Free Republic

The Federal Communications Commission currently caps an entity from reaching more than 39% of U.S. TV households, but the federal agency is considering changing that rule. The longstanding federal regulation will likely be the topic of a Dec. 17 Senate Commerce Committee hearing, chaired by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, where all three FCC commissioners are set to testify. The federal rule has divided Republican leaders. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has considered modifying the federal agency’s cap on commercial broadcasters in the past. “Over the decades, as the media landscape has evolved, the Commission has revisited these rules to account for...

HSINCHU, Taiwan - Silicon Valley may be the heart of global tech, but its pulse depends on a special kind of lifeblood — high-end microchips — many of which flow out of a science park on Taiwan's west coast. The park has been home to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, or TSMC, since the company's inception nearly four decades ago. It is from this base that TSMC made itself indispensable to modern life; its chips are in everything from cell phones to cars. By some estimates, it produces over 90% of the world's most advanced chips. But the calculus has been...

Jury trials in England and Wales for crimes that carry a likely sentence of less than three years will be scrapped, the justice secretary has announced. The reforms to the justice system include creating "swift courts" under the government's plan to tackle unprecedented delays in the court system. Serious offences including murder, robbery and rape will still go before a jury, and volunteer community magistrates, who deal with the majority of all criminal cases, will take on even more work. David Lammy said the reforms were "bold" but "necessary", but the Conservatives described the plans as the "beginning of the...

The US president said that Joe Biden "gave away $350 billion"WASHINGTON, December 2. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump has stated that his country is no longer involved in the Ukrainian crisis in terms of financing it. "As you know, we have a problem with a war that our people are trying to settle now with Russia and Ukraine. We are not involved in the war monetarily anymore," he said at a Cabinet meeting. "Biden gave away $350 billion like it was candy. That's a massive amount of money and much of it in cash, a lot of it in equipment....

President Vladimir Putin warned that Russia is ready to fight a war if Europe seeks one and claimed European countries are trying to make changes in President Donald Trump's proposal on ending Russia's war against Ukraine, ahead of his high-stakes meeting with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow on Tuesday. The meeting is underway, Russian state media TASS reported Tuesday night local time. The Kremlin on Tuesday said that Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, was also expected to take part. Earlier, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the meeting had no time limit and would go on for "as long as...

It’s been one big, green goof. The Empire State’s green energy push has been a pie-in-the-sky bust as politicians hit the brakes on their alternate energy goals — and New Yorkers get sticker shock from ever-soaring utility bills, a scathing new report found. The analysis by the Democratic-leaning think tank the Progressive Policy Institute found a “clear and undeniable pattern of failure” across the most critical mandates of the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Act. “New York set bold climate targets, but ignored the economic and technical realities required to achieve them,” said PPI’s report author Neel Brown. “The result...

Today, many women are forgoing old-fashioned traditions like getting married or having kids for various reasons. However, one Gen X woman opened up in a series of TikTok videos about her decision not to start a family and how it affects her today. Nadiya Bekar, 53, is an award-winning beauty expert and the founder of Bekar Beauty, known for her skin-care tips and tricks. In a slew of TikTok videos posted right before the holiday season officially kicked off, she vulnerably shared how she “forgot to have kids.” “I knew I didn’t want children but by the time it got...

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin said he is ready to go to war with Europe, accusing EU leaders of sabotaging peace talks with the US. “We are not planning to go to war with Europe, but if Europe wants to and starts, we are ready right now,” Putin warned.

The Washington Post @washingtonpost and Dan Lamothe @DanLamothe used to occupy this desk inside the Pentagon Press room. Now it’s mine!

A former British soldier has been arrested for allegedly helping Russia assassinate Ukrainian politicians in exchange for money, intelligence officials said. Ross David Cutmore was detained by Ukraine’s state security service in October after he was accused of importing and doling out weapons that were used in the slayings of three prominent Ukrainians, the Kyiv Independent reported. Months after he arrived, he allegedly quit the job and started acting as a spy for the Kremlin. He later provided the weapons used to murder politician, Andriy Parubiy, as well as activists, Demian Hanul and Iryna Farion, officials alleged. Cutmore, who had...

Ken Burns has set himself the impossible task of retelling a national origin story that all Americans will embrace as their own. He began work on the resulting six-part, twelve-hour series, The American Revolution, nearly a decade ago, just as the so-called Great Awokening got going. The years 2015-2025 have been energizing and inspiring for culture warriors and historical polemicists. But Burns is neither. His craft consists in conveying, intelligently, artfully and respectfully, the mainstream historical consensus. And that consensus has become so politicized it no longer meaningfully exists. Burns’s earnest effort to reconjure it merely results in incoherence. The...

