Free Republic

No photo other than his mugshot is more representative of the unprecedented lawfare against Donald Trump than the photo of alleged classified documents discovered during the nine-hour armed raid of Mar-a-Lago on August 8, 2022. On one hand, Democrats, the news media, and even some NeverTrumpers (clears throat, side-eyes National Review) believed the iconic picture proved Trump had absconded with secret government records and carelessly left them around his Palm Beach mansion, endangering national security. Trump supporters, on the other hand, viewed the photo with disgust, a reminder of just how far the Biden regime and his FBI would go...

Home prices are being slashed across the US as the housing market cools — with one city seeing them plunge almost seven percent. In July, prices dropped year-over-year in 14 of the 50 most populous US cities — with Florida, California and Texas hit hard, reports Redfin. 'Sellers need to come to terms with two things,' said Redfin agent James Gulden. 'Homes are going to sit longer, and buyers are gaining the upper hand.' Homes are lingering for weeks or months — a stark contrast to the days of bidding wars and same-day offers... the lower prices combined with a...

The Florida Department of Education has identified more than 50 books it says are no longer permitted in public schools across the state, citing inappropriate and pornographic content. But some parents and advocacy groups are questioning whether the state should have the final say over what books are allowed...

MIAMI (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday ordered a temporary halt to construction at an immigration detention center — built in the middle of the Florida Everglades and dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” — as attorneys argue whether it violates environmental laws. The facility can continue to operate and hold detainees for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but workers will be barred from adding any new filling, paving or infrastructure for the next 14 days. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams issued the ruling during a hearing and said she will issue a written order later Thursday. Environmental groups and the Miccosukee...

Florida Power and Light will face considerable opposition next week when it goes before a typically utility-friendly Florida Public Service Commission with a request that board members approve what would be the biggest rate hike in Florida and U.S., history. ... FPL's rate hike, requested in February, will pull in $1.545 billion in 2026 and tack on an additional $927 million every year thereafter through 2029. That total additional revenue of $8.9 billion would likely rise if the company gets, as also requested, authority to further increase customer costs when it brings new solar and battery projects online in 2028-29....

On August 3, 2025, just after 10:00 PM, Tampa Police arrested two drivers who were racing westbound on the Selmon Expressway, with no regard for the safety of themselves or other drivers. At around 10:06 p.m., as a Tampa Police Officer was entering the expressway from Willow St., two vehicles, a 2021 Honda Accord and a 2019 Dodge Challenger, passed the officer’s vehicle at speeds exceeding 100 MPH, in a 55 MPH zone. As the officer followed, both drivers continued to engage in reckless speeding and cut through vehicles without regard for others on the roadway. The officer was able...

Before they scrub all things Quornelius Radford from his social medial, I found his Facebook family/friends account that he barely used. Here's what ... a few pictures ... The author is not me

FORT STEWART, Ga. (WSAV) — UPDATE (1:57 p.m.): Ambulances have arrived at Memorial Health. (1:51 p.m.): Fort Stewart, Wright Army Airfield and Evans Army Airfield is all clear according to a social media post. (1:49 p.m.): Liberty County School System announced the soft lockdown has been lifted. There’s no threat to the county’s schools. (1:28 p.m.): 3 of the 5 shooting victims were taken to Memorial Health via ambulance. Georgia State Patrol is escorting the ambulance. Appling County Schools Level 1 lockdown has been lifted. At 12:35 p.m., the shooter was apprehended. Five soldiers were confirmed to have been shot,...

Three people have been reported dead during a possible active shooter incident at the U.S. Army installation at Fort Stewart in Georgia, according to early reports. The base is under lockdown, with all gate entrances closed. … Witnesses on X have described multiple casualties and a heavy presence of military police and emergency responders. Officials have not yet confirmed the number of shooters involved or the circumstances leading to the fatalities.

Gunfire erupted at the army base on Wednesday morning, prompting the base commander to lock down facilities in the wake of an “active shooter” incident. What we know Gunfire erupted at Fort Stewart in Georgia this morning, prompting the base commander to lock down facilities in the wake of this “active shooter” incident. Fort Stewart said in a statement that five soldiers were shot. They were treated on scene and transported to a hospital for further treatment. All victims are in stable condition, officials said. The shooter was apprehended, and there is no longer an active threat to the community,...

Known for the eponymous reptiles that inhabit the nearby swamps, the migrant detention center dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" faces the possibility of being shut down over concerns about some of the area's lesser-known inhabitants -- the Everglades' bats, panthers, and storks.A federal judge on Wednesday is set to hold an evidentiary hearing over whether to block operations at the controversial facility because construction of the site allegedly bypassed federally required environmental impact studies.The hearing -- at which federal, state, and tribal officials are expected to testify -- comes amid heightened scrutiny of the facility, which was once touted as a "one-stop...

