Free Republic

Every year for the last half-century, thousands of the poorest Utahns have turned to Planned Parenthood for free or discounted family planning health care, like birth control or testing for sexually transmitted infections. But under a directive from President Donald Trump’s administration to freeze the federal funds that helped pay for those services, Planned Parenthood Association of Utah was forced to raise its fees earlier this month. And now, it will close a quarter of its clinics in the state — the two furthest from Salt Lake City, and ones most accessible to some of Utah’s most rural residents. “When...

https://twitter.com/nicksortor/status/1905714812560224719 BREAKING: The U.S. State Department has announced they are CLOSING USAID, and told practically all remaining staffers they are FIRED “All non-statutory positions at USAID will be eliminated.” Rubio, Musk, and Trump were able to accomplish this by merging USAID with State and subsequently eliminating it from within. Genius move. We won.

President Trump took dramatic action Thursday to inch closer to fulfilling a four-and-a-half-decade-old conservative dream of abolishing the Department of Education, which was created in 1979 under the late former President Jimmy Carter. While the Department of Education has one of the smallest staffs of cabinet-level departments, conservative critics have long ripped it as an unnecessary bureaucracy with an oversized budget. Still, the Trump administration has acknowledged that the Education Department has some important responsibilities such as its work on student loans and administering Pell Grants that it wants to retain. “The Department of Education will be much smaller than...

A Pacific Palisades reservoir was closed when wildfires swept through the area and devastated the community, officials told the Los Angeles Times. The Santa Ynez Reservoir is connected to the Los Angeles water supply system, and authorities said it was shut down for repairs at the time the fires erupted, “leaving a 117 million gallon water storage complex empty in the heart of the Palisades,” the newspaper reported on Friday. The news comes as people are questioning why firefighters ran out of water as they tried to save structures and communities from the blaze that has wreaked havoc across the...

The South and East Coasts were well-ravaged thanks to Hurricane Helene over the last few weeks. Countless lives have been lost, property destroyed, homes swept away, and livelihoods all but decimated for a large portion of the public. Worse yet, there's another Hurricane brewing in the Gulf of Mexico as I type these words. The outpouring of help from both the local communities, as well as those in the nation at large has been awesome to see, though. Especially in a time when the media wants to cast a blanket around the populace saying we're at each other's throats. See,...

Shoppers considering spending some time in retail superstore outlets at the end of next month might need to rethink their strategy. Walmart will not open on Thanksgiving Day for the fifth consecutive year to enable staff across the country to enjoy some family time, the company announced Monday. Target is also remaining shuttered on the holiday. “Walmart stores will be closed once again on Thanksgiving Day so associates can spend the day with their families,” a corporate statement from the outlet announced. The company has made clear however it is offering its first Holiday Deals event of the season starting...

Abbey Ballentine, a student from Ohio’s Cleveland area, selected nearby Notre Dame College because it had everything she was looking for. It was a small, friendly campus with competitive Division II soccer and it was close to home. By late fall of 2023, just a few months into her freshman year, she heard rumors the school had financial problems. The official closure announcement was made early into the spring semester and the college closed its doors in May. Campus advisors and administrators helped students quickly find other schools within a reasonable distance that would honor their financial aid packages and...

Leftists Stunned: Philly Coffee House Employees Unionized — A Week Later, All 3 Locations Shut Down CBS Philly on YT: SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWUnEJEdqes

The University of Saint Katherine, a small nonprofit in North San Diego County, recently announced it will close May 18, citing “financial pressure due to unprecedented inflation and rising state-mandated labor costs.” It’s not alone. Nationwide, universities face financial hardships that appear to be getting worse. More than 100 colleges and universities have closed or merged, or announced plans to, over the last eight years, according to a tracker updated this month by Higher Ed Dive. The list, which does not include for-profit colleges and also omits mergers among public institutions, totals 108 since 2016. The closures span the spectrum...

A powerful blizzard that a meteorologist described as being 'as bad as it gets' howled in the Sierra Nevada mountains with wind gusts as strong as 190mph in the Lake Tahoe region, closing a long stretch of Interstate 80 and a 75-mile section of U.S. 395 in Northern California, forcing ski resorts to shut down, leaving thousands of homes without power. More than 10 feet of snow was expected at higher elevations creating a 'life-threatening concern' for residents near Lake Tahoe and blocking travel on the key east-west freeway. Blizzard conditions along I-80 saw hundreds trapped in their vehicles overnight,...

