Free Republic

Facebook said Wednesday that it's teaming with two U.S. nonprofits to fight the spread of disinformation that could impact elections, according to Reuters. The social media giant will work with the International Republican Institute and the National Democratic Institute ahead of upcoming elections in Brazil and the U.S., company executives said on a call with reporters. “We know that there’s a lot more to do,” Facebook News Feed manager Greg Marra said Wednesday when asked about fake news that has spread recently in Brazil, according to Reuters. Amy Studdart, a senior adviser at the International Republican Institute, told Reuters that...

A federal search warrant reveals that Sunspot Solar Observatory was shut down as FBI agents conducted computer forensic searches for child pornography. The source of child pornography was traced to an IP address used at the observatory and a source within the building observed a computer with "not good" images on it, the warrant states. An investigation by the FBI revealed that a janitor is the main suspect in the search, however he has not been charged with a crime even though his name in on the warrant. The warrant states the suspect would use the observatory Wifi and a...

Democrat Andrew Gillum holds a 6-point lead over Ron DeSantis (R) in the hotly contested gubernatorial campaign in Florida, according to a new poll. The Reuters–Ipsos–UVA Center for Politics poll found that 50 percent of voters surveyed support Gillum, compared to 44 percent who back DeSantis. The remaining percentage of voters said they support a different candidate or did not indicate support for any candidate. Gillum and DeSantis are running to replace outgoing Gov. Rick Scott (R), who is term-limited and running for Senate. The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election handicapper, rates the gubernatorial contest a “toss-up.” The Reuters...

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley on Wednesday unloaded a torrent of criticism on Sen. Dianne Feinstein for her handling of the sexual assault accusations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, telling the ranking Democrat on the committee, "I cannot overstate how disappointed I am." Saying Feinstein "chose to sit on the allegations until a politically opportune moment," Grassley demanded she immediately turn over an unredacted copy of the letter from Kavanaugh's accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, that Feinstein received July 30. Feinstein, D-Calif., shared the letter with federal authorities and other senators only last week, days before a key Judiciary...

The pop group Maroon 5 is scheduled to headline the annual 13-minute extravaganza this February at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia...Super Bowl LIII (or 53) will be played on Feb. 3, 2019, and broadcast by CBS.Maroon 5, led by the singer Adam Levine, who moonlights as a coach on NBC’s reality singing competition “The Voice,” currently has the No. 2 song on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Girls Like Us,” featuring the rapper Cardi B....

Last summer Tanya Harrell was working in McDonald’s in Gretna, Louisiana, when she says a co-worker started making unwanted sexual advances. A colleague she occasionally gave lifts to started touching her inappropriately at work, grabbing her breasts and backside and asking her to touch his penis. “I felt totally exposed, as if I did not have a skin or shell. I felt like I was outside my own body, watching what was happening,” she said in a complaint filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). When she complained Harrell said her managers did not take it seriously and suggested...

In the whirlwind of maneuvers being performed on Capitol Hill over the course of the last few hours, one can get a bit lost. Trending: Democratic Dunce Calls for “Something to Happen” to POTUS! As it stands now, Dr. Christine Blasey-Ford has refused to testify in front of Congress to publicly declare her allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh are true. Ford is demanding that the FBI investigate the incident first, in order to have all relevant information available. The only problem is that the FBI has denied her request on multiple occasions over the last 24 hours, as...

WASHINGTON – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) today made a formal request for a copy of the letter Ranking Member Feinstein received in July alleging misconduct by Judge Brett Kavanaugh as a teenager.  While Feinstein eventually referred the letter to the FBI last week, which was then redacted and added to Judge Kavanaugh’s background file, committee Republicans have not yet been able to access an unredacted version of the letter.  “My staff has made repeated requests for this document-which has become a significant piece of evidence in Judge Kavanaugh's confirmation process-but your staff has so far refused to...

Turkey has become the primary threat to U.S. interests in the eastern Mediterranean, not Russia, Syria or Iran, said Michael Rubin, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and a former Pentagon official. Turkey’s military build-up on and around the island of Cyprus should not be tolerated by Washington, and nor should its attempted pillaging of Cypriot natural gas resources to prop up its ailing economy, Rubin said in an opinion piece for the Washington Examiner. Rubin cited Turkish plans to build a permanent military base in Northern Cyprus, which it has occupied since the 1970’s, as stark proof of...

The mystery of the disappearing Beto O'Rourke campaign signs has been solved by the Texas Rangers. Numerous citizens of Travis County, Texas have been complaining that their Beto (Dem candidate for senator) campaign signs have been disappearing. The citizens must pay the county Democratic organization $10 each for replacement signs (with proceeds going to the Beto campaign fund). Although requested, the Austin police and Travis County sheriff departments have refused to investigate. The Republican county chair requested the Texas AG instruct the Texas Rangers to investigate because they were being blamed for the thefts. Texas Ranger Straight was assigned and...

