Free Republic

Last week, while attending a policy conference, I was introduced to a fascinating new resource that every citizen should know about. The website, Follow Foreign Money, contains a searchable database of confirmed foreign nationals, foreign governments, and foreign-funded organizations that have provided money to U.S.-based nonprofit organizations involved in public policy and advocacy. According to the organization, some grants identify a specific purpose such as funding litigation, advocacy campaigns, or other policy initiatives, while others do not disclose exactly how the money is used. The site’s stated goal is to make these financial relationships easier for the public to examine....

Idaho Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson recently signed on to a renewed attempt to overhaul the visa program for agricultural migrant workers. The proposed legislation includes a change long-sought by Idaho’s dairy industry leaders — it would allow year-round agriculture producers to access workers, instead of just for seasonal labor. “This is an issue that I’ve been working on for probably 20 years with the dairy industry in Idaho and the challenges they face,” Simpson said at a June 30 press conference to announce the legislation. The bill, H.R. 9535, would make several changes to the H-2A visa program, which...

Bryan Kohberger’s plea deal left several burning questions unanswered about the final moments of the four University of Idaho students he butchered to death, an ex-FBI agent said in the latest episode of “Pod Force One.” Chris Whitcomb told “Pod Force One” host Miranda Devine that a vacuum of evidence was left behind in Kohberger’s quadruple homicide case when the convicted killer took a plea deal last July — dodging a much-anticipated trial and skirting the death penalty. Whitcomb’s book, “Broken Plea: The Explosive Search for the Truth Behind the Idaho Murders,” released in late April, details the overlooked inconsistencies...

The Idaho abortion voter initiative qualifies for the ballot this November. The ballot initiative would allow abortions for the full nine months of pregnancy if passed this November and nullify the “Defense of Life Act.” Since the “Defense of Life Act” legislation began being enforced on August 25, 2022, it is estimated nearly 6,000 innocent children have been saved from abortion in Idaho. Also, not one woman has been arrested for having a miscarriage, no doctor has been prosecuted under the “Defense of Life Act” and not a single woman has died seeking an “illegal abortion” as pro-choice activists claimed...

California activists are calling for the state's preschools to legitimize the use of Black English in the classroom. Supporters say teaching the dialect, also known as African American English (AAE) or African American Vernacular English (AAVE), will help 'combat harmful language hierarchies.' The Black Californians United for Early Care & Education group is part of a movement advocating for Black English to be recognized as a legitimate, rule-based language in preschool classrooms on par with other languages. California activists are calling for the state's preschools to legitimize the use of Black English in the classroom. Supporters say teaching the dialect,...

An incoming solar eruption could trigger visible northern lights across parts of the northern United States, offering millions a chance to witness one of nature's most spectacular nighttime displays. A cloud of charged particles launched by the Sun is expected to reach Earth overnight, creating conditions that could produce visible auroras across parts of the northern United States. According to NOAA, the incoming solar event may generate a G1 to G2 geomagnetic storm, giving skywatchers in as many as 19 states a chance to witness the Northern Lights if weather and space conditions align. While no widespread outbreak is expected,...

Not long ago, I stood with others on the lawn of the Kootenai County Courthouse, watching the experts from Dobson Chimney and Masonry carefully remove a time capsule that was placed in the building’s cornerstone when it was dedicated in 1926. As we waited, I looked around to see what other bits of history from a century ago surrounded me. Across Government Way, I could see the old Roosevelt School. That had certainly been there in 1926. A block away, I could see the Hamilton House, the home of Coeur d’Alene’s second mayor. That had been there too. I knew...

A federal judge ruled on Tuesday to temporarily halt an Idaho law that would restrict bathroom access for transgender people, ruling that major parts of the law are likely unconstitutional. In a 30-page decision, Biden-appointed U.S. District Judge Amanda K. Brailsford issued a preliminary injunction preventing House Bill 752 from taking effect while legal challenges proceed. The ruling also granted provisional class-action status to transgender residents across the state, extending the court’s protections beyond the original plaintiffs. “Another issue of enforceability is a law enforcement officer’s ability to determine an individual’s ‘biological sex,'” Judge Brailsford wrote. This ruling is a...

A federal judge in Idaho on Tuesday partially blocked enforcement of a new law that would’ve criminalized transgender people from using bathrooms that align with their gender identity. The law was set to go into effect July 1. The portion of it that prohibits people from entering changing rooms that don’t align with their biological sex will still go into effect. The federal court order comes in response to a lawsuit filed by six transgender Idahoans challenging House Bill 752, which the Legislature passed and Gov. Brad Little signed this year. The law makes it a misdemeanor crime, punishable by...