The Messenger is shutting down less than a year after the fledgling media company opened its doors with ambitions of building a leading news brand. In a statement to staff Wednesday afternoon, founder Jimmy Finkelstein wrote that the company would close, “effective immediately,” due to insurmountable financial difficulties. “Over the past few weeks, literally until earlier today, we exhausted every option available and have endeavored to raise sufficient capital to reach profitability,” Finkelstein wrote. “Unfortunately, we have been unable to do so, which is why we haven’t shared the news with you until now. This is truly the last thing...

Doctors have released a damning new report on America’s “failures” during the COVID pandemic, revealing that keeping schools closed for longer than necessary and forcing people to mask outside led the country to experience “eye-wateringly high” death rates compared to other first-world nations. Duke University professor Gavin Yamey and Drexel University professor Ana Roux said the pandemic “failures began at the top” with poor communication from the federal government, which demonstrated a “surprising inability to generate reliable information, communicate it in a timely and consistent manner and translate it into sound policy.”

EAGLE PASS, Texas — The Biden administration continues releasing migrants in the Texas border town of Eagle Pass. This is despite repeated claims by the administration that the border is “not open.” Despite repeated social media messaging by President Biden’s Department of Homeland Security advising the public, “The U.S. border is not open to unlawful migration,” more than two hundred migrants unlawfully entered the United States in the border town of Eagle Pass by daybreak. Also, in contrast to the assertion, Customs and Border Protection-contracted buses continue to release migrants into the United States at a local non-government shelter.

An Anglican vicar has slammed Yorkshire Building Society for closing his account after he accused them of promoting gender ideology. Rev Richard Fothergill, a longstanding customer with the building society, wrote to them in June to complain about their public messaging during Pride month. The 62-year-old says within four days, he received a reply telling him his internet savings account would be closed, The Times reports. Rev Fothergill, of Windermere, Cumbria, has since accused the banking giant of 'bullying' and said: 'I wasn't even aware that our relationship had a problem. They are a financial house – they are not...

One of the largest supermarkets in downtown San Francisco closed its doors this week due to deteriorating street conditions nearby. Increased drug use and crime near the Whole Foods on Eighth and Market, which opened just one year ago, contributed to the store’s closing, a city hall source told the San Francisco Standard. “We are closing our Trinity location only for the time being,” a Whole Foods spokesperson said in a statement. “If we feel we can ensure the safety of our team members in the store, we will evaluate a reopening of our Trinity location.” The news comes after...

On Friday’s “PBS NewsHour,” White House Chief Medical Adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci stated that “it’s tough to say” if federal guidance to close down for the coronavirus pandemic went on for too long in light of states like Florida that opened up before the federal government recommended and did relatively fine. Host Judy Woodruff asked, “We’ve heard people say, in particular, that you and others who were in charge of getting the word out to the American people sent the message that we needed to keep things closed for too long and that there were states like Florida that opened...

JACKSON, Miss. — As the sun bore down around 2:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Dale Gibson began affixing signs to the iron fence surrounding Mississippi’s only abortion clinic. “The fight is not over,” one read. In cursive script, another vowed: “This is not the end.” Wednesday was the last day the Jackson Women’s Health Organization was legally allowed to perform abortions in Mississippi. It was the last day Gibson and his fellow volunteer patient escorts gathered outside the clinic to defend a right that no longer exists in much of the country. For years, the volunteers — known as the Pink...

A group of fans at the Australian Open were asked by security to remove custom T-shirts that read, “Where is Peng Shuai?” on Saturday. The shirts — referencing the disappearance of the Chinese tennis player after she made sexual assault allegations against a retired government official in November — were apparently a violation of the tournament’s policy. "Under our ticket conditions of entry we don't allow clothing, banners or signs that are commercial or political," a Tennis Australia spokesperson said, via ESPN. "Peng Shuai's safety is our primary concern. We continue to work with the WTA and global tennis community...

New Zealand's borders will remain closed to most international travelers over the next five months as the country takes precautions to fight the coronavirus. Government officials reportedly made the announcement on Wednesday during a news conference "A phased approach to reconnecting with the world is the safest approach to ensure risk is carefully managed," New Zealand's COVID-19 response minister, Chris Hipkins, said, according to Reuters. "This reduces any potential impacts on vulnerable communities and the New Zealand health system."

Target stores will no longer open their doors on Thanksgiving Day. The change, which was announced to employees on Monday, comes after the big-box retailer closed its stores on the holiday last year in an effort to limit crowds and ensure customer safety due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Target and other retailers have traditionally opened on Thanksgiving to capitalize on Black Friday, the start of the holiday sales rush. “What started as a temporary measure driven by the pandemic is now our new standard — one that recognizes our ability to deliver on our guests’ holiday wishes both within and...