Free Republic

The latest Trustees Report projects the Social Security retirement trust fund will run out of money by 2033. The trust fund has been bleeding cash since 2018, and it's getting worse every year. Congress has several options to mitigate the potential benefit cuts facing 70 million retirees. There might only be enough funds to pay out 79% of retirement benefits unless Congress acts. Retirees could be in for a rude awakening in the near future unless Congress makes some changes to Social Security. The most recent Social Security Trustees Report indicated the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) trust fund will...

Robberies in New York City are surging, police data show. While most major crimes are down, including shootings and murders, robberies shot up 5.6% so far in 2024 over the same period in 2023 — to 5,522 from 5,228 as of May 5. Joseph Giacalone, a retired NYPD sergeant and adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, pointed out that robberies have a low arrest rate — with only about 25% of cases solved because victims typically don’t know their attackers.

A staunch bishop criticized President Joe Biden for calling himself a “devout” Catholic while at the same time spreading his pro-abortion message. Bishop Thomas Paprocki of the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois accused Biden of “making a mockery of our Catholic faith” after he made the Sign of the Cross while promoting abortion. In a video titled “Biden Mocks Our Catholic Faith,” the bishop noted several times when the president has acted against his faith in a sacrilegious manner to promote something evil. Biden made the Sign of the Cross at an abortion rally in Florida while lambasting fellow Catholic Gov....

What should be splashed across headlines nationwide is oddly quiet. In a muffled bombshell, Pfizer, a titan in Big Pharma, has just settled a shocking 10,000 lawsuits linked to cancer and the antacid Zantac. Yes, you heard that right—banishing heartburn could now be a deadly choice, thanks to Big Pharma. These are the same so-called “experts” who rushed to declare their sketchy COVID vaccine was perfectly safe even before it was properly tested. Now it’s clear why so many people were skeptical—and rightly so. Big Pharma has turned marketing into an art form. They hook us with catchy jingles and...

Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair, said military aid to Israel should continue, through the war conduct report released by the State Department on Friday “raised concerns.” Cardin’s remarks on transferring military aid to Israel are different than that of the White House, as President Biden withheld sending over some bombs to the U.S. ally last week and said earlier this week the U.S. would stop supplying weapons like artillery shells and bombs if the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) goes forward with a full-scale ground invasion of Rafah, the city in the south of the Gaza...

President Biden referred to North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un as the president of South Korea on Friday in his latest gaffe involving world leaders. Biden, 81, was in the middle of attacking his 2024 opponent, former President Donald Trump, over his close relationship with the dictator when he made the blunder. “We’ll never forget his love letters for the South Korean President Kim Jong Un or his admiration for Putin — what a great leader Putin is,” the president said during remarks at a campaign reception in Portola Valley, Calif.

Gavin Newsom proposes a mix of spending cuts and using reserves to balance the state budget. He says that core services will be largely untouched, but some existing programs would be affected.

In December 2022, Reason reported that both state and federal wildlife agents routinely trespass onto private land and plant cameras. Two Tennessee homeowners successfully sued the state over the practice, and a three-judge panel ruled in their favor. The state appealed the decision, and this week the court of appeals ruled in the homeowners' favor. At issue is a state law allowing officers of the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency (TWRA) to "go upon any property, outside of buildings, posted or otherwise," in order to "enforce all laws relating to wildlife." In the case of Terry Rainwaters and Hunter Hollingsworth, TWRA...

On Friday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Katy Tur Reports,” Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) stated that President Joe Biden “has been ironclad” in his support of Israel but “what I think we have here is a problem of imprecision in the communication from the President.” And that the Biden administration should raise its concerns with Israel privately “because it leaves room for misunderstandings. And look, leaving the impression of possible daylight emboldens Hamas, risks emboldening Hamas, risks the possibility or even likelihood of it being less likely that we can get our hostages home, particularly our American hostages.”

President Joe Biden accidentally referred to Hispanic illegal immigrants as “voters” in an interview with a Spanish radio show on Thursday while discussing the ongoing crisis at the southern border. "It's even a bigger influx now in terms of Hispanic voters, or Hispanic - Hispanic citizens, who want to become citizens," President Biden said while talking to the host of the radio show Chiquibaby. In the same interview, Biden likened the current immigration levels to the 1840s Irish migration to the United States due to famine and persecution. Biden said that the current crisis is "a little bit like back...

