Free Republic

.... She was subsequently placed into a patrol vehicle but was released a short time later, according to the Miami Herald. "During a traffic stop, a U.S. citizen, who was driving her illegal alien boyfriend's car, refused to comply with repeated lawfully given orders by law enforcement to identify herself. She was removed from the vehicle and briefly held while her identity was confirmed. She was promptly released...

A woman in medical scrubs who was driving on U.S. 1 in the Florida Keys Wednesday morning was stopped by federal immigration agents and forcibly removed from her car, despite screaming she was an American citizen. About 9:15 a.m. in Key Largo, in front of the Pink Plaza at mile marker 103.4, federal agents stopped the woman driving a white Toyota Corolla and surrounded the...

From Sunday, non-EU travelers entering Europe’s Schengen open-borders zone will be photographed and fingerprinted at border crossings, as the European Union rolls out its much-delayed automated border checks. The aim of the new system is to eventually replace the manual stamp on passports and secure better information-sharing between the bloc’s 27 states. The border-check system will allow authorities to know when people entered and exited a country, with the goal of better detecting anyone overstaying and people refused entry. […] Non-EU nationals arriving for short stays in EU countries — except Cyprus and Ireland — will be asked for their...

Keir Starmer faced a furious backlash on Thursday over 'dystopian' plans to force millions of adults to sign up for a digital ID card. Government sources said the Prime Minister will use a speech on Friday to claim the controversial plan could help stop the boats after his failed attempt to 'smash the gangs' led to a surge in crossings. Civil liberties groups on Thursday branded the introduction of a 'papers please' society 'un-British' - and warned that older and vulnerable people could be 'locked out' from essential services. And critics warned the proposal, pushed by Tony Blair and Emmanuel...

CHICAGO (AP) — The streets in some of Chicago’s liveliest neighborhoods are quiet these days. Public schoolteachers want online learning for families scared to venture out. And houses of worship are urging people to carry identification everywhere they go. As the nation’s third-largest city awaits a much-hyped federal intervention, residents are making changes in their daily routines. President Donald Trump has promised Chicago will see a surge in deportations and National Guard troops as he targets Democratic strongholds. While the feeling of being vulnerable isn’t new, especially among immigrants, many say this time the fear is deeper and the preparations...

President Donald Trump announced Monday that he is activating National Guard troops and is taking over the Metropolitan Police Department to tackle crime in Washington, after beefing up federal law enforcement presence in the nation's capital Saturday. "I'm deploying the National Guard to help reestablish law, order and public safety in Washington, DC," Trump told reporters at a Monday press conference. "And they're going to be allowed to do their job properly." Trump also said that he would federalize the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington to respond to crime, placing it under the authority of Attorney General Pam Bondi. National...

We’re having a News Conference tomorrow in the White House. I’m going to make our Capital safer and more beautiful than it ever was before. The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY. We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital. The Criminals, you don’t have to move out. We’re going to put you in jail where you belong. It’s all going to happen very fast, just like the Border. We went from millions pouring in, to ZERO in the last few months. This will be easier — Be prepared! There will be no “MR. NICE GUY.”...

ICE is vastly expanding its enforcement powers by deputizing local police officers. Many of those picked up during traffic stops have no violent criminal record.Chelsea White and her husband were driving home from cleaning office buildings one May evening when they happened upon a Tennessee Highway Patrol checkpoint. It was a situation the couple feared — and had taken precautions to avoid. White rolled down the driver’s side window on the Ford Fusion with their company’s logo. She drove because her husband, Hilario Martínez García, 46, is undocumented and cannot obtain a license in Tennessee. One of the officers looked...

I've noticed, over the years, that very old Free Republic accounts, accounts that have been inactive for months or years, suddenly reactivate.... but their politics are suddenly suspect. Be they Zeeper-oriented (that is, super-favorable to Ukraine) or, conversely, super-favorable to Russia, or even suddenly-liberal... these accounts reactivate with a flurry of posts that are contrary to conservatism. Are these real Freepers who have had a change of heart about their politics? Are these real Freepers who feel the need to jump on the forum with propaganda and support for one side or the other per the Ukraine/Russia war? Or are...

