Free Republic

New data prove it. On Wednesday, the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) quietly dropped a bombshell. For months, the state has avoided releasing much-needed data on individuals who were arraigned in New York before lawmakers passed bail reform. But newly available data confirm what critics have long argued: bail reform was followed by a significant increase in criminal reoffending. It’s worth explaining the new data in detail. Until now, analysts not privy to government databases had to use data on arraignments in New York State published by the Office of Courts Administration. Those data currently cover...

School districts in Florida will be allowed to impose mask requirements after a district judge on Friday blocked an executive order from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) banning the mandates. Leon County Circuit Judge John Cooper ruled in favor of a group of parents who sued DeSantis over his executive order, arguing it was unconstitutional. He ruled the order is "without legal authority" and is by definition "arbitrary" and "capricious." Cooper issued an injunction stopping the Department of Education from taking any action against local districts that require masks in schools without a parental opt-out. Cooper said the state's new...

Closing arguments at former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial were expected to get underway Saturday morning — with each side granted two hours to make their final case to the US Senate before an expected vote on the verdict later in the day. But Day 5 started instead with House impeachment manager Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) asking to subpoena records and call a witness sparking fierce debate with Trump defense lawyer Michael van der Venn.

Sisi also called for countering “extremist” views and erroneous religious beliefs, adding that the Islamic value of tolerance must be promoted. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi again called on Sunday for a “religious revolution” against extremism within the Islamic world in an interview on a religious public radio station. Speaking at Al-Azhar University, one of the world’s top center for Sunni learning, Sisi said, “I am addressing the religious scholars and clerics. We must take a long, hard look at the current situation.” “It is inconceivable that the ideology we sanctify should make our entire nation a source of concern,...

It’s “inconceivable” that President Obama was unaware that the IRS was targeting conservative groups, House Speaker John Boehner said today. “It would be inconceivable in my operation that my staff would know it and I wouldn’t,” the Ohio Republican told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos on “Good Morning America.” “It just doesn’t pass the straight-face test. How could – how can your chief of staff – your general counsel know, and you not know?” Obama has said that he first found out about the outcome of an inspector general audit when the report was released publicly, but his aides say they...

<p>WASHINGTON -- The number of newly laid-off workers filing initial claims for jobless benefits rose unexpectedly last week, evidence that layoffs are continuing and jobs remain scarce.</p> <p>The rise is the fourth in the past five weeks. Most economists hoped that claims would resume a downward trend that was evident in the fall and early winter.</p>

Orders for U.S. durable goods unexpectedly slipped 0.6% in October amid expectations for a 0.5% rise, while the previous month’s reading showed a 2.0% expansion from an initial forecast for a 1.0% increase. At the same time, durables excluding transports tumbled 1.3% after rising a revised 1.8% in September, and businesses may keep a lid on spending going into the following year as global trade conditions remain subdued.

WARNING: this post contains a graphic description of an abortion that may not be appropriate for some individuals. Please read with care. I think it's important in the debate about abortion to have an honest dialogue about all parties who are involved. I think this blog, written by a female abortionist, goes far in revealing the sort of extreme cognative dissonance that is necessary for someone to perform abortions. And yet, even in this situation, it's impossible for her to avoid her own humanity - and the humanity of the young human person she is destroying: When I was...

More than two dozen students walked out of Skyline High School Friday morning to protest what they say is a ban that doesn't allow the American flag to be flown on school grounds. Several students said that they were upset that Mexican flags can be waved around but that American flags couldn't. They said that school officials confiscated their American flags because it has become inflammatory because of recent immigration issues. "When the immigration laws came out we noticed that a lot of Hispanics were waving Mexican flags and what we were thinking to ourselves is like, isn't the immigration...

It’s fascinating what people choose to collect as a hobby. As a kid, I collected stamps. It wasn’t much of a collection. I loved the colorful triangle stamps put out by some country named, as I recall, Tanya Touva. At least I assumed it was a country. It could have just been some guy in Nova Scotia with a printing press and a clever scheme to separate 10-year-olds from their nickels and dimes. Somewhere along the way, my stamp album and I were separated. I also collected baseball cards – the kind that came wrapped in wax paper with a...