Free Republic

Video surveillance captured the attack on a student at Washington State University in Pullman, WA. Both attackers relived of their college jobs. The instructor Patrick Mahoney is now facing assault charges.

Get ready for a spectacular light show tonight as geomagnetic storms bring the northern lights closer to unexpected locations. The northern lights, or aurora borealis, are expected to put on a stunning display across several U.S. states tonight, thanks to geomagnetic storms that are disrupting Earth’s magnetic field. These solar-driven storms, forecasted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), will bring the auroras closer to areas typically outside their usual range. This rare opportunity offers a chance for skywatchers in unexpected locations to witness one of nature’s most mesmerizing phenomena. Where Will the Northern Lights Be Visible? According to...

A Washington state man accused of making more than 20 swatting calls across the U.S. and in Canada, leading to law enforcement responses to his false reports of bombings, shootings and other crimes, pleaded guilty. Ashton Garcia, 21, pleaded guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to two counts of extortion and two counts of threats and hoaxes regarding explosives, U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman said in a news release. Garcia was initially charged with 10 felony counts. Garcia placed the calls to agencies in Washington state, California, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Colorado,...

President Trump said Japan is set to kick off tariff negotiations with the US in Washington on Wednesday — becoming one of the first countries to test his willingness to relent on the sweeping tariffs. “Japan is coming in today to negotiate Tariffs, the cost of military support, and ‘TRADE FAIRNESS’,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. “I will attend the meeting, along with Treasury & Commerce Secretaries. Hopefully something can be worked out which is good (GREAT!) for Japan and the USA!” It comes a day after the Trump administration said it had been presented with offers from...

A bombshell report from the America First Policy Institute has exposed a staggering $100 million in foreign dark money laundered through the Sixteen Thirty Fund to bankroll radical ballot initiatives across 25 states. The Sixteen Thirty Fund, a notorious hub for progressive causes, has been caught funneling foreign cash into state ballot measures targeting divisive issues like abortion, election law, and drug policy. According to the America First Policy Institute: Non-citizens can influence U.S. elections and domestic policy through donations to ballot initiatives. Instead of the ballot initiative process being decided by state residents who are affected by the result,...

The FBI recently released video footage of a masked man the agency says is responsible for lighting a Washington state Tesla Supercharger station on fire, noting he may have injuries consistent with being near an "explosion." At about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, the man allegedly started a fire at a Tesla Supercharger located in the South Sound Center in Lacey. Lacey Police Department officials confirmed in a statement it received multiple 911 calls reporting a loud noise in the area. "The fire resulted in substantial damage to the station and surrounding area," according to a statement from FBI Seattle. The man...

The WIAA was told by the state’s Attorney General Nick Brown and Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal, both Democrats, as well as the state’s Office for Civil Rights, that the proposals would violate state law.. The governing body for high school sports in Washington State has announced that it will not ban men from women’s sports following legal threats from Democrat officials. Washington state law currently requires educational agencies to allow students to participate in interscholastic sports "that most closely aligns with their gender identity.” The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) previously announced that it had proposed two bylaw...

Opioid overdose deaths in the U.S. rose dramatically after 1999, but also exhibited substantial geographic variation. Job loss due to international trade is positively associated with opioid overdose mortality at the county-level. This association is significantly stronger in areas in which fentanyl is present in the heroin supply. In general, the loss of 1,000 trade-related jobs was associated with a 2.7 percent increase in opioid-related deaths. When fentanyl was present, the same number of job losses was associated with a 11.3 percent increase in such deaths. The positive relationship between trade-related job loss and opioid-related overdose death is well illustrated...

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced a bill with far-left Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), which would almost certainly put Trump’s new tariffs entirely on ice. The legislation’s stated purpose is to ‘reassert’ the legislative branch’s power over tariff policy. “The Trade Review Act of 2025” requires the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of imposing new tariffs. The president must also present a detailed rationale and analysis of the potential consequences for American businesses and consumers. Moreover, the legislation will require ALL tariffs to be approved by Congress within 60 days, or they will automatically expire.

Taxpayer-funded abortion is increasing at the state level as pro-abortion lawmakers work to expand abortion since the reversal of Roe v. Wade. Federally, the Hyde Amendment prohibits most taxpayer funding of abortion, allowing funding only in cases of rape, incest, or when the physician determines the pregnant mother’s life is at risk. But while the Hyde Amendment prevents most abortions from being paid for by federal tax dollars, each state can determine its own taxpayer funding for abortion. According to the pro-abortion organization KFF.org (The Kaiser Family Foundation), “There is tremendous variability in how much states reimburse for abortion services...

