Free Republic

Hundreds of college students at one of the largest party schools in America, Florida State University (FSU), dedicated their lives to God on Thursday.Christian author Jennie Allen shared news of the event on her social media pages. Photos and videos show the large group of young people gathered at Wescott Fountain on the school’s campus in Tallahassee, the Stream reported Saturday.“God keeps doing it!! They confessed their sin. They came forward in droves tonight to trust Jesus. We baptized hundreds in a fountain usually used for partying and worse. And it’s all just the beginning,” Allen wrote in a post...

Britain’s former Prime Minister, now returned to frontline politics as the nation’s top diplomat, is again talking about recognising a Palestinian state despite Israel rejecting the idea, but this time adding the condition it would have to be without Hamas. The United Kingdom would recognise a Palestinian state, but only once Gaza is no longer controlled by Hamas, Britain’s Foreign Minister Lord David Cameron said in Lebanon on Thursday. Per a Guardian report on the remarks Britain legitimising a Palestinian state could come even before the end of futuretalks between Israel and “Palestinian leaders”. No moves could be made until...

The state is reportedly planning to dramatically downsize or even close SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn. The Big Apple’s only state-run medical hospital has been plagued by low patient enrollment, annual operating deficits of about $100 million and a deteriorating hospital building – information administrators shared this week with staff doctors, the New York Times reported Saturday.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated his belief that finding a pathway for Palestine to become its own state is “necessary” for Israel to obtain “genuine security,” while giving remarks in Davos, Switzerland. “The problem is getting from here to there, and of course, it requires very difficult, challenging decisions,” Blinken said Wednesday at the World Economic Forum, as reported by The Associated Press. “It requires a mindset that is open to that perspective.” The secretary continued, claiming the biggest concern around security would be Iran and its proxies, including the Houthi rebels in Yemen, as war continues to rage...

Bomb threats targeting state institutions rippled across the country for a second day in a row on Thursday, one day after multiple state capitols were forced to evacuate due to similar threats. .... State capitol buildings in at least six states — Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Kentucky, Michigan and Mississippi — were forced to take safety precautions as a result of bomb threats Wednesday.

What is truly unexpected is that Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration has just ordered a state spending freeze. In a memo sent across California agencies and departments this week, the director of the Department of Finance wrote, “It is vitally important that state government is efficient, effective, and only expends funds that are necessary to the critical operation and security of the state. As such, all state entities must take immediate action to reduce expenditures and identify all operational savings achieved.” The department urged state agencies to take several steps to save money, including avoiding any new contracts or agreements to...

Before creating another “Palestinian state,” let’s consider its chance of success. We’ve had several different Arab states in and around Palestine. All failed, some disastrously. Will yet another Palestinian state envisioned by Anthony Blinken or some think tank become just one more “failed state,” indeed a state destined to fail? Yasser Arafat’s PLO operates a corrupt and failing state-in-waiting on Israel’s eastern flank, in an area commonly called “the West Bank.” It has failed in everything but terror for 30 years. Well-meaning Israeli leftists, backed by well-meaning U.S. think-tanks and State Department officials, believed Arafat and the PLO had become...

Indi Gregory was mandated to die by the courts despite offers of continued treatment and legal protection by the Italian government and Vatican leaders. Indi Gregory, the 8-month-old infant who was forced off life support by the United Kingdom courts system, was baptized before her death despite her family not originally being religious. Dean Gregory, Indi's father, said before her death that he was inspired to baptize his daughter by Christian legal volunteers who fought to keep her alive. Dean said he became convinced of the existence of the devil by his family's treatment in the courtroom. "I am not...

“Separation of church and state … is a misnomer. People misunderstand it,” Johnson said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” when asked about him praying on the House floor. “Of course, it comes from a phrase that was in a letter that Jefferson wrote is not in the Constitution.” “And what he was explaining is they did not want the government to encroach upon the church, not that they didn’t want principles of faith to have influence on our public life. It’s exactly the opposite,” the Speaker added.

The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it will make $4.6 billion available to help states, localities and tribes implement their climate plans. The funds represent the bulk of a $5 billion effort under the Inflation Reduction Act to help local and state governments cut their greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. The administration has already put an additional $250 million to help them develop the plans. Biden administration officials told reporters that four states — Florida, Iowa, Kentucky and South Dakota — declined to participate; major metropolitan areas in those states did receive planning grants.

