Free Republic

The second Georgia state House member accused of fabricating claims to collect federal unemployment benefits during the pandemic has announced her retirement. Karen Bennett of Stone Mountain, located roughly 20 miles from Atlanta, is facing one count of making false statements to collect $13,940 as of Monday. During an initial court appearance, Bennett opted to waive indictment and was released on $10,000 bail after pleading not guilty to the charge. In federal court, the decision to waive indictment often precedes a guilty plea. On Thursday, Bennett, a Democrat, resigned from the position she has held since 2012 representing portions of...

". . .the Minnesota protests look less like a local eruption and more like the latest deployment of an international revolutionary machine." —Insurrection Barbie on "X" Chrump, Chrump Chrump. . . . He’s come to occupy the Left’s minds like an infestation of weevils chawing away the ligaments of civilized society. But, of course, the whole wicked, Cluster-B, anomie-driven, insurrectionist extravaganza is a made-for-video production bought and paid for by a tiny coterie of super-wealthy megalomaniacs untouched by consequence — George and Alex Soros (The Open Society Foundations), Shanghai-based American Neville Roy Singham (Codepink and more), Reid Hoffman (funder of...

(NewsNation) — Word in Los Angeles is that former VP Kamala Harris and her hubby, legal eagle Doug Emhoff, are done with Brentwood. A well-placed source in LA told me the two have dropped $10 million on a house in Malibu, near Zuma Beach. ”He bills $2,000 an hour (as a lawyer), and she has a best-selling book and is making a lot of money for speaking engagements,” my source said. “They can afford it.”

A third of Washington State Ferries are offline—and this crisis didn’t just happen. Years of Democrats chasing battery-powered ferry press releases while neglecting basic maintenance left commuters stranded and routes unreliable. This is what misplaced priorities look like. And those in charge waltz off into the sunset with a government pension.

After authorities said two people were injured in a shooting involving a federal agent on Thursday, Portland Mayor Keith Wilson called "on ICE to halt all operations in Portland until a full and independent investigation can take place."

A day after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed a 37-year-old US citizen in Minneapolis, Democrats on Capitol Hill are demanding restraints on the agency Donald Trump has empowered to carry out his mass deportation campaign – and some are threatening to use the next funding deadline to force those changes.Democrats sharply condemned the Trump administration over the killing of Renee Nicole Good, demanding accountability after the president; JD Vancethe vice-president; and the secretary of homeland security, Kristi Noem repeatedly claimed that the officer acted in “self-defense”.Videos taken from multiple angles show Good behind the wheel, reversing...

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has authorized the state’s National Guard to help support local law enforcement as tensions have risen in Minneapolis following the fatal shooting of Renee Good.The National Guard will help protect critical infrastructure and maintain public safety, a news release from Walzs’ office said.“Yesterday, I directed the National Guard to be ready should they be needed,” Walz said in a statement. “They remain ready in the event they are needed to help keep the peace, ensure public safety, and allow for peaceful demonstrations.”He also thanked Minnesotans as they have “met this moment,” adding “we have every reason...

Rep Emily Randall (D-WA) said taxpayers should ignore the data alleging fraud and instead focus on investigating US citizens, especially “white men.” As independent journalists and citizen watchdogs continue raising alarms about possible “Minnesota-style” daycare fraud in Washington, the State Auditor’s Office is now finalizing an audit of a $770 million child care subsidy program run by the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF), an audit that began before the recent fraud allegations went viral, that reportedly shows millions of dollars in overpayments. According to KOMO News, the audit includes payments to more than 7,400 child care providers statewide,...

(The Center Square) - California’s main state retirement fund, CalPERS, announced the hiring of a new chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer whose listed duties include integrating DEI principles into investment practices, and recruiting staff for DEI-informed proxy voting and ESG investing, The Center Square has learned. CalPERS, which faces an estimated $166 billion shortfall, insists the position won't influence financial choices. Shari Slate was hired for the job with base compensation of $221,580, though neither her Linkedin profile nor the news release indicate she has any experience in the finance industry. CalPERS’ May 2025 state paperwork for the position...

January 7, 2026 Press Release WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly (IL-02) announced plans to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem following the fatal shooting by an ICE officer in Minneapolis. “Secretary Kristi Noem is an incompetent leader, a disgrace to our democracy, and I am impeaching her for obstruction of justice, violation of public trust, and self-dealing. Secretary Noem wreaked havoc in the Chicagoland area, and now, her rogue ICE agents have unleashed that same destruction in Minneapolis, fatally shooting Renee Nicole Good,” said Rep. Kelly. “From Chicago to Charlotte to Los Angeles to Minneapolis, Secretary Noem is...

