Free Republic

The U.S. economy grew at an annualized rate of 2.8 percent in the second quarter of 2024, according to new Commerce Department data released Thursday. Economists had expected gross domestic product (GDP) to grow by 1.9 percent in the three-month period between April and June, closer to the 1.4 percent growth posted in the first quarter of the year. The strong report comes as the Federal Reserve is set to meet next week to consider changing interest rates, which it has held steady since last July. The central bank has kept rates at a two-decade high, as inflation has remained...

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said Tuedsay that attacks claiming Vice President Harris was hired as part of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives is “stupid.” “I would say, two attacks I’ve heard Republicans give that are totally stupid and dumb to do is the DEI attack, okay?” McCarthy said on NBC News’ “Meet the Press NOW.” “The other attack that I would not do is saying that the president has to resign,” he added. “That would be an advantage for Kamala.” Harris is likely to replace President Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket, after the incumbent...

The attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, which thankfully left him with only a small wound to his ear, horrified me and reminded me of two assassinations that changed my life in 1968 when I was only eight. I was shocked when my hero, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., was shot dead in Memphis in April. Crying myself to sleep and praying for his family, I promised myself I would devote my life to the Civil Rights Movement and to making America a more just and equitable society for everyone. Nothing I have done can compare with King’s...

All I can say to Trump’s pick for his vice president: Good luck. The real story is why anyone would want to follow Mike Pence’s fate. After Pence refused to overturn the 2020 election, Trump incited a mob to storm the U.S. Capitol that began chanting, “Hang Mike Pence.” The same chilling question applies to all the people auditioning for Cabinet positions by speaking at this week’s GOP convention. To the men and women trying to move up in the GOP ranks by agreeing to fawn over Trump on stage in Milwaukee this week, and telling lies about a stolen...

Rep. Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.) said Monday he will introduce a constitutional amendment to reverse the Supreme Court ruling issued Monday, which largely shields former presidents from criminal prosecution for actions in office. “I will introduce a constitutional amendment to reverse SCOTUS’ harmful decision and ensure that no president is above the law. This amendment will do what SCOTUS failed to do—prioritize our democracy,” Morelle wrote on the social platform X.

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas is not waiting until after the presidential election to launch a bid to put one of former President Donald Trump’s ideas into effect. Cruz has introduced the No Tax on Tips Act that would keep the Internal Revenue Service from taking a slice of the income service workers gain through tips, according to a news release on Cruz’s website. During a recent rally in Las Vegas, Trump indicated he opposes taxes on tips, according to The Hill.

Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Vice President Harris will be a “safeguard” if President Biden wins the 2024 presidential election and Republicans challenge the results. “Remember that we will have the vice president that day,” Pelosi said in an interview with The Washington Post. “That’s a safeguard.” Pelosi also threw cold water on the idea that congressional Republicans would challenge the result, as they did when Biden defeated then-President Trump in 2020. Vice President Mike Pence eventually came under pressure from Trump and other Republicans to not certify the results of the election. “I don’t think that the Republicans,...

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) called Hunter Biden’s conviction on federal gun charges “kinda dumb” in a post on the social platform X, minutes after the verdict was announced. Hunter Biden — the second-oldest son of President Biden — was convicted Tuesday afternoon on three federal gun charges. The felony charges alleged President Biden’s son lied about his sobriety when obtaining a gun in 2018, and illegally possessed the gun for 11 days. Hunter Biden’s verdict comes just two weeks after former President Trump was found guilty on all 34 felony counts in his New York hush money trial. Gaetz called...

The Biden administration recently floated the idea of resettling a limited number of Palestinian refugees from Gaza to the United States. As a nation, it’s the least we can do. The reported proposal would bring Palestinians with immediate family ties in the U.S. to our shores. It is unclear how many Palestinians would qualify, but it would likely remain far below the need. Sounds straightforward, right? Wrong. The history of the Palestinian refugee question is fraught, as Palestinians have called for the “right to return” for refugees to their homeland, which is now part of Israel or claimed by Israel....

VIDEOBWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Mark down August 10, 2022. That was the day that The Hill Rising channel labeled Chuck Schumer as "Schmuck Schumer" as you can plainly see. I've heard him called that before but NEVER on a mainstream broadcast. It was so surprising to see that label that even after watching Briahna Joy Gray's commentary a number of times I still have trouble recalling what she actually said since I just couldn't get past that "Schmuck Schumer" label they put up. And how did Gray manage to keep from bursting out laughing while delivering her commentary next to that label?

