Free Republic

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) vowed that President Trump’s threats to primary him will “backfire tremendously” and ultimately lead to Republicans losing their House majority in the 2026 midterms. “Well, they’ve spent $1.8 million against me so far in my congressional district. I think it has had very little effect, but they are trying to beat up on me to keep everyone else in line here and I think it is not working. I think what’s going to happen, this will be a referendum on whether the executive branch controls the legislative branch,” Massie said during a Tuesday interview with NBC...

The US Department of Health and Human Services said Monday that it’s undertaking an initiative to reform the country’s organ donation system, after a federal investigation found that one organization in the Kentucky region began the process to take organs from people who may not have been dead. A House subcommittee is holding a hearing Tuesday on organ donation safety lapses and how procurement and transplant organizations intend to improve the system, to regain the trust of donors and their families. That trust is essential because the US organ donation system relies on people to volunteer to donate, often when...

2024, prices jumped 800% at PJM Interconnection, a “traffic controller” part of the grid that provides service in 13 states as well as D.C. .. PJM operates the largest power grid in the U.S., with around 67 million customers—that’s more than 20% of the American population. ... amid a dwindling supply and an increase in demand, “Prices for power plants landed at $269.92 per megawatt-day, compared to $28.92 per megawatt-day” in 2023. ... prices are set to spike again, and the projection for this year is around 20%. If you live in Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey,...

BREAKING: New details on the Lexington, KY church shooting — The gunman, Guy House, was an Islamist pro-Palestinian. He shot a state trooper, killed 2 women, wounded 3 others, carjacked a vehicle, and stormed Richmond Road Baptist Church before police took him down.

Two churchgoers have been killed and a state trooper seriously wounded in two shootouts during a gunman's rampage. Panicked passengers ran for their lives as shots were fired at Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky, about 11.40am, wounding the trooper. The shooter carjacked a vehicle and fled 16 miles to Richmond Road Baptist Church, where he was cornered by pursuing cops, police said. Lexington Police Chief Lawrence Weathers said the gunman, who may have a connection to the congregation, fired on worshippers inside the church. Beverly Gunn, 72, and Christina Combs, 32, were shot dead as they tried to escape,...

A state trooper and several churchgoers have been seriously wounded in two shootouts during a gunman's rampage. Panicked passengers ran for their lives as shots were fired at Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky, about 11.40am, wounding the trooper. The shooter then fled to nearby Richmond Road Baptist Church, where he was cornered by pursuing cops, Kentucky State Police said. He was shot dead at the church and multiple parishioners were wounded by gunfire as they tried to escape. Whom they were shot by is still unclear. The wounded deputy was taken to hospital with serious injuries but is in...

A Kentucky school board chairman was forced to resign after a cruel post he allegedly made begging people to 'shoot Republicans' resurfaced. Jeffrey Miller, the former leader of Erlanger-Elsmere Independent School District was officially stripped of his title Thursday during a board meeting, Republican State Representative Steven Doan confirmed. It came after the post and another one which disparaged the police came to light. Miller, who served as the chairman since 2016 and did not attend the meeting, was investigated after a Facebook comment he allegedly made in 2018 came to light. The post, which has since been taken down,...

In a groundbreaking moment for the American mining industry, the Fluor Corporation has confirmed the feasibility of large rare earth element deposits at Ramaco Resources’ Brook Mine in Wyoming. This announcement marks a significant step towards redefining the United States’ position in the critical minerals market. The confirmation by Fluor not only solidifies the economic potential of the Brook Mine but also positions Ramaco Resources as a key player in reducing the country’s dependency on foreign sources of rare earth elements. Ramaco Resources, initially known for its operations as a metallurgical coal miner, was thrust into the spotlight with this...

An elite group of unmanned aerial systems operators, support and maintenance staff will now call Fort Huachuca their home after an activation ceremony Tuesday morning. A brief ceremony held in Hanger 1 at Libby Army Air Field celebrated the official transfer of Echo Company, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, to this Southern Arizona post for the next two years. The company consists of 150 hand-picked soldiers and 12 UAS vehicles, which will train for eventual deployment to Afghanistan sometime early next year. “This is a key day in our history,” Col. John Evans, Jr., Regiment Commander, told an audience of...

Governor Andy Beshear (D-KY) said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that he was considering running for president in 2028. Host Dana Bash said, “Governor, you’ve committed to serving out your term as governor, which is slated to end December 2027. Your name frequently comes up as a contender for the 2028 Democratic primary for president. You said, I’ll think about it after next year. What will make you decide that that’s going to be a yes, you’ll run for president?” Beshear said, “So my primary obligation and what I’m putting all my energy towards is to be the...

