Free Republic

DOWNTOWN — Mayor Brandon Johnson is putting $30 million more in federal pandemic relief dollars toward a revived guaranteed income program that will give more Chicagoans $500 monthly cash payments. Johnson is also committing more money for violence prevention, rapid rehousing and other initiatives as he revamps the city’s approach to spending what remains of the $1.9 billion in pandemic financial aid the city received in 2021 under the American Rescue Plan Act.

Seattle Public Schools is dismantling its gifted and talented program, which administrators argued was oversaturated with white and Asian students, in favor of a more “inclusive, equitable and culturally sensitive” program. The district began phasing out its Highly Capable Cohort schools and classrooms for advanced students in the 2021-22 school year due to racial inequities, the school district notes. The program will completely cease to exist by the 2027-28 school year, with a new enrichment-for-all model available in every school by the 2024-25 school year. “The program is not going away, it’s getting better,” school officials said on the district...

A bombshell report exposes the Biden administration’s covert operation to fly hundreds of thousands of migrants directly into U.S. cities, bypassing border security and sparking national security concerns. Florida, Texas, New York, and California bear the brunt of this clandestine program, with the majority of migrant flights landing in Miami, a revelation that raises serious questions about transparency and accountability. Despite the alarming implications for state sovereignty and national security, lawyers for Biden’s immigration agencies stonewall attempts to obtain crucial data through FOIA requests, citing dubious concerns about compromising safety. This blatant disregard for transparency only fuels suspicions of a...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Illinois lawmakers are considering a bill that would create a state-based guaranteed income program. State Sen. Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago) sponsors Senate Bill 3462, which calls on Illinois to adopt such a program after the 2027 calendar year. Through this legislation, residents who meet certain qualifications would be eligible for monthly $1,000 cash payments, regardless of immigration status. It’s unclear how long the payments would last. According to the bill’s language, those potentially eligible for $1,000 cash payments include people who: Provide care for a child or other specified dependent Recently gave birth or adopted a child Enroll...

FIRST ON FOX: A coalition of 18 states is calling on the Biden administration to terminate a taxpayer-funded tax filing preparation program, characterizing it as wasteful, unnecessary and flawed. In a letter Monday to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Daniel Werfel, 21 top financial officials from 18 states said the costs of the IRS Direct File program "far outweigh any potential benefits" and will create new issues for taxpayers and states, alike. In May 2023, Yellen ordered the IRS to move forward with the first-of-its-kind program, which is funded by the...

The federal government’s free at-home COVID-19 test program will be suspended beginning Friday in response to a drop in respiratory diseases. The Biden administration brought back the free test program last year ahead of the respiratory viral season. By going to COVIDtests.gov, households could order a free pack of four at-home COVID-19 tests. This most recent batch of free tests was the sixth round made available. A banner on the website now states that “ordering for free COVID-19 tests via this website will be suspended after Friday, March 8, 2024. All orders placed on or before March 8 will be...

Gov. Maura Healey’s administration is in the process of inking contracts with all eight resettlement agencies in Massachusetts to launch a one-year pilot program that could help up to 400 migrant families already in shelter find long-term housing and employment. Resettlement agency leaders who spoke to the Boston Herald said the pilot program would be the one of the first of its kind and place Massachusetts at the forefront of responding to a surge of arriving families who have fled oftentimes unstable or dangerous conditions in their home countries.

(The Center Square) – A universal income program partially funded by the city of Denver that pays homeless people a regular stipend is eligible to migrants as long as they meet the criteria, according to the city. The Denver Basic Income Program, which was started in 2021 with the aid of $2 million from the city of Denver, announced it will go at least six months more beginning in February 2024. The $2 million the city gave Denver Basic Income Project in 2022 was “earmarked for women, families and transgender and gender non-conforming individuals,” according to a city statement to...

The generative AI will change the way economy functions and businesses are run; it will be a game changer for in many verticals In a world driven by unprecedented technological advancements, there emerges a groundbreaking force that promises to reshape the very fabric of innovation: generative artificial intelligence. With its awe-inspiring ability to create, compose, and imagine, generative AI has surged to the forefront of scientific exploration, capturing the imaginations of researchers, entrepreneurs, and artists alike. From generating realistic images and synthesising music to aiding in drug discovery and revolutionising customer experiences, this cutting-edge technology possesses the potential to revolutionise...