A political commentator who’s repeatedly displayed antisemitic attitudes was finally fired from her gig on Thursday. Upon being fired, commentator Briahna Joy Gray, a left-winger, blamed censorship for her termination from The Hill. “It finally happened. The Hill has fired me,” she tweeted. “There should be no doubt that @RisingTheHill has a clear pattern of suppressing speech — particularly when it’s critical of the state of Israel.” Her termination came two days after she rolled her eyes at the family member of an Israeli who’s currently being held hostage by Hamas. The family member, Yarden Gonen, had simply asked at...

Controversial progressive pundit Briahna Joy Gray has been fired from The Hill after she appeared to roll her eyes as she interviewed the sister of an Israeli woman taken hostage by Hamas. 'It finally happened. The Hill has fired me,' Gray said on X on Thursday alongside an image of her notice of termination from the outlet. She added: 'There should be no doubt that @RisingHill has a clear pattern of suppressing speech — particularly when it’s critical of the state of Israel.'

The Hill’s Briahna Joy Gray has been fired. The host, known for her pro-Hamas rhetoric, was given the axe following an interview with a family member of one of the Israeli hostages taken by the terror group following the October 7 attacks. It's unclear if that was the reason for Gray’s termination, but the clip caught the eyes of many, disgusted by her conduct during the segment. She could be seen rolling her eyes, her facial expression hardly hiding her contempt. Gray has routinely deflected directly blaming Hamas for this heinous terror attack on the Jewish state and the ensuing...

Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) decision to appear this week at former President Trump’s hush money trial in Manhattan is sparking new blowback from some House Republicans, who are questioning why he would inject himself so prominently in a case involving an alleged affair with a porn star. These Republicans, who requested to speak anonymously to discuss the sensitive topic, are accusing Johnson — a devout Southern Baptist who built a career around the fight for Christian values and moral conservatism — of undermining the party’s family values image simply to ingratiate himself with Trump, the party’s presumptive presidential nominee.

"Republican National Committee (RNC) co-Chair Lara Trump said Wednesday evening, without evidence, that debates are always “rigged so heavily” in President Biden’s favor."

Sen. JD Vance’s (R-Ohio) surprise appearance at a Manhattan courthouse to support former President Trump, and his qualified answer about supporting the results of the 2024 election, show he’s challenging Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) as the Senate front-runner to be Trump’s running mate in the fall. GOP senators and strategists say it’s hard to predict whom Trump will choose, but they say Scott and Vance are viewed as the two most likely choices within the Senate GOP conference. Vance and Scott are stepping up their efforts to grab Trump’s attention by staying close to his orbit and showing off their...

Has the U.S. government secretly retrieved exotic craft of “non-human” origin? Newly declassified documents, along with extraordinary legislation, illustrate how two successive Democratic Senate majority leaders appear to have believed so. Notably, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and the late Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) were not alone in their focus on UFOs. The Democratic heavyweights received critical support and encouragement from a bipartisan group of high-profile senators over the years, including former fighter pilot and famed astronaut John Glenn (D-Ohio); Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), who observed a UFO as a World War II pilot; Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), then-chairman of the Senate Appropriations...

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R), who has been under the microscope this week for an anecdote about killing her dog, defended her actions Wednesday, saying she shot the “dangerous” pup in order to protect her children. “It was a dog that was extremely dangerous,” Noem said Wednesday on Fox News’s “Hannity.” “It had come to us from a family who had found her way too aggressive.” “We were her second chance. And she was — the day she was put down was a day that she massacred livestock that were part of our neighbors,” she continued. “She attacked me....

[R]ecently, the Pentagon released a congressionally-mandated review of U.S. government involvement with UFOs. The report, which is riddled with basic factual errors, omissions and a laundry list of historical distortions, leaves much to be desired. Christopher Mellon, the Department of Defense’s former top civilian intelligence official, took the UFO office to task in a scathing, 16,000-word analysis of the report. Among the report’s many flaws is an egregious falsehood about a rigorous scientific study that the Air Force commissioned in the early 1950s to look into the thousands of UFO reports that it had received. According to the Pentagon’s UFO...

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) predicted Sunday that the Supreme Court will send former President Trump’s immunity case back to the lower courts. “Well, I think the court’s gonna find that presidential immunity exists for President Trump like every other president, but you got to be within the scope of being president. I think they’ll send it back to the lower courts to find out exactly what actions fall within presidential immunity and what are considered personal. I think that’s the way this will end — there will be some immunity for some of the actions,” Graham said on CNN’s “State...