Free Republic

I’ve covered Washington government for years. I understand rounding errors. I get that numbers shift, estimates change, projections don’t always pan out. That’s bureaucracy. That’s life. And then the Department of Commerce dropped a bombshell. Washington drivers are paying billions more at the pump. For what, exactly? The national average for gas is $2.82 a gallon. Idaho is $2.80. Oregon is $3.39. Washington? We’re at $3.82 statewide. In Seattle, it’s $4.12. We have the third-highest gas prices in the entire country. Washington families have paid billions more at the pump since the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) took effect. Before the...

State officials are preparing to take the land and legacy of a farmer for the crime of water “violations.” “The state wants people to think I’m an outlaw,” says Bob Greiff. “They don’t want people to know the true story.”(Photo by Ray Aguirre)The government is preparing to take the private land and legacy of an 85-year-old farmer for the crime of irrigation. Why? He watered his crops without regulatory approval. “I didn’t use a drop past my legal rights, but because I put it on the wrong field, I’m a criminal and the state wants to take everything I have,”...

Following the inauguration of Socialist Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson, it was revealed that the Seattle Police Department issued an internal email announcing officers “are not going to enforce drug use,” instead, they will refer all open consumption cases to failed diversion programs. According to the message originally obtained by Homeless outreach group We Heart Seattle, “effective immediately,” officers are being instructed to refer all open drug consumption incidents to the diversion program LEA-PDA (Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion–Purpose. Dignity. Action, a diversion initiative connected to community-based behavioral health and outreach services. Critics warn the move will likely accelerate the city’s ongoing...

A daycare owner in Washington state has said that he is "flabbergasted" by the amount of money alleged Somali fraudsters in the daycare industry are getting in comparison to the subsidies his daycare and others in the industry usually receive on a normal basis. According to Center Square, the outlet went to a number of Washington-based daycare centers run by Somalis, and only one of the daycares had any children inside. “Anyone who's in the industry is, like, flabbergasted,” said daycare owner David McMullan. “How are they getting that money and we're not?” McMullan, who is also the chair of...

17 min video Stunning Historical Beautiful

More than 2,800 pounds of grass-fed ground beef has been recalled over possible E. coli contamination. “Mountain West Food Group, LLC, a Heyburn, Idaho establishment, is recalling approximately 2,855 pounds of raw ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O26,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced. Nearly 3,000 pounds of ground beef across six states was recalled on Saturday due to possible E. coli contamination, the Department of Agriculture said. https://t.co/rVv3fSebPC pic.twitter.com/2aeSpqRZkp— Yahoo News (@YahooNews) December 30, 2025Fox Business has more: The “Forward Farms Grass-Fed Ground Beef” items packed in 16-ounce...

The sprawling fraud scandal tied to taxpayer-funded childcare and welfare programs is no longer confined to Minnesota. New evidence suggests the same red flags are now flashing in Washington State, where hundreds of Somali-run childcare centers allegedly operate without even listing a physical address. The Gateway Pundit previously reported on independent journalist Nick Shirley and his explosive investigation into alleged large-scale fraud involving Somali-run daycare centers in Minnesota. Shirley shared clips from his reporting on X, including footage of a childcare facility that claimed to serve 102 children—yet appeared completely empty—before staff abruptly slammed the door in his face. Shirley...

A trans woman who copped to slaughtering her parents tried to skip out on her sentencing in a Utah court because it would be too tough on her — as she revealed that she has converted to Islam, and made an excuse for the cold-blooded murders on Friday. “If only I had gotten help this would have been preventable,” said Mia Bailey’s lawyer — reading a statement she wrote. Bailey, 30, was handed a sentence of 25 years to life in prison on Friday, after the court heard emotional testimony from both her brothers, who say they fear for their...

Newly-released videos show the moments a man attacked a woman at random outside the King County Courthouse in downtown Seattle earlier this month. Fale Vaigalepa Pea, 42, was armed with a wooden board that had a screw through the end of it and used both hands to swing the weapon and strike the victim, 75-year-old Jeanette Marken, in the face, according to charges filed in King County Superior Court. The hit gouged out Marken's eye, and she just learned that she will not recover her eyesight in the affected eye, family members told KOMO News on Friday. "To take a...