The staffer, who works for Senator Eric Schmitt, shared the details of the briefing on condition that he not be identified by name. Chinese hackers who subverted Microsoft's email platform earlier this year managed to steal tens of thousands of emails from US State Department accounts, a Senate staffer told Reuters on Wednesday. The staffer, who attended a briefing of State Department IT officials, said the officials told lawmakers that 60,000 emails were stolen from 10 different State Department accounts. Although the victims weren't named, all but one of them was working on East Asia and the Pacific, he said.

Seems like COVID's everywhere again. But here's good news from Pfizer! This season's updated COVID-19 shots are now available for ages 6 months and up, and they're designed to help protect against recent variants. That is why today, at 8pm, the Empire State Building turned its iconic building blue to announce that the CDC recommends everyone 6 months of age and older get this season's updated COVID-19 shot. The blue light symbolizes our gratitude and appreciation for the updated vaccines and all those who made it possible.

WASHINGTON — President Biden told a group of rabbis on Thursday that he was “raised in the synagogues” of Delaware — after previously claiming to have been raised by the state’s then-tiny Puerto Rican community. “I, you might say, was raised in the synagogues of my state. You think I’m kidding, I’m not,” Biden said during a call ahead of Rosh HaShanah, the Jewish new year holiday that begins Friday.

Fox News host Tucker Carlson talks about the Kennedy assassination and the resignation of Richard Nixon:TUCKER CARLSON: Joe Biden alone is responsible for this crime. He alone took home classified documents. He didn't have help in doing that, but allowing the country to be invaded, that's not something you can do by yourself. So, if Biden were to be taken down for opening the southern border, a lot of other people would go with them. He had a lot of accomplices. Permanent Washington doesn't want that and ultimately and here's the point: Permanent Washington is in charge. It's not the...

A person was found dead outside a North Carolina State residence hall on Monday - as campus returns following a year that saw 14 student deaths. Students returning to NC State on Monday saw police tape around Sullivan Residence Hall on the Raleigh campus as officers investigated the death of a male student. Last year, NC State saw 14 deaths, including seven by suicide. Two deaths were overdoses, one by car wreck and four were 'natural causes.' Students on campus fear this year may be no different, with another death just two weeks after returning to campus. ‘It gave me...

More than half of New York’s registered voters believe the state is headed in the wrong direction — and a whopping 80% are demanding term limits for the governor and legislators, a startling new poll shows. The fed-up respondents gave Gov. Kathy Hochul a dismal 40% approval rating, a big drop from her 50% figure from a survey released just three months ago, according to the independent Unite NY’s Voter Empowerment Index unveiled Sunday. Other state lawmakers fared even worse with a 27% approval rating, down from their recent 36%. Overall, 53% of the state’s voters said they don’t like...

'A Terrifying Precedent': Calvary Chapel Sues CA County for Tracking Attendance of Churchgoers A San Jose, California church still locked in a years-long legal battle with Santa Clara County officials over $1.2 million in fines for violating COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, alleges the county government conducted unconstitutional surveillance and tracked its members on the church's property using their cell phones. The federal lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, on behalf of Calvary Chapel and its Pastor Mike McClure by attorneys with the nonprofit Advocates for Faith and Freedom claims the county and...

A sum of its parts, every U.S. state plays an integral role in the country’s overall economy. Texas, for example, generates an economic output that is comparable to South Korea’s, and even a small geographical area like Washington, D.C. outputs over $129 billion per year. *** California is by far the biggest state economy in the U.S. at $2.9 trillion in real GDP—and when comparing its nominal value ($3.6 trillion) with national GDPs worldwide, the Golden State’s GDP would rank 5th overall, just below Germany and Japan. *** Altogether, California, New York, and Texas account for almost one-third of the...

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), chair of the “Progressive Caucus” in the House, called Israel a “racist state” on Saturday in Chicago — but then said that she supported a “two-state solution” for Israel and the Palestinians. Jayapal was speaking at the Netroots Nation conference, a gathering of left-wing online activists. She was heckled by anti-Israel demonstrators who waved Palestinian flags. She chose to address them directly:

The State Department reportedly postponed its regularly scheduled meeting with Facebook representatives on Wednesday following a court decision on Tuesday that restricted talks between Biden administration officials and social media firms.