A woman who steered her car into a crowd of people protesting President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement policies in the Loop earlier this year has been sentenced to “second chance probation,” according to court records. Judge Peggy Chiampas imposed the sentence after Deidre Kemp, 30, pleaded guilty to aggravated reckless driving causing bodily harm last week. Prosecutors said Chicago police had already cordoned off much of the Loop for the anti-Trump demonstration when Kemp ignored officers’ verbal and physical attempts to redirect her. With her children in the car, she drove her 2003 Kia Spectra into the crowd near State...

Key Points: The national median rent for apartments fell 1% in November from October, and now stands at $1,367, according to Apartment List. The national multifamily vacancy rate was 7.2% in November, a record high. The historic surge in multifamily construction over the past few years is now pulling back, but a good supply of new units is still coming online at a time of much weaker demand. A slew of new supply is still making its way through the multifamily housing market. That, coupled with weakening demand, especially from the youngest workers, is pushing vacancies up and rents down....

NATO is weighing a more "proactive" and "aggressive" posture in countering Russia's hybrid-warfare campaign — potentially including "preemptive" actions, said Italian Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone. Dragone, NATO's most senior officer and chair of the alliance's Military Committee, made the remarks in response to myriad attacks at the hands of Russia, including sabotage, cyberattacks, and airspace violations. "We are studying everything. ... On cyber, we are kind of reactive," Dragone said. "Being more aggressive or being proactive instead of reactive is something that we are thinking about." Dragone added that a "preemptive" strike could be considered a "defensive action," adding that...

Drivers have complained that their vehicles have suddenly locked up, lost power and refused to start, as owners and dealerships warn of a growing wave of failures that has left hundreds of vehicles stuck in place. The nationwide meltdown hit Porsche models built since 2013, which are all fitted with the brand's factory VTS satellite-security unit. The vehicles have been 'bricked' with their engines immobilised, due to connections with the satellite system being lost. Rolf dealership service director Yulia Trushkova said 'all models and all engine types' are impacted. The company does not rule out that the malfunction may have...

Russia has begun evacuating its citizens from Venezuela, a sudden move that analysts say signals a major shift in Moscow's stance toward dictator Nicolás Maduro's embattled regime — and comes as U.S. military pressure on Caracas steadily intensifies, La Derecha Diario reported. The Association of Tour Operators of Russia confirmed that flights are being organized to remove Russians from Venezuela. The announcement, circulated widely by Russian media, sparked immediate speculation that Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing for instability or distancing itself from Maduro after years of backing the socialist strongman. The evacuation order comes at an unusual moment. Russian...

Alleged gunman Luigi Mangione will be back in court Tuesday for a second day of testimony as the judge overseeing his state murder case weighs whether to throw out key evidence. On Monday, Judge Gregory Carro heard a 911 call a McDonald’s employee in Altoona, Pennsylvania, made telling the dispatcher some customers were concerned the alleged killer of United Healthcare Chief Executive Brian Thompson, who was fatally shot in Midtown Manhattan, was in the restaurant. Two corrections officers who work at SCI Huntingdon, the state prison where Mangione was held until he was extradited to New York to face charges,...

The University of Michigan is supposed to be the pride of the Midwest. A 200-year-old college that has been dubbed a 'Public Ivy,' the school is steeped in tradition, pride and academic excellence. It is also the home of the Wolverines and the Big House, the largest stadium in America. Now, the beloved school is increasingly seen as a back door for Beijing - a soft target for Chinese operatives, covert networks and alleged plots involving genetically modified parasites and crop-killing fungi. And recent arrests show just how deep the rot may run. On November 5, federal agents charged three...

The last time gasoline was this cheap, 4% inflation seemed alarming, JD Vance was still a private citizen and the United States had only just begun its messy withdrawal from Afghanistan. Gas prices dropped below an average of $3 a gallon in the United States on Tuesday for the first time in four-and-a-half years, according to AAA. The milestone represents a rare feel-good story in a years-long affordability crisis marked by high prices for necessities. The national average for regular gas dipped to $2.998 a gallon, compared with $3.001 on Monday. Pump prices are down about six cents in just...

Ever since Donald Trump welcomed Zohran Mamdani into the White House, we’ve been hearing the expected rhetoric from various usual suspects. Trump has sold out. He’s gone over to the dark side. Mamdani outwitted him and made him look like a fool in his own hometown. This has largely come from two sources: the hysterics who live for the moment where they can begin caterwauling that it’s all over, that nothing can be done, that we may as well give up… (Yeah, that’s right – I’m talking about you in the comment threads.) …and the sincere but limited individuals who...