Free Republic

Gov. Kathy Hochul is calling for a ban on kids using smartphones in school — the latest in a campaign against technology she feels is harming children in New York. The proposal would only allow kids to carry simple “dumb” phones in schools that can send texts but can’t access the internet, the governor told The Guardian in an interview published Thursday. The call for the smartphone ban comes as the self-professed “first mom governor” of New York is pushing for a ban on “addictive” social media algorithms that she says target kids. “Our kids are being pulled into a...

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden used a post to X to renew his call for an “assault weapons” ban and was mocked in response. Biden posted: He was immediately mocked on X, with one user responding, “It’s time for a new president.” Another user wrote, “You’re advocating for the disarming of citizens while you try to imprison your opponent. How fascist of you.” Yet another added, “‘Shall not be infringed’ means ‘Shall not be Infringed.’ End of discussion.”

US House passes bill to ban the Federal Reserve from creating a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). https://x.com/WatcherGuru/status/1793702722480550398

The Supreme Court has issued a conditional order calling on the Environmental Protection Ministry, Public Security Ministry, and Health Ministry to take action on the issue of environmental disturbances caused by a person smoking in his home, when the smoke enters the neighbors' homes, Israel Hayom reported. The court has instructed the ministries to enact guidelines on the matter, or enforce the matter of cigarette smoke pollution entering other apartments in a different manner. The government now has 60 days to respond to the order. The Supreme Court's decision follows an appeal submitted by the Avir Naki organization and six...

The Biden administration ordered a ban on 2024 election betting markets, which often show former President Donald Trump winning in November and President Joe Biden remaining his party’s nominee. Betting markets often provide different insights than election polling that established media outlets perform and are often useful to academics and journalists. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission proposed a rule on May 10 to permanently ban betting on election commercial prediction markets in the United States, the New York Times’ Jeff Sommer recently reported, even as sports gambling became largely deregulated, soaring in popularity: Rostin Behnam, the chairman of the C.F.T.C.,...

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on Sunday predicted former President Trump will not have the opportunity to sign a national abortion ban even if he is reelected and wanted to, arguing the issue will never enough support in Congress. When asked on NBC News’s “Meet the Press,” if he disagrees with Trump’s remark that he is “not signing a national abortion ban,” Rubio said, “Well, he won’t sign one because there’s no way we can pass it.

Courts in England are reportedly looking to scrap the requirement for barristers to wear traditional wigs amid claims that they discriminate against lawyers with “Afro-Caribbean hair”. The iconic manner of dress in English courtrooms may become wokism’s latest scalp as demands have been made to abandon the requirement of barristers to wear wigs in front of the court because they are “culturally insensitive”, The Telegraph reports.

President Joe Biden’s campaign demanded a ban on audiences during the proposed presidential debates with former President Donald Trump. The demand appears to be designed to reduce the risk of any Biden protestors attending the event. Anti-Israel protestors often appear at Biden’s public events. In a letter to the Commission on Presidential Debates, the Biden campaign said it was providing notice that it would not participate in commission debates. The campaign said Biden would only participate in network debates. The Trump campaign has yet to sign off on Biden’s proposal. “The Commission’s model of building huge spectacles with large audiences...

President Joe Biden signed into law a ban on Russian enriched uranium on Monday, the White House said, in the latest effort by Washington to disrupt President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. The ban on imports of the fuel for nuclear power plants begins in about 90 days, although it allows the Department of Energy to issue waivers in case of supply concerns. Russia is the world's top supplier of enriched uranium, and about 24% of the enriched uranium used by U.S. nuclear power plants come from the country. The law also unlocks about $2.7 billion in funding in previous...

Yesterday, anti-gun New York legislators introduced a bill designed to COMPLETELY ban the sale of Glock handguns and other semi-automatic pistols.Their bill, S. 9225, comes under the guise that Glocks, and other semi-automatic “convertible pistols,” can be easily turned into machine-guns through the installation or attachment of a “pistol converter,” more commonly known as a “Glock switch.”New York state lawmakers are intentionally targeting a major firearms manufacturer and banning the sale of their product because criminals, who don’t obey the law in the first place, could illegally acquire handguns and then illegally alter them further.Under federal law, machine guns are...