Alaskan authorities say they've found the body of a 62-year-old woman who disembarked from a cruise ship to take a hike and didn't return. Marites Buenafe — who's listed on the University of Kentucky Healthcare system's website as a doctor — was traveling aboard the Norwegian Bliss, according to a missing persons bulletin issued by the Alaska State Troopers. The ship was on a weeklong round-trip tour of Alaska that departed from Seattle, according to ship tracking site CruiseMapper. Around 7:30 a.m. local time on July 1, Buenafe texted family members that she was heading up Mount Roberts Tramway in...

Elon Musk escalated his feud with President Trump, announcing that he would be backing one of the commander in chief’s biggest foes in congress, Rep. Thomas Massie — the libertarian-leaning House lawmaker who Trump has vowed to see defeated in the midterm election. Musk signaled he would donate to the Kentucky Republican’s 2026 reelection campaign on X when he responded “Me” to a post asking who would be backing Massie’s congressional bid. Trump, meanwhile, had pledged to support whichever candidate runs in the primary against Massie, who the president lambasted as a “loser” and “Third Rate Congressman” in an online...

President Trump’s feud with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) is showing no signs of abating as the president seeks to oust the GOP congressman for his history of regularly breaking with the administration. Massie recently opposed the administration by denouncing its strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and refusing to support the president’s legislative agenda, leading Trump’s political operation to launch a targeted campaign against Massie. On Friday, a Trump-aligned super PAC, led by the president’s co-campaign manager Chris LaCivita, rolled out its first ad as part of a $1 million ad buy targeting Massie. The 30-second ad — titled “What happened...

The Senate blocked an effort Friday to prevent President Trump from taking future military action against Iran without authorization from Congress, less than a week after he directed strikes aimed at the country’s nuclear capabilities. Senators voted 47-53 largely along party lines against the war powers resolution. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) was the lone GOP lawmaker to vote with Democrats. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), an ardent backer of Israel, voted with Republicans.

Rapidly making good on President Trump’s promise to back a 2026 Republican primary challenger to libertarian-minded Rep. Thomas Massie, the Trump team has already launched a super PAC dedicated entirely to removing Massie from office next year. It promises to make for the strongest challenge Massie’s faced yet. The new “Kentucky MAGA” super PAC will be run by top Trump political operatives Tony Fabrizio and Chris LaCivita, with La Civita telling Axios the new entity will spend “whatever it takes” to replace Massie. Trump’s political circle has already had discussions with potential challengers. “Massie’s long-time opposition to…really anything to do...

Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has unveiled a plan to override Homeland Security Committee Chair Rand Paul’s (R-Ky.) proposal to fund border security and immigration enforcement activities at roughly half the amount favored by Senate and House Republican leaders. Paul created an uproar two weeks ago when he unveiled his portion of the Trump agenda megabill that would spend $6.5 billion on completing President Trump’s border wall and $22.5 billion on expanding detention facilities for migrants. Now Graham has answered with a move of his own, unveiling a proposal to restore funding for the border wall and Immigration...

Donald Trump appears to have reached a tipping point with the Kentucky Republican, who opposes the president’s legislative package and his decision to bomb Iran without consulting Congress.A “simple-minded ‘grandstander.’” A “pathetic LOSER.” A “BUM.” And that’s just since Saturday. President Donald Trump is intensifying his attacks on Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) as the libertarian-leaning congressman pushes back against the president’s priority legislative package and his decision to bomb Iran without consulting Congress. In doing so, Trump is also making clearer than ever that he wants to see Massie defeated in the 2026 primary — and make an example of...

..... Members of Kentucky’s congressional delegation say Massie’s sprawling district, which runs along the northern border along Ohio and Indiana and stretches from the southern Cincinnati suburbs to the outer bands of the Louisville metro area, is a unique cross-section of the state that appears to relish Massie’s independent streak. It’s home to some of the most prominent members of the “liberty faction” of the Kentucky Republican Party, a group that embraces Trump while also gravitating toward libertarian-leaning Republicans like Massie and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul. The senator has weathered his own barrage of attacks from Trump for voicing opposition...

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., argued that the War Powers Act, a Nixon-era law limiting the president’s power to unilaterally wage war, is unconstitutional. President Donald Trump’s decision to order strikes on Iranian nuclear targets over the weekend was “clearly” within his powers under Article 2 of the U.S. Constitution, Johnson said. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., alongside Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California, has introduced a War Powers resolution that would bar the U.S. military from “unauthorized hostilities” in Iran. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., argued Tuesday that the War Powers Act is unconstitutional, and vowed that a pending resolution...

Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) said Monday on MSNBC’s “All In” that he was not bothered by President Donald Trump’s criticisms because he had developed what he called “Trump antibodies.” Host Chris Hayes said, “You obviously, you’ve taken some votes that have really put you on an island, I think it’s fair to say. You’re the single, solitary, no vote on that on that Big, Beautiful Bill that was coming through the House.” He asked, “I’m not going to read the entirety of this long post from the president, but he said he’s called you a simple minded grandstander. That MAGA...