Free Republic

1. Look for signs of unsafe driving There’s no specific age to stop driving, but accidents resulting in injury or death do increase with age.[01] If you question your loved one’s ability to drive safely, consider riding with them occasionally and keeping notes of your observations. Be on the lookout for the following warning signs: Increased accidents or tickets Canceled car insurance policy or increased premiums Signs of scrapes and minor collisions on their vehicle An inability to turn their head to see behind the car and check blind spots Trouble seeing at night Driving the wrong way Speeding on...

Boomer parents moving back in with their adult children isn’t a new thing. Money has been the primary reason, for the most part, especially since many elders failed to save for their retirement. The story you’re about to read has a slightly different premise. A couple decided to sell their home and travel full-time, but their sudden change of plans led them to move in The woman initially welcomed the idea as a show of love for her parents. However, things got heated when she refused a longer-term arrangement. After an episode of emotional blackmail from her mother, the author...

Deranged Minneapolis gunman Robin Westman blamed his mother for his decision to kill “so many people” at a Catholic school after she warned him that he would regret transitioning to female — while in the next line discouraging people from letting their kids transition.In his disturbed manifesto, Westman, 23, claimed to be anxious about a visit from his mother in an entry dated July 1, where he recalled her concerns about him transitioning. “Your words, mother, made me stay in my discomfort unable to ask for help to avoid admitting defeat. You were right mama, but the way you handled...

The FBI has signed settlement agreements with Garret O’Boyle, Steve Friend, and six other FBI whistleblowers that will provide them with back pay, lump-sum damage payments, restoration of their security clearances, and, in some of the cases, reinstatement to jobs with the bureau. O’Boyle and Friend were among eight remaining whistleblowers whose settlements were announced Tuesday by Empower Oversight, which represented the current and former FBI employees in their retaliation cases. Two other settlements were previously announced on Aug. 1 and in 2024 under the Biden administration. “Whistleblowers risk it all for the sake of simply telling the truth. These...

A suspect has been arrested for the heartless double murder of two parents who were slain protecting their young daughters on a hiking trail in Arkansas’ Devil’s Den State Park on Saturday — ending a frantic, five-day manhunt. James Andrew McGann, 28, was arrested Wednesday in Springdale, Ark., and charged with two counts of capital murder, according to a release from the Arkansas State Police. Clinton David Brink, 43, and his wife, Cristen Amanda Brink, 41, were hiking with their two daughters, 7 and 9, through Devil’s Den State Park on Saturday when a man alleged to be McGann attacked...

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of a group of Maryland parents who sued a school board over its refusal to allow elementary school children to be taken out of classes with LGBTQ-themed storybooks. In a 6-3 decision along ideological lines Friday, the justices overturned a lower court ruling that found the parents needed to show that their kids were being coerced to act differently than their religious beliefs. The high court concluded that the parents “have shown that they are entitled to a preliminary injunction” because they “are likely to succeed in their challenge to the Board’s policies. “The...

On Friday’s broadcast of HBO’s “Real Time,” CNN Political Contributor and Democratic strategist Paul Begala said that while he disagrees with bans on gender transitions for children, it’s “crazy” for states like California to keep schools from telling parents about their children transitioning. Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX) said, “[T]his is one of the reasons why the Democrats are losing on an issue like this, because, again, if you can’t definitively tell — I have a six, a four, and a 2-year-old. My six and four-year-old, they think that they’re Anna and Elsa and my little boy thinks he’s Lightning McQueen....

Campaigners say the true rate of paternity fraud - the intentional misidentification of a child's biological father - remains unknownMen are being left heartbroken after investing time, resources, love and energy into raising children they believed were theirs - only to find out it was all a lie. This breach of trust not only impacts the men who were falsely led to believe they were fathers but also deeply hurts the children involved and others connected to the situation. Paternity fraud refers to the deliberate misidentification of a child's biological father. One of the most shocking aspects of this issue...

Illinois bureaucrats are here to protect your kids... from you. People can’t get out of Illinois fast enough. Only two other states lost more residents between 2023–24, and the state has actually lost population for 10 years in a row. The tax burden, weather, heavy regulation, and crime levels all contribute to its residents seeking an exit. So, taking this mass exodus into account, you’d think the state would try to appeal to the families that remain. Well, think again. The Cubs (and maybe even the White Sox) are more likely to win another World Series before Illinois considers the...

GENEVA, Switzerland, September 18, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) -- Switzerland’s top court ruled that parents do not have a right to homeschool their children. On Monday, the Swiss Federal Court ruled against a mother from the city of Basel who in 2017 had applied for permission to school her 8-year-old son at home. School authorities rejected the application and a cantonal court threw out the mother’s appeal. When she brought her case to the Federal Court, the mother held that the appeal court’s decision was tantamount to a ban on private instruction at home, thus violating a constitutional right to privacy and...