The state of Florida is looking to expand its immigration crackdown and build another “Alligator Alcatraz” detention facility, as deportations continue to mount. A second detention center known as the “North Detention Facility” is being planned for Camp Blanding, a Florida National Guard training site in Clay County, in the northeastern part of the state, the Tallahassee Democrat reported. The site once served as a prisoner-of-war camp during World War II. The Florida Department of Emergency Management is reportedly purchasing weather monitoring equipment and two lightning sirens for the facility for almost $40,000, according to a state contract. CBS News...

President Donald Trump suggested Tuesday that Vice President JD Vance is “most likely” the heir apparent to the Make America Great Again movement, the furthest he’s gone in backing Vance as a future presidential candidate. Trump also proposed that Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio join for a future Republican ticket. “Well, I think most likely,” Trump told reporters when asked whether Vance was MAGA’s “heir apparent.” “In all fairness, he’s the vice president.” “I think Marco is also somebody that maybe would get together with JD in some form,” he went on. “I also think we have incredible...

A Florida pastor and his alleged accomplice were busted Thursday for running a phony immigration racket out of a church, duping desperate migrants out of thousands, police said. Nelson David Ochoa-Vasquez, 46, a pastor at La Iglesia de Dios Jireh, and Ismer Gonzalez, 45, were arrested by the sheriff’s Organized Crimes Bureau for what officials called an “organized scheme to defraud” in a press release. The pair allegedly posed as legal helpers while targeting at least 16 immigrants between April 2024 and January 2025, ... Ochoa-Vasquez used his pulpit to gain victims’ trust before allegedly referring them to Gonzalez under...

For generations, The Miccosukee Tribe have lived and created a connection with the land that now hosts the Immigration Detention Center known as Alligator Alcatraz. Since the facility’s opening, members of the tribe have protested its rapid development, and the impact it has had on their way of living. WGCU’s Eileen Kelly ventured into the heat of The Everglades as members of the Miccosukee joined other faith leaders as part of a mass prayer for those being held

A Miami jury decided that Elon Musk’s car company Tesla was partly responsible for a deadly crash in Florida involving its Autopilot driver assist technology and must pay the victims more than $200 million in punitive damages. The federal jury held that Tesla bore significant responsibility because its technology failed and that not all the blame can be put on a reckless driver, even one who admitted he was distracted by his cell phone before hitting a young couple out gazing at the stars. The decision comes as Musk seeks to convince Americans his cars are safe enough to drive...

The ex-girlfriend of the Delta pilot who was arrested on child abuse charges after landing his flight in San Francisco on Saturday has also been charged in the case–with the child victim being her own daughter. ... After landing at San Francisco International on a flight from Minneapolis Saturday night, 34-year-old Rustom Bhagwagar from Florida was dramatically arrested on the plane–while shocked passengers pulled out their cellphones to record–by Contra Costa Sheriff’s detectives aided by Homeland Security agents. He was initially charged with five counts of sexual abuse of a child under 10. ... The Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office...

I’m not a big fan of political labels. They invite people to put you in a box, and the only box I want to be in is one labeled “open-minded.” I don’t think anyone has a monopoly on the truth.But anyone who takes a look at my résumé — I worked at a top Democratic Party-aligned think tank and a left-leaning political action committee, where I helped Elizabeth Warren and other Democrats win elections — would acknowledge that over the years, I’ve spent a lot of time in the progressive movement.And yet, for the past week, the politician I find...

Democrats and NPA (Not politically affiliated) voters made up the vast majority of Miami-Dade’s recent roll reductions. Leaders of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party are accusing recently elected Supervisor of Elections Alina Garcia, a longtime Republican operative and former state lawmaker, of using her new post to tilt the county’s voter composition in her party’s favor. They’re now diving into public records, they say, to determine whether — and to what extent — the Supervisor of Elections (SOE) Office has manipulated voter rolls since November. More than a quarter-million Miami-Dade voters have been removed from the county’s active voter rolls in...

Former President Bill Clinton dined with financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 1995, records show—years before the interactions detailed in a statement from his office earlier this week. That statement condemned the wealthy hedge fund manager after his indictment for alleged sex trafficking crimes was unsealed Monday. The statement said Clinton "knows nothing" about Epstein's alleged crimes and included a timeline of Clinton's interactions with him starting in 2002. But according to a story published back in March 1995 by the Palm Beach Post, then-President Clinton attended a “three-hour dinner” at the time with a “very select group of...