Free Republic

Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), made headlines when she revealed that she wouldn’t be able to afford Washington, D.C. rent until her government salary kicks in. The lack of affordable housing in Washington is no joke, but the predicament also speaks to the young lawmaker’s financial literacy — or lack thereof. The 29-year-old didn’t think to consider something as basic as the relocation expenses of a new job opportunity. If she doesn’t know how much an apartment costs, how much confidence should taxpayers have in her ability to effectively deliver trillions of dollars in campaign promises? Ocasio-Cortez has proposed free "Medicare...

They said it would be done in time. They said it was going to get done. It was a herculean effort—and they failed. Broward County, Florida—a Democratic bastion—has been a problem child in the ballot counting process of the state’s elections. Palm Beach County, another liberal stronghold, isn’t much better. The county was taking its sweet time counting the ballots. Republican Gov. Rick Scott, who had declared victory over incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, sued them for their lack of transparency in the process. A judge later found that both counties' operations violated public records laws; they weren’t giving regular...

A smaller group was reportedly arrested by the U.S.-Tijuana border. Meanwhile, a larger group was taken into custody in the mountains east of Otay Mesa, which is a San Diego community along the Mexican border...Authorities have since taken measures to fortify the existing fencing and officials are urging anyone wanting to claim asylum to present themselves legally at the ports of entry.

The 3 p.m. deadline in the Florida recounts has come and gone, and Palm Beach County is unable to provide their vote totals. BREAKING: Palm Beach unable to finish even Senate recount. Will not make state machine recount deadline for any of the races. #FloridaRecount— Kyra Gurney (@KyraGurney) November 15, 2018 So what happens now? Apparently they just keep on counting.We knew Palm Beach had its issues. On Tuesday the machines overheated, which essentially meant officials had to recount the recount. "We’re disappointed by the mechanical problems that are going to cause a further delay in the recount,” Palm Beach...

This race is over. Even while Broward and Palm Beach Counties continue with their mandatory recount, incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson is still trailing Republican Gov. Rick Scott by 12,000 votes. Barring a miracle, or massive voter fraud, there’s no way he’s going to win. Even CNN admits this: Democrats hope a manual recount will overturn the results of Florida's Senate election and pave the wave for Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson to keep his Senate seat.Appearing on Capitol Hill Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer projected confidence about Nelson's chances."Bill Nelson is -- is strong as could be," Schumer said....

California’s embattled high-speed rail project has been beset by “flawed decision making and poor contract management” that have led to billions of dollars in cost overruns and significant delays in construction in the San Joaquin Valley, according a report issued Thursday by state Auditor Elaine Howle. Howle’s audit, requested earlier this year by the state Legislature, is a sharp critique of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, the agency tasked with planning and developing the state’s bullet-train system. Among its key findings is that the authority, in an effort to beat the clock on a federal deadline for spending stimulus grant...

(CNN)Lawyers for CNN and the Trump administration are awaiting an initial ruling on the network's federal lawsuit over press access to the White House. And they're going to have to wait a little while longer. Judge Timothy J. Kelly heard nearly two hours of oral arguments about CNN's request for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction on Wednesday. Then he said court would reconvene Thursday at 3 p.m. But on Thursday afternoon, he rescheduled the next hearing for Friday at 10 a.m.

TULSA, Oklahoma (AP) — A publicist said country star Roy Clark, the guitar virtuoso and singer who headlined the cornpone TV show "Hee Haw" for nearly a quarter century, has died. Jeremy Westby said Clark died Thursday due to complications from pneumonia at home in Tulsa, Okla.

Live news coverage from Sky News. The British Government is in chaos with a string of high profile cabinet resignations over the proposed Brexit deal. May is holding onto power by her finger tips and there is open talk of a no confidence vote in parliament.

For more than a year, the most mysterious figure in the ongoing Spygate scandal has been professor Joseph Mifsud, the Maltese academic who played an instrumental role in entrapping Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos on behalf of the FBI. A great number of people have wanted to talk to Mifsud about what he knows concerning the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane sting, the counterintelligence operation designed to entrap the Trump campaign into accepting offers of Russian help during the 2016 election. However, nobody’s been successful in talking to him thus far, since he’s been in hiding since the news broke of his...

LONDON — Following a string of devastating resignations from her cabinet over Brexit plans, Prime Minister Theresa May told Parliament on Thursday that Britain will leave the European Union in March, deal or no deal. May faced a torrent of criticism in the chambers as members of Parliament, including those from her own Conservative Party, stood and denounced her Brexit plans as either a weak capitulation, an act of naive folly or a looming disaster. Some members pleaded with May to stage a second “People’s Vote” to give citizens another chance to rethink Brexit. Others decried her proposals as condemning...