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell released his payroll expense tax (PET) report for 2024 Tuesday, and its projections came up nearly $50 million short. “Today’s announcement that PET revenues collected in 2024 were $47 million lower than projected requires action to ensure our budget remains balanced,” Harrell explained in a statement. Harrell said that his 2025 budget proposal was based on the projections from the independent Office of Economic and Revenue Forecasts. But since they got it wrong, the mayor said for the 2026 budget, “my office will consider all options, including additional revenue sources and appropriate expense reductions, to ensure...

LYNNWOOD, Wash. - A mother says she was harassed and cut off by another driver for driving a Tesla, an incident she described as terrifying and unprovoked. The confrontation, which was caught on video, occurred while she was on her way to a doctor’s appointment in Lynnwood Wednesday morning. Leigh, who has driven a Tesla for the past two years, said she first noticed the aggressive driver honking behind her as she approached a red light. "Thankfully, I was by myself," Leigh said. "When I made a left turn, they followed me and cut around me." According to Leigh, the...

Harvard, Princeton, Yale, and many other universities were founded explicitly as Protestant Christian institutions, only to devolve over time into something else. So, in the latter half of the nineteenth century, Evangelical Protestants in America started again, creating a new generation of colleges and seminaries that they hoped would avoid the mistakes of their predecessors. But as the current controversy over Wheaton College attests, history seems to be repeating itself. And the problem reaches far beyond Wheaton. For 12 years I served as a professor at Seattle Pacific University (SPU). Founded by pious Free Methodists in the 1890s, the school...

Benny Johnson @bennyjohnson 🚨BREAKING: In Washington, ICE agents shatter car windows of alleged Tren de Aragua gang members after they wouldn’t exit. This is what I voted for. From Collin Rugg 3:34 PM · Mar 18, 2025

The Lynnwood City Council will consider rescinding its appointment for the vacant Position 5 seat after discovering that its original choice, Jessica Roberts, reportedly operates an OnlyFans account. OnlyFans is a subscription-based platform primarily known for allowing creators to share explicit content — pictures, videos, messages — with their “fans.” Roberts’ account, which has since been shut down, had a profile bio that read: “A bisexual transwoman” followed by graphic details of her body parts. Roberts was appointed by the Lynnwood City Council to fill the Position 5 vacancy left by Julieta Altamirano-Crosby. But people who recognized Roberts were quick...

A federal appeals court has ruled that a church cannot sue Washington state over a law that requires most employers to have healthcare insurance plans that cover abortions. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 last Thursday against a lawsuit brought by Cedar Park Assembly of God of Kirkland against former Gov. Jay Inslee and Washington Insurance Commissioner Myron Kreidler over Washington's Reproductive Parity Act. Circuit Judge Susan Graber, a Clinton appointee, authored the majority opinion, writing that the church lacked the standing to sue because "Washington's conscientious objection statute exempts employers like Plaintiff...

Democratic strategist James Carville suggested the Trump administration will “collapse” within 30 days as the public reacts to the sweeping actions from the executive branch. “I believe that this administration, in less than 30 days is in the midst of a massive collapse and particularly a collapse in public opinion,” Carville said during a conversation with Mediaite’s Dan Abrams about the Trump administration’s unprecedented recent actions. Abrams asked Carville to clarify what he meant to confirm that Carville believes the administration will crumble shortly. “It’s collapsing right now. We’re in the midst of a collapse,” Carville replied. “This is the...

Democrat political genius James Carville predicted that "the Trump Administration is collapsing right now. We're in the midst of a collapse. I've never been mistaken." Fact check: Carville predicted Kamala Harris would defeat Trump for the presidency last November. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash) said "billionaire Elon Musk and President Trump are proving every single day they do not know what they are doing. They are cutting expenditures that experts have declared are vital to our national interests. They are firing employees who lifetime employment rights have been guaranteed. They will soon have a mutiny on their hands." Sen. Amy Klobuchar...

Kash Patel announced on Thursday night that three individuals have been arrested by the FBI and other agencies “for theft of government property and a bribery scheme.” According to a DOJ press release, “Jian Zhao, and Li Tian, active-duty U.S. Army soldiers stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, along with Ruoyu Duan, a former U.S. Army soldier, were arrested today following indictments by federal grand juries in the District of Oregon and the Western District of Washington.” ” Tian and Duan were charged in the District of Oregon for conspiring to commit bribery and theft of government property. Zhao was charged...

Ten House Democrats joined Republicans in voting to censure Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) on Thursday, rebuking the 11-term congressman for his disruptive protest during President Trump’s speech to Congress. The chamber adopted the censure resolution in a 224-198-2 vote, less than 48 hours after Green stood up, waved his cane in the air and yelled at Trump during his speech, prompting his eventual removal from the chamber. The vote made him the 28th member of the House to be censured. House Democratic leadership did not whip on the Green censure resolution, allowing lawmakers to decide on their own whether to...