Free Republic

Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador tried to slam conservative media, claiming they will not report on the corruption investigation of U.S. Senator Bob Menendez. The Mexican president mistakenly claimed that conservative news outlets would provide cover for Menendez because he was a “Republican… from Texas.” The statements came during his Monday news conference where the Mexican politician briefly discussed the case. “These news outlets from the right, conservatives, are not going to say that they found gold bars,” Lopez Obrador said. “The Republican Senator, Bob Menendez from Texas, he has always been against us. They are not going to...

New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, known for his close ties to US President Joe Biden, published an op-ed on Saturday following Biden’s meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York this past week. Friedman asserted that, while appearing friendly toward Netanyahu, the President had "privately slip[ped] a homework assignment into Bibi's pocket." This assignment, according to Friedman, was for Netanyahu to decide whether to dismantle his coalition, or miss out on the chance to achieve normalization with Saudi Arabia. “It was a master class in how a US president puts a fateful decision to an Israeli leader —...

Sean Penn knows what you think of him.Several minutes into the two-time Oscar winner’s new film, Superpower, ostensibly a documentary about the battle-hardened president of Ukraine, Penn’s gravelly voice answers a question posed in interviews past: Who do you think you are, Walter Cronkite? You have a savior complex?“I’ve been lucky enough to be able to travel,” Penn answers in a voiceover, “and, weathered though it is, my famous face gets me access to places and people I may otherwise not have known. And sometimes I feel I can be helpful.”Thus the stage is set for a two-hour foray into...

People looking to get their new COVID-19 vaccine are feeling sore over hefty unexpected charges for the federally-recommended shot. Customers nationwide at pharmacies including Walgreens and CVS who landed appointments for the jab this week were shocked to learn they would feel the additional pinch of three-figure fees for their boosters. “Nightmare is the first word that comes to mind,” Acton, Massachusetts, resident Glen Cote told WBZ-TV after he learned his new booster would run him $190.99. It’s a complaint echoed by dozens of social media users after pharmacies dinged patients anywhere from between $125 to $200 for the latest...

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the spokesman for the Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas, slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, promising that there will be no peace or stability until the "Palestinian nation's" demands are met. In his speech, Netanyahu said, "Many decades of efforts to make peace with Arab Nations have failed because they were based on one false assumption - that the Palestinians must be appeased as a precondition to peace. The Palestinians have much to gain from new peace agreements. They should be part of these agreements, but they should not...

Here we are at ground zero of the Paxton Impeachment trial showing you the kitchen with ceramic countertops - not granite. "Never take freedom for granite."" Video

Walt Disney chief Bob Iger has hinted at a possible ceasefire in the culture war between the global media and entertainment conglomerate and its socially conservative critics — telling investors the company will “quiet the noise,” according to an analyst report obtained by Reuters. The CEO’s new strategy comes as Disney (NYSE: DIS) remains at legal loggerheads with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — a dispute that kicked off when the entertainment giant protested the state’s so-called “Don't Say Gay” bill, which banned classroom discussion of sexual orientation or general identity for Florida public school students between kindergarten and Grade 3.

Jeb Bush wasted no time expressing his gratitude to Bermuda and its reinsurance market during the 62nd General Assembly & Annual Meeting of the World Federation of Exchanges at the Hamilton Princess & Beach Club. [cut] The remarks were made during a wideranging and freewheeling “fireside chat” with the former governor, his son George P. Bush and Thomas Gallagher, chairman and CEO of Miami International Holdings, which owns the Bermuda Stock Exchange. [cut] “I am worried about his [President Biden] age. We have a problem in our country. We have a lot of people who are past their prime who...

Former President Donald Trump has drawn outrage from pro-life conservatives after he panned a six-week abortion ban championed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as “terrible.” “I think what he did is a terrible thing and a terrible mistake,” Trump, 77, told NBC’s “Meet the Press” when asked about the policy in an interview that aired Sunday. The 45th president’s remarks triggered backlash among anti-abortion activists, including from groups like Live Action and Students for Life,*** “Pathetic and shameful. Trump is actively attacking the very pro-life laws made possible by Roe’s overturning,” Lila Rose of Live Action said on X, formerly...

Ukraine knows the West can give more aid and weapons to Kyiv because “warehouses in Western countries are not completely empty”, the country’s chief spymaster has said.Maj Gen Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, said the country must prepare to build up its arsenal in order to outlast Russia, which he predicted could run out of weapons in 2026.But he told The Economist that Ukraine could not do this without Western governments because its domestic arms industry had been blighted by decades of corruption, underinvestment and sabotage. “We are dependent on external players,” he said. “Russia is...

