Free Republic

There’s a large region of the right-wing media ecosystem that is littered with those always-disappointing carbon-snake fireworks. Touch one of them with a spark and it springs to life, pushing out an unbroken chain of detritus. Eventually it dies out, leaving a mess, but there are other sparks and other snakes still to be lit. On Tuesday, filings from Donald Trump’s federal indictment served as a spark. The mess that followed was unusual only in its hyperbole: because the FBI included documentation about how to handle contingencies in its August 2022 search of Mar-a-Lago, including limiting the use of firearms,...

Pixar Animation Studios is laying off about 14% of its workforce, or around 175 employees. The cuts are part of Disney CEO Bob Iger’s overarching mandate to focus on the quality of its content, not the quantity. Pixar will refocus on theatrical releases and move away from short-form series for Disney+. ... Pixar will lay off about 175 employees, or around 14% of the studio’s workforce ... Layoffs hit other Disney businesses last year, but Pixar’s cuts were delayed because of production schedules ... Iger, who returned to the mantle of CEO in late 2022, has been working to reverse...

ATF agents cut off the electricity to Bryan Malinowski's Little Rock home before executing their search warrant March 19. None of the agents wore body cameras, and they covered Malinowski's doorbell camera with tape to hide their actions. Fifty-seven seconds after kicking down the front door, Malinowski was fatally shot in the head. His wife, Maer Malinowski, was pulled out of her home wearing only bedclothes and forced into the back of a squad car, where she was held against her will for four hours in 34-degree weather, despite her frequent pleas to check on her dying husband. "If that...

The growing Chinese 'gate crashers' trend is sparking espionage concerns The FBI and Department of Defense have reportedly tracked more than 100 incidents of Chinese nationals posing as tourists to attempt to breach U.S. military bases and other federal sites. Those responsible, dubbed "gate crashers," range from Chinese nationals detected crossing into a U.S. missile range in New Mexico, to scuba divers caught swimming in murky waters near a U.S. government rocket launch site in Florida, several U.S. officials recently told The Wall Street Journal. The growing trend represents a potential espionage threat, as authorities believe the Chinese government in...

Might the former President pick the wrong Florida man for his ticket? Florida’s senior Senator may not offer former President Donald Trump as big a boost as some other potential running mates might … including the current Governor of Florida. That’s the takeaway from the new Harvard-Harris Poll, which finds voters want Gov. Ron DeSantis and not Marco Rubio on the ticket. DeSantis leads a host of potential picks with 12% top-choice support among the electorate, including 23% of Republicans, 7% of no-party voters, and 4% of Democrats. Rubio has 4% support but just 3% among Republicans, 4% among no-party...

President Donald Trump thanked Gov. Ron DeSantis for supporting him during a donor event hosted by the governor, raising over $3 million to benefit Trump’s 2024 campaign, Florida’s Voice has learned. The former president called into the Fort Lauderdale event and thanked DeSantis and the couple dozen supporters for their investment into his campaign efforts. The funding is going to Right For America, a super political action committee, a source familiar with the event told Florida’s Voice. A super PAC is technically separate from the campaign, and the organization supports Trump’s bid for presidency this year. Trump emphasized during a...

Basketball icon and Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade appeared in Miami Beach Thursday to accept the Elevate Prize Catalyst Award, honoring his advocacy for the transgender community and his contributions through the Wade Family Foundation. During the ceremony, Wade unveiled a new website for transgender youth in Florida, demonstrating his ongoing commitment

Recent presidential candidate and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has endorsed Florida Sen. Rick Scott (R) as “by far the best choice” to succeed Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), a reflection of the early support Scott’s leadership bid is picking up among prominent conservatives. “Rick Scott is *BY FAR* the best choice among those running for Senate Republican Leader,” Ramaswamy, who dropped out of the White House race earlier this year, said in a post on the social platform X. “He successfully led a big business & a big state, there’s no doubt he can do this job. “He also possesses...

The former Democratic star is running a campaign that few people seem to even know about while soliciting money from grassroots donors and retiring debt. Alan Grayson was once one of the loudest Democrats in Congress. He’s now running for Senate in near silence while retiring years’ worth of campaign debt. Grayson’s campaign eschews in-person events, only rarely appears in local media and attracts so little attention in Florida that at least one local Democratic Party leader didn’t know it existed until this week. It is, however, actively soliciting donations from grassroots Democratic donors across the country — in what...