GENEVA, Switzerland, September 18, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) -- Switzerland’s top court ruled that parents do not have a right to homeschool their children. On Monday, the Swiss Federal Court ruled against a mother from the city of Basel who in 2017 had applied for permission to school her 8-year-old son at home. School authorities rejected the application and a cantonal court threw out the mother’s appeal. When she brought her case to the Federal Court, the mother held that the appeal court’s decision was tantamount to a ban on private instruction at home, thus violating a constitutional right to privacy and...

CV NEWS FEED // Congressman Riley Moore, R-W.Va., has introduced the Respect Parents’ Childcare Choices Act to the House of Representatives, which would increase funding to help low-income and working class parents cover the cost of childcare. The legislation would provide vouchers for childcare, not only for third-party childcare options but also for relatives and stay-at-home mothers or fathers, according to a March 24 article from the Daily Wire. “For decades, conservatives have rallied around being pro-life, but far too often, the policy framework that came with it lacked strong, substantive ideas to reduce the burden on American families,” Moore...

Lawsuits can move forward against schools and medical clinics over Covid-19 vaccines given to children without their parents' permission, the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled Friday, overturning past rulings that had blocked the lawsuits. The ruling was 5-2 along party lines, with all the Republicans in the majority and all the Democrats dissenting. [snip] The case in question deals with a then-14-year-old Guilford County high schooler named Tanner Smith. He was given a vaccine even though he and his mother later said they were against it. Smith played football at Western Guilford High. After a 2021 outbreak of Covid-19 cases...

A new bill requires parents to report themselves to their local school district, and parents who do not will be considered truant.. Homeschool parents would face fines, misdemeanor charges and even jail time if they do not report themselves to local public school officials, under a new proposal from Illinois Democrats. Parents also would be required to provide public school officials with a “portfolio” of their children’s work at any time, at any interval and frequency, until that portfolio meets the public school’s satisfaction. The bill, dubbed the “Homeschool Act,” requires parents to report themselves in writing to local school...

On Thursday’s broadcast of CNN’s “AC360,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said that she would make sure education funds are spent properly, but “Heaven help the Republican states who might take that money and do something that’s not focused on feeding hungry kids, helping kids with disabilities, and everyone else that the Department of Education helps.” And declared, “Just leave everybody alone. Leave the parents alone, leave the kids alone.” Hochul said, “Right now we get $6 billion from them in New York state, 2 billion for Pell Grants to give people a pathway to higher education, $2 billion...

The parents of two of the Kansas City Chiefs’ fans, whose lifeless bodies were found frozen in a friend’s backyard, had mixed feelings following the arrests of two men charged with manslaughter on Wednesday. Ricky Johnson Jr., 38, David Harrington, 37, and Clayton McGeeney, 36, were found dead in their pal Jordan Willis’ backyard on Jan. 9, 2024. Harrington’s mom, Theresa, claimed she’s been kept out of the loop in the 14 months since the trio’s bodies were discovered. “They wouldn’t tell me anything,” she told the Daily Mail.

The United States is fighting a "quad-demic" this winter with four major viruses—COVID-19, influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and norovirus—with infants at particular risk, Dr. Ryan Fulton recently warned. "This year, we've seen earlier and more intense surges of RSV and the flu compared to what we're used to," Dr. Fulton, section chief of general pediatrics at Carilion Children's Hospital and faculty member at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, said in a statement. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported an increase in visits to doctors on a scale not seen in 15 years....

Our daughter is in kindergarten at a private Catholic school. The school is wonderful—small classes, caring teachers... We are not Catholic and lean more towards atheism, especially me. We knew that religious teaching would be part of her school, and we were okay with that. The public-school system where we live is pretty good, but our daughter has a lot of anxiety and is someone who needs smaller classes and lots of individual attention. . We are comfortable teaching her about other religions (Diwali celebrations, Menorah lightings). She is very into exploring and learning about the world, so she is...

Pam Bondi’s predecessor, Merrick Garland, oversaw the targeting of parents who objected to sexualized and racialized curriculum The targeting of parents, pro-lifers, and Latin Mass attendees “will stop” and “must stop” according to attorney general nominee Pam Bondi. The former Florida attorney general is testifying today in the first of two hearings on her nomination to lead the Department of Justice. Under Attorney General Merrick Garland, law enforcement targeted concerned parents and citizens who objected to sexual and racial identity politics in the classroom. The FBI office in Richmond, Va. also labeled Catholics who prefer the older Latin Mass as...

Kentucky’s legislature is primed to consider a bill in the new year that would make parents responsible for their juvenile child committing a crime involving the discharge of a firearm. State Rep. Kim Banta, R-Erlanger, modeled her legislation after similar laws that hold parents accountable for property crimes and motor vehicle accidents. In the Bluegrass State, parents are liable for up to $2,500 in cases where their kids deface property and the guardian who signed a minor’s driver's license application is "jointly and severally liable" for any findings of negligence or damage behind the wheel. "The most important thing is...