Free Republic

As Senate Republicans rush to pass their hodgepodge tax and spending package — the “Big, Beautiful Bill” — controversy has arisen around an unusual provision: a 10-year moratorium on states passing their own laws regulating artificial intelligence.Congress has been slow to pass any regulation on AI, a rapidly evolving technology, leaving states to write their own laws. Those state laws largely focus on preventing specific harms, like banning the use deepfake technology to create nonconsensual pornography, to mislead voters about specific issues or candidates or to mimic music artists’ voices without permission.Some major companies that lead the U.S. AI industry...

Residents living across a huge area spanning three states have been warned of dangerous air pollution levels on Tuesday. Swathes of Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin are all affected by poor air quality, with an area around Minneapolis covered by one of the most severe warnings. Smoke from wildfires, combined with the current weather conditions, have contributed to the pollution. Why It Matters Health officials warn that vulnerable populations — such as children, older adults and individuals with existing respiratory issues — face heightened risks during periods of poor air quality. Even healthy members of the general public may experience health...

Where you live can have a big impact on your mental health. Particularly for seniors, it’s important to settle down in a location that promotes happiness. Older adults face a higher risk of mental health problems due to circumstances like the loss of loved ones, loneliness, chronic illness or disability, medications, changes brought on by retirement and other stressors, according to the National Council on Aging. Caring.com, a senior care resource, recently released its Senior Happiness Index, revealing where in the country seniors are happiest based on WalletHub’s state happiness roundup.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon on Friday told states that their time to spend COVID relief money had suddenly come to an end—canceling extensions the department had previously granted to states to allow schools more time to spend the money on previously planned projects and services.McMahon alerted state education chiefs in a letter dated Friday that the deadline to spend all remaining funds was that same day at 5 p.m. EST.She said the additional time “was not justified” and that states and school districts “have had ample time to liquidate obligations.”Because the department can reconsider its decisions, McMahon wrote in the...

On Wednesday’s broadcast of NewsNation’s “The Hill,” Hawaii Gov. Josh Green (D) reacted to the Trump administration’s push to turn education over to the states by stating, “I’ll take it” as long as states don’t lose money. He also stated that, among Democrats, “there’s a lot of concern that the changes are too quick and we don’t like to see anyone lose jobs.” Host Blake Burman asked, “So, it’s kind of interesting, because I essentially just heard the Republican president basically say, give it to the states, the governors are doing a great job. You’re a Democratic Governor. So, that’s...

“The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: ‘I’m from the Government, and I’m here to help.'” That is one of President Ronald Reagan’s most famous quotes — a declaration of war on the bloated bureaucracy of the Great Society. Conservatives are used to hearing that quote cited as the ultimate example of what we believe, or are meant to believe: that the government is responsible for our problems, crushing individual initiative and traditional values. I had reason to reconsider that quote this week, when Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Scott Turner visited the Pacific Palisades...

The latest in a long line of winter storms is taking direct aim at the East Coast, threatening to dump heavy snow and some ice in several states. A storm that dropped snow in the Midwest was spreading across the Tennessee and Ohio Valleys on Wednesday, bringing more misery to some places just starting to clean up from deadly weekend floods. Up to 10 inches of snow was possible along the Atlantic Coast in Virginia and significant ice accumulations were forecast in eastern North Carolina, the National Weather Service said. Elsewhere, a polar vortex took over from Montana to southern...

Nineteen Democratic attorneys general sued President Donald Trump on Friday to stop Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing Treasury Department records that contain sensitive personal data such as Social Security and bank account numbers for millions of Americans. The case, filed in federal court in New York City, alleges the Trump administration allowed Musk’s team access to the Treasury Department’s central payment system in violation of federal law. The payment system handles tax refunds, Social Security benefits, veterans’ benefits and much more, sending out trillions of dollars every year while containing an expansive network of Americans’ personal and...

Attorneys general in over a dozen states are threatening to sue the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk, citing privacy concerns. The 14 attorneys general include California Attorney General Rob Bonta, as well as those representing Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, New York, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, Rhode Island, and Vermont. They begin their joint statement pointing to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, writing that it has “given Elon Musk access to Americans’ personal private information, state bank account data, and other information that is some of our country’s most...

Nothing is certain but death and taxes, as the saying goes, but some Americans will be paying less taxes in 2025. Residents of nine states will see their state income taxes go down in this year, according to a roundup from the Tax Foundation, a tax policy research and analysis nonprofit.The organization notes that two of those states — Iowa and Louisiana — not only lowered the top marginal tax rate, but shifted from a bracket to a flat-tax system. In addition, South Carolina — although not one of the nine states with a new tax cut — made a...