Spc. Richard Leroy McKinley’s white marble headstone may look like the others in Arlington Cemetery, but his grave serves as a grim reminder of the first fatal nuclear accident in America. McKinley’s grave is the only radioactive grave in the cemetery. He was laid to rest in a double lead-lined casket and lowered into a 10-foot concrete grave encased in a metal vault with an additional foot of concrete poured atop his casket. McKinley’s family had to watch the eight-minute veteran’s funeral from 20 feet away. McKinley was born on December 2, 1933, in Union City, Indiana, but he grew...

A 2023 Idaho bathroom bill is now permanently in effect statewide following the dismissal of a lawsuit challenging the anti-trans legislation. Attorneys for the Sexuality and Gender Alliance, a student group at Boise High School, and the state agreed to dismiss the lawsuit in federal court on Wednesday following the death of one plaintiff and the high-school graduation of another, per Idaho Education News. The late plaintiff, as Idaho Education News noted, was a trans student who died by suicide in January, identified only in court filings as Jane Doe. Lawsuits against the bathroom ban were currently pending in the...

Idaho Gov. Brad Little has signed into law a measure prohibiting public schools from using taxpayer-funded resources to support teachers’ unions, a move supporters say restores government neutrality while critics argue it limits educators’ ability to organize. The legislation, House Bill 516, bars school districts from facilitating payroll deductions for union dues and restricts the use of public resources to assist union activities. The law is set to take effect July 1. Supporters of the measure, including the Freedom Foundation, which prompted the report, argue that allowing payroll deductions amounts to indirect taxpayer support because public employees and systems are...

The Idaho Senate on Friday afternoon passed a GOP-backed bill that would criminalize transgender people for using bathrooms aligned with their gender identity, sending the measure to Gov. Brad Little for his signature. It is one of the harshest anti-trans measures in the U.S.

🚨 JUST IN: The Idaho Legislature has PASSED legislation enacting CRIMINAL penalties if a man goes into a women's restroom under the guise of transgenderism That's right, CRIMINAL penalties for the transgender cult! Do it in all 50 states 🔥

Muslims are the only immigrant group who come to the West with a ready made model of society they believe to be superior to Western law and they work furiously, by all means, to impose it. Under Islam, shariah (Islamic) law supersedes Western law. Anywhere Western law and Shariah law conflict, it is always Western law that must give way. What those of us working in defense of freedom did not expect, was the craven capitulation and cowardice by Western left elites to Islamic supremacy.

Getting car tabs renewed in Idaho will soon be easier thanks to a new law just passed in the state legislature that eliminates the requirement for physical registration stickers on license plates. The law, which takes effect in July, means drivers will still have to pay to update their tabs with the department of licensing, but won't have to put the physical sticker on their license plate. Lawmakers say the state will save $300,000 just by not having to print and distribute the stickers anymore. Some drivers are looking forward to physical car tabs going away in Idaho, especially because...

Three deputies with the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office are being honored for their role in responding to the tragic Canfield Fire ambush. On Sunday, June 29, 2025, 20-year-old Wess Roley intentionally started the Canfield Fire east of Coeur d'Alene, intending to kill responding firefighters. Roley ultimately killed two firefighters and seriously wounded a third during the ambush before taking his own life. Kootenai County Sheriff's Deputies Harvey Ballman, Arek Brock, and Josh Orr responded to the shooting and, under extreme duress, helped evacuate the seriously wounded firefighter, another firefighter who was "trapped," and five other civilians. The responding deputies also...

An Idaho woman was arrested Monday after investigators said she stole an ambulance and drove it into a building housing Department of Homeland Security offices in an alleged attempt to set it on fire. Sarah Elizabeth George, 43, of Boise, is accused of stealing a Canyon County Paramedics ambulance from outside St. Luke’s Meridian around 11 p.m. on Feb. 18, crashing it through the entrance of the Portico North building and pouring gasoline across the lobby floor before fleeing on foot, according to a federal criminal complaint. Authorities identified George after what Meridian Police Chief Tracy Basterrechea described as five...

An anti-ICE agitator stole an ambulance, packed it with gas cans and rammed the emergency vehicle into a DHS office in Meridian, Idaho. Meridian Police Chief Tracy Basterrechea said the suspect stole the ambulance from St. Luke’s Hospital and poured accelerant inside of the vehicle. “We want to emphasize that this was a serious criminal act,” Police Chief Basterrechea said. “The theft and destruction of an emergency vehicle not only created a risk to responding personnel, but it also temporarily removed a critical medical resource from the community,” he said. The police chief said “there has been a lot of...

IDAHO FALLS — Two young adults are facing felony charges after police say they beat a 16-year-old girl bloody, allegedly slamming her head on the ground for flirting with one of them. Kierstan Leann Morgan, 19, and Jiler Joe-Bryan Hainsworth, 18, were both charged in 7th District Court with felony aggravated battery and felony witness intimidation. Hainsworth is also facing a misdemeanor assault charge. Court documents show the witness intimidation charge against Morgan was dropped on Aug. 21. Morgan faces a possible 15-year prison sentence if convicted, whereas Hainsworth faces a possible 20-year sentence.