Free Republic

HOUSTON, Texas — U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Ron Burgum and Texas Governor Greg Abbott met near Houston to dedicate the Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge. President Donald Trump ordered the park to be renamed in honor of the the life of the 12-year-old girl who was brutally kidnapped, raped, and murdered, reportedly by two alleged Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang members. “It’s our vow that Jocelyn’s memory be tied to a place of protection, a place of life, and a place of healing,” Secretary Burgum said during the dedication. The Interior Secretary was joined by Governor Abbott, Jocelyn’s...

Andrew Cuomo has picked up another key hard hat endorsement Tuesday in the race for New York City mayor, winning the backing of the Laborers’ International Union. The New York affiliate of the Laborers Union represents 40,000 members in New York State, which further cements the former governor’s support within the construction trades. The union backed Cuomo’s rival in the June Democratic primary, former city Comptroller Scott Stringer, in the 2021 mayor’s race. “New York City is the cultural, economic, and social engine of the world—and leading it requires vision, grit, and proven experience,” said Donato Bianco, Jr., LIUNA vice...

A Democrat Seattle council member’s recent resolution may end commitments to defund the police, a movement that was fueled by leftist protests. Councilmember Rob Saka recently introduced Resolution 32167 that includes measures to appreciate first responders, police accountability, a diversified public safety response, and consent decree progress, Fox News reported on Saturday. In addition, Saka on Tuesday told the Seattle City Council’s public safety committee, “This resolution reverses any prior commitment or pledge by past councils to defund or abolish the police. We know that these statements were routinely cited by departing police personnel as a reason for leaving. We...

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus have condemned the House-passed spending bill and vowed to vote against it when it comes up in the Senate, even as other Democrats say they’ll support it to avert a government shutdown. Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) accused Republicans of passing “draconian” policies, and called on Senate Democrats to take a stance against the budget. “We’re facing a hostile government takeover and @SenateDems can do something about it,” Pressley, who opposed the continuing resolution, wrote on social media Friday. “The Trump-Musk spending bill will make our constituents hungrier, sicker, and poorer. Listen to your constituents....

During an interview with Univision 41 New York on Friday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) responded to a question on gang members in schools and law enforcement being blocked from removing them from sanctuary jurisdictions who won’t let law enforcement into schools by stating that “they have to be removed. We cannot have gang members operating freely in our schools, whether they’re from a gang from another country or they’re a street gang here. We have to protect our children and our teachers in a school environment. That’s a basic necessity.” After Univision 41 New York journalist Mariela Salgado...

On Friday’s “PBS NewsHour,” Washington Post Associate Editor and MSNBC host Jonathan Capehart said that incoming Trump Border Czar Tom Homan’s proposal that families who have parents who are in the country illegally need to decide between either being in detention and then leaving the country together or separating is “not where we should be going as a country.” And is “no choice at all, not for those families. That’s why they’re living in fear right now.” After New York Times columnist David Brooks argued that the border has to be secured to get people to support immigration, Capehart said,...

Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said Wednesday on CNN’s “Newsroom” that he “strongly opposes” President Joe Biden pardoning lawmakers who led the January 6 committee because legal proceedings against them “would ultimately cause a backlash against Donald Trump.” Blumenthal said, “I strongly oppose preemptive pardon. First of all, it’s in some ways going to be perceived as an implicit acknowledgment of guilt. I’m a former prosecutor, United States attorney, chief federal prosecutor in Connecticut, and state attorney general for 20 years. I know. And people should know that walking into a courtroom and making charges is far from proving guilt beyond...

Police in New York City arrested two suspected members of the gang Tren de Aragua on Wednesday who are believed to be linked to violence at an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado. The suspects allegedly connected to the Venezuelan gang were identified as 23-year-old Denyeer Aramillo Meneses and 25-year-old Edison Pena Angulo, Fox News reported on Friday. The NYPD’s gang task force and officials with Homeland Security arrested the pair following a major credit card scam and drug trafficking bust.

Vice President Kamala Harris released a message on Thursday with her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, wishing everyone a “happy Thanksgiving” and expressing “gratitude” for U.S. service members and their sacrifices. In a video posted to X, Harris sits next to Emhoff, who talks about how Thanksgiving is a day when people “come together to reflect” on what they are thankful for. Emhoff adds that Thanksgiving is also a day where people cook their favorite recipes and “share family stories” with each other.