With the cost of raising a child to age 18 reaching well over $300,000, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on the Best & Worst States to Raise a Family in 2025, as well as expert commentary, to highlight the states that are affordable, safe, well-educated and enjoyable for families to live in.WalletHub compared the 50 states across 50 key indicators of family-friendliness. Our data set includes factors like the median annual family income, housing affordability, health care quality, crime rate, and school quality.Best States for FamiliesWorst States for Families1. Massachusetts41. Arizona2. Minnesota42. South Carolina3. North Dakota43. Louisiana4....

The U.S. has more guns than people, with nearly 400 million in civilian possession.In this map, Visual Capitalist's Bruno Venditti ranks states by the highest percentage of gun ownership for adults, based on data from the Pew Research Center compiled by Data Pandas as of 2024.High Gun Ownership in Northwestern AmericaMontana tops the ranking of the states with the highest percentage of gun ownership, with 66.3% of the adult population owning firearms. The state has some of the most relaxed gun control laws in America. No state permit is required to purchase or possess a rifle, shotgun, or handgun.The state...

Americans United for Life is pleased to announce its Life List 2025 State Rankings. Each year, AUL releases its Life List, which ranks states from most to least pro-life based on their existing life-affirming policies. AUL looks at each state’s protections for life from conception to natural death. This includes laws on abortion, legal recognition of preborn children, bioethics, assisted suicide and end-of-life patient care, and healthcare rights of conscience. Additionally, states are awarded points for their life-affirming cultural and political landscape and momentum. Arkansas, the Most Pro-life State in AmericaThis past legislative session, the pro-life movement faced many challenges...

Based on data from U-Haul involving 2.5 million moves, South Carolina topped the list of states people relocated to across state lines in 2024, knocking Texas off the top spot. Texas had topped U-Haul's list for three consecutive years prior to 2024. South Carolina and Texas were followed by North Carolina, Florida and Tennessee. Indiana, which was ranked No. 27 in 2023, jumped to No. 8. Oklahoma jumped 30 spots from No. 41 to No. 11. Colorado had the largest drop, falling from No. 9 in 2023 to No. 40 in 2024. California topped the list of states with the...

New Hampshire has always been a no-personal income tax state. Now they’ve gone all the way and ended their capital gains tax, as of 1/1/25. This makes eight states with truly no income again. (The number had dropped to seven when Washington State adopted a capital gains tax a couple of years ago.) Congrats to New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu for getting this done.For more good news, we’re thrilled to report that with the New Year, Iowa and Louisiana have joined the list of states with a flat rate income tax. There are now 16 such states and with another...

HUGE ‼️ “Sanctuary Mayors and Governors got some really terrible news this week” “Stephen Miller, who slated to be Donald Trump's Deputy Chief of Staff, sent letters to 249 elected officials in sanctuary states and cities warning them of how much trouble they're gonna get in if they don't start complying with the law and rounding up illegal immigrants” The Federal Government will target government officials harboring illegal migrants committing violent crimes with Racketeering Charges and allow them to be personally liable for lawsuits from victims and more Here are some fantastic highlights from my favorite letter of the year:...

Official figures reveal that infections cause by flu, Covid, RSV (a respiratory illness that causes the cold) and norovirus (sometimes called the stomach flu) all started to surge over the Christmas period, when families gathered to celebrate. And experts say figures will only continue to rise over the coming weeks as the US heads into the peak period of its annual flu season. Data shows that norovirus cases are at their highest level for this time of year since 2012, while RSV hospitalizations are up nearly 40 percent in two weeks. An estimated 3.1million people have been sickened by the...

New Year’s Day brings a rise in the minimum hourly wage in nearly half of the states in the U.S., and 48 counties, though some economists warn that the mandated raises could hurt small businesses and overall employment levels. Fox Business reported: “An analysis by The Economic Policy Institute says 21 states will raise their minimum wage at the first of the year, along with 48 cities and counties that are lifting their pay floors above their respective state minimums – mostly in California, Colorado and Washington.” The Wall Street Journal editorial page took a skeptical view of the changes,...

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst investigated wind and weather patterns to predict the timeline of nuclear fallout, including the paths through which radiation would spread throughout the country. Experts agree that the Midwest, where 450 ballistic missile silos are stored — particularly Montana, North Dakota and Nebraska — would be the most likely primary target as detonating just two of those storehouses could cause an explosion equal to 100,000 tons of TNT, per Scientific American. Exposure to radiation poisoning from a nuclear attack would guarantee death for an estimated 300 million Americans within four days of detonation. Citizens...

There's a southern migration happening in the U.S. right now, and it's not because of the weather. The National Association of Realtors' 2024 Migration Trends report released this week shows Southern states dominated in attracting the most people to move within their borders last year, and only 1% of those who moved said they did so because of climate-related reasons, according to its analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.