Free Republic

The Upper East Side, once known as the Silk Stocking District, has embraced cotton scrubs — but not everyone’s thrilled about it. CBRE cited growing demand for healthcare services, especially for those over age 75, for the tony area becoming the “central node” in the Tristate region’s health sector, according to a new report by the company. Five major new hospital and medical projects are rising amid the upper-crust neighborhood’s fancy homes and shops — and three more enormous, highly controversial ones are proposed. New leases and expansions for health facilities in Manhattan totaled nearly 5.4 million square feet since...

The “floating pier” built by the U.S. Navy off the coast of Gaza was completed on Thursday, and connected to the shore by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops. President Joe Biden announced the port project in his State of the Union address in March to augment land routes to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. He promised that there would be no American “boots on the ground”; the U.S. is relying on the IDF to provide onshore security for the port. Today at approximately 7:40 a.m. (Gaza time) United States Central Command personnel supporting the humanitarian mission to deliver additional humanitarian...

The House Judiciary Committee passed a resolution on Thursday to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for failing to disclose audio recordings of President Joe Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur. The full House must approve the resolution, which is largely symbolic, to officially hold Garland in contempt. Republicans maintain a narrow majority in the House to pass the resolution. Garland would follow Eric Holder, Obama’s attorney general, and Bill Bar, Trump’s attorney general, to be held in contempt if the House passes the resolution. Garland defied a final warning in April to comply with a...

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday removed Cuba’s communist regime from the State Department’s list of countries “not cooperating fully” against terrorism. In a statement reportedly sent to members of the U.S. Congress and media, Secretary Blinken said that Cuban and U.S. law enforcement officials were once again working together on counterterrorism and other related efforts — and as such its inclusion on the list was deemed “no longer appropriate.” “The department determined that the circumstances for Cuba’s certification as a ‘not fully cooperating country’ have changed from 2022 to 2023,” a U.S. Department of State official reportedly...

Legal experts believe Donald Trump could have flouted his court-imposed gag order by apparently manufacturing a scenario where his supporters communicated on his behalf. According to Newsweek, Trump has been penning notes for his political sympathizers to read outside the courthouse during his New York criminal trial, a move which could contravene the gag order. The purpose of the order is to prevent Trump from talking about the jury or any witnesses in the hush money case. "Those notes are not privileged documents, and if their contents mirrored some of what Trump's GOP cronies said to the press, the notes...

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) signed legislation Thursday to create a state-level gun control center mirroring the federal office of gun violence prevention created by the Biden Administration. The Associated Press reported that Moore lauded the creation of the gun control center at a signing ceremony, saying, “Maryland became the first state in the nation to officially answer President Biden’s call.” Democrats touted the center as a way “to foster a statewide partnership with federal and local agencies to reduce gun violence.”

The legislation deletes more than 50 lines of previous state statutes dealing with climate change. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation (HB 1645) on Wednesday that will erase several instances of the words “climate change” from state statutes and restructure the state’s fossil fuel-based energy policy that listed climate change as a priority when making energy policy decisions. The priority now is to ensure “an adequate, reliable and cost-effective supply of energy for the state in a manner that promotes the health and welfare of the public and economic growth,” as spelled out in a legislative analysis. “Florida rejects the...

The two-state solution has been proposed for decades – with the application of the titular adjective, “moderate.” Attempts to bring it about have been unsuccessful. In multiple ways, the Arab side rejects or undermines it. It is not politically correct to ask whether rejectionism is the political and diplomatic tactic of those who imagine themselves as the Palestinian people. In today’s climate, it is unacceptable even to inquire whether it is an ideological position, a culturally inculcated pattern, or a natural outgrowth of Islamist religious construct. Nevertheless, a short historical overview can suggest that those possibilities need be investigated. Time...

The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a challenge to the constitutionality of the structure used to fund the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the federal agency tasked with enforcing consumer finance laws. By a vote of 7-2, the justices reversed a decision by a federal appeals court in Louisiana, which had ruled that the agency’s funding violates the Constitution because it comes from the Federal Reserve rather than through the congressional appropriations process. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote for the majority, in a decision that relied heavily on both the text of the Constitution and early English and U.S. history. Justice Samuel...

House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) on Thursday told Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo that his Committee found new Biden family bank accounts. Comer said the Biden family has dozens of bank accounts and dozens of LLCs without any legitimate business. James Comer told Maria Bartiromo that he issued a subpoena for targeted financial information from a “certain financial institution” related to Jim Biden, Sara Biden and Hunter Biden. WATCH: VIDEO AT LINK................... House Republicans previously announced they reviewed 170 suspicious activity reports linked to the Biden Crime Family. Last year Comer identified the NINE Bidens who are implicated in...

