Free Republic

PORTLAND, Ore. - A 31-year-old Oregon man has been arrested and charged after authorities said he chased pedestrians in downtown Portland with a stolen forklift. The man was described as driving "erratically and chasing pedestrians."

Black Californians could be in line for $360,000 payments each as part of the state's plan to dish out 'reparations' to descendants of slaves.'There is only one thing that would stop our children busting into these liquor stores and grocery stores, stealing junk food and different things and that's reparations.'

It’s almost cliché to say that America is more divided than ever. Countless columns, books, and news segments draw attention to the issue. It fuels the Right’s National Divorce meme. The Left blames social media for fanning the flames of division and fears we’re heading to civil war. Ironically, polarization may be the one political issue everyone agrees on. While backed by clear evidence, our political divisions pale in comparison to our broader, shared monoculture. The political divisions are obvious. Polarization leads some, particularly on the Right, to conclude that America is undergoing cultural balkanization. These voices insist Red America...

As it turns out, leftists just have to learn the hard way that there’s nothing more domineering and oppressive to the female sex than men in drag.

DEVELOPING: ‘Mass Casualty Incident’ reported following explosion at metal manufacturing plant in Bedford, Ohio; massive response underway DEVELOPING: At least 12 people have been severely burned following explosion at I Schumann & Co manufacturing plant; additional ambulances requested to the scene

A federal judge issued an injunction blocking enforcement of New York’s “Hateful Conduct Law” seeking to regulate “hate speech” on social media platforms, ruling that the law is a violation of the First Amendment, which prevents the U.S. government from regulating the speech of its citizens.

Welp, there it is: the stoopidest thing you’ll read, today. Hopefully, anyway.

James O’Keefe, the founder and chairman of Project Veritas, has taken a paid leave from the conservative nonprofit media organization as its board considers whether to remove him from his leadership position, according to current and former employees of the organization.An internal message sent to Project Veritas employees by the organization’s executive director, Daniel Strack, said that O’Keefe would be taking “a few weeks of well-deserved PTO.” An image of the message was shared by a source familiar with the organization’s internal operations, and its authenticity was confirmed by a current employee. When reached for comment on his personal cell...

The World Health Organization warns fungal infections are becoming a 'major threat' to public health and more common worldwide as the changing climate makes environments more suitable for them. As hit show The Last of Us heightens fungal fears Researchers developed a vaccine highly effective against fungal infections The NXT-2 shot prevented severe infection in all animals it was tested on Scientists have developed a first-of-its-kind vaccine to prevent severe symptoms from hard-to-treat fungal infections. In a study on animals, the shot - made by researchers from the University of Georgia (UGA) - worked against the three most common families...

Charles Silverstein, a psychologist who helped achieve one of the most significant victories of the gay rights movement by persuading the American Psychiatric Association in 1973 to declassify homosexuality as a mental illness, died Jan. 30 at his home in New York City. He was 87. He had lung cancer, said his executor, Aron Berlinger. Dr. Silverstein spent decades of his life — as an activist, a psychologist and an author — advancing the cause of gay rights. He had felt the sting of discrimination and the burden of shame as a gay man who came of age at a...

OLYMPIA, Wash. - A new bill under consideration this week in the State Legislature would create a cannabis commission in Washington State.Lawmakers say the commission would help growers and producers to compete nationally if or when federal restrictions are finally loosened, and the entire U.S. market opens up.

The multi-year drought may be easing thanks to recent storms, but scientists suggest that Lake Mead and Lake Powell, reservoirs on the Colorado River, may not refill “in our lifestimes,” according to the Los Angeles Times. The reservoirs have been dwindling over many years — not just due to the drought, but also due to demand that has increased over the many decades since the dams were built, and due to decreased rainfall in recent times.

ISSAQUAH — On a busy holiday shopping day at Issaquah Commons, some shopping carts had gone rogue. Three from Target were left in a coveted empty parking spot. One from Trader Joe’s was inexplicably outside the doors of REI. Another, unlabeled, was sideways on a grassy mound. There may have been cart chaos within the retail area, but the buggies wouldn’t go much farther beyond the expansive parking lot. Some, affixed with locking systems or metal poles, didn’t even make it out of the store. That’s by design: In early 2022, Issaquah began holding large retailers responsible for their carts...

Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that he believed the 2016 Donald Trump campaign did collude with the Russian government. Anchor Dana Bash said, “You said that there was direct evidence of the fact that Donald Trump colluded with Russia back in 2016. Special Counsel Robert Mueller said in his report, quote, ‘The investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government.’ Republicans argue that is proof that you used your position on the intelligence community to potentially mislead Americans, which is why you should not...

It is unbecoming of an adult to speak publicly about Disney theme parks, but I lament the demise of Splash Mountain. The log flume coaster, which featured characters from the controversial 1946 film Song of the South, was one of the most popular features of Disney's American parks, and revitalized a previously quiet corner of Disneyland. Yesterday, on its final day, a massive crowd stood shoulder to shoulder outside the attraction, waiting one last time to descend into its famous briar pit.

“Please, contribute $10 or whatever you can spare today to help me respond to Republicans’ baseless attacks on my ability to hold them accountable. This isn’t the end of my fight for truth, accountability, and our democracy.”

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna gave a press conference Sunday in which he announced the Lunar New Year celebration shooting suspect had allegedly used a “semiautomatic assault pistol” to shoot and kill ten people Saturday night.

Antifa has gone to war in Atlanta and, as happened in 2020 during the BLM and Antifa riots, some in the media want to downplay what’s happening. It’s harder this time, though, especially given that Antifa announced in advance that it intended to go to war.

Some Republican lawmakers remained skeptical of supporting the war in Ukraine despite an in-person joint congressional address by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Zelensky’s trip took place as Congress deliberates an omnibus spending bill that would appropriate $45 billion more for Ukraine assistance, on top of $66 billion appropriated this year.

Detroit’s school board has voted to remove Dr. Ben Carson’s name from a district school, citing Carson’s involvement with the Trump administration. Benjamin Carson High School of Medicine and Science will be renamed after a poll that revealed 80% of the 1,500 people polled agreed the name should be changed. Dr. Carson told The National Desk he is not surprised by the move. “Cancel culture is alive and well. It’s infiltrating. Political correctness, wokeness, cancel culture, this is going to destroy us as a nation if we don’t get a grip on it.” Dr. Carson grew up in a Detroit...