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) on Wednesday announced he will join the race to replace retiring Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), throwing a wild card in the race to head a potential new Senate GOP majority in 2025. Scott’s decision to jump into the race gives his Senate Republican colleagues a more conservative alternative to Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas), who announced their ambitions to succeed McConnell earlier this year. While Thune and Cornyn are highly respected conservative senators, they haven’t been as willing to challenge McConnell’s leadership as Scott, who has urged Senate Republicans to develop...

Other contenders for the role include Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, the former whip Sen. Rick Scott of Florida announced Wednesday that he is jumping into the race to succeed Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell after he leaves the post later this year.

Florida has a new heartbeat law that protects babies from abortions starting at 6 weeks when their heartbeat can be detected. However, a new undercover campaign has caught abortion businesses in the state paying women to seek abortions in other states. Recent undercover audio has demonstrated that abortion centers in Florida are not killing babies after a detectable heartbeat (around 6 weeks), but instead are paying women to get out-of-state abortions, as the pro-life group Created Equal informed LifeNews today. According to reports from Florida sidewalk counselors, the volume of women seeking abortions in Florida has not decreased since the...

Amid a record-breaking heat wave, a Miami TV weathercaster had an urgent message for his viewers over the weekend: Go vote if you want to fight climate change. Why it matters: NBC 6 meteorologist Steve MacLaughlin challenged Florida's climate policies and warned viewers about politicians who don't believe in climate change.

Hundreds of nursing homes in Florida have been forced to shut their doors over the past five years because of the soaring cost of commercial property insurance in the state. In the five-year period ending in 2023, an average of 146 nursing homes or assisted-living facilities in Florida have closed each year, according to the state’s Agency for Health Care Administration. During that same five-year period, commercial property insurance premiums rose 125% in Florida. Last year alone, annual premiums rose by around 27% in the state, according to Bloomberg News.

Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he supported mass deportation of illegal immigrants because the numbers call for something dramatic. Host Kristen Welker said, “If reelected, Donald Trump said he is willing to put migrant detention camps and to deport more than 11 million undocumented immigrants, and it would be the largest deportation plan in American history. Do you support that plan?” Rubio said, “Eleven million, that was the number ten years ago. We’re talking upwards of 25 to 30 million.” He continued, “The answer to your question is yes. We cannot absorb 25,...

Harrowing video captured the moment gang members with automatic weapons opened fire in a south Florida neighborhood in what police say was a targeted attack that left locals ducking for cover in the middle of the night. Footage from a neighbor’s security camera shows a group with weapons standing on a residential street in Miami Garden just after midnight Wednesday beginning to shoot as a silver Nissan approaches. At least three hooded figures can be seen crouching on the ground waiting to ambush the approaching car — then rapidly firing at the vehicle as it drives past. Neighbors said they...

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...

Representative Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) said Wednesday on Fox News Channel’s “American Reports” that President Joe Biden has been “has been an absolute champion of Jewish people.” Host Sandra Smith asked, “Congressman, as far as the politics involved, that may or may not be involved — now, I’ve sent out a tweet to that effect — if all of this is indeed the case, what do you believe is the political impact on the president’s reelection campaign as this war continues?” Moskowitz said, “Well, look, Joe Biden has been an absolute champion of Jewish people, not just as president, not just...

A man’s ill-fated attempt to take a joy ride on a boat he didn’t own ended in a watery mess off the shores of St. Augustine, prompting a flurry of activity on social media. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), Anthony Terry found himself in hot water after allegedly stealing a woman’s $100,000 boat near Conch House Marina. The boat, now afloat but listing heavily, became a viral sensation on Facebook, with images of its accident spreading rapidly. Describing the scene, one eyewitness shared, “He approached my daughter and her boyfriend in his underwear with a...

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is planning to raise money for former President Donald Trump in the coming weeks, putting into action the commitment he made at a meeting with Trump last month to help his former rival for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, according to two people familiar with the matter. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because the details have not been finalized and plans could still shift in the weeks ahead. Still, DeSantis is making calls to donors while his finance team works quickly to put together a schedule that would...