The Netherlands will finally get the right wing government its people voted for, and some of the toughest border control in the Western World after veteran populist and Islam sceptic Geert Wilders got the agreement of coalition partners to form a cabinet. Geert Wilders, who has lived under strict round-the-clock police protection since 2004 over threats to his life by Islamists hailed the success of months-long negotiations between four right wing parties in the Netherlands to form a new government. “The sun will shine again in the Netherlands… The Netherlands will be ours again” he said in celebration of the...

Former President Jimmy Carter hasn’t seen any “significant change” in his health, despite his grandson warning again this week that the 99-year-old’s life was “coming to the end,” according to the director of the former commander in chief’s namesake nonprofit organization. Carter remains “at home, enjoying peanut butter ice cream and getting the food he wants any time he wants it,” Carter Center CEO Paige Alexander told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Politically Georgia podcast Wednesday. “It’s 15 months of hospice at this point, and he is fully retired,” Alexander explained. “There really hasn’t been a significant change. I mean, he will...

Rep. James Comer says House Oversight Committee looking for 'targeted financial information' House Committee on Oversight Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., announced a new legislative motion that aims to unveil financial information related to the Biden family. "This morning, I issued a subpoena for targeted financial information from a certain financial institution related to Jim Biden, Sarah Biden and Hunter Biden. This is a result of many of the documents that Devin Archer turned over," Comer said on "Mornings with Maria" Thursday. The new subpoena, which Comer claims will hopefully "answer every question [Congress has] had," comes just after another...

The Justice Department's Legal Counsel Office said the recording should be considered protected by executive privilege. Chairman Comer says the claim "changes nothing" and vows to continue contempt proceedings. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ President Joe Biden on Thursday claimed the recording of his interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur about his retention of classified documents should not be released due to executive privilege just hours before House Republicans were set to move toward holding Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for not releasing the recordings. The Justice Department's Legal Counsel Office said the recording should be considered protected by executive privilege,...

3:07 If Democrat-run California wants to force residents into electric vehicles (EVs), Democrat-run California had better start cracking down on crime. Talk about the law of unintended consequences… “Thieves are targeting high-powered Tesla and other EV charging stations and stealing the heavy cable for the copper metal inside,” reports San Francisco’s NBC affiliate. “In Vallejo, someone cut cables from nine charging stations — leaving Tesla drivers in a bind and causing tens of thousands of dollars in damage and repair costs.” “I think this is the second time or third that these have been cut,” a local EV driver added....

Boeing violated a 2021 settlement that protected it from criminal charges tied to the fatal 737 Max crashes, opening the company up to potential U.S. prosecution, the Department of Justice said Tuesday. Federal prosecutors said in a court filing in Texas they are still determining “how it will proceed in this matter” and that Boeing will have 30 days to respond. In January 2021, Boeing agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle a conspiracy charge with the Justice Department. After a roughly two-year probe, the DOJ accused the company of concealing information about its Max plane that had been involved...

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) told MSNBC on Wednesday there was “no question” that the economy under President Joe Biden was “strong” and “doing well.” After MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle asked Romney during an interview why he was so optimistic about the future of the country, Romney replied, “First of all, America is an extraordinarily resilient country.” He explained, “We just had this extraordinary pandemic, and yet our economy is strong, low levels of unemployment, it’s extraordinary, and it’s not because the president is pulling all the levers in the right way. No, it’s not. It’s because the American people are...

Borrowing to pay for college is about to get more expensive: The interest rate on new federal student loans for undergraduates during the upcoming 2024-25 academic year will be the highest in 12 years. The federal student loan interest rate will be 6.53% for undergraduate students, up from 5.5% for the current year. The interest rate has not been that high on any undergraduate loans since the 2012-13 school year. Graduate students will see an 8.08% interest rate this coming academic year, up from 7.05%. And PLUS loans, which are available to both parents and graduate students, will come with...

The ship’s first power outage occurred after a crew member mistakenly closed an exhaust damper while conducting maintenance in port, causing one of its diesel engines to stall, according to the report. A backup generator automatically came on and continued to run for a short period — until insufficient fuel pressure caused it to kick off again, resulting in a second blackout. While recovering from those power outages, crew members made changes to the ship’s electrical configuration, switching to a different transformer and set of breakers, according to safety investigators. “Switching breakers is not unusual but may have affected operations...

The Jerusalem Post’s editors take a dim view of Biden’s threat to halt military aid — 500-pound bombs, 2000-pound bombs, artillery shells — if the IDF goes beyond the outer perimeter of Rafah. They soberly set out all the reasons why the Bidenite distancing itself from its ally, Israel, makes no strategic or moral sense. More on their response to what can only be called a great betrayal of an ally can be found here: “Betrayal of allies: US pauses munitions, while threatening Israel’s security – editorial,” Jerusalem Post, May 9, 2024:Amid the conflict in Gaza, the United States administration’s...