10 second short. She was dead 4 days later.

Minnesota Star Tribune: ICE shooting victim identified as Renee Nicole Good, 37. Mother said "her daughter is 'not part of anything like that at all,' referring to protesters challenging ICE agents."https://t.co/EcUhYa6PJL pic.twitter.com/8I7MFpytkd— Steve Lookner (@lookner) January 7, 2026

Conservative backlash to an earmark for a Somali-led organization in Rep. Ilhan Omar’s district is creating a speed bump for a package of three funding bills, delaying the package’s advancement. Tucked into a funding “minibus” funding several departments and agencies, the requested community project funding would give $1,031,000 to the Somali-led organization Generation Hope’s “Justice Empowerment Initiative.” The earmark had also been backed by Sens. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.). Conservative opposition to the Omar earmark held up the package’s advancement in the Rules panel overnight as conservatives and GOP leaders hashed out a solution. The House Rules...

Is The Atlantic magazine trying to send its readers a not so secret message? Although it's profile of California Governor Gavin Newsom by Helen Lewis on Tuesday, "The Front-Runner," was generally positive it was also chock full of Gettys as in the oil fortune family of patriarch J. Paul Getty.In fact the name "Getty" was so important in Newsom's personal, business, and political background that it appeared a total of 22 times in the article (including the Getty Images attributions of five of the photos used). Although a Republican presidential hopeful so attached to a family whose fortune was based...

Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s newly instated radical-left tenant advocate, Cea Weaver, broke down Wednesday as she dodged questions from reporters about her gentrification hypocrisy. The 37-year-old, who has faced backlash for blasting homeownership as a “weapon of white supremacy” in the past, teared up when she emerged briefly from her apartment building in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, at about 9 a.m. Weaver, who was tapped by Mamdani to be his new director of the city Office to Protect Tenants, quickly ran back inside after she was asked about the $1.6 million home her mother owns in Nashville, Tennessee.

The founder of an infamous Minnesota-based nonprofit convicted of hatching a $250 million welfare fraud scheme was ordered by a judge last week to forfeit her Porsche, designer handbags and millions of dollars in ill-gotten gains. Aimee Bock, the 44-year-old mastermind behind the Feeding our Future scandal, was found guilty in March on federal charges of wire fraud, bribery and conspiracy in connection to the nation’s largest COVID-19 fraud scheme. Bock, who along with dozens of predominantly Somali co-conspirators pilfered pandemic relief funds from a federal program meant to feed hungry children in need, is awaiting sentencing for her lead...

The largest DHS operation ever is happening right now in Minnesota. @POTUS Trump and @Sec_Noem have rallied DHS law enforcement personnel to keep Americans safe and ERADICATE fraud. We’re not leaving until the problem is solved.

Biden admin gave child care centers billions without verifying attendance — allowing ‘loopholes and fraud’ In child care, that ends now. https://x.com/PressSec/status/2008541001137463322Video TranscriptHello, I'm HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O'Neill. I'm Alex Adams, HHS Assistant Secretary for the Administration for Children and Families. For the past two weeks, everyone's been asking questions about the political patronage system in Minnesota. Incompetent state officials, through negligence or by design, for years have stood by as taxpayer money was diverted into the pockets of politically connected cronies. State officials have been unwilling to provide definitive confirmation about the size and scope of fraud. This...

The Hochul administration is being accused of covering up crimes in prisons by downgrading attacks committed by inmates against guards as “harassment” or “disruptive behavior” instead of assaults. A bombshell Dec. 31, 2025 memo issued by the state Corrections Department’s deputy commissioner Michael D’Amore lays out examples of what constitutes an assault and what’s considered the lower classification of harassment or disruptive behavior. “The Department has redefined the Unusual Incident (UI) category, and created harassment as a reportable UI,” D’Amore said in the memo sent to all prison superintendents and watch commanders. For example, an inmate who rips off the...

"I'm not going anywhere. You can make all your requests for me to resign — over my dead body will that happen! ...and the question they need to ask is, when does the guy in the White House resign?" Video at link (just hit the X to close the log in box if it pops up - you don't have to have a FB account to view it - it is a public video).