During an interview with Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” on Monday, 2024 Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) responded to some unions not endorsing the Harris-Walz ticket by stating that “They have tough politics inside those. These are folks that are directly responsible to their members,” and “Some of those leaders did not show the courage they needed to. The vast majority of union leaders showed the courage, they’re backing us.” Host Jon Stewart asked, “Why have the unions, though, been more reluctant, in this cycle to –.”

House Oversight Committee chairman Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) said Wednesday that he may refer members of the January 6 Committee to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution for hiding and destroying documents. Loudermilk has been investigating the work of the January 6 Committee, and discovered last year that the Committee had destroyed documents and other records, despite being warned by then-incoming Speaker of the House Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to preserve all of the evidence it had collected in months of investigations and closed-door testimony. He told John Solomon of JusttheNews.com that it was possible members of the committee...

Native Sons, a group from Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood, is asking that gang members pledge to cease fire from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. daily so no one lives in fear of being shot while going about their day-to-day activities. The push for the cease-fire is being called “The People’s Ordinance,” CWBChicago reported. Native Sons’ co-founder, Tatiana Atkins, said:

President Biden and first lady Jill Biden spoke with members of the U.S. Armed Forces on Thursday afternoon, thanking them for their service on the Thanksgiving holiday. “You gave up your seat at the Thanksgiving table to defend us – and we owe you a debt of gratitude,” Biden said in a tweet. “You’re the best of America.” The Bidens mentioned their plans to chat with service members earlier in the day, when they called into the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Betrayal, frustration, anger, grief, numbness and concern for those left behind -- these are some of the emotions former service members say they are feeling as they watch images of their former enemies celebrating in Kabul and get desperate text messages from those left behind in Afghanistan. "It's a disgrace that the U.S. has forsaken these bonds and abandoned our allies," said Peter Kiernan, a former Special Operations Command Marine who deployed to Herat in 2012. "We were trying to liberate these people and give them a better life. And that's the part that's so hard to grapple with here....

A Florida pastor is imploring his parishioners to get vaccinated — after six members of the church recently died from COVID-19 within 10 days. “Four of them were under the age of 35. All of them were healthy, and the only thing they had in common was they were not vaccinated,” Impact Church senior pastor George Davis told told WJXT-TV. One of the victims was a woman who was recently married and had a young daughter, he added to WFLA-TV. “It’s definitely taken a toll on us,” Davis said of the deaths. “Some of [the victims] have been extremely close...

Just months after the Minneapolis City Council called for “dismantling” the police department in the wake of George Floyd’s death, they are now panicking that there’s not enough policing to deal with the spike in violent crime. During a recent meeting that was supposed to be a study session on police reform, Democratic council members instead relayed the frustrations they’re hearing from constituents.

MS-13 has directed its members to “take out a cop” on Long Island — prompting the NYPD to put its officers on high alert, according to a new memo obtained by The Post. Police are hunting for the suspect, a tall, light-skinned Hispanic man with a thin build and a tattoo of three dots next to his eye. Police in Hempstead — one of the Long Island towns where the violent gang has a stronghold — were tipped off to the threat Wednesday by a “credible” informant, the NYPD memo said.

Anonymous has posted a listing on 8chan claiming it is an extensive list of nationwide members of the anti-free speech group ANTIFA and it includes many teachers! The list is very long and includes Facebook links as well. There are many professors, school teachers, and other education staff. Many writers, political activists and programmers as well. We did some research and cannot seem to find anywhere that states this list is not accurate. Proceed with caution. Here is the list: https://8ch.net/pol/res/10404804.html#10405484 Many are connected to radical Communist groups, like the National Bolshevik Party (NBP) Antifa and BLM showed up at...

Aydin Ahi, deputy chairman of the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the Ozalp district of Van province, was killed in armed attack on Saturday night. Two officials, members of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), were shot dead on Saturday night.Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus claimed Sunday that militants of the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) were behind the assasinations but no statement has been made by the organisation.The victims were identified as “Aydin Ahi, the deputy chairman in the Ozalp district [of Turkey’s Van province] and Orhan Mercan, the deputy chairman in the Lice district [of...

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Norway's state church has seen a record fall in membership after making it possible to join and leave the church electronically. The Church of Norway says almost 25,000 members left in August by using a new function on the church's website. Meanwhile, about 1,200 new members joined online. Even though the church has seen a steady decline in membership in recent decades, that's by far the biggest monthly loss in recorded history. By comparison, the church lost 8,588 members in the first seven months of 2016, before the online option was introduced. Still, church officials appear to...