It's been more than one week since polls closed on Election Night in Florida, with tight national races and recount efforts again spotlighting the Sunshine State. In Broward and Palm Beach Counties, there have been a slew of ballot issues. Election officials in both counties have a history of incompetence and corruption. Broward County Election Supervisor Brenda Snipes was convicted for illegally destroying ballots in 2016 and has a long record of questionable practices. Broward County Supervisor of Elections, Brenda Snipes, has a long history of fraud. Here are just some headlines from the past few years about misconduct, and outright violation...

Hours after images of migrants climbing a border wall in San Diego went viral, the Homeland Security Department deployed razor wire Wednesday to prevent a repeat. The immigrants, who said they were the vanguard of the caravans streaming north through Mexico, ascended the fence Tuesday in a display of defiance. Video and photos showed them cheering and jeering atop the slat-style fence. Although no arrests or confrontations were reported, Homeland Security took immediate steps to try to keep others from climbing by deploying concertina wire, which coils over itself, creating a thorough barrier. “As we have said repeatedly, being a...

“The Department of Justice is issuing a rulemaking that would interpret the statutory definition of machine gun in the National Firearms Act of 1934 and Gun Control Act of 1968 to clarify whether certain devices, commonly known as bump-fire stocks, fall within that definition.” That’s the intro (or “abstract”) to the DoJ’s newly issued public rule following their re-examination of the classification of bump fire stocks. This, of course, was done after last year’s Las Vegas Mandalay Bay shooting in which 58 people were killed and hundreds more were injured. That was the only crime in which a bump fire...

Washington (CNN)By multiple accounts, Donald Trump is in one of the deepest funks of his presidency. The bad news is that the challenges and threats that are making his mood so dark are likely to get worse before they get better. The President is angry at his rebuke from voters in the midterm elections. The oppressive prospect of action by special counsel Robert Mueller hangs like an immovable cloud over his White House. Staff chaos in the West Wing is producing lurid palace intrigue stories in the media that the President hates. Abroad, he feuds with allied world leaders, and...

A federal judge stated that he is not likely to allow election officials in Florida to automatically count thousands of mail-in ballots that have signatures that do not match those on file as deadline day for the Florida recount has arrived as counties across the state must have ballots re-tabulated by 3 p.m. Thursday afternoon. A big point of contention for incumbent Democrat U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and Democrats, mail-in ballots that have signatures that do not match those on file have been thrown out. "So I ask each of you, just consider whether or not you'd want you ballot...

Mexican federal authorities at the ports of entry in Tijuana are now allowing migrants from the Central American caravan into the U.S. so they can begin asylum requests. This week, at the Chaparral Port of Entry in Tijuana, Mexican immigration officials announced 90 Central American caravan migrants would be allowed to advance to ask for asylum, journalist Rebecca Plevin reported. Twenty-five asylum seekers were allowed on Monday and 60 more on Tuesday. At El Chaparral port of entry in Tijuana, Mexican immigration officials say 90 people will be allowed to make asylum claims today. People cheer; some 25 were allowed...

Portions of the migrant caravan consisting of nearly 900 Central Americans in 22 buses arrived in the northern border state of Sonora, escorted by state and federal police on Wednesday. A video posted online captures the caravan traveling along Mexican federal highway 15, through Esperanza, just north of Ciudad Obregon, Sonora. A smaller caravan reportedly passed through Tuesday night with an additional 400 in transit. The 22-bus caravan is expected to continue north on Mexican Federal Highway 15–temporarily stopping or passing through Hermosillo and north through Santa Ana, then west onto Mexican Federal Highway 2 past Caborca, San Luis Rio...

Nov. 14 (UPI) — The U.S. Justice Department dismissed claims Wednesday that acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker’s appointment to succeed Jeff Sessions violated the Constitution. The department issued a 20-page memorandum to show President Donald Trump could appoint Whitaker without a Senate confirmation. Whitaker was appointed acting attorney general last week after Sessions was forced out. The department said it had sought legal advice about a succession plan before his departure. “As all three branches of government have long recognized, the president may designate an acting official to perform the duties of a vacant principal office, including a Cabinet office,...

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump sat for an exclusive Oval Office interview Wednesday with The Daily Caller’s Saagar Enjeti and Benny Johnson for approximately 31 minutes. The transcript is as follows: THE DAILY CALLER: Let’s get the news of the day out at the top. There’s all of these things that are being discussed about the chief of staff [John Kelly], about Kirstjen Nielsen. Why are you disappointed in the DHS secretary and is John Kelly going to be staying in his job right now? POTUS: So, you know, always in an administration after the midterms you make changes, so,...