Free Republic

Washington — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Friday that the Pentagon would be canceling troops' attendance at graduate programs at some of the nation's top universities, calling them "woke breeding grounds of toxic indoctrination." "Today, just like we did with Harvard, I am ordering the complete and immediate cancellation of all Department of War attendance at institutions like Princeton, Columbia, MIT, Brown, Yale and many others, starting next academic year, 2026-2027," Hegseth said in a video statement. "We cannot and will not continue to send our most capable officers, senior officers, into graduate programs that undermine the very values they...

Well, that escalated quickly...As Ben Smith reported earlier on Friday, the Pentagon and AI giant Anthropic were in the midst of a showdown regarding the deployment terms of its Claude AI model in defense systems. The Pentagon wanted to authorize "all lawful use," but Anthropic had other ideas.Anthropic has drawn its line at two points: no domestic mass surveillance and no fully autonomous weapons operating without meaningful human oversight. Those limits are already written into its defense agreements. The Pentagon wants broader language that covers “all lawful use” once Claude is embedded.READ MORE: AI Is Already Embedded in Military Systems...

RICHMOND, Va. (7News) — Legislators in Virginia could see a nearly 300% pay increase if an amendment added to the budget by Democrats in the state Senate makes it to Gov. Abigail Spanberger's desk. The Democrat controlled Virginia Senate and House of Delegates have both passed their versions of the commonwealth's budget, largely along party lines.

An Illinois school district whose faculty members came under fire for “celebrating or justifying” the death of Charlie Kirk implemented expansive DEI and critical theory-driven programming, a new report revealed last week. One school even ran sessions that allegedly “segregated” students based on race. Anti-indoctrination watchdog Defending Education obtained multiple Freedom of Information Act requests exposing “extensive, taxpayer-funded DEI initiatives” in Illinois’ Oswego District 308, including “equity trainings for students and staff,” trainings where students were “separated based on racial background,” and “equity partnerships” with other groups. The obtained materials also exposed “district policies explicitly committing to anti-racism, marginalized identities,...

Young Scottish actress Mandipa Kabana has been cast to play Joan of Arc in a 2026 Scottish theatrical production that explores the “power of youth-led change”. 'Classic tale of war, duplicity, power and wealth gets a fresh new treatment' writes The Herald about the upcoming theatre adaption of Joan of Arc. Stewart Laing, the theatre director who cast Mandipa, had compared the French Patron Saint to Greta Thunberg: "Look at someone like Greta Thunberg. There are young people with loud voices protesting against those in power."

One of the world’s largest and most influential scientific societies held its annual conference last weekend, which a Fox News Digital review found was littered with examples of progressive messaging, criticisms of the Trump administration, and “woke” workshops. Attendees who showed up at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) event, held at the Phoenix Convention Center from Feb. 12-14, were immediately greeted at registration with identifier stickers that used gender pronouns such as “they/them,” “xi/xer,” “xe/xem,” and other descriptors that critics have alleged have little to do with science and biology. During the meeting’s opening night, shortly...

The European Parliament has adopted a non-binding resolution setting out the European Union’s priorities for the upcoming session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, including language recognising trans women as women within the framework of EU gender equality policy. The resolution was approved on 12 February by 340 votes in favour, 141 against and 68 abstentions. The adopted text forms part of the European Union’s negotiating position ahead of the 70th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, which will take place in New York next month. The Commission, established in 1946...

Snip—- . Stamper and Pratt announced three pieces of proposed legislation at the press conference that would protect residents from abruptly losing essential resources. The first was an ordinance requiring grocery stores and pharmacies to provide a 60-day notice to the city before closure so officials can determine if there is something the city can do to help keep the store in business. According to Pratt, she was given a two-day notice when the Aldi near North Hopkins Street and West Sherman Boulevard closed. The second is a resolution declaring a food apartheid in the City of Milwaukee – this...

MILAN (AP) — Ilia Malinin, the U.S. figure skater nicknamed the “Quad God,” became the first person to legally land a backflip on one skate in the Olympics — although one trailblazing woman pulled it off when the move was still forbidden. The 21-year-old from Virginia delivered a crucial free skate on Sunday night for the winning American team, filled with his trademark quadruple jumps, and punctuated the gold medal-clinching performance with his dramatic backflip. It’s a move known today as “the Bonaly flip” — named for France’s Surya Bonaly. Nevertheless, it is Malinin getting showered with praise, prompting many...

Super Bowl viewers were left 'sickened' after social media users began circulating English translations of Spanish lyrics from Bad Bunny's music following his headline-making halftime performance. Following the show, critics branded the content 'pure degeneracy' and questioned why the NFL put the global superstar on its biggest stage. The backlash erupted hours after the show, when conservative commentator Megan Basham posted screenshots of translated lyrics, which she described as 'the most obscene lyrics ever to be performed at a Super Bowl halftime.' In his track, Safaera, Bad Bunny boast about explicit sexual acts, drug use and casual hookups, with repeated...

