Free Republic

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has become the subject of much bemusement among his Senate GOP colleagues as he has taken a detour from his role as a conservative rabble-rouser to playing the lead on reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The Texas senator, long-known for stirring up trouble for leadership, has suddenly gone in the reverse as he has prodded Republicans against gumming up the works for the last must-pass bill in Congress for months. But the irony is not lost on lawmakers who have watched Cruz’s mischief up close and personal, especially on government spending battles throughout the years....

Rep. Matt Gaetz, whose successful maneuvering to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy last year plunged House Republicans into chaos — and made the Florida Republican deeply unpopular among his GOP colleagues — is facing a primary challenger in his re-election bid. Retired Navy aviator Aaron Dimmock filed to run against Gaetz just ahead of the deadline on Friday. According to The New York Times, the treasurer for Dimmock's campaign committee also works for American Patriots PAC, a McCarthy-aligned group that in 2022 helped elect Republicans who were aligned with the then-speaker's agenda. Gaetz called Dimmock a “BLM supporting DEI instructor” and...

Saudi authorities have permitted the use of lethal force to clear land for a futuristic desert city being built by dozens of Western companies, an ex-intelligence officer has told the BBC. Col Rabih Alenezi says he was ordered to evict villagers from a tribe in the Gulf state to make way for The Line, part of the Neom eco-project. One of them was subsequently shot and killed for protesting against eviction. The Saudi government and Neom management refused to comment. Neom, Saudi Arabia's $500bn (£399bn) eco-region, is part of its Saudi Vision 2030 strategy which aims to diversify the kingdom's...

Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) said he has concerns about Sharia law being “forced upon the American people” during remarks on the House floor Tuesday. “Well, I’ve got some pretty strong concerns about Sharia law,” Roy said while discussing his broader worries about border security and foreign aid. “And whether that’ll be forced upon the American people.” In the remarks, Roy referenced a “massive Muslim takeover of the United Kingdom” and said he had “pretty strong concerns about people who wanna see Israel’s destruction, who were happy about Oct. 7, who were elected in the United Kingdom.” “Some might say that...

The House on Wednesday overwhelmingly voted to protect Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) from a conservative coup, torpedoing an effort by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) to oust the GOP leader from the top job. The chamber voted 359-43-7 on a motion to table Greene’s motion to vacate, preventing the removal resolution from hitting the floor for a vote. The final vote — which was widely expected amid bipartisan opposition to the ouster gambit — deals a major blow to Greene, who filed her measure more than a month ago and had threatened to trigger it ever since. It means Johnson,...

A woman who shouted and waved aggressively at a cyclist on the pavement (sidewalk), causing her to fall into the path of a car, has had her conviction for manslaughter overturned and walked free from court. CCTV showed Auriol Grey shout "get off the f****** pavement (sidewalk)" as Celia Ward approached her in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, in October 2020. The 77-year-old then veered off the 2.4m-wide path into the road. Mrs Ward, a grandmother, died after she was struck by a car. Grey, who has cerebral palsy and was described by her lawyer as "partially blind", was given a three-year jail...

Reading for fun sharply declines around age nine in an alarming trend that coincides with years of learning loss since the pandemic, data shows. Only 35% of nine-year-olds are reading at least five days a week compared to 57% of eight-year-olds, according to the latest Scholastic survey on the issue. “The number of kids who say they love reading drops significantly from 40% among eight-year-olds to 28% among nine-year-olds,” the Scholastic report notes. The trend, dubbed the “decline by nine” has concerned researchers, who note that reaching reading proficiency by third grade is a good predictor of academic success. [snip]...

The US last week paused a bomb shipment for Israel over concerns it was going ahead with a major ground operation in Rafah, southern Gaza, a senior administration official says. The shipment consisted of 1,800 2,000lb (907kg) bombs and 1,700 500lb bombs, the official told CBS News, the BBC's media partner in the US. Israel has not "fully addressed" US concerns over humanitarian needs of civilians in Rafah, the official says. Israel made no immediate comment. Overnight, there were further Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip, hours after Israeli forces backed by tanks took control of the key Rafah...