A wave of bills combating “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) efforts on college campuses have made their way into several state legislatures this year. Bills introduced in states such as Utah, West Virginia, Arizona, Kentucky, Iowa, and South Carolina all aim to quell an agenda of racial discrimination and political litmus testing antithetical to higher education’s purpose. But not all of the bills are created equal. While each is designed to curb DEI practices, some articulate the restrictions with greater clarity and specificity. Additionally, some have superior mechanisms of oversight and accountability. A few institutions include provisions upholding viewpoint diversity,...

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that a national abortion ban could not get 60 votes in the Senate, therefore the issue would be sorted out in the states. Host Kristen Welker said, “I want to talk about abortion which, as you know, is one of the biggest issues for people all across this country right now. Back in 2022 you said a national ban was possible. So as I sit here today I want to ask you, leader McConnell, would you support a federal ban on abortion?”

President Joe Biden’s administration is delaying its potential plan to ban menthol cigarettes after concerns about the political implications ahead of the 2024 election. The administration planned to announce Friday that it will delay its decision on the rule, people familiar with the matter told the WSJ. While the administration plans to argue that it needs to consult more outside groups on the implications of the rule, there is no current timeline to revisit the issue, the sources told the WSJ. Health and Human Services (HHS) Sec. Xavier Becerra confirmed the news in a statement Friday afternoon, saying the potential...

Governor Katie Hobbs (D-AZ) said Friday on ABC’s “The View” that women in her state will die because of the reinstated abortion ban from 1864. Hobbs said, “This is absolutely outrageous, and, you know, we can talk about how crazy it is that a law passed in 1864 by 27 men now controls the lives of millions of Arizona women, but I want to talk about the effect that’s going to have on women in our state.” She added, “I, myself, have personally experienced a miscarriage, losing a pregnancy by miscarriage and the treatment for that is a procedure that...

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday on MSNBC’s “Alex Wagner Tonight” that the Arizona Supreme Court upholding a 123-year-old law that bans all abortions except to save the life of the mother was “shameful” and “dangerous.” Jean-Pierre said, “What we saw today it is wrong, it is shameful, it is dangerous, what women now and Arizona are going to have to go through. There are 21 extreme state bans across the country. And it is because of what elected officials have been able to do. This started with the Dobbs decision. This started with the overturning of Roe...

Governor Katie Hobbs (D-AZ) said Tuesday on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” that she’s confident voters will enshrine abortion rights in November. When asked about the Supreme Court’s decision banning abortion, Hobbs said, “Arizonans across the state are reeling from this decision that reinstates the most draconian ban in the country. This is a ban that as you said, was passed in 1864 before we were state, before women had the right to vote and it is a near total ban with no exceptions for rape or incest. It requires prison time for doctors. There’s just right now a lot of...

CNN contributor David Axelrod said Tuesday on “The Situation Room” that the Arizona Supreme Court upholding a 123-year-old law that bans all abortions except to save the life of the mother was an “earthquake” that could “tip this election.” Axelrod said, “This has put the health care of women in peace of mind of women across Arizona at risk. And so we should not forget the substance in this.”

Today, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics approved an unprecedented ban on the participation of transgender women, in a move that could pressure other major governing bodies of athletics, including the National Collegiate Athletics Association, to follow suit. According to the official press release, “Only NAIA student-athletes whose biological sex is female may participate in NAIA-sponsored female sports.” The policy does not specify how it defines biological sex, nor does it clarify its implications for intersex athletes. It also excludes athletes who have begun “any masculinizing hormone therapy.” This ban comes amid increased scrutiny over trans bodies in sport and...

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) broke with former President Trump on Monday over Trump’s decision to back away from endorsing a national 15-week abortion ban, declaring that leaving the issue entirely to the states “runs contrary to an American consensus that would limit late-term abortions.” “I respectfully disagree with President Trump’s statement that abortion is a states’ rights issue,” he said in a statement responding to Trump. Trump on Monday reversed course on his plan to support a 15-week or 16-week national abortion ban amid pushback from top Republicans, who warned it would put the issue of abortion rights at the...

The war on gas-powered vehicles continues. While the White House recently released new rules to phase out gas-powered vehicles by 2032, several states have gone further. Eight states plan to completely ban the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035, the U.K.’s Daily Mail reported. Who’s leading the charge, you might ask? Why, it’s California, of course! They are joined by Rhode Island, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Washington. Washington, D.C., has also committed to the ban, according to Money. If you live in one of these states, you won’t be forced to take your gas-powered car...