Free Republic

The number of public school employees who celebrated the political assassination of Christian and conservative commentator Charlie Kirk has reached such a high level that teachers’ unions are now tracking Kirk’s supporters and preparing to coordinate the legal defense for teachers whose jobs are now in jeopardy. An internal union email obtained by the Maine Wire shows the National Education Association (NEA) has told its members that it’s monitoring supporters of the slain conservative activist and is preparing legal and communications defenses for school teachers who publicly celebrated his assassination.The email, sent by the head of the NEA’s Portland Education...

This morning the House passed a clean CR designed to fund the government through November, thereby avoiding the possibility of a shutdown at the end of this month. Democrats how vowed not to support it in the Senate.The vote was 217-212, with one Democrat, Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, joining Republicans in voting yes. Two Republicans — conservative Reps. Tim Burchett of Tennessee and Victoria Spartz of Indiana — and all other Democrats voted against the bill.The short-term funding bill, known as a continuing resolution or CR, now heads to the Senate, where Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and other...

Bowdoin College conservative students went to bed afraid Sunday after administrators informed the campus of “credible” threats that prompted the cancellation of a vigil honoring Charlie Kirk, a student leader told The College Fix by phone and email. “Despite being the recipients of this ‘supposed threat,’ we have not been informed of anything else, so many of my members are living in complete fear,” Bowdoin College Conservatives President Zak Asplin said Monday. Safa Zaki, president of the private Maine college, issued an announcement Sunday night that the situation was investigated and no longer deemed to be a threat. However, in...

One of the state's first harm reduction community centers has abruptly closed, leaving extreme filth so severe that the building is condemned. Fecal matter, thousands of used needles and people sleeping in the basement were all found inside a commercial building now locked up and slapped with a condemned notice. One of the doors had been broken into and from there, you have access through the rest of the building,” Lewiston City Building Inspector Travis Tardiff said. “Several other doors had been unlocked to allow other people in.” Most of the building is empty, but the Church of Safe Injection...

A U.S. citizen is facing significant charges after ‘they’ attempted to intervene in the apprehension of illegal aliens in Maine, nearly running over U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) agents in the process, authorities say.On Friday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released details about the disturbing incident, which unfolded on Aug. 25 in Knox County.Local law enforcement was responding to the scene of a commercial vehicle rollover crash with the assistance of USBP.Two men who were traveling in the truck were found to be illegal aliens: Victor Hugo Cardona-Calderon (visa overstay) and Jhoan Andres Ortiz-Calderon (final order of removal from an...

Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) sounded the alarm Friday over President Trump’s latest request to yank back congressionally approved funding, this time without Congress’s say-so, calling it an “attempt to undermine the law.” Collins said the recent request sent to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Thursday seeks to pull back $4.9 billion in funding for “a wide range of foreign aid programs.” “Given that this package was sent to Congress very close to the end of the fiscal year when the funds are scheduled to expire, this is an apparent attempt to rescind appropriated funds without congressional approval,”...

A federal judge in Maine declined on Monday to block the government from stripping Medicaid funding from one of Maine’s largest abortion providers, finding that to do so would override “the will of the people as expressed by Congress.” At issue is a provision of the tax and spending bill Congress passed in July that would deny abortion providers Medicaid funding even for health services other than performing abortions. In a blunt, 19-page opinion, Judge Lance E. Walker of the Federal District Court in Maine wrote that particularly after the Supreme Court’s decision in 2022 that overturned Roe v. Wade,...

Portland Press Herald Portland Mayor Says City May Not Be Required To Work With ICE, Despite Federal Grant Terms Mark Dion says a temporary injunction bars the federal government from making cooperation with immigration officials a condition for funding airport upgrades. Grace Benninghoff, Staff Writer PORTLAND — City officials signed a federal grant agreement on Thursday for upgrades at the Portland International Jetport that mandates cooperation with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. Hours after protesters gathered at City Hall on Thursday to demand answers about the decision, Mayor Mark Dion said during a news conference that the council decided to go...

Three Canadian provinces have outlawed woodland access due to concerns over wildfire risk and are now threatening massive fines or jail for Canadians who violate the lockdown and who go out into nature. The restrictions in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland are prompting calls of warning as well as acts of civil disobedience from Canadians who view the bans as a tyrannical attempt to restrict the movements of the populace, using climate change as justification. The region’s extended drought and continuing hot, dry weather are being blamed on climate change and the restrictions are evoking a strong reaction among...

Senate Democrats have undergone a steady tonal shift on Israel, with a recent vote to block arms sales to the Jewish State giving a glimpse at the evolution on the Hill. More Democrats in the upper chamber than ever before voted alongside Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., to halt the $675 million sale of thousands of bombs and guidance kits for the bombs and to block the sale of automatic rifles to Israel. […] “What’s going on is unacceptable, and Israel has the power to fix it,” Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, told Fox News Digital. Like Sanders, King typically caucuses with...

