Free Republic

As many of you know, my retirement has been, well, interesting, and there has been nothing more interesting than dealing with the VA section for disability claims. They recently granted me a 10% for tinnitus, which got my medical benefits back which the VA tried to take away from me earlier in the year. But they keep denying claims for hearing loss and PTSD. They are trying to schedule me for a sixth appt to see an audiologist, which I will absolutely not attend. They have all the evidence they need to process that claim, and all they should need...

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the recent video in which six Democratic lawmakers called on U.S. troops to disobey illegal orders from the Trump administration was a “politically-motivated influence operation” that injected doubt into the armed forces. “The despicable video urging @DeptofWar troops to ‘refuse illegal orders’ may seem harmless to civilians — but it carries a different weight inside the military. This was a politically-motivated influence operation,” Hegseth wrote Tuesday morning on the social platform X “It never named a specific ‘illegal order.’ It created ambiguity rather than clarity. It used carefully scripted, legal-sounding language. It subtly reframed military...

Missing high school football coach Travis Turner was being investigated for child porn and soliciting a minor when he mysteriously vanished last week, cops revealed in a stunning update Tuesday. The 46-year-old married father has been the subject of a missing person’s probe ever since he disappeared when cops headed to his home Appalachia, Va. last Thursday as part of an undisclosed investigation. Police now say he is wanted for child pornography and five counts of using a computer to solicit a minor. Turner, the head grid coach at Union High School in Big Stone Gap, is wanted on child...

Opponents of a pair of radical California “green” mandates were handed a mixed bag in court last week as the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily paused implementation of one state law but allowed another to remain in place for now. The brewing court battle could have serious implications for businesses nationwide – and the entire U.S. economy. The first law in question, SB 261, titled “the Climate-Related Financial Risk Act,” requires companies operating in California with more than $500 million in annual revenue to publish a report outlining their “climate-related financial risks.” Critics argue that SB 261 effectively compels...

The world has a new most populous city. Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, tops a ranking that is increasingly dominated by Asia. It edged out Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, and Japan's Tokyo to earn the title in a new United Nations report. With an estimated population of nearly 42 million residents, Jakarta soared from 33rd place in the previous rankings, in 2018, that were topped by Tokyo. It's followed by Dhaka, with 36 million, which the report says is "expected to become the world’s largest city by mid-century." That's a sign of the rapid change underway across the world, with the rise of...

The American F-35 stealth fighters that participated in the Operation Midnight Hammer strikes on Iran flew hundreds of miles deep into its airspace and were the last ones out, US military commanders revealed this week. F-35A Lightning II aircraft assigned to the Utah-based 388th Fighter Wing escorted the B-2 Spirit stealth bombers that dropped over a dozen heavy bunker-buster bombs on Iran's nuclear facilities in late June. The F-35s suppressed Iran's air defenses and cleared the way for other combat aircraft, including the seven B-2s, during the complex nighttime operation."We flew hundreds of miles into Iran, escorting the B-2s the...

Measures of the consumer outlook for both personal finances and buying conditions for durable goods plunged more than 10% ...

Daily Readings from the USCCBWhile some people were speaking about how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings, Jesus said, “All that you see here—the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.” Luke 21:5–6In a literal way, this prophecy of our Lord came true. In 70 A.D., the Temple upon which they were commenting was destroyed. After prophesying this, Jesus then goes on to warn the disciples that there will be many confusions that will come. There will be false prophets, wars and insurrections,...

Kim Kardashian posted a video on her Instagram account lamenting her recent failure of the bar exam, and images she included of her study notes revealed her grasp of the material may not be as strong as she had hoped. Kardashian, 45, began the process of “reading law,” an unusual path to becoming an attorney that is only available in a few states and involves studying as an apprentice under a licensed lawyer as a prerequisite for taking the bar exam instead of law school. According to interviews she gave at the time, she started this process in 2019, planning...

VIDEOHere are a few WEIRDOS sure to attempt to ruin Thanksgiving with their MAGA relatives. Most likely their MAGA relatives are very very happy with the way things are going because Trump is doing exactly what they voted for. As a result, they will feel, well, thankful this Thanksgiving with little or no urge to discuss politics due their satisfaction with the general situation. However, this lack of engaging in political discussion is exactly what will IRK the Weirdos. As you can see in this video, despite the avoidance of political topics you just know the Weirdos will attempt to...