More than 900 Google workers have signed an open letter condemning recent actions by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), urging the tech giant to disclose its dealings with the agencies and divest from them. The letter, citing recent ICE killings of Keith Porter, Renee Good, and Alex Pretti, said that the employees are “appalled by the violence” and “horrified” by Google’s part in it. “Google is powering this campaign of surveillance, violence, and repression,” the letter reads. It goes on to cite that Google Cloud is aiding CBP surveillance and powering Palantir’s ImmigrationOS...

Participants in the US Olympic teams are just that- members of a team. Those teams represent a country- in this case the United States of America. Teams are funded through various sources- a mix of corporate sponsorships, individual/philanthropic donations, event revenue, and grants. Financial services Stifel corporation is the primary sponsor of the US Ski teams. Note that they are called the US Ski teams, not the US Woke Ski Teams. The Freestyle team has chosen to dampen enthusiasm for itself is a series of self-aggrandizing interviews. History and tradition mean nothing to them. They are woke. “It brings up...

It looks like the embattled airline Boeing may be looking for a fresh start in South Carolina. Boeing told employees last week that it plans to consolidate 787 engineering work in South Carolina as it ramps up production of its popular twin-aisle jet, the union representing its engineers said on Wednesday. “Boeing regularly evaluates and adjusts its workforce to stay aligned to our commitments to our customers and communities,” a Boeing spokesperson said in an email. A Boeing spokesperson told Reuters on Wednesday that in addition to adding engineers in South Carolina, the company plans to hire engineers in Washington,...

NEW YORK (AP) — It seemed like a high-profile opportunity to lead an influential environmental group’s ambitious new push for green energy financing. And so, in May 2023, Pedro da Silva joined the Sierra Club Foundation, the charitable arm for the nonprofit started by naturalist John Muir. A former investment management professional, da Silva directed its “Shifting Trillions” program that aimed to move major banks’ investments away from the fossil fuel industry and towards climate solutions. The effort emerged as George Floyd’s murder prompted the Sierra Club to place newfound emphasis on environmental justice. As institutions grappled with their perpetuation...

The game kicks off on Sunday, February 8 between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots at Levi’s Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers. And with a full week of festivities planned for the week leading up to the game, the NFL announced today the appointment of one YouTube creator as the league’s “Chief Kindness Officer” and “Creator of the Week.”That prestigious role goes to Dhar Mann, a YouTuber with nearly 27 million subscribers who’s known for his scripted content. (Gotta be honest, I’ve never heard of this guy until…well, pretty much right now).According to an interview with...

Jaguar Land Rover could soon develop a part-petrol road car despite planning to go completely electric, according to reports. The British brand is reportedly drawing up plans for a vehicle powered partly by a combustion engine, which will be known as a “range-extended electric vehicle”. This is likely to have a small petrol engine fitted to charge the main battery. But the component could be fitted to ease drivers' concerns about running out of power. According to experts, an additional petrol engine could extend the range of new Jaguar cars by around 400km, rising from 700km to 1,100km. The iconic...

A "Star Trek" actress says conservative backlash is pushing the franchise to lean harder into what she calls its "super woke" identity. Among the critics is White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, who has accused the franchise of abandoning its core audience. Gina Yashere, who plays Lura Thok in the new Paramount+ series "Star Trek: Starfleet Academy," responded online after sharing a clip from comedian Bill Maher’s show that touched on the controversy. "All of the hatred coming at us is from fragile, angry White men, talking about either our non-whiteness or our bodies," Yashere wrote Sunday in...

Curry says its "absurd" to judge the reality hit by today's standards.Netflix’s documentary re-examining the legacy of America’s Next Top Model is drawing early criticism from one famous former contestant: Adrianne Curry. The upcoming three-part series — Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model — features the show’s former producers and judges, including Tyra Banks, re-examining the long-running reality hit and reflecting on the show’s many controversies. But Curry, who won the show’s debut season in 2003, posted on social media that she declined to take part in the documentary and finds judging the show by current standards “absurd.” “I...

A patient paused mid-thought in my Manhattan office the other day and apologized: “I know I’m saying this as a white guy.” The comment felt out of place, so I asked him what he meant. When his explanation still didn’t fit, I asked what being a white guy had to do with the situation at all. He admitted it had nothing to do with it. He was describing a routine scheduling issue at work. There was no racial dimension and no colleague’s identity involved.

When actual Native Americans call out the state’s silly mascot bans, you know progressives have lost their way. The Native American Guardian Association last week called barring indigenous school mascots “the dumbest law of all time” and vowed to take its case against the state Board of Regents all the way to the US Supreme Court. NAGA believes identities like “the Massapequa Chiefs” promote respect for Native American culture and values: You don’t name your team for something you hold in contempt.