China’s richest man just bought an empty piece of land with only a warehouse in New Hampshire and they’re REFUSING to answer questions on what it’ll be used for.. The land cost $15 million, they paid 4X THE COST, $67 million.. It’s right next to important US military bases ... What would happen if we owned any land next to a military base in China? ... China doesn't allow foreigners to purchase land there.

Several other states are also facing new scrutiny as the Trump administration refocuses election-law enforcement... The U.S. Department of Justice is asking Pennsylvania for a wide range of information on how it manages voter registration and voter rolls, as part of what it calls “nationwide efforts” to monitor compliance with a key federal voting statute. In a June 23 letter to Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt, the department asked for 14 categories of information on the state’s voter registration activities, including how voters are added to and removed from the voter roll, and how the state prevents unauthorized...

President Donald Trump is going after Republican Sen. Susan Collins despite hopes among some in the party that she will run again next year and help the GOP hold the Senate. Trump, who has privately discussed finding someone to run for her seat should she not seek reelection, attacked the Maine senator’s voting record in a post on Truth Social. The senator has voted against two of Trump’s signature legislative achievements this year — the domestic policy megabill and the measure to claw back $9 billion in foreign aid and public media funding. “Republicans, when in doubt, vote the exact...

What the f---?' Maine Democrat Gov. Janet Mills responded when peppered with questions about cocaine.. Maine Democrat Gov. Janet Mills was at a loss for words last month during a trip to the nation's capital when pressed about her alleged cocaine use. "What the f---?" Mills replied when asked if "sniffing cocaine at work" is a "human right." Mills refused to answer the question, which was followed by, "How much more does an eight-ball cost with inflation?" Mills ignored the second question and continued walking. A source shared the video with Fox News Digital after reporting Friday revealed the Department...

An “animal-rights” lobby has gone to court to try to stop Rockland’s annual “egregiously cruel method of steaming thousands of lobsters alive.” People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) filed its lawsuit in an attempt to get a judge to declare the Maine Lobster Festival a “public nuisance.” Barring a Knox County Court order, the 78th-annual, four-day lobster celebration is scheduled to begin July 30. PETA argues that the festival, if allowed to go forward, would be violating Maine law prohibiting “the torture and torment of animals.” The animal-protection organization argues that “lobsters are sentient beings and are entitled...

A couple of years ago, a young man from Jamaica came to the United States for a visit. He liked it so much, he stayed, and ... Jon Luke Evans .. was hired as a seasonal law enforcement officer for the little community of Old Orchard Beach, on the coast just south of Portland. ... ICE has arrested Jon Luke Evans, an illegal immigrant from Jamaica, after he attempted to buy a firearm. Evans had been serving as a police officer in Old Orchard Beach, Maine. HOW in the world can Maine allow an illegal alien to get hired as...

The Senate on Tuesday night narrowly confirmed Justice Department official Emil Bove to a seat on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, hours after his confirmation was stalled over whistleblower reports that he is under investigation. Democratic Sens. Adam Schiff of California and Cory Booker of New Jersey requested information about the alleged investigation after a third whistleblower said Bove misled the Senate Judiciary Committee during his confirmation hearing. The whistleblowers also allege Bove abused his authority while working for the Justice Department. The Senate confirmed Bove in a 50-49 split. Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski...

An attempted firearms purchase led to the arrest of a Jamaican citizen who the town of Old Orchard Beach had hired as a police officer, FOX News reported on Monday afternoon. Jon Luke Evans entered the U.S. legally in September 2023, but overstayed his visa, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) stated. He was due to return top Jamaica on October 1 of that year but never boarded his flight home. The Maine Wire contacted the Old Orchard Beach Police Department seeking information about when Evans was hired, the status of his employment and what type of vetting the...

Former Harvard law professor and veteran trial attorney Alan Dershowitz — who represented notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein in his 2008 criminal case — said during a recent appearance on Fox News that at least two prominent Democrats are named in files relating to the case. While speaking with host Shannon Bream on “Fox News Sunday,” Dershowitz stated that while the Epstein “client list” does not exist in the way it has been built up in some corners of the internet, there are other ways to reveal the names of individuals who were potentially involved in Epstein’s crimes. ““Are [the names]...

Nothing will ever be easy with congressional Republicans. The reconciliation package aged all of us 35 years, as Sen. John Thune (R-SD) and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) had to whip votes, hold the line, and make some phone calls. President Trump was also working the phones heavily when final passage was at stake in the House. Republican leadership held the line, but with Rep. Mark Green (R-TN) retiring after the reconciliation vote, delivering what’s left of the Trump agenda before the 2026 midterms is about to get even tougher. The House did its job and passed the rescission package, but...