“Don’t jump,” President Joe Biden shouted this week for at least the 20th time as president, raising concerns on the campaign trail about his mental acuity. Biden, 81, whom special counsel Robert Hur described as “an elderly man with a poor memory,” often uses the phrase “Don’t jump” to joke or taunt his critics. Biden typically directs his wisecrack at individuals who are standing near a ledge or on a balcony, though no video evidence shows anyone seeking to “jump” from their perch. He once told a person standing just a few feet in front of him not to jump....

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces began a renewed ground assault on Ukraine’s northeast, killing and injuring several and forcing more than 1,700 civilians to evacuate from the Kharkiv region, local officials said Saturday. Artillery, mortar, and aerial bombardments hit more than 30 different towns and villages, leaving at least three people dead and five others injured, said Kharkiv governor, Oleh Syniehubov. Ukraine rushed reinforcements to the Kharkiv region on Friday to hold off a Russian attempt to breach local defenses, authorities said.

Cops prevented a raging mob of Harlem locals from attacking a maniac accused of slashing an 11-year-old girl in the head on a spree through Manhattan Friday afternoon — leaving the youngster now afraid to go outside, her distraught mom said. Shaquan Cummings, 30, allegedly preyed on the girl after flying through the 116th Street 6 subway platform around 2:15 p.m., moments after allegedly punching an unsuspecting 43-year-old woman around the street corner, according to sources. The fiend — who has a lengthy rap sheet — knifed the youngster in the back of the head and cut her ear as...

President Joe Biden said during a fundraiser Friday in San Francisco, California, that he wished former President Donald Trump had injected himself with bleach. While speaking at the fundraiser on Friday, Biden referenced a false claim that Trump had once suggested people “inject bleach” to help treat the coronavirus, saying he wished the former president “had done a little bit himself,” according to the Jerusalem Post.

Fox News Senior National Correspondent William LaJeunesse joined Special Report Friday to report on increasing radical student recruitment efforts present at anti-Israel protests on college campuses nationwide. "Armed struggle is enshrined in law," showed one confiscated pamphlet. Another, "We are not satisfied with co-existence." Going beyond extremist and violent rhetoric, weapons were discovered. Chains, steel cables and buckets of rocks were found and subsequently confiscated by authorities at UT Austin demonstrations last month. More documents obtained by Fox News purportedly "celebrat[e] the death of innocent Jews and the elimination of Israel." Of 79 arrested at UT Austin, 45 were not...

Ford reported losing over $100,000 per electric vehicle sold in the first quarter of 2022, with its electric vehicle division posting a $1.3 billion loss. Electric vehicle sales volumes dropped 20% as Ford was forced to slash prices due to weak industry demand. “Americans don’t want EVs at levels Biden’s climate hysteria require,” businessman Andrew Puzder wrote on X. “Ford’s EV Q1 losses soared to $1.3 billion — a ridiculous $132,000 per EV sold. All Ford’s profits came from combustion engine vehicle sales. Collectivist policies destroy prosperity.” The company expects $5 billion in electric vehicle losses for the year, up...

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) announced his proposed $288 billion state budget, which would cut thousands of vacant state jobs and funding to more than 200 state programs in order to close the state’s $27.6 billion deficit. Newsom revealed his budget proposal on Friday for the 2024-2025 fiscal year, which starts on July 1, citing the importance of accountability and responsibility, according to ABC7 News. This comes a month after state officials agreed to reduce California’s deficit by $17.3 billion after Newsom announced in January that the state’s deficit was $37.9 billion. The state deficit ended up being closer to $45...

Dozens of Israel supporters protested outside “traitor” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office in Manhattan on Friday, calling on him to resign for “backstabbing” Israel and allegedly staying silent as antisemitism rages across college campuses. The demonstration came days after the New York senator told reporters he has “faith” in President Biden’s decision to withhold weapons for Israel’s invasion of Rafah, a move the protesters strongly condemned. “Schumer, the doomer! It’s time to resign!” yelled the crowd of about 40 protesters outside his Midtown office.

On Friday’s broadcast of Bloomberg’s “Balance of Power,” Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) stated that America wants “to continue to be” Israel’s best ally but “the Biden administration, and certainly I would agree here, has a very strong disagreement with how Israel is conducting the war in Gaza. And so, if Israel wants to go ahead and do whatever it’s doing, regardless of the American position, there will be consequences, and that will be seen in the Congress and undoubtedly seen in the actions of the administration.”

NEXSTAR) – It’s been almost 20 years since we’ve seen a geomagnetic storm as strong as the one heading our way this weekend. Power operators and other groups that maintain critical infrastructure are preparing for what might happen when the coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, hit Earth. But is there anything you should be doing? A G4-level solar storm, such as the one expected to hit as soon as Friday evening, can cause issues with the power grid, radio communications and the accuracy of GPS.