Travellers from the United States, Canada and dozens of other countries who do not require visas to enter the United Kingdom will now need to apply for digital authorisation in order to visit or transit through the country. The electronic travel authorisation, called ETA and linked to a traveller’s passport, costs 10 pounds (S$17) and lasts two years. The requirement was introduced around 2024 for nationals of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and four other Gulf nations and will extend to more than 40 visa-exempt countries starting Jan 8. It will eventually apply to all visa-exempt travellers wishing to visit the United...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida children under the age of 16 would be banned from popular social media platforms regardless of parent approval under a bill passed by the House on Wednesday, a measure that is the top priority for the chamber’s speaker. The bill doesn’t list which platforms would be affected, but it targets any social media site that tracks user activity, allows children to upload material and interact with others and uses addictive features designed to cause excessive or compulsive use. The bill would not affect apps used for private messages between individuals. “They’re taking advantage of kids...

Florida lawmakers advanced a bill on Wednesday that would prohibit social media platforms from allowing young teens to have an account while requiring everyone else to verify their age. The measure prohibits anyone under 16 from creating a new social media account and requires platforms to delete existing accounts held by minors who are younger than 16. It also would require social media companies to delete any personal information from the accounts and for the platforms to use a “nongovernmental, independent, third-party not affiliated with the social media platform” to verify users’ age. The bill passed the Florida house with...

Sharing is Caring! People seem to just be going elsewhere for their news. Will this backfire for Fox News? h/t Lynyrd Skynyrd

A failure to address the basics in Chicago didn’t stop the mayor from proposing a new plan to put taxpayers on the hook for government grocery stores. Since Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) took the reins of the Windy City from his predecessor Lori Lightfoot in May, incidents of major crimes had increased across the board and locals were contending with the uptick in illegal aliens. With the addition of a massive budget shortfall, the mayor appeared to disregard sources of problems in Chicago to explore a new government program through a municipally owned grocery store in Chicago in neighborhoods that...

New York officials have announced the end of the state’s COVID-19 vaccine passport app, as demand has dried up for the pandemic-era relic that critics call discriminatory. The plug will be pulled on the Excelsior Pass Plus (EPP) on July 28, amid plummeting demand for access to digital test and vaccine records and as the COVID-19 public health emergency has ended. First launched in 2021, the app costs New York state around $200,000 per month to maintain, according to the Times Union of Albany. The app stored a person’s COVID-19 vaccination status and was used to demonstrate compliance with vaccine...

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has been accused of attempting to create an anti-press freedom culture in his state. Proposed bills would weaken anti-SLAPP laws, make anonymous sources less credible, and require bloggers to register with the state. Critics have told Newsweek that such legislation would "chill, silence and punish those who criticize public officials and their powerful allies." DeSantis, however, says he wants to "stand up for the little guy against these massive media conglomerates." The governor has yet to confirm whether he will sign the bills into law, but if they are passed, it could trigger a Supreme Court...

I live in a picture-perfect region — the Hudson Valley, memorialized by painters and poets; a patchwork of autumn reds and yellows, majestic hillsides, storied waterfalls, and little homesteads dotted picturesquely on the slopes of sleepy hamlets. Towns in our area look like Norman Rockwell paintings: there is Main Street, Millerton, with its white 19th century church steeple, its famous Irving Farm cafe with the excellent curated coffee beans, its charming antiques mall, its popular pizzeria. When you drive to Millerton, it looks like you are driving into the heart of archetypal America; everything that Woody Guthrie songs memorialize, everything...

Beginning on January 22, 2022, DHS will require non-U.S. individuals seeking to enter the United States via land ports of entry and ferry terminals at the U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canada borders to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 and provide related proof of vaccination, as COVID-19 cases continue to rise nationwide. These new restrictions will apply to non-U.S. individuals who are traveling for both essential and non-essential reasons. They will not apply to U.S. citizens, Lawful Permanent Residents, or U.S. nationals. “Starting on January 22, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security will require that non-U.S. individuals entering the United States via land...

Prague protest draws thousands against vaccine mandate. ...

Papers being checked for the second time tonight for being outside past curfew in Montreal, Quebec. ...