Hunter Biden’s attorneys filed a lawsuit against the IRS on Monday, alleging that agents have “targeted and sought to embarrass” the president’s son. Biden’s Monday morning filing cites two major examples in IRS agents Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, two whistleblowers who claimed the IRS mishandled aspects of its investigation into Biden. Biden’s lawsuit seeks for the court to declare that the IRS “willfully, knowingly, and/or by gross negligence, unlawfully disclosed Mr. Biden’s confidential tax information.” In addition, Biden is demanding $1,000 in damages for “each and every unauthorized disclosure of his tax returns,” including disclosures that happened after the...

Corrupt and lacking the mental soundness to serve effectively as president. That’s what voters think of the two candidates who currently look most likely to be their 2024 presidential choices. A majority of 61% say Joe Biden doesn’t have the mental soundness needed for the job he holds. That sentiment has risen steadily over the last three years. It’s up 5 points since last year, up 13 points compared to 2021, and up 16 points since 2020. […] While more voters see Biden lacking mental sharpness, fewer believe he is dishonest. …

NASA has announced the results of a independent study commissioned to determine how the agency can contribute to understanding unidentified anomalous phenomena. UAPs are defined as objects or events that can’t (yet) be traced back to known objects such as aircraft, balloons, drones, or known natural phenomena including aurora or special types of lightning. It’s worth noting that the panel in charge of this study was not commissioned to evaluate existing reports of UAPs (or UFOs, as they are more commonly known). The panel determined early on that they simply don’t have the data to evaluate past events, nor do...

new children's book portrays former President Donald Trump as a valiant orange whose quest to "Make Fruitland Great Again" is thwarted by a "cheating" banana resembling President Joe Biden. Republican Representative Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, ... , co-authored the forthcoming book, The Legend of Naranja, with her husband Andrew Gamberzky. Luna was elected as Florida's first Mexican-American congresswoman last year following a successful Trump-endorsed campaign. The Legend of Naranja, described on its website as being "loosely inspired by the 2020 presidential race," casts Trump as "Naranja"—the Spanish word for "orange"—and Biden as "Señor Banana." The book also describes Trump,...

On certain nights, behind some of your favorite restaurants, roving groups of dog owners set their posse of pooches loose on urban rodents. The sound of a rat screaming in the jaws of a terrier is the same sound that a stuffed squeaky toy makes. It seems so obvious. Of course the toys sound that way, because that sound awakens something deep in a docile dog’s neurons that says: Shake it. Shake it till it’s dead. It’s Saturday night. Flavia and Jigs, a duo of mother-daughter border terriers, are shaking a rat. It is already dead. On one side of...

Redistricting for congressional seats typically takes place prior to the first congressional elections held after a census is conducted, but the congressional maps in some states are still in limbo ahead of the second congressional elections based on the current census data. Three states have had recent developments in legal battles over how congressional districts will look for the 2024 election, with one state having its map for the election solidified. Here is a look at the redistricting situations in Florida, Ohio, and Alabama. Florida The congressional map in the Sunshine State is currently in legal limbo after a circuit...

For Israel’s embattled but newly combative liberals, the fight against authoritarianism and ethnonationalism now takes place not only in the Knesset and the Supreme Court, but on buses, in city squares and in quiet residential streets..... Paywall It was a perfect tableau of Israel in the days of Netanyahu’s.....

A meeting Tuesday of South Carolina lawmakers considering how to best counter future pandemics was dominated by vaccine skeptics pushing concerns about COVID-19 immunizations that are unaccepted by the greater medical community. Members of the all-Republican panel seeking more independence from federal health regulators were receptive to speakers who sewed doubt about vaccine safety and efficacy, as well as distrust in the scientific establishment. Testimony began with an hourlong presentation from Aaron Siri, the managing partner at a New York law firm that 2021 tax filings show received over $3 million from an influential Texas-based group that campaigns against vaccine...

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm went on a highly choreographed electric vehicle tour of several southern states Despite careful planning, the motorcade ran into a number of issues, including an incident during which a Georgia family called the cops on department staff Granholm has pushed hard for federal commitment to expansion of EV infrastructure, but her trip suggests there's still much work to be done The sheriff's office was not ultimately able to do anything because it's not illegal for a non-EV to claim a charging spot, at least not in Georgia. But the optics were bad and the Energy Department...

The Biden administration‘s efforts to promote electric vehicles hit a roadblock during Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm‘s summer trip through the southeast United States.Granholm and her entourage used a fleet of electric vehicles to journey from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Memphis, Tennessee, with town hall events along the way, NPR’s Camila Domonoske wrote in a report published on Sunday.The purpose of the trip was to “draw attention to the billions of dollars the White House is pouring into green energy and clean cars,” but Domonoske, who joined the caravan for the ride, shared how the four-day venture was not a smooth...