A slew of allegations were made against the fallen Hollywood star tonight. The documentary alleges that Spacey: -Groped a 21-year-old man in highly intimate and invasive way before whispering: 'Don't worry about it'; -Pleasured himself in front of an aspiring actor, who was a former US Marine, while watching the traumatic opening sequence of Saving Private Ryan; -Pushed his groin into the face of an employee at the Old Vic theatre in London during a performance of the pantomime Cinderella; -Exposed himself to an intern in the bathroom of a bar and put his hand on the penis of a...

Sen. Mike Braun has come out on top of a crowded GOP primary in Indiana’s gubernatorial race, according to a projection from Decision Desk HQ. Braun, a freshman senator, beat out five other Republican hopefuls, including Indiana Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and former state Attorney General Curtis Hill. Emerson College Polling/The Hill polling from March found Braun with a sizeable lead over the primary field, but a plurality of voters reported being undecided. In the general election, Braun’s on track to go against Jennifer McCormick, a former state superintendent and the only Democratic gubernatorial candidate on the ballot. She won...

Link only, as this is from USA Today.

Turkish Foreign Minister: We must stop Israel. Either by peace or by force.

Fayette Janitorial Service LLC, a Tennessee-based sanitation company, is paying approximately $650,000 in civil penalties after a federal investigation revealed it was unlawfully employing child migrants. A third of workers at a Perdue Farms meat-processing plant using Fayette's services were found to be comprised of children.

https://twitter.com/newstart_2024/status/1787852468828643457

A Las Vegas vape shop owner defended himself with a knife, stabbing a would-be robber who jumped over the counter during an attempted daylight heist. The incident, captured on video, reveals the dramatic moments when Johnny Nguyen, owner of Smokestrom Smoke Shop, faced off against the attacker, stabbing him at least seven times.

Former President Trump is taking concrete steps to deprive Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of oxygen as they compete for a portion of the same voters. Trump is going to the Libertarian Party national convention this month and criticized Kennedy, who is running as an independent but who has ties to the party, as “not a serious candidate.” Republicans also pounced on the “unhinged” Kennedy last week for saying “red state people are more likely to murder you.” The strong anti-Kennedy sentiment from Trump’s orbit comes as polling suggests the independent could take support from the former president, who is looking...

It’s disappointing to watch an increasing number of Republicans fall in line behind former president Donald Trump. This includes some of his fiercest detractors, such as U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu and former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr, who raised eyebrows during a recent interview by vowing to support the “Republican ticket.”This mentality is dead wrong.Yes, elections are a binary choice. Yes, serious questions linger about President Biden’s ability to serve until the age of 86. His progressive policies aren’t to conservatives’ liking.But the GOP will never rebuild until we move on from the...

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) huddled Monday for almost two hours with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) — a marathon meeting suggesting the pair is seeking a deal to defuse tensions and preclude floor action on the Georgia firebrand’s resolution to boot Johnson from power. The two emerged from the Speaker’s office separately but bearing the same message: The discussion was constructive enough that they’ve agreed to meet again Tuesday. Greene later told reporters the huddle will take place at 12:30 p.m. Greene declined to say if she was ready to push through with her plan to force her motion to...

The long-simmering feud between Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is set to boil over this week when the Georgia Republican moves to force a vote on the GOP leader’s ouster — which is all but certain to fail. Greene — who filed a motion to vacate against Johnson in March — is vowing to force a vote on her removal resolution this week, a long-time-coming for the GOP rabble-rouser who has dangled the ouster mechanism over the Speaker’s head while sharply criticizing his legislative decisions at every turn. Her gambit, however, is poised to fall...

Mathematicians think abstract tools from a field called symplectic geometry might help with planning missions to far-off moons and planets. In October, a Falcon Heavy rocket is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida, carrying NASA’s Europa Clipper mission. The $5 billion mission is designed to find out if Europa, Jupiter’s fourth-largest moon, can support life. But because Europa is constantly bombarded by intense radiation created by Jupiter’s magnetic field, the Clipper spacecraft can’t orbit the moon itself. Instead, it will slide into an eccentric orbit around Jupiter and gather data by repeatedly swinging by Europa—53 times in total—before...