Consumers soured on the current economy and their prospects for the future, with worries growing over the ability to find a job, according to a Conference Board survey released Tuesday. The board’s Consumer Confidence Index for November slumped to 88.7, a drop of 6.8 points from the prior month for its lowest reading since April. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones were looking for a reading of 93.2. In addition, the expectations index tumbled 8.6 points to 63.2 while the present situation index slipped to 126.9, a decline of 4.3 points. “Consumers were notably more pessimistic about business conditions six months...

Germany’s antisemitism czar has urged a law to ban pro-Palestinian slogans such as “From the river to the sea,” renewing a fraught debate over the country’s historic allegiance to Israel and freedom of speech. Felix Klein’s initiative would ban chants that could be interpreted as calling for Israel’s destruction. His proposal has the support of German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt and is now being reviewed by the Justice Ministry, he told Haaretz on Wednesday. “Before Oct. 7, you could have said that ‘From the river to the sea’ doesn’t necessarily mean kicking Israelis off the land, and I could accept...

43-year-old Christopher McKay was arrested in Fort Worth on Thursday after allegedly trying to rob the same bank he robbed nearly a decade ago. McKay reportedly claimed to have a weapon and demanded money, but ultimately fled the scene empty-handed and was arrested. He is now charged with aggravated robbery. His previous robbery conviction resulted in a seven-year federal prison sentence.

Jurors tell KARE 11 News their decision wasn't difficult after seeing evidence of "obvious fraud" committed by Abdifatah Yusuf. MINNEAPOLIS — At the August trial for Abdifatah Yusuf, the jury heard evidence that he ran his home healthcare company, Promise Health, out of a mailbox at a Central Avenue address where multiple other home healthcare companies were supposedly located. Yusuf and his wife Lul Ahmed were charged with stealing $7.2 million of taxpayer money through Medicaid overbilling in a personal care assistant (PCA) scam. The couple allegedly spent tens of thousands of the fraud money on luxury items for themselves....

Like a master chef promising a five-course meal in fifteen minutes, Washington’s latest promise on affordability might be biting off more than it can chew. The word “affordability” has become the political equivalent of a Swiss Army knife—everyone’s wielding it, but few seem to know which tool to pull out first. From New York City’s mayoral race to the halls of Congress, “affordability” has emerged as the buzzword du jour, a catch-all solution to Americans’ economic anxieties. President Trump has seized on this narrative with characteristic gusto, promising sweeping changes to make life cheaper for working families. His One Big...

A website belonging to the "Culture and Family Lab" at Minnesota’s flagship university hosts a webpage warning against a "whiteness pandemic" that provides "resources" on how to "halt and reverse" the issue. "If you were born or raised in the United States, you have grown up in the Whiteness Pandemic, and you can play a role in halting and reversing this pandemic, especially if you are White because of the power and privilege you hold in this racialized society," explains the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities webpage, which is part of the Institute of Child Development. "If you were socialized into...

Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the US peace plan a complete capitulation by Ukraine’s so-called friends and said it amounted to a betrayal, according to his article for the Daily Mail. Johnson writes that Vladimir Putin "cannot help but smile" this Saturday at what he describes as the incompetence of his opponents and the remarkable weakness of the West. According to him, Russia has lost "more than a million soldiers, killed and wounded, trying to subdue Ukraine," has still failed to capture more than 20 percent of the country’s territory, and its economy is collapsing. Yet, he says,...

A U.S. official told CBS News on Tuesday that Ukraine's government had "agreed to a peace deal" brokered by the Trump administration to stop Russia's nearly four-year assault. The American official and Ukraine's national security adviser Rustem Umerov said a common understanding on a proposal had been reached, with details still to be worked out. Umerov voiced optimism that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy could travel to Washington before the end of November to finalize an agreement. CBS News was first to report on Sunday that U.S. and Ukrainian officials had previously discussed a potential visit to the U.S. this week...

Albany authorities announced a “major break in the case” in connection to a 2024 homicide along the Mohawk Hudson Bike Trail in Menands. According to the Albany County District Attorney’s Office, Albino Zacarias-Garcia was charged with second-degree murder.

California’s move to abandon a plan revamping the state’s antiquated 911 system, after spending hundreds of millions on the project, has critics fuming.... But after spending around $450 million to build out the system, Cal OES halted the project last year due to “operational difficulties,” citing issues with the regional approach and stating it would pivot back toward the statewide approach.... Several of the four technology companies the state originally contracted with to develop the regional 911 system have accused officials of failing to effectively manage taxpayer dollars. Redesigning and installing the new statewide technology cost “hundreds of millions ......