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, one of the most immediate consequences was also one of the most severe: a spike in hunger. Those who lost jobs had less money to buy food. Supply chain disruptions led to empty store shelves. With fewer transportation options, even simple things like traveling back and forth to the grocery store became a lot harder. Suddenly, millions of additional families were having a much more difficult time putting food on the table.

The City of New York is getting behind the tiny-house movement big time. In an effort to create more affordable housing, a few lucky borough homeowners will be granted hundreds of thousands of dollars to construct accessory dwelling units (ADU) on their properties. Last Tuesday, the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) announced the launch of its new “Plus One ADU” pilot program, which will fund the creation of additional living space for growing and multi-generational families.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) has announced a jobs program for tens of thousands of border crossers and illegal aliens who are arriving in the sanctuary state every week, even as about 380,000 New Yorkers are unemployed. As more than 100,000 border crossers and illegal aliens have arrived in New York, mostly in New York City, since the spring of last year, Hochul has pleaded with President Joe Biden not to stem the flow of illegal immigration but to more easily provide new arrivals with work permits.

PALMDALE, Calif. — House appropriators don’t intend for the Pentagon to re-engine the F-35 with a new adaptive powerplant, the chairman of the House defense appropriations subcommittee (HAC-D) said this week. “It states pretty specifically in the appropriation bill that we’re not looking or seeking to change out the Pratt & Whitney engine,” Rep. Ken Calvert, a California Republican, said in a Wednesday interview with Breaking Defense at the inaugural North LA Defense Forum hosted by Rep. Mike Garcia at Northrop Grumman’s facilities here in Palmdale. “Unless there’s a catastrophic failure on the part of [current engine maker] Pratt &...

The University of Minnesota’s website is no longer promoting a summer research program that excludes white students, after a conservative nonprofit advocacy group filed a complaint with federal civil rights officials last week. A link that previously directed “students of color and Native Americans” to apply for a “Multicultural Summer Research Opportunities Program” now leads users to a rebranded “Pathways to Graduate School: Summer Research Program.” The requirements for the program are no longer race-based, with applicants instead needing to show a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 and “must be a US citizen or permanent resident,” according to the site.

Applications will open later this month for a pilot program that will provide 5,000 Chicago households with $500 per month for up to a year. According to Mayor Lori Lightfoot, the Chicago Resilient Communities Pilot will be one of the biggest monthly-cash assistance programs in the country, with households chosen for the program receiving $500 per month for 12 months.

At a press event on Wednesday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke about Dr. Fauci. Go to the 1 minute and 47 seconds mark. https://youtu.be/5bnkIqQRjbg

Democratic Senators Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin are dominating Capitol Hill. Given the 50-50 split in the Senate, Democrats can't afford to lose a single vote on the budget reconciliation bill -- and Sinema and Manchin are using that leverage to force huge concessions from the Biden administration.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—A new, government-funded study has found that the solution to all the problems the government has created is more government, according to the government. According to the study, whenever the government messes everything up, just a little bit more government can fix the problem the government created (according to all the studies funded by the government). While most people would assume that you want less government when the government creates a problem, this study, funded by the government, debunks this assumption. "Incredibly, this study, funded by the government, has proven conclusively that all the problems the government has created...

Originally built to speed up calculations, a machine-learning system is now making shocking progress at the frontiers of experimental quantum physicsQuantum physicist Mario Krenn remembers sitting in a café in Vienna in early 2016, poring over computer printouts, trying to make sense of what MELVIN had found. MELVIN was a machine-learning algorithm Krenn had built, a kind of artificial intelligence. Its job was to mix and match the building blocks of standard quantum experiments and find solutions to new problems. And it did find many interesting ones. But there was one that made no sense. “The first thing I thought...

President Joe Biden signed an executive order this week revoking former President Donald Trump’s order providing federal funds to apprenticeship programs created by industries, calling for more government-controlled alternatives.