A truck driver in the country illegally has been released on a $100,000 bond after a fatal wreck in Washington late last week. 25-year-old Kamalpreet Singh, of Elk Grove, California was arrested on Thursday, December 11th after a crash on SR 167 in King County, Washington. He was released on $100,000 bond on Sunday, December 14th. According to Auburn Examiner, Singh crashed into the back of a Mazda sedan that was stopped just behind a Peterbilt on northbound SR 167 south of SR 18. The force of the impact crushed the Mazda between the two semi trucks, killing the motorist,...

A man who allegedly ambushed two police officers after luring them to a transit center with a bogus 911 call has been charged, according to documents obtained by Fox News Digital that reveal new details about the attack. The officer-involved shooting took place in downtown Bellevue, Washington, at around 12:25 p.m. Friday at the Bellevue Transit Center. Bellevue is a city located just east of Seattle. The suspect, Mohamed Morray Bangura, 38, calmly spoke with the officers for several seconds, pretending to point out an argument he reported on 911, according to charging documents. That's when he allegedly suddenly unzipped...

"Residents in the Pacific Northwest of the US and western Canada are bracing for potentially life-threatening floods as several days of heavy rain have swollen a number of rivers and tributaries. On Thursday, the National Water Center reported heavy flooding along the Skagit and Snohomish rivers in the state of Washington that is expected to continue through Friday. In Canada, major highways to Vancouver have been closed because of flooding, debris and the risk of avalanches. There are evacuation orders in place for thousands of people in the US and Canada, and authorities have warned more rain is on the...

Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley are advocating for a bill that would stop President Trump from replacing immigration judges with what the senators call “inexperienced attorneys.”The bill is led by Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and co-sponsored by Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) alongside Senators Wyden and Merkley.

Washington state authorities released an illegal alien truck driver accused of causing a six-vehicle crash involving a school bus after declining to honor a federal immigration detainer, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The crash occurred on December 4 in Lacey, Washington, and resulted in three people being hospitalized. No children were aboard the school bus at the time, authorities said. DHS identified the driver as Juan Hernandez-Santos, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico, who federal officials say has multiple prior DUI arrests and was previously deported from the United States twice. Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged a...

Iran and Egypt have complained to FIFA after Seattle designated their World Cup game as a ‘Pride Match’. The fixture, between two countries in which homosexuality is outlawed, is meant to honour the LGBTQ+ community in the liberal city and the clash was pencilled in before it was known which sides would be involved. Due to take place on June 26, it coincides with Seattle’s Pride Weekend. However, the federations of each Muslim country have now contacted FIFA to express their opposition, in what is a growing, diplomatic incident more than six months out from tournament kick-off. Iranian Football Federation...

Gary Ridgway, one of the country’s most notorious serial killers, is reportedly dying in a Washington prison. Ridgway, known as the Green River Killer, is now 76 years old and is receiving end-of-life care in the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla, according to several sources with “knowledge of his condition” who spoke with Washington-based radio station KIRO. He’s been in prison since 2003, when he pleaded guilty to killing 48 women in the ’80s and ’90s. Ridgway has maintained over the decades that he is responsible for killing somewhere between 75 and 80 women during his reign of terror....

There were no beds in the home of the the Washington, DC, National Guard shooting suspect, who often played video games such as Call of Duty, according to recent reports. FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed on Thursday that search warrants have been executed, including for the suspect’s last known residence in the state of Washington. “The search warrant was executed on that house last night or early this morning, and it is an ongoing process,” Patel said. “All the individuals found in the house have been interviewed, and some interviews remain ongoing. We will not stop until we interview anyone...

Former President George W. Bush on Monday urged President Joe Biden to “cut the red tape” and allow for the swift evacuation of Afghan refugees following the Taliban’s takeover of the country. Responding to the fall of Afghanistan’s US-backed government, Bush said the Afghans “at the greatest risk are the same ones who have been on the forefront of progress inside their nation.” The costly US-led war in Afghanistan began just shy of 20 years ago after the 9/11 attack while Bush was president. Bush, in his Monday statement, noted Biden has promised to evacuate the Afghans who assisted Americans...

President Trump just gave a brief address to the nation regarding the National Guard shootings. The address is just under 5 minutes in length.

In a startling first, a Washington state man has been infected with a strain of bird flu previously only detected in animals. The “severely ill” man was hospitalized with a high fever, confusion and respiratory distress earlier this month and confirmed to have H5N5, a subtype of avian influenza carried by wild birds such as ducks and geese. The Washington State Department of Health described the unidentified patient as being “older” and having “underlying health conditions.” The agency noted that the man has a “mixed backyard flock of domestic poultry” at his home in Grays Harbor County, in the southwest...