in areas that range from Malaysia to his birth country of Hungary, where a so-called “Stop Soros” law made it illegal to aid undocumented immigrants...

Jimmy Kimmel is reportedly “absolutely f–king livid” over ABC’s decision to axe his late-night night show following backlash to his remarks about Charlie Kirk’s assassination – while President Trump cheered the move as “great news for America.” SNIP “Absolutely f–king livid,” one producer told the outlet about how Kimmel took the news, adding that the “pissed” late-night host is currently meeting with the network. “This is clearly the government overreaching. There’s no such thing as free speech in America, if the government can lean on companies to stop any content they don’t like.” Sources told the outlet that the network’s...

Actor George Takei accused President Donald Trump and his allies of employing a Nazi playbook to exploit the assassination of conservative icon Charlie Kirk. The Star Trek actor made his claim when sharing a Substack article on BlueSky with the headline, “Is Charlie Kirk Their Reichstag Moment?” “After Charlie Kirk’s murder, Trump and his allies wasted no time crafting an insidious and baseless narrative: that the left is violent, the right is under siege, and only they can restore order,” exclaimed Takei. “Sound familiar? The Nazis tried the same playbook.”

President Trump has begun a major escalation in his long-running efforts to stifle political opposition in the United States, using the assassination of the right-wing activist Charlie Kirk to make the baseless argument that Democratic organizations and protesters are part of a violent conspiracy against conservative values and the American way of life.

Bob Vylan made inflammatory remarks at Amsterdam concert after Kirk was gunned down at Utah universityControversial British punk-rap artist Bob Vylan appeared to revel in the assassination of Charlie Kirk, calling for the slain father of two to "rest in piss." "I want to dedicate this next one to an absolute piece of ---- of a human being," Vylan said at a concert in Amsterdam Saturday. Kirk, 31, was gunned down at Utah Valley University on Wednesday during a stop on his "American Comeback Tour." He was engaging in one of his signature debates with college students when a shot...

President Trump has threatened to declare a national emergency in Washington, D.C., to ensure his controversial crime crackdown survives. He railed against Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser’s decision to end the cooperation between the district’s police force and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers he sent in. Trump is also making bizarre claims about falling crime in Memphis being down to his intervention, even though he has not yet deployed any National Guard. Writing on Truth Social at around 1 a.m. Monday, Trump, 79, wrote that the National Guard and ICE patrolling the streets of the capital had “been a...

Charlie Kirk, who was shot and killed on Wednesday, pioneered a new model for conservative political advocacy, merging multi-platform media commentary with in-person gatherings and get-out-the-vote drives. Kirk, 31, was a hugely successful political field organizer, TikTok influencer, radio host, nonprofit leader and public speaker all rolled up in one telegenic figure. One minute, Kirk would be on Fox News promoting his friend President Trump’s agenda; the next, he would be on X or Instagram, inviting young people to start conservative groups at their high schools and college campuses. With Turning Point USA, the nonprofit he co-founded in 2012 at...

In a breakthrough that reads like a beacon of hope, Russia has announced that its novel cancer vaccine, Enteromix, has demonstrated 100% efficacy and safety in initial human trials. The news highlights the vaccine's remarkable performance: patients experienced tumour shrinkage and no serious side effects. Developed using the same mRNA technology as the COVID-19 vaccines, Enteromix is designed to train the immune system to recognize and eliminate cancer cells, a safer, more intelligent alternative to traditional treatments like chemotherapy. This pioneering therapy is personalized for each colorectal cancer patient, offering a custom immunotherapy tailored to an individual's tumour profile. The...

In his book Empire of the Raj (2004), historian Robert Blyth argues, “The Persian Gulf was the heart of the Indian sphere.” Indeed, the Indian subcontinent had been connected to the Gulf region through trade and migration for centuries, a reality that was built upon by the British when they established their empire in India. Contrary to what modern maps of British India might make us believe, the territory of influence of the British Raj expanded far beyond the contours of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. As Sam Dalrymple points out in his book, The Shattered Lands (2025), “As recently...

In July 2023, Marla-Svenja Liebich, then still known as Sven, was sentenced to one and a half years' imprisonment without probation by the Halle district court. A year and a half later, Sven became Marla-Svenja by simple deed poll, made possible under a new law. Sven Liebich, now known as Marla-Svenja Liebich, has been convicted of right-wing extremist activities, including incitement to hatred, and is due to start a prison sentence soon. The public prosecutor's office in Halle has summoned Liebich to appear at Chemnitz prison. Liebich himself published a corresponding summons to start his sentence in a post on...

Summer heat, outdoor fun ... and cold and flu symptoms? The three may not go together in many people's minds: partly owing to common myths about germs and partly because many viruses really do have lower activity levels in the summer. But it is possible to get the sniffles — or worse — in the summer. Federal data released Friday, for example, shows COVID-19 is trending up in most states, with emergency department visits up among people of all ages. Here's what to know about summer viruses. How much are colds and flu circulating right now? The number of people...

Yes, while perhaps a dinosaur by today’s digital standards, dial-up is still around. But AOL says it’s officially pulling the plug for its service on Sept. 30. “AOL routinely evaluates its products and services and has decided to discontinue Dial-up Internet,” AOL wrote in a brief update on its support site — noting that dial-up and associated software “optimized for older operating systems” will soon be unavailable on AOL plans. AOL, formerly America Online, introduced many households to the world wide web for the first time when its dial-up service launched decades ago, rising to prominence particularly in the 90s...

The devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic may have left a significant mark on our brains, even if we didn't get sick. Fatal cases of COVID-19 look scarily like old age in the brain, and now, new research suggests that the mental, social, and financial stresses of the pandemic may have aged our brains as well. A team led by researchers at the University of Nottingham trained an AI model to recognize healthy aging in the brain, using the data of more than 15,000 adults in the UK Biobank. The algorithm was then used to analyze the brain ages of two...