Free Republic

A former Democratic candidate for New York state Assembly allegedly stole $160,000 in taxpayer cash by defrauding the state’s new campaign matching-funds program, federal prosecutors said Friday. Dao Yin, who lost his long-shot bid for the Assembly’s 40th District in Queens last year, was slapped with a wire fraud charge and arraigned in Brooklyn federal court Friday. Yin, 62, is accused of submitting bogus signatures to inflate the number of campaign contributions he received in order to boost the amount of public matching-funds he was entitled to receive, according to the feds. “Through lies and deceit, the defendant allegedly stole...

The stunning downward spiral of Michael Madigan’s political career ended Friday with a 7 1/2-year prison sentence and a $2.5 million fine for the former Illinois House speaker and the longest-serving legislative leader in U.S. history after he was convicted of trading legislation for the enrichment of his friends and allies. U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey sentenced the 83-year-old in U.S. District Court in Chicago. Nicknamed the “Velvet Hammer” for his quiet but hard-nosed style, Madigan was convicted in February on 10 of 23 counts in a remarkable corruption trial that lasted four months. The case churned through 60...

Amid the continuing unrest and flash mob-style looting incidents in Los Angeles, California is making a significant pivot toward tougher criminal enforcement. Criminal defense attorney David Wohl told Fox News Digital that the legal consequences are no longer a slap on the wrist for looters following the reversal of Proposition 47, which notably did not criminalize theft under $950. “Now we have a very conservative, hard-charging DA in Los Angeles,” Wohl said. “He’s adding up what is stolen by each individual co-defendant, and if that’s over $950, everybody’s getting charged with felonies.” In a city once known for turning a...

Suspected MS-13 gangbanger Kilmar Abrego Garcia was paid up to $1,500 per smuggling trip and may have raked in more than $100,000 annually trafficking humans, including minors, according to witnesses. The new details about Abrego Garcia’s alleged “full-time job” come from co-conspirators and witnesses cooperating with the federal government’s human smuggling case against the Salvadoran national who was wrongly deported in March. The allegations were shared by a federal agent during a Friday detention hearing in a Nashville court, where Abrego Garcia entered a plea of not guilty. As part of the illegal operation, smugglers charged migrants from Central and...

Finally. The truth is out there. After years and years and years of waiting. After all the mandates, the punishments. The gaslighting. The fighting. Watching the media endlessly repeat the same disproven talking points from Anthony Fauci, the CDC, and from the politicians who mindlessly, gleefully followed them. After putting together books demonstrating what the evidence actually shows. Thoroughly examining, and dismantling studies, shoddy research, debunking misinformation that rapidly spreads between those committed to creating inaccurate narratives to support their ideology. Finally, we have someone at the very top of the public health leadership pyramid acknowledging the truth: masks and...

From the oral history collections of the University of Georgia. Recorded in 1983

The site of Gordion, the capital of the Phrygian kingdom that flourished in west-central Anatolia between the twelfth and the seventh century b.c., is most notably associated with the legendary King Midas, he of the "golden touch." The ancient city is surrounded by as many as 85 burial mounds, the largest of which is thought to have once housed the remains of the king's father and the site's namesake, King Gordias. However, according to a report in Türkiye Today, archaeologists excavating another nearby mound believe they have uncovered the 1,200-year-old tomb of someone else belonging to that famous dynasty. The...

New York Times columnist Tressie McMillan Cottom said Friday that former President Barack Obama will not be coming to Democrats' collective rescue as the party struggles to find national leadership in the wake of their stinging defeat in 2024. Cottom argued that Democrats desperate for Obama to save the party are "undignified" and weak, asserting that change will not come from above, but rather from "the streets." "We must start asking how we can save ourselves. We are seeing the start of that in places like Los Angeles, San Antonio and Raleigh, N.C.," she wrote, referencing the anti-ICE protests occurring...

(Conscientious Questions may have importance approaching that of the answers they evoke.) Wilhelm Reich was a Freudian, Marxist and early Sexual Revolutionary. He realized that most people have no interest in religion as such, but most are fascinated by sex. So he counseled that rather than trying to convert a seminarian by logical arguments, you just need to sexually corrupt him. (It's alleged that French students participating in large scale civil disobedience in Paris in 1970, threw copies of Wilhelm Reich's "The Mass Psychology of Fascism" at Police.) Reich died in prison. He was engaged in radiation experimentation which the...

Scientists have confirmed the rediscovery of Attenborough's long-beaked echidna, a species previously thought to be extinct for over 60 years.This ancient, egg-laying mammal was found deep within the rainforests of Indonesia.It is scientifically known as Zaglossus attenboroughi and named after the legendary naturalist David Attenborough.Echidnas, characterized by their spiky fur and beaks, are often referred to as "living fossils" due to their ancient lineage, believed to have originated around 200 million years ago during the time of dinosaurs...In 2023, during an Oxford University expedition to the remote Cyclops Mountains — located 2,000m (6,561ft) above sea level — a glimmer of...