Senate Republicans on Monday signaled they are ready to move forward with a vote on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh if the woman accusing him of sexual assault, Christine Blasey Ford, fails to show up to a hearing on Monday. Republicans believe Ford’s surprise refusal to testify at the special hearing, where she and Kavanaugh have been invited to appear as the only two witnesses, has given them an upper hand in a public relations battle with Senate Democrats. It has emboldened the GOP to press ahead with a vote as soon as next week, despite Ford’s stunning allegation that...

The man suspected in the 2017 terrorist attack on London Bridge, which killed five people, had a grudge against both President Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May, his children told British authorities. Khalid Masood's children told British counter-terrorism officials that the 52-year-old English teacher had previously called May a "liar" and "sick," while frequently complaining about the "racism and rudeness" presented by Trump, NBC News reported Wednesday. Police statements indicated that Masood texted religious writings to a number of friends before he allegedly carried out the attack, which began with the striking of pedestrians on London Bridge and ended...

In a shocking letter intended to undermine the President, and his authority over the Executive Branch, multiple high ranking Democrats sent a letter ordering intelligence agencies to ignore Trump’s order to declassify numerous documents involving the Russia investigation until consulting with Congress. The intelligence agencies serve at the pleasure of the president — and this clearly crosses the line separating the branches of government. The letter was signed by Rep. Adam Schiff, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Senator Mark Warner, and Senator Charles Schumer and sent to Director Coats, Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein and Director Wray. “Your agencies’ review, and any communication...

**** Senate Dems have settled on the ugliest means available, even by the standards of the body that added the verb “Borking” to our political vocabulary. The question is: Why have Republican high-court nominations brought out the worst from the left, going back to the Ronald Reagan era? The short answer is that liberals fear their major cultural victories of the past half-century are democratically illegitimate. Not a single one was won at the ballot box, going back to the Supreme Court’s 1965 Griswold decision, which recognized a constitutional right to contraceptives. From abortion to gay marriage, plus a host...

GOP Sen. Susan Collins (Maine), who has been viewed as a key swing vote in the Supreme Court fight, said in a recent interview that her office has received “some pretty ugly voicemails” over Brett Kavanaugh's nomination. “My office has received some pretty ugly voicemails, threats, terrible things said to my staff,” Collins said in an interview with WVOM on Wednesday. “This has been a very ugly process and I think that’s very unfortunate for everyone involved,” Collins added. Collins’s remarks arrive on the heels of reports earlier this month in which aides for the moderate senator detailed calls and...

NEW YORK — It started as a series of phone calls among old high-school friends and ended up embroiling 65 women in the firestorm over a sexual assault allegation that could shape the Supreme Court. In a matter of hours, they all signed onto a letter rallying behind high court nominee and their high school friend Brett Kavanaugh as someone who “has always treated women with decency and respect.” And they signed up, whether they anticipated it or not, for becoming a focus of scrutiny themselves. The powerful strength-in-numbers statement, offered to bolster Kavanaugh’s denial of a claim that he...

The ratings for Week Two’s Monday Night Football game between the Chicago Bears and the Seattle Seahawks crashed to the lowest numbers ever recorded for a Week Two Monday night game.The ratings for Week Two’s Monday Night Football game between the Chicago Bears and the Seattle Seahawks crashed to the lowest numbers ever recorded for a Week Two Monday night game.

Jaroslav Bobrowski knows a good deal when he sees one. Accordingly, an all-you-can-eat offer at one sushi restaurant is no longer available to him. The triathlete follows a special diet in which he fasts for 20-hour periods. So when he does sit down for dinner, he tries to make up for lost time. But after devouring a staggering 100 plates at the Running Sushi restaurant in Landshut, Germany, as part of its $26 buffet deal, the restaurant declared him persona non grata. "When I went to the checkout, I wanted to tip, but the waiter did not want to accept...

A House Democrat called on his colleagues Wednesday to "rise up" if Republican senators push forward with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation without hearing from his sexual assault accuser, Christine Blasey Ford. "For the men and women of the House of Representatives, we must rise up in disgust and anger and make certain that our voice is clear," Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif., said during an interview with CNN. "Get the facts out. Give this woman the benefit of the doubt. Don't treat her as so many women have been treated time after time in courtroom after courtroom." Only the...

snip---ON ATTORNEY GENERAL Jeff Sessions Buck Sexton: Mr. President, why haven’t you replaced your attorney general, given all the things you’ve said and everything else that’s come out about his actions, or inactions? President Trump: I’m so sad over Jeff Sessions because he came to me. He was the first senator that endorsed me. And he wanted to be attorney general, and I didn’t see it. But he came very strongly he really wanted to be. And, I let him be. And then he went through the nominating process and he did very poorly. I mean, he was mixed up...