Why this story matters.. The discovery of a prehistoric river valley and forested landscape beneath the East Antarctic ice sheet sheds light on the continent's ancient climate and may improve scientific understanding of Antarctica's response to climate change. Ancient Antarctic landscape.. Uncovering evidence of rivers, valleys, and dense forests beneath Antarctica can enhance understanding of the continent's prehistoric environment and biodiversity. Climate history and change.. The findings provide valuable information about past warm and even tropical conditions, aiding scientists like in predicting how the Antarctic ice sheet might react to future climate shifts. Warm climate.. Researchers believe Antarctica featured a...

ANTI WAR PROTESTERS FLYING THE NORTH VIETNAMESE FLAG, RED WITH GOLD STAR; THE FLAG OF THE VIET CONG IS THE ONE THAT’S RED ON TOP AND BLUE ON BOTTOM WITH GOLD STAR

WORLD — With the outbreak of open hostilities between the two long-running enemy countries, the global community condemned Israel for launching devastating airstrikes against the famously peace-loving nation of Iran. Israel announced the start of a large-scale campaign to deal with what it perceived as an imminent, existential threat to its existence posed by the humble nation that had never so much as hurt a fly and did not, in any way, spend the last few decades vowing to annihilate Israel and working to produce a nuclear weapon to make it possible. "How could Israel perpetrate such a horrific act...

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith criticized Democratic California Sen. Alex Padilla on Thursday for his disruptive behavior during a press conference held by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem. Padilla interrupted Noem’s remarks, prompting security to forcibly remove him from the room; the senator ended up face down on the ground in handcuffs just outside. Smith, on “The Stephen A. Smith Show,” suggested Padilla’s behavior was inappropriate and beneath the standard expected of a United States senator. VIDEO AT LINK..................... “Can Kristi Noem speak? Could you have waited till she finished to ask your questions — to shout your...

The Titanic, one of history’s most infamous maritime disasters, has captivated people for over a century. While the tragic sinking of the “unsinkable” ship resulted in over 1,500 lives lost, the wreck itself has been the subject of extensive exploration. Despite the numerous expeditions using state-of-the-art submersibles and underwater filming technology, a striking detail has never been discovered: there are no human remains, no skeletons, on board. The absence of these remains has raised significant questions, with one of the most perplexing being why such evidence hasn’t surfaced, even after years of searching. Life Jackets and Ocean Currents James Cameron,...

Bro, this is the highlight of the 2025 US Open and it happened on Thursday! VIDEO AT LINK!.................... Just ... wow! Patrick Reed must've rocketed his tee shot (332 yards) and then he drops it in the hole from 286 with the 3-wood! That's just the fourth albatross (three under par) in recorded US Open history! Unbelievable!

The following is adapted from a speech delivered on May 13, 2023, at Hillsdale College’s 171st Commencement Ceremony. Congratulations to the Hillsdale College Class of 2023. It is a thrill to be here at Hillsdale, which I have heard about for a long time. Last night I had a wonderful tour of campus, and the evening culminated in a concert in your beautiful chapel. The concert included Mahler’s First Symphony played by the student orchestra and was just marvelous. When I was a theology professor, I taught a course on the Reformation for many years, taking seriously the works of...

In a nutshell Scientists connected 10 ultra-precise atomic clocks across six countries in the largest coordinated timekeeping experiment ever conducted While many clocks agreed to extraordinary precision, the study revealed concerning discrepancies that highlight challenges in global clock synchronization This research is a crucial step toward redefining the international second using optical clocks by 2030, potentially revolutionizing global timekeeping ****************************************************************** EUROPE — Every clock in your house probably tells a slightly different time. Now picture those clocks as the most precise instruments humanity has ever built, so accurate that they wouldn’t lose or gain a second for billions of years....

I rarely visit Facebook anymore as I have little use for that bastion of negativity and foolishness. That said, I was on Facebook a few days ago, and saw the following post reposted by someone I know, unfortunately. “When someone uses the word ‘illegals,’ I am done listening to what they have to say. I live in America, a nation stolen from the indigenous natives, built on the backs of slaves, & [sic] made prosperous by the sweat & [sic] blood of immigrants. ‘Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.’ My country is not...

The Arab slave trade lasted over 1,300 years — yet most people know little about it. This video exposes the atrocities committed against Black Africans during the Arab slave era, including mass castration, forced conversions, and cultural erasure. It's time to uncover a hidden chapter of history that shaped the continent and its people.